Patent Grant
8065702
The present invention is related to a method and apparatus for automating the playing games such as blackjack so that they can be played continuously and asynchronously by a potentially large plurality of players substantially, and wherein information related to goods and services for sale can be exchanged between players and sponsors of advertisements presented during the playing of a game.
The cost effective automation of playing certain games, like blackjack, has been difficult due to the fact that these games typically require a dealer and only a relatively small number of players may play the game with a single dealer. However, with the popularity of local and wide-area data communication networks, it is desirable to have an automated gaming system for games such as blackjack wherein large numbers of players may cost-effectively and efficiently play such games.
Furthermore, it has been difficult to cost-effectively provide a network gaming system on such networks as the Internet in that gaming restrictions prohibit wagering and ante fees in most contexts except such situations as local area networks within a casino. However, since many players have an interest in playing casino-type games, it would also be desirable to have a way to benefit from interests in such games. Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system that utilized a gaming context as a vehicle for delivering product and/or service information to users of a network such as the Internet. In particular, it would be desirable to have a data processing system that provided a large number of players with the ability to substantially asynchronously play casino-style games on the Internet for prizes at a reduced risk or at substantially no risk, wherein the data processing system coordinated the presentation of products and/or services from sponsors of the games so that there is a coordinated, interactive exchange of information between players and sponsors regarding advertisements, samples, prizes and questionnaires related to sponsor products and/or services.
Accordingly, since the present invention, as described in the sections hereinbelow, addresses the above-discussed problems within the context of playing blackjack, an overview of this particular game is provided so that the novelty and various related aspects of the present invention may be more fully appreciated.
Description of Blackjack:
The card game of blackjack is a game of chance played between a designated player known as a “dealer” and one or more other players. Basically, each player plays against the dealer in the sense that each player attempts to achieve a collection or hand of cards having a total score for the hand closer to the value 21 than the score of the hand of the dealer. However, if a player's card hand goes over 21, the player may lose any wagers bet on the hand regardless of the value of the card hand of the dealer.
In further detail, blackjack is typically played with one or more standard playing card decks wherein each card has a value. In particular, each of the face cards has the value of 10, and non-face card has a value identical to the numerical value as indicated on the card, except for aces. That is, for aces a value may be assigned of either 1 or 11, depending on which value a player deems most beneficial to his/her hand.
In one conventional method for playing blackjack, at the commencement of a blackjack hand, each player initially is provided with two cards and the dealer also receives two cards. Typically, one of the dealer's cards is dealt with the value of the card showing whereas the other card is dealt with the value of the card hidden. However, variations on when the dealer receives his/her cards may depend on the blackjack gaming rules where blackjack is being played but, in any case, one of the dealer's cards must be face-up before the players exercise various wagering options beyond an initial ante.
After a player has reviewed his/her cards, the player may request one or more additional cards in an attempt to get: (a) a value for a card hand that will be greater than the hand the dealer will have, and (b) a value for the card hand that is less than or equal to 21. Further, a player may under certain circumstances, as will be described below, simultaneously play more than one hand of cards against the dealer's cards. However, in requesting such additional cards, a player runs the risk of “busting” each hand played wherein the player loses his/her wager(s) on a card hand by adding cards to the hand until a value exceeding 21 occurs. Further note that such busting of a hand occurs regardless of whether or not the dealer has a card hand value of less than or equal to 21.
Note that after each player has ceased to request further cards (i.e., each player “stands” on his cards), the dealer either takes one or more further cards (i.e., “hits”) according to predetermined blackjack rules as established, for example, by the gaming establishment where the blackjack game is being conducted. In general, the dealer must take additional cards if his/her current card count total is less than 17 and the dealer must decline further cards if the dealer's hand has a value of 17 or more. However, there are various rules regarding whether a dealer may stand or hit when the card count total is a “soft 17.” That is, one of the dealer's cards is an ace (and therefore may have a value of 1 or 11) and one of the values for the dealer's hand is 17. For example, the dealer may be required to take a hit on a soft 17.
Since a hit(s) taken by the dealer is performed after all players have exercised their wagering options, the final numerical value of the dealer's hand is then compared to the final numerical value of each of the player's hand(s) to determine the winning and losing wagers. Note that if the dealer's hand exceeds the value of 21, then any player that has not busted wins the wagers for their hand(s) regardless of the hand's total value. Alternatively, if the dealer's card hand is less or equal to 21, then it is compared with each of the player's card hand(s) and in each comparison the card hand with the closest total value to 21 without exceeding 21 wins. Of course, ties are possible. In such cases (called a “push”), the player's wager(s) on his/her card hand are returned.
It is typical in blackjack to have at least three additional player options depending on the circumstances of play. A first such option is known as “doubling down” wherein if the player's first two cards have a value within a predetermined range (e.g., 10 or 11), then the player may double his or her wager and once dealt a single additional card, the total of the three card hand becomes the value for the player's hand. Alternatively, another option is that of “splitting pairs” wherein if the player's first two cards are identical with the exception of suit (i.e., a pair), then the pair may be split so that two card hands are created with one card of the pair in each hand. Thus, the player must wager on each of the hands at least the initial wagering or ante amount. Subsequently, a second card and any subsequent successive cards are dealt to each of the separate hands as the player requests and the results of both hands are compared to the dealer's hand, assuming neither the dealer nor either of the player's two hands busts.
In a third option, played immediately after each player has been dealt their first two cards and the dealer has been dealt at least a first card, a player may request “insurance” under the circumstances where the dealer's single face-up card is an ace. In this circumstance, the player is betting that the dealer has blackjack (i.e., a card value total of 21). If the dealer does not have blackjack, then the insurance bet is forfeited and the player plays his/her blackjack hand as if the insurance bet were never made. Note that the player can typically wager an insurance bet of one-half of the amount of his/her initial blackjack wager or ante and if the dealer has blackjack, then the dealer (or the gaming establishment) pays the player double or triple his/her insurance bet.
Further note that options for splitting pairs and doubling down may interact with one another according to certain pre-established gaming establishment rules wherein, for example, a player may double down on one or more of his/her split hands.
