Patent Application
20080108402
The present invention is directed to systems, apparatuses, and methods for rewarding a player of a table game. The systems, apparatuses, and methods may be based on the player receiving or attaining a plurality of qualifying results that include qualifying hands of cards.
Gaming facilities, such as casinos, often reward or compensate players who play their games and base the rewards on the amount the player plays. Various techniques have been developed for ascertaining the amount a player plays, from manual viewing and record keeping to electronic monitoring.
Advances in gaming technology have made it possible to ascertain the composition of hands for players at gaming tables, whether the cards are electronically generated virtual cards or traditional cards printed on card material. Thus, it may now be possible to reward one or more players based on the composition of hands they receive playing one or more card games and there may be a need in the gaming industry for systems, apparatuses, and methods for rewarding players based on the composition of multiple card hands they receive over time.
Accordingly, systems, methods and apparatuses that reward players based on the composition of their hands are provided herein.
In accordance with one embodiment, a method of providing a reward for achieving a plurality of qualifying hands of cards is provided. That method includes reading an identity of each of a plurality of cards dispensed from a card dispensing device and assigned to a player, the plurality of cards forming a plurality of card hands. That method also includes determining whether each of the card hands is a qualifying card hand, storing an indicator of qualifying card hands received by the player in association with the player, and rewarding the player if a predefined plurality of the qualifying card hands are associated with the player.
In another embodiment, a method of storing an outcome of a plurality of hands of cards and rewarding a player for receiving a plurality of qualifying hands is provided. That method includes determining whether each of a plurality of hands of cards dealt to a player comprises one of a plurality of qualifying hands of cards, associating each qualifying hand of cards with the player, and providing a reward to the player if the player receives a predefined plurality of qualifying hands of cards.
Each of those methods may be set forth in instructions stored on a computer readable medium that, when executed by a processor, perform the methods.
In other embodiments, apparatuses and systems are provided that include a processor having instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine whether each of a plurality of hands of cards dealt to a player comprises one of a plurality of qualifying hands, associate each qualifying hand with the player, and provide a reward to the player if the player receives a predefined plurality of qualifying hands.
In yet other embodiments, apparatuses and systems are provided that include a card dispensing device, a card reader to sense information from each of a plurality of cards dispensed from the card dispensing device, a player identification reader to sense information regarding a player, and a processor coupled to the card reader and the player identification reader. The processor in that embodiment includes instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to determine, from the information sensed by the card reader, an identity of each of the plurality of cards dispensed from the card dispensing device and dealt to the player, resolve the composition of each of a plurality of hands of cards formed from the plurality of cards dealt to the player, determine, from the information sensed by the player identification reader, an identity of the player, associate each of the plurality of hands of cards with the identity of the player, and reward the player if the plurality of hands of cards associated with the player include a predefined plurality of qualifying hands.
Accordingly, the present invention provides solutions to the shortcomings of prior game reward systems, apparatuses, and methods. Those of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate, therefore, that those and other details, features, and advantages of the present invention will become further apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention.
The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and constitute part of this specification, include one or more embodiments of the invention, and together with the general description given above and a detailed description given below, serve to disclose principles of embodiments of a reward provided in accordance with a best mode contemplated for carrying out a game with a reward for attaining a plurality of qualifying results.
Reference will now be made to embodiments of systems, methods, and apparatuses for a game with a reward for attaining a plurality of qualifying results, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Details, features, and advantages of the game will become further apparent in the following detailed description of embodiments thereof. It is to be understood that the Figures and descriptions included herein illustrate and describe elements that are of particular relevance to the reward, while eliminating, for purposes of clarity, other elements found in typical games, such as the table games with which the reward may be associated.
It should be noted that the method may be performed in an alternate order such that, for example, the indicator that the qualifying hand was received by a player may be stored prior to the hand being associated with the player receiving that hand.
