The present disclosure relates to an electronic table game (“ETG”) system in which a sequence of cards dealt by a common dealer is used to generate a real-time data stream of card identities communicated to a plurality of different player terminals, in which the player terminals are configured to apply the card identities from the data stream to either one of the player hand or dealer hand according to the rules of a game being provided by the respective ETG.
In wagering games, wagers (or “bets”) are typically placed on the possible outcomes of a game, and a payout for the game may be based on the amount of the wager, the outcome of the game (e.g., a comparison of hands between a player and a dealer), and an associated payout structure for the game. Such wagering games are often referred to as casino games as they are often associated with casinos.
ETGs that involve playing cards can utilize a varying range of dealer options, from a live-dealer drawing physical cards all the way to a fully automated dealer utilizing a random number generator (“RNG”) to draw virtual cards. However, each dealer option is typically limited to dealing for a single type of game. This is predominantly due to the different rules various types of games have, such as beginning and ending times, which cards are hidden vs. which cards are visible to players, community cards vs. dealer cards vs. player cards, timing of the dealing of cards in relation to when wagers are allowed, number of cards dealt, and so on.
It is therefore desirable to provide a system that allows ETGs to share a common dealer, whether it be a live dealer or an RNG-based dealer. It is further desirable to allow a single dealer to simultaneously deal for different types of games. It is also desirable for a single dealer to deal for asynchronous games. It is still further desirable to allow a single dealer to continuously deal playing cards without the need to stop dealing activities for a shuffling of the cards.
The present disclosure teaches an electronic table game (“ETG”) system in which a sequence of cards dealt by a common dealer is used to generate a real-time data stream of card identities communicated to a plurality of different player terminals, thereby allowing the different player terminals to provide different games utilizing the same card identities.
In one example, the present disclosure describes an electronic table game system comprising a physical playing card dealer table, a card detection system configured to automatically determine a card identity of each of a plurality of physical playing cards dealt on the physical playing card dealer table, a game server in communication with the card detection system, the game server comprising at least one server processor and at least one server memory device storing server instructions which when executed by the at least one server processor cause the game server to: receive a card identity from the card detection system, identify the received card identity as a latest card identity, associate the latest card identity with a data stream; and repeating those steps for each of the plurality of physical playing cards as they are subsequently dealt. The electronic table game system further includes a plurality of player stations in communication with the game server, each of the player stations comprising at least one input device, at least one display device, at least one processor, and at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device to: cause the display device to display a plurality of different games which can be played on the player station, receive a first input from a player which indicates a game to be played, cause the display device to display a game layout based on the first input, receive a second input from the player associated with a wager placed on the game to be played, receive the data stream from the game server, associate the latest card identity with a card position in the game, allow a physical playing card to subsequently be dealt, and repeating those steps until the game allows the player to make a decision or the game ends. When the player is allowed to make a decision, the player station will cause the display device to display at least one game option, receive a game option input from the player; and repeat the steps of receiving and associating card identities. When the game ends, the player station will determine any awards based at least in part on the card identities associated with the card positions in the game and the wager and provide any determined awards to the player.
In another example, the present disclosure describes a method of operating an electronic table game system, the method comprising the steps of enabling the sequential dealing of a plurality of physical playing cards, determining a card identify for each of the dealt physical playing cards, creating a data stream of the determined card identities, communicating the data stream to a first player station, wherein the first player station is providing a first card game based on a first wager, associating, by the first player station, a first plurality of determined card identities of the data stream with the first card game, determining, by the first player station, a first game outcome based on the associated first plurality of determined card identities, providing, by the first player station, any awards based on the determined first game outcome, communicating the data stream to a second player station, wherein the second player station is providing a second card game based on a second wager, wherein the second card game is asynchronous from the first card game, associating, by the second player station, a second plurality of determined card identities of the data stream with the second card game, wherein the second plurality of determined card identities comprises a plurality, but less than all, of the first plurality of determined card identities, determining, by the second player station, a second game outcome based on the associated second plurality of determined card identities, and providing, by the second player station, any awards based on the determined second game outcome.
In still another example, the present disclosure describes a player station comprising, at least one input device, at least one display device, at least one processor, and at least one memory device storing a plurality of instructions, which when executed by the at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to operate with the at least one input device and the at least one display device to: cause the display device to display a plurality of different games which can be played on the player station, receive a first input from a player which indicates a game to be played, cause the display device to display a game layout based on the first input, receive a second input from the player associated with a wager placed on the game to be played, receive the data stream from the game server, wherein the data stream comprises a plurality of card identities in a random order, selectively associate a plurality of the received card identities with the game, wherein the association of at least one received card identity is based on a timing of when a third input from the player is received, the third input indicating an in-game decision by the player, determine any awards based at least in part on the associated card identities and the wager, and provide any determined awards to the player.
