Patent Grant
11148039
This invention generally relates to games and gaming devices, and more specifically, to improved pai gow poker games, devices and systems with preselected or commission-free structures for one or more gaming establishments to provide 20 improved earnings and speed of play of the games while enhancing players' entertainment experience.
Pai gow is an Asian game based on the use of tiles arranged by each player into a two-tile high side and a two-tile low side, looking for higher ranking on each side of the two sides. The two-sided hand configuration has since been adapted to poker to create the game of pai gow poker.
Pai gow poker uses a 53-card deck consisting of a standard 52-card deck plus a joker. The joker card used in standard pai gow poker is a “bug” card, as opposed to a wild card, meaning that it can only act as a fill-in card to complete a straight, a flush or a straight flush, or otherwise acts as the fifth ace when not used in a straight, a flush or a straight flush. However, in some localities, such as Southern California, a version of pai gow poker using a completely wild joker card is prevalent.
Players are dealt a seven-card hand that they arrange into a “short” side comprising two playing cards and a “long” side comprising five playing cards. The rules of standard poker define the ranking of hands. In yet another rule, the long side must have a higher poker ranking than the short side. If a player disobeys this rule, the player's hand is considered to be a foul, leading to the forfeiture of any wager. Typically, a gaming establishment has a set of rules mandating how its dealers must arrange their pai gow poker hands, known as the “house way.”
The player's hand faces the dealer's hand. Where the players elect to bank against one another and, thus, finance the action against one another, the player's hand faces the banker's hand. In order to win, a player must have a short side and a long side that both beat the ranking of the banker's short side and long side (for purposes of simplicity, the discussion mostly assumes the banker is a dealer acting on behalf of a gaming establishment, also referred to here as the “house”). If the ranking of one of the player's two sides is identical to the ranking of the banker's corresponding side, an occurrence known as a “copy,” the house wins if the other side of the house's hand has a higher ranking than that of the player's corresponding side. If the player has just one side of higher ranking than the banker's corresponding side, an occurrence known as a “push,” then neither the house nor the player win.
When played as per the rules described above, pal gow poker is close to being a 50/50 game of chance. For this reason, casinos must charge a commission, generally 5%, against player wins in order to create a house edge covering their costs of operation (where a player is the banker, a 5% commission is generally charged, against all player net winnings). The need to charge a commission in order to have an adequate house edge is naturally a drawback to the game of pai gow poker. It makes the game appear more overtly unfavorable to players, resulting in player dissatisfaction and avoidance of the game by potential players. Moreover, the time lost in calculating commissions is taken away from play, resulting in loss of revenue to casinos who, in principle, experience increased revenue from increased play. Also, the need for dealers to stop play in order to calculate commissions distracts them, resulting in increased dealer errors during play, thus reducing casino yields. Finally, the need to calculate commissions inevitably results in dealer miscalculations. To the extent such dealer miscalculations are in favor of players, the house loses revenue directly. To the extent such dealer miscalculations are in favor of the house, they risk provoking player dissatisfaction and mistrust. The prior art fails to disclose a pai gow poker game overcoming the need for a gaming establishment to charge the standard house commission on player winnings that pays even money on player wins.
Another problem endemic to pai gow poker is the relatively slow pace of the game. Since many pai gow poker hands are pushes where neither side wins, it will be appreciated that a pai gow poker game may go on for a long time without any exchange of money (action) occurring. From a gaming establishment's standpoint, such time equates to lost revenue, and it would be generally desirable to increase the speed of play.
In view of the foregoing, some gaming establishments offer altered pai gow games with altered proposition bets designed to boost casino earnings. The following disclosures comprise some of these pai gow poker game variations.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,424 to Evers et al. discloses a pai gow poker game method and device (machine version). Though Evers et al. alter standard pai gow poker rules to make the game more stimulating for players, for example, by providing increased jackpots, they do not improve the game by eliminating the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,453 to Srichayaporn discloses a method and apparatus for playing a high/low poker game in certain gaming jurisdictions, such as tribal reservations, where “dealer bank” games are not allowed. Srichayaporn seeks to overcome this problem, but does not disclose a method of play directed to enabling the elimination of standard house commissions on player winnings.