Additionally, there are blackjack tournaments having tournament entrants that compete against each other for tournament prizes. In such tournaments each entrant has a fixed initial number of points that can be wagered in a pre-established number of tournament blackjack games to be played. Accordingly, the player having the highest number of points at the end of the tournament wins the tournament. Note that in such tournaments, there may be specific guidelines established at the beginning of the tournament for varying the blackjack gaming rules between tournament games. For example, rules may vary on when a player may split pairs repeatedly during the same blackjack game. Also, double down rules may vary so that, for example, after a splitting of pairs, a player may be allowed to double down on any two cards or, alternatively, an additional wager of less than the initial wager may be acceptable when a player requests to double down.
However, in all known variations of blackjack, players are only allowed to enter a blackjack game at the completion of a previous game and, further, there is a relatively small number of players that can play blackjack at a dealer's station simultaneously. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a system for playing blackjack wherein potentially a very larger number of players can play blackjack simultaneously from a single dealer station and wherein players can commence playing blackjack at their own discretion without waiting for a previous blackjack game to complete.
The present invention is a computerized interactive advertising system (i.e., method and apparatus) for exchanging information regarding goods and/or services between a first population of users (hereinafter also known as “players” or “users”) and a second population of users (hereinafter also known as “sponsors” or “advertisers”). In particular, the sponsors or advertisers may present information related to goods and/or services to the players using the present invention and the players may view this information while, for example, interacting with the present invention for playing a game such as blackjack, craps, roulette, poker, pai gow or the like. Moreover, a player may also interact with the present invention so that the player has the capability for responding to sponsor or advertiser presented questionnaires, as well as for purchasing or viewing sponsor goods and/or services. Thus, the present invention provides an information exchange service within a gaming context for enticing players to view and/or interact with sponsor presentations such as interactive advertisements.
It is also an aspect of the present invention that each player or user is presented with advertisements for products and/or services, wherein it is believed the player will be receptive to the advertisement. That is, the present invention selectively presents advertisements to each player, according to stored characteristics and preferences of the player that the present invention has determined from, for example, player supplied personal information, player responses to questions, and/or analysis of player interactions such as player requests for additional information related an advertisement. Thus, such a selective presentation of advertisements allows a sponsor or advertiser to provide information related to relatively extensive or expensive promotionals (e.g., demonstrations, samples, discounts, trial subscriptions, prizes, bonuses) to players most likely to subsequently purchase the advertised product or service. Consequently, such selectivity can greatly increase the cost effectiveness of advertising, wherein the term, advertising (or advertising presentation), as used herein is understood to include not only product or service presentations that are merely informational, but also more interactive advertising presentations such as promotionals wherein discounts, free samples or a trial usage may be offered.
Moreover, it is an aspect of the present invention that each player may interact with and play a game at a time and pace (i.e., tempo) substantially of the player's choosing. In particular, the player is not bound by a required order or sequence of play involving other players, even though the player may be in competition with other players. In fact, a player may cease play for an extended time while in the midst of a game and subsequently continue the game at the point where the player ceased to play. Thus, if the present invention is easily accessible, then players may interact with the present invention at their leisure.
Accordingly, in a related aspect of the present invention, it is intended that players (more generally, users) are able to interact with the present invention remotely, as for example, via the Internet and/or an interactive cable television network. Thus, using an Internet embodiment as an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, a gaming web site may be provided wherein players may access the interactive gaming capabilities of the present invention and substantially simultaneously also be presented with sponsor or advertiser provided information related to goods and/or services of the sponsor or advertiser (those two terms being used substantially interchangeably to denote e.g., those who provide advertising to users and/or subsidize game playing, product promotionals or network access). Moreover, the sponsor provided information may include, for example, hypertext links (also denoted hyperlinks) that allow players to activate, for example, network transfers for obtaining additional information regarding a sponsor's goods and/or services regardless of the status of any game in which a player may be currently involved at the gaming web site.
It is a further aspect in one embodiment of the present invention that a player is able to commence play of a game at substantially any time the player accesses the present invention. That is, it is not necessary for any previous game being played by other players to be completed for the player to commence play. In other words, games provided by the present invention may be continuously and asynchronously commenced or entered by players.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to require each player to use a distinct identification provided when the player “registers” with the present invention before playing any games so that a network site for the invention may be able to identify each player. Accordingly, it is an aspect of the present invention during registration, that each player provides personal information about him/herself both for gaming identification and for use as selection criteria by sponsors or advertisers for presenting particular presentations. For example, in the case of an Internet embodiment of the present invention, such registering can be performed via the Internet prior to play of any games at a gaming/advertising web site. Thus, players may be required to provide the present invention with information about themselves such as name, address, E-mail address, age, sex, and/or other player characteristics deemed pertinent to one or more sponsors or advertisers. Accordingly, the present invention provides a sponsor or advertiser with the capability to target its presentations substantially only to players or users having selected characteristics as, for example, determined from player information provided when registering with a network site for the present invention.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to have players compete against one another for prizes in one or more gaming tournaments. Using the Internet embodiment of the present invention as illustrative, a gaming/advertising web site for the present invention may partition the population of players into competitive groups wherein each group includes the players for a distinct tournament. Moreover, the present invention may determine a competitive group according to criteria such as: (a) the game(s) to be played in the tournament; (b) a skill level for the players (e.g., as determined by play in a previous tournament(s)); (c) particular player characteristics such as age, area of residence, home ownership, etc.; (d) particular player lifestyle traits such as traits exhibited by exercise enthusiasts or cruise ship enthusiasts; and (e) particular player preferences such as preferences related to jewelry, personal care products or particular sports.
It is a further aspect of the present invention to allow players to play games offered by the present invention without incurring financial risk or charges beyond those that are typical for the network being used in accessing the present invention.
It is a particular aspect of the present invention to provide blackjack and other casino-style games such as craps, roulette, poker, pai gow, or variations thereof, wherein such games may be played by a plurality of players continuously and asynchronously, and wherein each game is likely to be unique from all other games being played concurrently. Furthermore, in a related aspect of the present invention, such games may be automated so as to not require a manual dealer. Also, the present invention may be played, in one embodiment, in a gaming establishment (e.g., casino) using low cost gaming stations at which players may play such games entirely electronically. Alternatively, in another embodiment, the present invention may be used to play such casino style games as blackjack on the Internet. In this later embodiment, a blackjack game controller for the present invention communicates with blackjack players at Internet client nodes via a web site from which the blackjack game controller is accessed. Thus, blackjack players may play blackjack in the privacy of their own homes and at their leisure since the present invention does not require that a particular tempo of a blackjack game be maintained.