It is therefore an advantage of the present disclosure to provide a system that allows a single dealer to provide card identities for multiple different and/or asynchronously played games.
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently disclosed embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages.
Referring to the accompanying figures, there is illustrated an electronic wagering table game system generally indicated in
In one embodiment, the system 10 generally includes a playing card dealer table 12 for use by a live dealer 14 to deal physical playing card(s) 16 from a card shoe 17. The dealer 14 draws the cards 16 when prompted by deal prompt 15, so that the cards are dealt individually to a playing area 18 on the table 12. In one embodiment, deal prompt 15 is a simple mechanical, electrical, and/or electro-mechanical device, such as a clock or timed light, which provides the dealer 14 with a simple visual, audio, or audio-visual signal to indicate it is time to deal another card. In another embodiment, deal prompt 15 is networked with a game server 24. In a further embodiment, game server 24 may send commands to deal prompt 15 to cause the deal prompt 15 to provide an indication for the dealer 14 to deal the next card. In such an embodiment, it is contemplated that the game server 24 may adjust the duration between dealt cards based on predetermined criteria, such as the current number of players, types of games currently being played, fraud prevention, randomness, or any combination thereof. In another embodiment, deal prompt 15 may be a smart device that is configured to determine, based on internal programming, when to prompt the dealer 14 to deal the next card, and may then communicate such action to the game server 24. In a further embodiment, deal prompt 15 is a video screen that is capable of providing additional information to the dealer 14 beyond just whether or not to deal the next card. In a further embodiment, the system 10 does not include a deal prompt 15. In one example of such an embodiment, the dealer 14 may simply deal cards at a desired pace. It should be appreciated that a dealer 14 may develop a relatively constant pace based on practice, thereby removing the need for dealer prompt 15. In another example of such an embodiment, dealer 14 is a virtual dealer, and is configured to deal cards at a predetermined rate and/or based on communications with game server 24.
Continuing with
In a further embodiment, the card detection system comprises a dealer input mechanism (not shown) which allows the dealer 14 to manually input the rank and suit of the dealt card. In one embodiment, the card detection unit 22 first attempts to properly detect a dealt card, and the dealer is then required to authorize or override such a determination through such a dealer input mechanism. In another embodiment, the dealer 14 is required to input the rank and suit of a dealt card, and the card detection system associates such input with the video image from the video camera 20, which may then be communicated to the player stations 26.
Continuing with the example of
Player terminals 26 (discussed in more detail with respect to
For illustrative purposes, one of the player stations 26 further displays face up player cards 38, a face up dealer card(s) 40, and a face down dealer card 42. As will be discussed in further detail below, while display 32 displays a face down dealer card 42, in one embodiment, the player station 26 and/or game server 24 may not have allocated a card to the face down dealer card 42, and may be waiting for a player action before such an allocation takes place. In another embodiment, the display 32 displays a live video feed of the cards being dealt by dealer 14. In a further embodiment, the display 32 only displays the video feed of cards being dealt by dealer 14 for those cards that form part of the player's cards 38 or the dealer's face up cards 40. In a further embodiment, the display 32 does not provide any video feeds of the dealer 14.
Returning back to the card dealer table 12 in
In another embodiment, card shuffler is in communication with game server 24, which is illustrated in
For example, it is contemplated that in an example of one embodiment, only a set number of decks of cards (e.g., five) are allowed to be in play at any particular time, but that the system is configured to track more decks of cards (e.g., six or more). In such an example, the game server 24 may track the cards 16 not in play, including cards 16 located at the discard area 21 and cards located in the shuffler 19, and assure that no more than the allowable five decks of cards 16 are contained within the card shoe 17 at any given time. In such an example, the game server 24 may periodically cause an indication to the dealer 14, for example via the deal prompt 15, to move cards from the discard area to the shuffler, and when certain criteria are satisfied, cause the shuffler 19 to shuffle the cards 16 and reintroduce the shuffled cards to the card shoe 17. For example, when the number of cards 16 remaining in the card shoe 17 is below a set number (e.g., sixty), and the number of previously-dealt cards located at the discard area 21 is above a set number (e.g., fifty-two), the game server 24 may cause the shuffler 19 to shuffle all of the previously-dealt cards 16 which were previously moved from the discard area 21 to the shuffler 19 by the dealer 14, and then cause the now-shuffled cards to be re-introduced to the card shoe 17. In one embodiment, the game server is configured to track the exact cards located in the discard area 21. In such an example, the game server 24 may be further configured to make sure that the cumulative cards 16 located in the discard area 21 comprise a full deck of cards (e.g., all fifty-two distinct playing cards) before and instruction is given to shuffle the cards and reintroduce them to the shuffler 17.