Leone et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,078 B1, disclose a method for playing an improved version of pai gow poker which alters the rules by allowing a player to play against the house even when another player is acting as the banker. Leone et al. do nothing, however, to enable the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,302 B1 to Boylan et al. discloses a modified pai gow poker game using tie-breaker cards to overcome pushes. However, Boylan et al. do nothing to enable the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,631,906 B1 to Timpano discloses a supplemental wager pai gow poker game that extends wagers to each of the short and long sides of players' hands, but fails to enable the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,289 B1 to Feola discloses a pai gow poker game of chance using a random number generator to determine who receives the first hand of a game, and offering a side bet (proposition bet) regarding who gets that first hand. U.S. Pat. No. 6,793,220 B1 to Feola discloses a pal gow poker game of chance with bonuses (different proposition bets) on partial hands. Both of these patents to Feola seek to increase interest in pai gow poker play, but neither invention enables the elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0099996 to Webb claims to provide for a version of “no commission” pai gow poker. However, in reality, Webb utilizes a commission structure by altering payouts to less than even money to take the place of a formal commission charge. This approach to “elimination” of the standard house commission on player winnings is entirely dissimilar to the approach of the instant disclosure, which relies on a push mechanism as explained in detail below.
It can thus be seen that there is a need for an improved pai gow poker game enabling gaming establishments to eliminate the standard house commission on player winnings while maintaining their house edge, along with methods of play, tangible aids to foster efficient and enjoyable play of the game, and embodiments in gaming machines, play over computer networks and tournament play.
The current disclosure provides an improved, non-commission pai gow poker game (the “Game”) that effectively enables a gaming establishment to overcome the need to charge the standard house commission on player winnings in order to maintain an acceptable house edge. As shown in detail below, this is accomplished by altering the rules of traditional pai gow poker to convert specified hand combinations that would otherwise be treated as player wins, and treating them instead as pushes. The push mechanism may be set at different levels (i.e., constraint conditions/rule changes) providing different improvements in the house edge, and may be combined with a mathematically-proven approach to superior house ways to increase the number of copies inuring to the benefit or the house. The invention accomplishes the elimination of the need to charge a standard house commission in a manner that is minimally intrusive to play and player expectations, because the rule changes used to effect the push mechanism were carefully selected by the inventor based on their statistical rarity, yet adequacy to maintain the house edge in a non-commission environment. In all cases, the Game pays even money (i.e., the full amount wagered) on player winnings. This is in contrast, for example, to the Webb disclosure cited above. The invention further accomplishes its purpose by increasing the speed of play, since the pushes fostered by the recommended rule changes come in lieu of win/lose rounds of play that simply cancel each other out, but which must be accounted by the dealer.
The current disclosure provides for the Game in formats suitable for play both in gaming jurisdictions where the standard bug joker is used, as well as where the fully wild joker is used; where a player is the banker; where the Game is offered in a machine embodiment; where the Game is offered over a computer network; and where the Game is offered for tournament play. The current disclosure further provides for instructional aids, and for a mechanical wheel device enabling dealers to more effectively and efficiently implement the methods of the Game or other playing card-based casino table games during live play.
The foregoing and other articles, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, as illustrated m the accompanying drawings. The various features may be utilized or claimed alone or in any combination.
In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a more thorough description of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known features have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the invention.
In the Summary above, the Description of the Invention, and the Claims and Abstract below, reference may be made to particular features (including method steps) of the invention. It is to be understood that this disclosure includes possible combinations of such particular features. For example, where a particular feature is disclosed in the context of a particular aspect or embodiment of the invention, or a particular claim, that feature may also be used, to the extent possible, in combination with and/or in the context of other particular aspects and embodiments of the invention, and in the invention generally.