Additionally, the present invention utilizes novel varieties in such games, as blackjack, that make the games more enjoyable for users. For example, using variations of blackjack as illustrative, in one novel embodiment wherein the dealer functions are automated by a dealer module, this module can play blackjack with a plurality of players concurrently such that each player appears to be playing exclusively with the dealer module (e.g., “head-to-head”). Moreover, in one blackjack embodiment, each blackjack game is played asynchronously from other concurrent blackjack games with the dealer module. Furthermore, the dealer module may play a different dealer card hand with each player. In particular, the initial one (or two) cards (or card representations) dealt to the dealer for each game are unlikely to be the same for any two blackjack games being player with the dealer module; i.e., the probability of any two concurrently played blackjack games being identical is substantially equal to chance. Accordingly, this variation is particularly worthwhile when players are playing remotely through a network such as the Internet. Alternatively, in a different blackjack variation, the dealer module and each player concurrently playing blackjack with the dealer module may be provided with cards (or card representations) from the beginning of an identical sequence of card representations. Thus, each concurrently playing player receives an identical initial card hand and the dealer is also dealt an identical initial card hand. Subsequently, the card hands within each concurrent game will vary only if players request further cards differently. Accordingly, this variation of blackjack is particularly useful in tournament blackjack played within the confines of a casino, wherein the play of each player in the tournament is synchronized to start and stop within a predetermined interval. Note that this variation of blackjack is enjoyed by tournament players in that the tournament players may consider it a better or fairer way for demonstrating blackjack playing skill.
Other features and benefits of the present invention will become apparent from the detailed description with the accompanying figures contained hereinafter.
In
Referring now to the internal structure of the blackjack game controller 14, a gaming station interface 22 is provided for interfacing with each of the gaming stations 18. In particular, the gaming station interface 22 buffers data signals between the other components included within the blackjack game controller 14 and the gaming stations 18. For example, the gaming station interface 22 may have speed matching buffers in order to adjust for differences in speed between the blackjack game controller 14 and the gaming stations 18. A blackjack driver 26 exchanges data with the gaming station interface 22. The blackjack driver 26 substantially coordinates the operation of the blackjack game controller 14. In particular, the following capabilities are substantially provided by the blackjack driver 26:
In performing the above tasks, the blackjack driver 26 communicates with a blackjack player registration and playing status database 28. The database system 28 maintains in persistent storage information regarding each blackjack player. In particular, the database system 28 maintains:
The blackjack driver 26 communicates with a wager accounting module 30 wherein the wager accounting module provides the following capabilities:
The blackjack driver 26 also communicates with a blackjack player evaluator 34. The blackjack player evaluator 34 receives, from each player (via instantiations of blackjack gaming data objects from the blackjack driver 26), all blackjack player requests except the data from each player indicating an amount to be wagered. Thus, the blackjack player evaluator 34:
The blackjack player evaluator 34 is supplied with data corresponding to blackjack card representations from a card generator module 38. The card generator module 38 generates, for example, an ordered collection or sequence of substantially random card representations and each such card representation is provided to the blackjack player evaluator 34, wherein the blackjack player evaluator responds to each player's valid hit request by outputting the most recent card representation received from the card generator module 38. That is, each player at a gaming station 18 receives a card representation according to when the player's request is received by the blackjack player evaluator 34.
Further, note that the card generator module 38 also supplies the same card representations as supplied to the blackjack player evaluator 34 to a house blackjack playing module 42, wherein this latter module plays the dealer's hand in each blackjack game. Thus, the house blackjack playing module 42 enforces the blackjack gaming rules on behalf of the gaming establishment. In particular, this module determines when and how insurance bets can be made related to the dealer's cards. Note, as with the blackjack player evaluator 34, the house blackjack playing module 42 outputs, when required to provide the dealer's hand with another card representation at a gaming station 18, the most recent card representation received from the card generator module 38. Further note that the house blackjack playing module 42 provides control information to the blackjack driver 26, particularly regarding activation of the blackjack insurance option. This information, in turn, is conveyed to the blackjack player evaluator 34 so that this latter evaluator may activate the insurance option for each player at an active gaming station 18.
A blackjack hand evaluator 46 is also in communication with the blackjack driver 26. The blackjack hand evaluator 46 evaluates each player's hand(s) in comparison to the dealer's blackjack hand for determining the win/loss/tie for each player's hand. Thus, the dealer's hand and the one or more hands played by each player at a gaming station 18 is supplied to the blackjack hand evaluator 46. Subsequently, this evaluator outputs win/loss/tie results to the gaming stations 18 via the blackjack driver 26 and the gaming station interface 22. Further, the blackjack hand evaluator 46 also outputs win/loss/tie results along with the identity of the player playing each hand to the wager accounting module 30 so that wager credits and debits for each player's account may be updated according to the last or most recent blackjack game results.
In
Describing in detail now the touch-sensitive portions of the player input area 204, an activate/enter next game button 220 is provided. This button is used to initially activate the gaming station 18 so that a “request to play” signal is transmitted to the blackjack driver 26. That is, assuming a player activates this button at a gaming station 18, the blackjack driver 26 responds by requesting that the player input his/her identification via, for example, placing an identification card in the card reader 216 and/or a personal identification number via the player input area 204. Additionally, note that the button 220 may be pressed at the end of a blackjack game for indicating that the player wishes to play another blackjack game. Note that in one embodiment of the present invention when consecutive games are played by a player, the player need only press the button 220 to commence a new game. That is, the player's identification need not be entered for each consecutive game played (assuming the button 220 is activated within a predetermined time after the last game has terminated).
The player input area 204 also includes a quit button 224 that a player may press to explicitly indicate the player's desire to terminate any further gaming at the gaming station 18.
Additionally, buttons 228 through 248 provide the player with the capabilities to request the following blackjack gaming requests:
Note that subsequent to requesting a bet via the “BET” button 248, the buttons 252 through 264 are activated so that the player may input various betting amounts. In particular, buttons 252 through 264 provide the player with the option to bet $5.00 (button 252), $25.00 (button 256), $100.00 (button 260) and $500.00 (button 264). Moreover, a sequence of the buttons 252 through 264 may be pressed for obtaining a bet not provided by a single button. For example, to bet $130.00, the player presses consecutively each of the buttons 252, 256 and 260 (in any order) exactly once.