In another embodiment, discard area 21 may form part of the determination process as to when cards are to be moved to the shuffler 19. For example, there could be multiple discard areas 21, each having a different height of walls which work to retain cards in an organized manner, which the dealer alternately discards cards to, and when any one becomes full, the dealer could then remove the cards in that particular area and place them in the shuffler 19. In another example, the discard area 21 could have an adjustable height of walls, which may be controlled by game server 24 or by a dedicated programming or RNG, and when such a discard area becomes full, the dealer could then remove the cards and place them in the shuffler 19. As is evident from this disclosure, several methods of maintaining underlying gameplay characteristics while providing a continuous deal by the dealer 14 are contemplated, and each example should not be construed as providing the only examples herein contemplated.
In further embodiments, it is contemplated that one or more of the physical components of the system 10 from
In another contemplated embodiment, game server 24 may be in communication with a table game management system (not shown). Examples of table game management systems include Table Manager by IGT and Bally Table Management System™ by Scientific Games. It is contemplated that such a table management system may communicate with game server 24 directly, through network 36, or form part of game server 24. In another embodiment, an additional display device associated with such a table game management system may be positioned so that the live dealer 14 could view it. In still another embodiment, such an associated display device may be touchscreen, to allow the dealer 14 to provide inputs back to the table game system. In a further embodiment, the dealer 14 may utilize such a table game management system to assist the card detection system in determining the rank and suit of a dealt card. In another embodiment, such a table game management system may supplement or replace other components of the system 10 as illustrated in
Memory device(s) 82 can include one or more distinct types of memory devices, such as random access memory (RAM) or dynamic RAM (DRAM), which can include non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), magnetic RAM (MRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) and other forms as commonly understood by a person of skill in the art. In one embodiment, the memory device(s) 82 includes read only memory (ROM), which may, for example, store regulatory-sensitive instructions for player station 26. In one embodiment, the memory device(s) 82 includes flash memory and/or EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory). Any other suitable magnetic, optical and/or semiconductor memory may operate in conjunction with the player station 26 disclosed herein.
CPU 80 may be communicatively connected to at least one input/output printed circuit board (I/O PCB) 84 which operates as an electrical interface between CPU 80 and various peripherals of the player station 26.
Also communicatively connected to CPU 80 may be a player tracking device 65. It is contemplated that the player tracking device 65 includes a distinct player tracking input/output (110) 92 and player tracking CPU 94, as well as associated player tracking memory (not shown). In one embodiment, it is contemplated that player tracking device 65 could have a direct line of communication (not shown) with ticket printer 60. In such an embodiment, the player tracking device 65 could then cause ticket printer 60 to print out promotional tickets without having to first communicate with gaming machine CPU 80, which may be desirable to comply with regulatory requirements.
Games offered on gaming machines such as player station 26 can be widely varied and diverse. However, all such games typically must meet very stringent requirements, which assure their fairness and perhaps even their appearance of fairness. Generally speaking, games must return to players, in the form of monetary awards, on average, somewhere between 75% and 100% of all wagers accepted, which is referred to as payback percentage. Specific payback requirements are specific to each of the hundreds of regulated gaming jurisdictions worldwide, but generally fall within such a range, and must be statistically verifiable over numerous plays. Many such jurisdictions have additional requirements related to how a game outcome is determined, whether the outcome is completely random, primarily random, unpredictable by a player, or to what effects a player's skill level can have on an outcome. This is also true for card-based games, such as those contemplated for the system 10.
Programming instructions are stored on the memory devices of both the game server 24 and the player stations 26. In one embodiment, each player station 26 receives a data stream from the game server 24, the data stream comprising the sequence of card identities as determined by the card detection unit 22. The programming instructions, in either or both of the game server 24 and player stations 26, then dictate rules of play according to a game selected by a player at each respective game station 26, and applies the card identities from the data stream sequentially to cards for the selected game according to the rules of play for the selected game. In another embodiment, rules of a game regarding when cards are dealt may be modified so that a player may not realize an advantage. For example, while the game of blackjack traditionally deals both of the dealer's cards before players decide to make their game-based decisions (e.g., hit or stand, etc.), doing so with system 10 may allow a player to observe another player station 26 that is at a different stage in the continuous deal, and therefor might provide the player an advantage by seeing what card was dealt face down to the dealer. However, it is contemplated that dealer face down cards may not be dealt until after the player makes their appropriate game-based decisions, so as to prevent such potential security issues.
Regardless of when an individual player joined a game, the dealer continues to deal cards at a prescribed time interval. In one embodiment, this interval is constant or is intended to be constant but is subject to the live dealer's 14 physical movements, so may have slight deviations. In another embodiment, the interval is determined by the game server 24, and relayed to the live dealer 14 via the deal prompt 15. It is contemplated that in such an embodiment, the game server 24 may deviate the interval based on one or more factors, such as the number of active players, the number of like games currently being played, the number of different games currently being played, desired randomness, cheating avoidance, the number of cards remaining in the card shoe 17, the number of remaining full decks remaining in the card shoe 17, the number of cards located at discard area 21, the number of full decks located at discard area 21, the number of cards located at the card shuffler 19, the number of full decks located at the card shuffler, the actual or average speed of play of the current active players, the timing of active player actions such as making rapid in-game decisions/inputs, operator desired game turnover, regulation-based requirements, and any combination of one or more thereof.