The qualifying results may include one or more combinations of cards that comprise a hand or a subset of a hand of cards and may also be referred to as a qualifying hand of cards. For example, traditional five card poker hands such as those including pairs of cards of the same rank, three and four of a kind that include three or four cards of the same rank, five card straights of cards of sequential rank, and flushes of cards of the same suit may comprise qualifying hands. In a three card game, such as the game played on the layout shown in
The hands may be formed of a plurality of cards dealt at one time, or as cards dealt in two or more phases of game play, such as in draw poker, or as cards dealt to a specific player in combination with community cards dealt for common use by more than one player, for example. Where a plurality of cards are dealt in a game or a phase of a game, those cards may be dealt individually or may be dealt as hands by, for example, an Ace 2™ Shuffler manufactured by Shuffle Master, Inc. of Las Vegas, Nev. The Ace 2™ Shuffler is described in detail in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/481,407 filed Jul. 5, 2006, assigned attorney docket number PA1449.ap.US, and entitled Card Shuffler with Adjacent Card Infeed and Card Output Compartments (“Ace 2”), which is incorporated by reference herein.
Thus, for example, in a game such as Let it Ride®, three cards may be dealt to each player and two community cards may be dealt for use by all player participants such that each player hand consists of the three cards dealt to that player plus the two community cards. Those cards may all be read or identified and a determination may be made, for each player, as to whether that player has a five card hand that includes a qualifying result. That determination may be made for each player during each round of game play. Alternatively, the reward for achieving a plurality of qualifying hands of cards may be available only for certain players based on any criterion desired by the casino or game purveyor.
In various embodiments of the present reward, the identities of the cards may include the rank and suit of each card, the rank only of each card, the suit only of each card, or the presence of a special card, which may take the form of a promotional card, a bonus card, a wild card, and the like. Alternatively or in addition, the identities of the cards may include other information such as, for example, the identity of the deck from which each card was dealt, the casino identity, manufacturer identity, lot number, or the like. The identities of the cards that make up a hand may furthermore be referred to as the composition of the hand and the determination of whether those cards include a qualifying set of cards may be referred to as resolving the hand. Thus the term “qualifying hand” may refer to all cards in a hand or a portion of cards in a hand that form a winning or otherwise qualifying set of cards.
The identity of each card may be read in any way desired including, for example, determining the identity of each card by capturing an image of the face of the card and determining the identity of the card from that image, identifying dark and light areas on the face of the card and determining the identity of the card from those dark and light areas, or reading a bar code or other data from the card that can be processed to identify that card. Card identities may be read in a card shuffler, card shoe, on the gaming table, or in any card dispensing device 154, or as otherwise desired.
In an embodiment, each card in a hand of cards is read in the card dispensing device 154 and then the hand of cards is dispensed into the card dispensing device tray 156 of the card dispensing device 154. The hand of cards is then removed from the card dispensing device tray 156, such as by the dealer, and provided to the player. The player wagers and plays out the hand as provided by the rules of the game. The reward for achieving a plurality of qualifying hands of cards may be provided to the player in addition to other winnings achieved during game play.
Any indicator desired may be stored to indicate the qualifying hand was received by the player. For example, the identity of all or a subset of the cards in the qualifying hand may be stored or a flag may be set indicating the qualifying hand that was received. The identity of the cards may include the rank and/or suit of each of those cards. It should be recognized that all hands of cards received by the player may be stored for use in determining whether qualifying hands have been received by the player and for any other use desired.
The reward may require that the player receive a plurality of different qualifying hands or may require that the player receive a particular hand more than one time. Thus, where only one of each qualifying hand is required to receive the reward, only qualifying hands that have not previously been received by the player may be stored for that player.
In an embodiment, the reward is provided to a player that receives every winning combination available in the game they are playing. In another embodiment, the reward is provided to a player that receives a predetermined subset of the winning combinations available in the game. Thus, for example, where a pair of cards is a winning combination, a player that receives a pair of cards of every rank may receive the reward. Multiple levels of reward may also be available, for example, for receiving various qualifying hands of different difficulty or having different odds. Moreover, the reward may be provided to a player who receives the qualifying hands of cards in a predetermined period of time or at a predetermined place. For example, the player might be required to receive all of the hands required to qualify for the reward at a sitting, in a day, in a week, or in a lifetime. Alternatively or in addition, the player might be required to achieve the plurality of qualifying hands of cards at a particular table, pit, casino, or facility, to qualify for the reward.