The player input area 204 also includes various confirm and cancel buttons 268 through 276. The accept button 268 allows the user to accept a last input. For example, it is an aspect in the present embodiment of the invention that after each user input, the input is accepted either by the player explicitly pressing the accept button 268 or by allowing a predetermined amount of time to expire after the last player input. The “CANCEL BET” button 272 allows the user to cancel an immediately preceding bet that was input. However, note that if a time limit is exceeded for placing a bet due to, for example, the player pressing the “CANCEL” button 272, then any minimum bet required will be automatically wagered on the player's behalf by the wager accounting module 30. Further, the “CANCEL LAST” button 276 may be used by the player to cancel the immediately preceding wager of one of the dollar amount buttons 252 through 264. Thus, if a player intended to bet $125.00 by pressing first the button 260 followed by the button 256 but instead pressed the button sequence 260 and 264, then the player may press the button 276 for cancelling the $500.00 bet associated with button 264 and subsequently the player presses the button 256 to obtain the desired bet of $125.00. Note further that pressing the “CANCEL LAST” button twice in succession also cancels the entire bet.
A “SPEED OF PLAY” button 280 may be optionally provided on the player input area 204. This button allows the player to specify to the blackjack driver 26, for example, the predetermined amount of time after a player input to wait before each subsequent input is automatically accepted. In one embodiment of the present invention, the “SPEED OF PLAY” button 280 includes active areas at each end of the button, wherein if the user presses the “slower” end of the button 280, then the predetermined time(s) for automatically accepting a player input is lengthened. Alternatively, if the player presses the “faster” end of the button 280, then the predetermined default acceptance time(s) becomes shorter. However, it is important to note that the tempo of the blackjack game is, using the present invention, no longer as important as in typical blackjack gaming situations. That is, since each blackjack player using the present invention is not playing in sequence with other players, there is less concern about speedily playing so as not to delay other players.
Lastly, the player input area 204 includes a “HELP” button 284 for allowing the player to request assistance from, for example, the personnel of the gaming establishment providing the gaming station 18.
Referring now to display area 208, the screen display provided here is but one of a number of contemplated screen layouts for the present invention. In particular, the screen layout illustrated in display area 208 is a representative layout for use in playing tournament blackjack. Thus, when other modes of blackjack are played other than tournament blackjack, then it is within the scope of the present invention to modify the fields represented in the display area 208 according to the player needs for the type of blackjack being played. Further, it is important to note that in one embodiment, the display 208 is in color so that, for example, diamonds and hearts are in red and spades and clubs are in black, and various fields of the display area 208 may be highlighted for focusing a player's attention on the portion of the display providing information most relevant to the player's currently permissible options.
Describing now the fields currently presented in display 208, at the top of the display is the house hand area 288: (a) for providing a representation of the cards that have been dealt to the house; (b) for providing a status of the house hand (i.e. one of: “STND” for standing, “BUSTED”, when the value of the house hand exceeds 21, and “CONTINUING” when the house may take additional hits. That is, this field provides an annotation “house hand:” followed by a representation for at least one card that has been dealt to the house; i.e., an ace of hearts. In the player's hand area 292 of the display area 208, there are five columns providing information related to each blackjack hand the player is currently playing in the blackjack game. The columns provide the following information:
Below the player hand area 292 is the player information area 296 wherein additional blackjack gaming information relating to the player is displayed. In particular, labeled line 300 displays the most recent bet amount that the player has requested along with a tag indicating the status (e.g., “ACCEPT/CANCEL”) of the most recent bet. Note that the status may be: (a) “ACCEPTED” for explicitly or implicitly indicating the acceptance of a displayed wager (via the player pressing the accept button 268 or by default due to a time limit expiring); (b) “CANCELLED” for explicitly indicating the cancellation of the last entered wager (via the player pressing either of the cancel buttons 272 or 276); (c) “REJECTED”, this status being displayed due to the wager accounting module 30 rejecting the player's most recent bet; and (d) “ACCEPT/CANCEL” for indicating that the present invention is waiting a predetermined amount of time for the player to explicitly accept or cancel the most recent bet. Thus, in the example of line 300 in
Additionally, note that line 304 displays the annotation “INSURANCE BET:” together with any insurance amount that has been bet by the player. Accordingly, the dollar amount on line 304 and the notation at the right end of the line pertain, respectively, to the amount that has been bet as insurance, and the status of this bet (i.e., one of “ACCEPTED”, “CANCELLED”, “REJECTED” or “ACCEPT/CANCEL” as in line 300).
In line 312 of the player information area 296, the total amount of funds available by the player for betting is displayed. For example, line 312 of
The lower three lines 320, 324 and 328 of the player information area 296 provide blackjack player information that is particularly useful when playing in a blackjack tournament. Thus, the information in these three lines may not be displayed when the present invention is used by players not in a tournament. In line 320, two fields are provided for displaying playing time information. The leftmost field, annotated by the label “ELAPSED PLAYING TIME:”, displays the total amount of time the player has played blackjack (which in this case is 45 minutes). Alternatively, the rightmost field, annotated by the label “REMAINING PLAYING TIME:”, displays the time remaining in the tournament.
In line 324 an identifier for any tournament associated with the present blackjack game is displayed.
In line 328, up to two additional fields are provided that are useful in tournament blackjack. The leftmost field having an annotation of “GAMES PLAYED:” displays to the player the number of blackjack games he/she has completed within a tournament. Note that in some blackjack tournaments each player is required to complete a certain predetermined number of games within a predetermined allotted time period. For example, a blackjack tournament may require each player to play 50 games within a predetermined interval (such as four days). Relatedly, but optionally, in blackjack gaming contexts where the total number of blackjack games in the tournament is meaningful, the rightmost field of line 328, having the annotation “GAME NUMBER:”, displays to the player the total number of tournament games that have been completed thus far in the tournament. Accordingly, using at least the leftmost annotated field in line 328 and “REMAINING PLAYING TIME:” annotated field of line 320, the player is able to determine the number of remaining games in the tournament that he/she must play.