The term “comprises” and grammatical equivalents thereof are used herein to mean that other components, ingredients, steps, etc. are optionally present. For example, an article “comprising” (or “which comprises”) components A, B and C can consist of (i.e., contain only) components A, B and C, or can contain not only components A, B and C, but also one or more other components. Where reference is made herein to a method comprising two or more defined steps, the defined steps can be carried out in any order or simultaneously (except where the context excludes that possibility), and the method can include one or more other steps which are carried out before any of the defined steps, between two or the defined steps, or after ail the defined steps (except where the context excludes that possibility).
The term “at least” followed by a number or the indefinite article “a” (meaning “one”) is used herein to denote the start of a range beginning with that number (which may be a range having an upper limit or no upper limit, depending on the variable being defined). For example “at least one” or “at least a” means 1 or more than 1. The term “at most” followed by a number is used herein to denote the end of a range ending with that number (which may be a range having 1 or 0 as its lower limit or a range having no lower limit, depending upon the variable, being defined). For example, “at most 4” means 4 or fewer than 4, and “at most 40%” means 40% or less than 40%. If, in this disclosure, a range is given as “(a first number) to (a second number)” or “(a first number)-(a second number),” this means a range whose lower limit is the first number and whose upper limit is the second number. For example, 0-10 mm means a range whose lower limit is 0 mm, and whose upper limit is 10 mm.
The term “at least” as denoted herein means one or more, while the term a “plurality” means two or more.
The term “or” is used herein as a conjunction used to link alternatives in a series of alternatives. The term “and/or” is used herein as a conjunction meaning that either or both of two options may be valid.
The term “and” is used herein as a conjunction to indicate an additional thing situation or fact.
When used in the appended claims, the term “comprising at least one of A and B” as used herein (depending on the context of the specification) may mean: comprising either one of A or of B (and more), or comprising both of A and of B (and more). As is understood in the patent art, “comprising A” means “A and more,” while “comprising B” means “B and more.” Thus if A is excluded according to the context of the specification in the phrase “comprising at least one of A and B,” then A cannot be part of the “and more” and similarly for B if B is excluded according to the context of the specification.
Technical Terminology
The following technical terms which are commonly understood by a person skilled in the art may be used in this disclosure regarding pal gow poker:
Designations of playing cards: In the context of the current disclosure, when used to describe a playing card's rank without regard to the suit of the praying card, A=ace, K=king, Q=queen, J=jack, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2=the number card indicated by the number, and x=a low value card whose rank is immaterial to the hand illustrated. Further, a joker playing card may be designated using the symbol * as a wild card within the game's established usage for that wild card. As explained above, pai gow poker may be played with the wild card acting as a bug card or, alternatively, as a completely wild card. The wild card may have a value designated by a player receiving the wild card within the constraints of applicable playing conventions.
Ranking order of pai gow poker hands: The following lists the ranking order of five-card long sides, from highest to lowest, generally used by casinos in the United States:
It is understood that when the designation given above indicates “three-of-a-kind,” then the remaining cards may also make up high cards (called “kicker cards”) that are not part of the three-of-a-kind it may thus be seen that there are multiple ways to arrange the playing cards on the long side of a pal gow poker hand according to the ranking list above (see also “Designation of Playing Cards” above regarding use of a joker).
When the long side of the pai gow poker hand comprises fewer than five playing cards, certain of the designated poker elements may be reduced to a lower set of cards. Thus, in a four-card long side, four aces may have the highest ranking followed by a royal flush (A, K, Q, J of same suit), and there may be no full house, and sc on. In a three-card long hand, a straight flush or a royal flush (A, K, Q of same suit) may have the highest ranking, and there may be no full house, no two-pair hands, and so on. As understood in the art, any pai gow poker hand devoid of the designations 1 to 11 listed above would be considered to have no poker elements.
Main bet, or the bet on the hand: The main wager on the play of the hand against the dealer or banker.
Proposition bet: Any side bet included in the game apart from the main bet. Proposition bets include bonus bets, insurance/protection bets and dealer push (“dragon”) bets.
Bonus bet: A separate bet that the hand dealt will contain a poker element of three-of-a-kind or stronger. Typically, a bonus bet may pay off at various rates, depending on the strength of the poker element, generally 2:1 for a straight, up to 5000:1 for a natural seven-card straight flush. For example, currently, the bonus bet amount in a USA-based gaming establishment may range from $1 to $25, although it would be understood that this could be varied.