In various embodiments, the reward is provided to a player who achieves one or more qualifying hands at each of two or more different card games. Games may be considered “different” if they have different rules, such as Three-Card Poker® and Let it Ride®, and/or Let it Ride® and Let it Ride Bonus®. The player may achieve the one or more qualifying hands at each different card game over one or more rounds of play of that game. The player may be required to play the games in a pit, casino, or group of participating facilities, for example, or may have no restriction on where he or she plays the games. In one embodiment, a player dealt a straight flush at Let it Ride and a straight flush at Three Card Poker qualifies for a reward. In another embodiment, a casino pit offers six different games and a player must achieve a qualifying hand at each game to qualify for the reward.
In various embodiments, the reward may be provided to a player who obtains the top hand in each different game, one of the top three hands in each different game, any winning hand in each different game, or some combination of the aforementioned qualifying hands. Moreover, two or more combinations of hands received at the different games may qualify a player for a reward or one of several rewards that are selected based on the odds or difficulty of achieving those hands.
The storage of indicators and other information, such as described herein, may be made on an electronic medium and may be placed in a database to expedite information retrieval.
The player to whom a qualifying hand of cards has been dealt may be identified in any way desired. For example, each player participating in the reward may be assigned a player identification device. The player identification device may be any device that electronically identifies the player so that the hands received by the player may be associated or correlated with the player who received those hands. For example, the player identification device may be a card having a bar code or a magnetic strip that identifies the player.
In one embodiment, the player identification device is an electronic key that transmits a player identity to a player identification reader when the electronic key is proximate to the player identification reader. The player identification device may be placed near, inserted into, or otherwise engaged with the player identification reader. In an embodiment, one player identification reader is placed at each player position 161-167, and each player participating in the reward for attaining a plurality of qualifying results engages his or her player identification device with the player identification reader while playing the game. For example, a player may insert a player identification card into a player identification card reader when he or she occupies one of the player positions 161-167 at the game table 150. Thereafter, all qualifying hands dealt to that player position 161-167 will be associated with that player. When the player leaves the player position 161-167, the player removes his or her player identification card from the player identification card reader and hands dealt to that position may no longer be associated with that player. Alternatively, pit personnel may input the player identity into a local computer so that a winning hand can be associated with the player.
In another embodiment, the player identification device may be read by a player identification reader located at a card dispensing device 154 or alternate location near the dealer. The player identification device may be engaged with the player identification reader by the dealer or another person when the player receives a qualifying hand to associate that player with the qualifying hand.
A method, system, or apparatus that provides a reward status or otherwise informs the player of the qualifying hands they have received may also be provided in an embodiment of a method, system, or apparatus for providing the reward for attaining a plurality of qualifying hands of cards. Such a method, system, or apparatus may, for example, indicate the set of remaining qualifying hands needed to be attained by the player in order to complete the predefined set of qualifying hands needed to obtain a reward. The method or apparatus may include an indication of the reward for completing the set of winning combinations within a specified number of hands or a specified length of time. For example, a display may be provided to indicate the reward status. The reward status display may be viewable by the player so that the player has a continuous reminder of his or her reward status. Alternatively, the display may be viewable by the dealer who may inform the player of his or her reward status from time to time to enhance the excitement and anticipation of the game for players and onlookers.
The reward may be any reward desired, such as a cash reward, a free room or meal, a souvenir, or, in an embodiment, delivery of a hand of cards, which may be of a predetermined rank and suit or, in another embodiment, may be a random set of cards dispensed by the card dispensing device 154.
In another form of the game that rewards a player for attaining a plurality of qualifying results, a processor within the card dispensing device 154 recognizes a winning hand or other qualifying result and transmits a corresponding signal to a printer. The printer prints a sticker that may be applied to an “achievement award card” associated with the player who attains the qualifying result. When the player fills the card, i.e., acquires stickers for all of the plurality of qualifying results, the player may redeem the card for a prize.