Further note that other blackjack game values are contemplated by the present invention. For example, a field providing the number of games remaining that a player must play in the tournament may be added (or substituted for) in addition to the current values in the player information area 296.
In a next display 208 lower area, denoted the rules area 336, blackjack house rules are displayed. In particular, the house rules displayed in area 336 allow variations upon the typical blackjack rules that a player is likely to assume if not presented with information to the contrary. Note that by providing these additional rules on the display of gaming stations 18, successive blackjack games may be provided with different house blackjack rules thereby creating an increased interest in each game by the players and requiring additional blackjack playing skills from the players. Note that three house rules are provided in the present display area 336. That is, (a) insurance for the present blackjack game pays 3 to 1 odds (instead of the typical 2 to 1 odds); (b) the player may double down after splitting only once; and (c) the minimum bet is $25.00 for the current game.
Lastly, the display 208 includes a player identification area 342 for identifying the player currently playing blackjack at the gaming station 18. The present player area 342, includes a field having the current player's name (e.g., I. R. SMITH). However, other fields identifying the player are also contemplated by the present invention including, for example, a player identification number such as the number that may be encoded upon a player identification card used in conjunction with the card reader 216 for identifying the player.
Accordingly, describing the web site 308 in more detail, it includes an Internet interface 332 for receiving and supplying communications between the Internet 324 and the remainder of the web site 308. The Internet interface 332, in turn, communicates with World Wide Web server 340: (a) for validating and/or initiating registration of web site users (e.g., blackjack players) at web site 308; and (b) for interpreting Internet requests for routing and/or activating web site 308 modules that can fulfill such requests. Thus, the World Wide Web server 340 may access the database system 28 for determining the registration identity of, for example, a blackjack player. Additionally, upon receiving user registration confirmation regarding an Internet (e.g., World Wide Web) request, the World Wide Web server 340 activates instantiations of modules known as common gateway interface (CGI) scripts, each CGI script 348 instantiation (or, for simplicity, each such instantiation also being referred to as a CGI script 348) being: (a) for interpreting and processing Internet requests according to the semantics of a web site 308 application associated with the CGI script; and (b) for constructing Internet responses from output from the associated application. Thus, there are one or more common gateway interface modules provided wherein each CGI script 348 (instantiation) invokes the blackjack game controller 14 to process a single Internet blackjack request from an Internet client node 318 where a player is playing blackjack, and subsequently the CGI script 348 constructs an appropriate Internet response from the output received from the blackjack game controller 14.
Since the embodiment of the blackjack game controller 14 of
There are also noteworthy distinctions between the gaming stations 18 of
In
Upon receiving a blackjack player request, in step 430 the communication interface 22 queues the request and subsequently transmits the request to the blackjack driver 26. In step 436, a determination is made as to whether the players request is related to a current blackjack game and/or current blackjack tournament. If not, then step 448 is encountered wherein an additional determination is made as to whether the player's request is to enter a new blackjack tournament. If so, then in step 454 the blackjack driver 26 determines a blackjack tournament and enters the player into the tournament. Note that in providing this function, the blackjack player 26 communicates with the wager accounting module 30 to confirm that the player is eligible to enter a new tournament. Thus, the blackjack driver 26 supplies the wager accounting module 30 with at least the player's identification and a specification of the tournament in which the player may be entered. Note that the tournament selection may be provided by the player in some embodiments of the present invention. Alternatively, the blackjack driver 26 may select a tournament for the player using tournament information stored in the database system 28. Assuming that the wager accounting module 30 responds with a confirmation that the player may be entered into the selected tournament, in step 458, the blackjack driver 26 creates a confirmation record identifying the blackjack tournament in which the player is entered. Subsequently, in step 462 the blackjack driver 26 outputs information in the confirmation record to the player at his/her Internet client node 318 (gaming station 18). Thus, in the embodiment of
Following step 462, in step 466, the blackjack driver 26 enters, into the database system 28, information indicating the blackjack tournament in which the player has been entered. Note that the information entered here into the database system 28 is subsequently accessible both by the blackjack driver 26 and the wager accounting module 30 for determining the tournament(s) in which the player has been entered. Following this step, since the player's request has been processed, the flow of control loops back to step 424 to wait for the next player input from a player at an Internet client node 318 or alternatively a gaming station 18.
Returning now to step 448, if the player has not requested to enter a blackjack tournament then step 470 is encountered to process any miscellaneous blackjack player requests not related to a current blackjack game and/or blackjack tournament. For example, a player may request accounting information related to his/her blackjack gaming account. Assuming such requests are processed and responded to in this step, the flow of control again returns to step 424 to wait for a next player input.
Returning now to step 436, if the player request is related to a current blackjack and/or blackjack tournament, then step 476 is encountered wherein the blackjack driver 426 uses the player's identification (ID) provided with the request for retrieving any status information from the database system 28 regarding any current blackjack game and/or blackjack tournament in which the player may be currently involved. Subsequently, in step 480, a determination is made as to whether the player request is to commence a new blackjack game in a current tournament. If so, then in step 484 the blackjack driver 26 requests confirmation from the wager accounting module 30 that the player can commence with a new blackjack game in the current tournament. That is, the wager accounting module 30 determines whether the player has sufficient tournament credits to continue in the tournament. Following this, in step 488, the blackjack driver 26 determines whether a confirmation has been received from the wager accounting module 30. If no such confirmation is provided, then in step 492, the blackjack driver 26 outputs a message to the player at his/her Internet client node 318 (gaming station 18) indicating that no further blackjack games in the current tournament may be played by the player.