As described in further detail below with regard to gameplay, different player stations 26 can use the card identities from the same live data stream regardless of what point within the gameplay different players are at and regardless of whether different players are playing the same or different games. For example, the same card identity can be simultaneously used on different player stations 26 in different ways such that a player card on one terminal or station is used as either a face up or facedown dealer card on another terminal or station. Likewise, the first card dealt as a player or dealer card on one player station 26 at the beginning of a wagering round may be simultaneously used as a subsequent player or dealer card within a respective round of wagering on a different player station 26.
Referring to
At step 2-c, the player now transfers money to the player station, which then increments an associated credit meter. In one embodiment, the player may transfer money via a bill acceptor. In another embodiment, the player transfers money via a ticket-in-ticket-out (TITO) device. In a further embodiment, the bill acceptor and TITO device are combined into a single device which is configured to accept both physical money and tickets. In another embodiment, the player can use their smartphone to transfer money to the player station. In a further embodiment, money may be transferred from a player tracking account, a casino marketing account, another player's account, or a combination thereof. In similar fashion as the prior steps, the dealer continues to deal cards which may have been associated with the player had the player placed a wager.
At step 2-d, the player inputs a wager amount, for example $25. In this embodiment, just the act of inputting a wager amount does not cause the game to begin, but rather requires the player, at step 2-e, to select the “DEAL” button. In this manner, the player is allowed to change their wager selection by, for example, increasing, decreasing, or removing the wager altogether, before the player is committed to playing a game. In other embodiments, the player station may be configured to automatically begin the play of the game upon the selection of a wager amount by the player. As illustrated in
At step 2-h, the player is provided the typical in-game choice for Blackjack, which may include to Stand, Hit, Double Down, Split, Surrender, or other in-game choices that are common in card games. However, where historically card games have already dealt the second card but just placed it facedown, in this embodiment, the second card has not yet been allocated to the dealer. In this manner, this process would prevent the player from possibly viewing the card dealt immediately after the 5 of Diamonds, perhaps on an adjacent player station where the player there is at a different stage of their game or playing a different game altogether, and thereby gain an advantage. Instead, the system of the present embodiment continues to deal cards, but does not associate the dealt cards to the player's game until after the player has made their selection, thereby continuing the game. At step 2-i, the player selects the “Hit” button, which is communicated to the system, and thereafter the next dealt card is associated with the player's hand. In this example, the player receives a 10 of Spades, and busts because of it. In can be appreciated that in this example, the dealer's hand only comprised one card at the end of the game, however it should be appreciated that this did not significantly affect the ultimate outcome of the game. This is especially true in situations where multiple decks are used, which are common place now in most casinos.
At step 2-j, the system determines the outcome of the game, and increments the credit meter if the player won an award. In the present example, the player did not win, so the credit meter would not increment. At step 2-k, the player is allowed to return to step 2-a, which allows them to sit at the game while the dealer continues to deal, select a new game to play, play the same game, change their bet level, or replay the same game with the same wager. Alternatively, the player may cash out any remaining money from the player station, and move on to another casino offering.
Looking at Player 1 and Player 2 from
Continuing with
By contrast, Player 2's different play between
A similar scenario is illustrated with respect to Player 4, in that in
While the present disclosure provides numerous examples of card game which the presently contemplated system may be configured to provide, others are equally contemplated, such as variants of Blackjack, Baccarat games and variants, Pai Gow Poker, Texas Hold'em and variants, MISSISSIPPI STUD® (MISSISSIPPI STUD is a registered trademark of Bally Gaming, Inc.), Texas Hold'em Bonus Poker, Ultimate Texas Hold'em, and other card-based wagering games. It is specifically contemplated that the electronic wagering table game system of the present disclosure may be utilized for any card-based wagering game where a player plays against a house or dealer.
This application is a continuation under 35 U.S.C. § 120 of U.S. application Ser. No. 16/291,202 filed Mar. 4, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S. Pat. No. 10,304,281 granted May 28, 2019 (application Ser. No. 15/674,954, filed Aug. 11, 2017), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/425,287, filed on Nov. 22, 2016. Each of the above-referenced patent applications is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
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20210158647 A1 | May 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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62425287 | Nov 2016 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16291202 | Mar 2019 | US |
Child | 17170644 | US | |
Parent | 15674954 | Aug 2017 | US |
Child | 16291202 | US |