The memory 202 may, for example, include random access memory (RAM), dynamic RAM, and/or read only memory (ROM) (e.g., programmable ROM, erasable programmable ROM, or electronically erasable programmable ROM) and may store computer program instructions and information. The memory 202 may furthermore be partitioned into sections including an operating system partition 208 where system operating instructions are stored, a data partition 206 in which data is stored, and a reward partition 204 in which reward operational instructions are stored. The reward partition 204 includes circuitry or code that performs some or all of the functions described herein. The reward partition 204 may store program instructions and allow execution by the processor 210 of those program instructions. The data partition 206 may furthermore store data such as, for example, the indication of the qualifying hands received by each player participating in the reward.
The processor 210 may, for example, be an Intel® Pentium® or Core™ type processor or another processor manufactured by, for example, Motorola®, Compaq®, AMD®, or Sun Microsystems®. The processor 210 may furthermore execute the program instructions and process the data stored in the memory 202. In one embodiment, the instructions are stored in memory 202 in a compressed and/or encrypted format. As used herein, the phrase, “executed by a processor” is intended to encompass instructions stored in a compressed and/or encrypted format, as well as instructions that may be compiled or installed by an installer before being executed by the processor 210.
The storage device 212 may, for example, be non-volatile battery backed SRAM, a magnetic disk (e.g., floppy disk and hard drive), optical disk (e.g., CD-ROM) or any other device or signal that can store digital information. The communication adaptor 218 permits communication between the node 200 and other devices coupled to the communication adaptor 218 at the communication adaptor port 222. The communication adaptor 218 may be a network interface or, alternatively or in addition, may be coupled directly to one or more other devices through one or more input/output adaptors (not shown).
The input device 216 may include a card reader, keyboard, mouse, or any combination of input devices desired. The output device 214 may include a monitor, printer, or any combination of output devices desired. It will be recognized, however, that the node 200 does not necessarily need to have an input device 216 or an output device 214 to operate. Moreover, the storage device 212 may also not be necessary for operation of the node 200 as data required or desired for providing a reward to a player for attaining a plurality of qualifying hands may be stored in memory, for example.
The elements 202, 210, 212, 214, 216, and 218 related to the node 200 may communicate by way of one or more communication busses 220. Those busses 220 may include, for example, a system bus, a peripheral component interface bus, or an Industry Standard Architecture bus.
The node 200 may be used to perform any or all of the reward functionality described herein. For example, in one embodiment, the node 200 may comprise a general purpose computer 170, which may be located at each game table employing the method, system, or apparatus for providing a reward for players attaining a plurality of qualifying results among card hands, such as described herein. The general purpose computer 170 may be incorporated into the card dispensing device 154 or may be separate from or incorporated into any device desired. The general purpose computer 170 may be coupled through a wired or wireless connection to sensors, actuators, and networks as desired. Thus, in one embodiment that may be viewed in connection with
In another embodiment, a single player identification reader 178 is located at the card dispensing device 154 and the player identification device of the player who attained the qualifying hand is engaged with the player identification reader 178 to associate the qualifying hand with the player who received the qualifying hand.
The general purpose computer 170 may also store information regarding any qualifying hands received by any players or may transmit that information to another node, which may be configured as described in connection with the node 200 of
Once the general purpose computer 170 or another networked node 200 acquires data indicating the player has attained the necessary, predetermined qualifying hands, the general purpose computer 170 or node 200 may automatically reward the player by, for example, adding credit to the player account, whether for a room, food, cash, or other reward. Alternatively, the general purpose computer 170 or node 200 may signal to an attendant that the player has attained the qualifying hands and the attendant may present the player with the associated reward.
Aspects of the systems, apparatuses, and methods of implementing the game with reward for attaining a plurality of qualifying results described herein may also be included in processor based apparatuses, multi-processor based systems, and articles of manufacture that contain instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to execute any of the reward routines described herein.
Any reference in this specification to “one embodiment,” “a certain embodiment,” or any other reference to an embodiment is intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment and may be utilized in other embodiments as well. Moreover, the appearances of such terms in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment. References to “or” are furthermore intended as inclusive so “or” may indicate one or another of the ored terms or more than one ored term.
While the present invention has been disclosed with reference to certain embodiments, numerous modifications, alterations, and changes to the described embodiments are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention, as defined in the appended claims. Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention not be limited to the described embodiments, but that it have the full scope defined by the language of the following claims, and equivalents thereof.