Alternatively, if in step 488 the blackjack driver 26 receives confirmation from the wager accounting module 30, then in step 494 the blackjack driver 26 creates a blackjack game record for fulfilling the player's request. Note that in creating the new blackjack game data record, the blackjack driver 26 communicates with the wager accounting module 30 to both debit the player's account for any initial ante corresponding to commencing the new blackjack game and also to output to the blackjack driver 26 data of this transaction for subsequently outputting to the player. Following this step, in step 496, the blackjack driver 26 requests the blackjack player evaluator 34 to provide an initial blackjack game configuration for the new blackjack game. Subsequently, in step 500, the blackjack player evaluator 34 responds with an initial blackjack game configuration, wherein this configuration includes the initial card representation for the player's hand (as shown, for example, in area 292 of
Returning now to step 480, if it is determined here that the player request is not to commence a new blackjack game in a current tournament, then step 520 is encountered wherein a determination is made as to whether the player request is related to a play in a currently active blackjack game. If not, then in step 524 the blackjack game controller 14 processes miscellaneous requests such as, for example, a request for special blackjack rules relating to a current game and/or tournament, the number of players remaining in the current tournament, the player's ranking in the current tournament, and the prizes for winners of the current tournament. Subsequently, assuming such miscellaneous requests are responded to, in step 524, the flow of control for the present flowchart returns to 424 to await a next player input.
Alternatively, if in step 520 the player request is related to a play in a currently active blackjack game, then in step 528 a further determination is made as to whether the player request is for a new card representation. If so, then in step 532, a determination is made as to whether the card request is for the house or for the player. If the card request is from the house, then in step 536 the blackjack driver 26 communicates with the house blackjack playing module 42 for obtaining a new blackjack game configuration for the current blackjack game, wherein the new game configuration includes the most recently output card representation from the card generator module 38 as the next card representation in the house hand for the blackjack game from which the current player's request came. Subsequently, in step 542 the house blackjack playing module 42 outputs blackjack game configuration information indicating the new house hand card representation and any player response(s) that the player may exercise in responding to the new blackjack game configuration.
Upon receiving the house blackjack playing module 42 output, in step 546, the blackjack driver 26 determines whether there is a further player response in the present game by invoking one or both of the blackjack player evaluator 34 and the blackjack hand evaluator 46. If there are additional possible player responses, then in step 550 the blackjack driver 26 outputs a blackjack game configuration to the player at his/her Internet client node 318 (gaming station 18) so that the player may exercise one of his/her available game options. Subsequently, having processed the player's request the flow of control again loops back to step 424 to await a next player input. Alternatively, if in step 546 the blackjack driver 26 determines that there are no further possible player responses, then the current blackjack game is complete and the blackjack driver 26 in step 556 activates the blackjack hand evaluator 46 for evaluating the blackjack game hands so that the blackjack hand evaluator can activate the wager accounting module 30 to update the player's account (according to the results of the blackjack game) in the database system 28. Following this step, in step 560 the wager accounting module 30 outputs to the blackjack driver 26 updated accounting information to be provided to the player. In step 564, the blackjack driver 26 outputs the results of the blackjack game and the players updated account information to the player. Also, note that the blackjack driver 26 updates the database system 28 regarding the completion of the present blackjack game as well as any further status information related to the player and the tournament to which the present blackjack game is associated. Subsequently, having processed the player's request, the flow of control again loops back to step 424 to await a next player input.
Alternatively, if in step 532 it is determined that the player's request is for a new card representation for the player, then in step 568 the blackjack driver 26 activates the blackjack player evaluator 34 for obtaining a new blackjack game configuration for the current blackjack game, wherein the new game configuration includes the most recently output card representation from the card generator module 38 as the next card representation for the player's hand(s). Subsequently, in step 572 the blackjack player evaluator 34 determines the next blackjack play options the player may exercise for the present game and then outputs the new blackjack configuration with these options to the blackjack driver 26. Following this, the steps 546 and subsequent steps are performed as described above.
Returning now to step 528, if the player request is not for a new card representation then step 576 is encountered wherein the blackjack game controller 14 processes other blackjack player game requests such as requests for additional bets, cancellations of bets, a request to stand on a particular player hand, a request to split a pair of card representations, or a request for insurance. Assuming, that such requests as described above are processed, in step 580 the blackjack driver 26 subsequently outputs a new blackjack game configuration to the player according to the processing performed in step 576. Also, note that the blackjack driver 26 updates the database system 28 with information relating to the new blackjack game configuration so that it may be retrieved upon a subsequent player request relating to the present game. Following this step, the flow of control for the present flowchart loops back to step 424 to again wait for another player input.
Continuing now with the remaining plays of blackjack game 610, note that in the fifth time interval the player requests a hit thereby obtaining a card representation having a value of nine and thus obtaining a player's hand value of nineteen. Subsequently, the house takes hits for the next two consecutive card representations having values eight and ten respectively. Thus, the house hand busted when the value of twenty-three was obtained for the house hand.
Blackjack game rows 606 for blackjack games 614 through 626 may be interpreted similarly to the description above for blackjack game 610. Note however that each of these games commence at a different time interval in that each game commences with a different card representation taken as the first hit for the player's hand. That is, the first card representation dealt in each of the blackjack games 610 through 626 is different and further each of the card representations requested corresponding to values of the sequence 604 is different for each blackjack game. Therefore, substantially every blackjack game, even if played concurrently with other blackjack games, will have unique player hands and house hands. Thus, not only can a large number of asynchronous blackjack games be played simultaneously head-to-head with the house, but also there may be a greater degree of confidence by the blackjack players that the house is not manipulating card representations in that blackjack players may substantially determine the timing for substantially all hits in a blackjack game (for both the player hand and the house hand) and thereby reduce any suspicions that the card representations are being manipulated. Moreover, in one embodiment, the players may request the sequence of card representations that were generated during the course of a game.
Note that the present invention also may include other blackjack variations as well. In particular, referring to step 416 (
Additionally, in another blackjack variation, particularly suited for tournament blackjack where each player can be monitored, the players play each play for a blackjack game synchronously as blackjack is typically played with a human dealer in casinos. However, in the present variation, each player is provided with the identical card representations for their initial cards. Subsequently, each player hand and the house (i.e., dealer) hand varies between players only when players play their blackjack hands differently. That is, for each synchronously played blackjack game among a plurality of players, the same sequence of card representations is available to each player and the house blackjack playing module 42 so that, for example, the dealt card representations in each game between one of the players and the house blackjack playing module are identical for players playing the same sequence of plays throughout the game. Accordingly, as one skilled in the art will appreciate, for each blackjack game, it may be necessary for the card generator module 38 to maintain a predetermined sequence (or ordered collection) of card representations throughout the game so that layers playing differently may be dealt an appropriately sequenced card representation. Moreover, it may also be necessary for the house blackjack dealer playing module 42 to provide sufficient control information to the card generator module 38 so that the card generator module can respond with the appropriate card representation from the predetermined sequence.