Insurance bet or protection bet: A bet that the player will receive a dealt hand that has no poker elements in it aside from high card singletons. This bet serves to give-some return to a player who was dealt a poor hand.
Dealer push (“dragon”) bet: A bet that the dealer will push the main bet under the rules of the game as it is being played.
Layout or felt: A cloth covering of a gaming table, which reveals the betting spaces and card placements that are specific to a particular game to be played, so that dealers and players can visibly be on the “same game program” as they play that specific game. Without limiting the disclosure, the layout or felt may comprise a game's trademark, name of an issuing organization (in other words the trademark holder) and location, and one or more utility patent numbers, design patent numbers or pending patent application numbers for all proprietary table games offered on the felt. Further, the layout may have some general instructions such as “Bonus Bet,” “Insurance Bet,” and “Main Bets Push On Dealer's Jack-High Or Less,” etc. The layout may further comprise a gaming license number for a specific state's gaming jurisdiction.
Player banking: Players may “bank” certain hands against other players. A player electing to bank is asked to finance the wins and losses of his hand played directly against other players.
Pai gow hand: A hand that lacks any poker element of strength other than the value of individual singleton cards.
1. Methods of Playing Pai Gow Poker Games
A. Current State of the Art with Respect to House Edge in Pai Gow Poker
Currently, the house edge available from casino pai gow poker games derives from two sources: (1) the fact that copies are won by the house; and (2) the standard house commission of 5% on player winnings.
In regard to copies, using a standard house way, they occur with a frequency of about once in every 40 hands. This amounts to a 2.5% occurrence ratio, with a theoretical net yield of 1.25% (because pai gow poker has a two-sided hand, both of which must prevail (copy on one side plus a higher rank on the other side) in order for the house to win).
Thus, the rule that the house wins copies theoretically contributes up to 1.25% to the house edge.
In regard to the standard house commission of 5% on player winnings, only player wins are commissionable. Players win with a frequency of about 32%, once tied hands and losing hands are factored out. This makes the actual yield or the commission only about 1.6% on overall play.
Combining the house edge on copies with the house edge on commissions, they add up to about 2.85%. Though apparently deemed adequate by the industry, the house edge is actually smaller than would be suggested by the 2.85% figure. It may be shown that using current house ways, dealers misplay about one hand per every 70 to 125 hands of a pai gow poker game. Using an average figure of one hand per every 80 hands misplayed, then when facing competent players who do not make playing errors, the cost to the house edge may be as much as about 1.25%, resulting in an overall house edge of only 1.6% (2.85% minus 1.25%). Since players also perform at varying playing strength levels, it may be fair to say that the typical house edge lies within a range of 1.8% to 2.5%, probably about 2.2%.
Accordingly, to be effective, the invention disclosed herein must maintain a house edge of about 2.2% or better after elimination of the standard house commission on player winnings.
B. Fostering Copies to Provide Additional House Edge
The inventor has determined that specific short side copies occur more frequently than others in pal gow poker. These are the two-card sides of A-K, A-Q, A-J, K-Q, and K-J. This occurs because out of the seven cards dealt to each position, players tend to select out the best available two cards for the short side to maximize the possibility of winning that side. Since poker rules rank pairs higher than any combination of two singletons, existing house ways do not account for the strength of high singletons on the short side. For example, they encourage excessive splitting of 2-pair hands in order to place a pair on the short side. This practice weakens the long side and may prevent winning the hand overall. Significantly, this flawed strategy reduces the chance of a copy on the short side, because the players, for their part, tend to arrange high singletons on the short side, as noted above. While a pair on the short side might have outranked these nigh singletons, since removal of the pair weakens the long side down to a one-pair side, the house would have been better off (and is better off on average) fostering a copy on the short side while holding a stronger long side.
The inventor arrived at this conclusion by observing the frequency at which high singletons copy on the short side.