Another embodiment of the present invention is presented in
To provide (or, match) particular users with particular advertising, data (or user information items) on each user is maintained in the form of a user profile in the user (player) database 28 which is an enhanced version of the blackjack player registration and playing status database 28 of
Alternatively, data related to the advertisers or sponsors may reside in a different database, the advertiser database 612. Accordingly, this database stores demographic profiles which, in one embodiment, have a data structure substantially identical to the user profile data structure. Such demographic profiles may have a variable length section for specifying requested values for user information items that may be provided in (potentially only a relatively small number of) user profiles. In some embodiments, a demographic profile includes a reference to the advertiser's or sponsor's identity, a reference to the advertising to be presented and a variable length section of demographic item pairs, wherein the first component of each pair has the same interpretation as the first component of a user information item pair and the second component of the pair specifies a desired value or range of values that the advertiser or sponsor prefers. Further, note that, in some embodiments, each demographic item pair may have additional information associated with it such as a perceived importance of the demographic item pair to the advertiser or sponsor. Thus, such additional information may be in the form of a normalized scalar value wherein a value of one indicates that the demographic item pair is of highest importance whereas a value of zero indicates that the demographic item is substantially irrelevant to the advertiser or sponsor. Accordingly, regardless of the particular embodiment of the demographic profiles, the users' demographic profiles are used to match (i.e., select) one or more corresponding advertising presentations with a particular target group of users that, presumably, are likely to purchase the product and/or service portrayed in such advertising presentations. Thus, since such advertising presentations may be provided to only users who are likely to be subsequent customers, advertisers and/or sponsors may provide to these users specifically targeted advertising having relatively expensive promotionals such as product or service discounts, free samples, or a trial usage.
Accordingly, to perform the selecting or matching of users with such demographic profiles, for each user, the user profiles stored in the user database 28 are compared with the demographic profiles by the advertising selection engine 618. Note that there are numerous techniques for performing such a comparison for selecting a group of users. In particular, a precise match may be required between each demographic item pair and a corresponding user information item pair so that the second component of the user information item pair is (within) a desired range as specified in the corresponding demographic item pair. Alternatively, various weighting statistical techniques may be used for determining a “similarity” measurement when not all demographic pairs are required to precisely match a demographic profile. In one embodiment, the similarity measurement may be provided by a statistical analysis module that determines the users that most closely match the corresponding demographic profile for an advertising presentation. Thus, in order for a user to be selected, the similarity measurement between the user's profile and a corresponding demographic profile may be required to be above a predetermined threshold. Additionally, note that the advertising selection engine 618 may perform the matching of users with advertising presentations as a background or non-real time process so that, for example, for each user profile in the user database 28, there is a related table identifying the advertising presentations that are candidates for presentation to the corresponding user when, for instance, this user communicates with the game/advertisement web site 308.
Moreover, it is important to note that at least in one embodiment of the present invention, the advertising selection engine 618 may, for a particular demographic profile, periodically re-evaluate user profiles in the user database 28 for reselecting the group of users to which an advertising presentation is to be presented. Thus, users previously selected may be requalified or disqualified and users previously disqualified may be now qualified for selection due to, for example, an enhanced user profile.
Accordingly, the present invention may commence or cease transmitting a category of advertising to a user whose user profile is enhanced with additional information. For example, if a user indicates that he/she is currently considering the purchase of a new car, then advertising for purchasing a car may be transmitted to the user. Alternatively, once the present invention is notified that, for example, a car has been purchased or that no further car advertising is are desired, then a further enhancement of the user's profile may be performed so that no further advertising from the category of car advertising is transmitted to the user.
Note that the present invention provides for flexibly creating, deleting and modifying categories of advertisements by providing techniques for linking demographic item pairs that are similarly related to a category record or object. Thus, at least the following advertising categories may be provided by the present invention: sports categories (e.g., baseball, soccer, hockey, etc.), food related categories (e.g., restaurants, grocery stores, food items), exercise related advertising (e.g., bicycles, in-line skates, skiing), insurance related advertising (e.g., auto insurance, life insurance), political related advertising (e.g., for or against a particular political candidate), and geographical related advertising (e.g., for users living in a particular area such as the Denver metropolitan area). Thus, the advertising selection engine 618 supplies the selected advertising presentations to the HTML display engine 622 for translating this data so that it may subsequently be included in an HTML output to the user by the common gateway interface 348.
More precisely, the selected advertisement data is joined in the HTML display engine 622 (at least in one operation of the present invention) with a token 628 representing, for example, a gaming card (for a current user game) that has been issued by the token generator (module) 38, this generator being an enhanced version of the card generator module 38 of
The common gateway interface or CGI scripts 348 transfer data between the HTML display engine 622 and the World Wide Web server 340 which, as one skilled in the art will understand, may be a plurality of high level executable programs as discussed in the description of CGI scripts 348 for
The present embodiment maintains information on the status of games being played and user responses to advertising in the user database 28. Moreover, additional advertiser specific information (e.g., desired demographic profiles, advertisements, promotionals, and information related to user responses) is provided in the advertiser database 612. Accordingly, as discussed above, the demographic profiles in the advertiser database 612 may include schemes or templates having fields for designating one or more of the attributes (8.1) through (8.11). Moreover, the databases 28 and 612 may maintain records of various types of pertinent statistics such as: (a) the advertising presentations presented to each user; (b) the time, date and number of presentations of a particular advertising presentation; and (c) the detected user responses to the advertising. Thus, this information may provide advertisers or sponsors with enhanced feedback as to the efficacy of their products, services and presentations thereof. Thus, by maintaining data regarding information on: (i) each game played, (ii) the users and (iii) the advertisers, the host computer 10 may maintain accurate records of every type of pertinent statistics such as: all advertisements seen by all users so that the time, date, and number of views are available to the advertiser to confirm and verify, e.g., (9.1) through (9.3) following, and additionally, an advertiser may be able to query the user and advertiser databases 28 and 612 to obtain such feedback as:
Referring now to
Moreover, the present invention may also utilize such demographic profiles to prohibit a user not sufficiently matching such a demographic profile from gaining access to a corresponding promotional. Accordingly, in one embodiment of the present invention, when the user accesses an advertiser page 722, the user's profile (in the user database 28) is compared with the demographic profiles in the advertiser data base 612 for determining any promotionals that can be presented to the user.
Moreover, from the index page 714 the user may be provided with the ability to link into various web sites or web site pages. That is, the user may be provided with the ability to link into another web site or web page at any time a link is made available (typically a hypertext link). Additionally, note that similar links may be accessible by users while playing a game 726. However, these links may generally hyperlink the user to an advertiser page 722 within the game/advertisement web site 308 so that the user may be exposed to further information and/or presented with promotional options for an advertised item. For instance, certain advertising hyperlinks may be integrated into the presentation of plays of a game 726. Accordingly, since an aspect of the present invention is to repeatedly integrate different advertising presentations (and any related hyperlinks) into the play of a game 726, a user may repeatedly be enticed to seek out additional information about different products or services by activating the related hyperlinks. Moreover, it is also an aspect of the present invention that when such hyperlinks provide the user with access to a different web site, that at least a portion of the display of the user's Internet client node 318 maintains a graphical format associated with the game/advertisement web site 308, and that the user may leave and return to the web site 308 without the user being aware of accessing another web site. Moreover, by monitoring user input related to an advertising presentation, the present invention is able to provide feedback to an advertiser as to, for example, the number of times the advertising presentation is accessed by users for such additional information about products or services.
Also note that some advertisements (presented via advertiser pages 722 or as part of a game play presentation) may be interactive with the user wherein the user may perform a transaction such as making a reservation (e.g., an airline or hotel reservation). Further, a user may be given the opportunity to provide positive and negative opinions or responses on, for example, various advertisements, promotionals and other related matters by expressing such responses upon accessing advertisement related information. Thus, it is an aspect of the present invention to be able to conduct “test marketing” in that statistically representative groups of users may be selected for determining:
Accordingly, input response data may be transmitted to the game/advertisement web site 308 and retained for subsequent statistical evaluation. Thus, resulting aggregate statistics can be made available to, for example, advertisers or sponsors, thereby preserving the privacy of the users. In particular, statistics may be made available for:
Additionally, it is an aspect of the present invention that it may also maintain statistics (and/or related information) for:
Accordingly, the following aspects of the present invention are noteworthy:
Referring now substantially to an alternative embodiment of the present invention presented in
Accordingly, a prospective user of the present invention can sign up or register with the game/advertisement web site 308 for reduced Internet service fees by dialing into an Internet service provider 810 with normal serial dialing and after gaining Internet access, subsequently log on to the web site 308 as a user identified by the generic user identifier “NEW.” Each user identified by “NEW” is forced into a connection with an enrollment or registration program so he/she can provide information requested by the present invention that can subsequently be used in determining which advertising to present to this user according to, for example, advertiser preferences. Thus, when registration is completed, the present embodiment of the invention downloads, for example, an ad viewer program 812 and a communications daemon (e.g., ad receiver daemon 806) to the user's Internet client node 318, wherein this daemon allows the game/advertisement web site 308 to download to the user's Internet client node 318 unrequested information such as advertising repeatedly. Accordingly, assuming the daemon 806 is installed, the user may access not only the gaming and advertisement services of the web site 308, but also access substantially the entire Internet through the web site 308 at a reduced cost. Thus, whenever the end user processor 318 connects with the Internet service provider 810, the game/advertisement web site 308 is alerted by the Internet service provider 810 and the DISPLAY ENGINE 622 starts up the downloaded daemon 806 via Internet communications with the user's Internet client node 318. Subsequently, the DISPLAY ENGINE 622 periodically sends selected advertising to the daemon 806. Accordingly, the daemon 806 utilizes the ad viewer program 812 to coordinate the display of the advertising presentation.
Note that various alternative embodiments related to the architecture and functionality of
However, regardless of how the present invention subsidizes Internet access, the game/advertisement controller 604 is notified whenever each subsidized user connects to the Internet or disconnects from the Internet. Additionally, certain reliability features are included in the daemon 806 and ad view program 812 for assuring that advertising is indeed presented to the user. For example, there may be periodic transmissions from each subsidized user's Internet client node 318 to the web site 308 verifying that both the daemon 806 and the ad view program 812 are active. Note that whenever any advertising is received at the user's Internet client node 318, the daemon 806 transfers the advertising to the ad viewer program 812 which, in turn, converts the transmitted information to a displayable format and forces the display of the user's Internet client node 318 to present the advertising unobscured to the user.
An additional and/or alternative description of the embodiment of the present invention shown in
However, upon accessing the host 308, the user accesses basic functionality of the DISPLAY ENGINE 622 that starts up the downloaded daemon 806. The network host 308 periodically queries each active port on the terminal servers (e.g., Internet client node 318) to get the IP addresses and then send a short message to the daemon 806 which is listening in on a specific port. The DISPLAY ENGINE 622 may also disable access by an end user machine 318 after a certain number of failures.
Note that the host 308 periodically sends an item to the downloaded daemon 806 to display. The daemon then displays the message (advertisement) in a window (of the WWW browser 640) on the user's screen.
Additionally, note that in certain contexts the DISPLAY ENGINE 622 may transmit a message to an Internet Service Provider 806 indicating that no further Internet access will be subsidized due to a predetermined number of advertising presentation display failures.
The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. Further, the description is not intended to limit the invention to the form disclosed herein. Consequently, variation and modification commiserate with the above teachings, within the skill and knowledge of the relevant art, are within the scope of the present invention. The embodiment described hereinabove is further intended to explain the best mode presently known of practicing the invention and to enable others skilled in the art to utilize the invention as such, or in other embodiments, and with the various modifications required by their particular application or uses of the invention.
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/502,285 filed Feb. 11, 2000 (now issued U.S. Pat. No. 7,496,943), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/105,401 filed Jun. 26, 1998 (now issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,183,366), which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/759,895 filed Dec. 3, 1996 (now issued U.S. Pat. No. 5,823,879), which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/010,703 filed on Jan. 26, 1996, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/010,361 filed on Jan. 19, 1996. All of the above applications are hereby fully incorporated by reference herein.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Number | Date | Country | |
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| Parent | 09502285 | Feb 2000 | US |
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