Rather than take into account the standard winning rate of high singleton cards, the inventor added a strength factor based on how frequently these high singletons copy. For example, using information in the public domain, it may be observed that the A-K combination has a winning rate on the short side of 64.6%. Rather than derive a house way based on just this winning rate, as current house ways do, the inventor astutely took into account the 7.2% rate at which the combination copies on the short side as provided in Table j above (64.6%×1.072) to arrive at a truer assessment of winning rate for the A-K combination of 69.3% on the short side. Such truer assessments were used by the inventor to create new types of house ways superior to standard house ways. To illustrate the great benefit this novel disclosure provides, it may be observed that the combinations of high singletons set forth in Table 1 above occur 26.4% of the time in pai gow poker play, making this advantage very significant.
Table 2 sets forth these truer strength assessments comprising the winning rates of the following combinations of.
The fruit of the inventor's conception, research and development is the creation of new types of house ways defined by these qualities:
A. Two-pair handling—Whenever the dealer is dealt a hand containing two pairs, be categorizes the three singleton cards of the hand into one of the four possible categories:
In a subsequent step, the dealer proceeds as follows for each of the above categories:
B. Straight or flush handling—Whenever the dealer is dealt a hand containing a straight or a flush together with two pairs, and there is a combination of A-J or stronger for the short side after accounting for the straight or flush, the dealer does not play the hand as a two-pair hand. Whenever the dealer is dealt a hand containing a straight or a flush together with two pairs, and the two pairs are 7's or lower, then the dealer does not play the hand as a two-pair hand.
The superiority of house ways fostering copies as per the current disclosure is shown in a comparison of the treatment of an illustrative 7-card hand under existing house ways versus the new types of house way of the current disclosure:
The foregoing table makes clear that net wins are increased using the house ways of the current disclosure, and such is mathematically provable. Moreover, the table maxes clear that using existing house ways, there is a greater number of win/loss transactions that simply cancel each other out and are, in effect, wasted time in return for some commissionable wins. On balance, however, the marginal benefit of some commissionable wins is offset by the increased number of net wins under the current disclosure together with the improvement to speed of play, which contribute to casino revenues overall and player satisfaction.
C. Pai Gow Push Mechanism
To compensate for elimination of a standard house commission on player winnings, the inventor altered the rules of pai gow poker to provide for a mechanism whereby the house obtains an edge by declaring a tie (“push”) on specified hands that it would have otherwise lost. The inventor calls this the pai gow push mechanism (“push mechanism”). The push mechanism works as follows.
The push mechanism looks only to the dealer's hand to determine whether the main bets will push under the mechanism. If the dealer is dealt a pai gow hand of a specific level (e.g., queen-high, jack-high, etc. depending upon the version of the Game being played), all main bets push. Though the push mechanism causes players to tie main bets they might have otherwise won, player dissatisfaction is minimized by the statistical rarity of the pai gow hand levels recommended in the instant disclosure.
Pai gow high card hands exist in only six levels. These levels are 9-high pai gow up to ace-high pai gow. The ranges for these pai gow hands are set forth in Table 4 below (table values are applicable only if there is no straight or flush within the 7-card hand):
Different levels of push mechanisms, e.g., ace-high, king-high, etc., provide different levels of house edge, as may be shown mathematically. Ace-high pai gow hands, including all lower pai gow hands, occur 16.1% of the time with a percentage of dealer losing hands of about 75% and a resulting house edge of about 12% using a bug joker. With a wild joker, and where no joker-based pai gow hands can occur, the ace-high frequency drops to 15.1%, with a resulting house edge of about 11.3%.
King-high pai gow hands, including all lower pai gow hands, occur 6.7% of the time, with a percentage of dealer losing hands of about 87% and a resulting house edge of about 5.8% regardless whether a bug joker or wild joker is used.
Queen-high pal gow hands, including all lower pai gow hands, occur 2.6% of the time, with a percentage of dealer losing hands of about 93% and a resulting house edge of about 2.4% regardless whether a bug joker or wild joker is used.
Jack-high pai gow hands, including all lower pai gow hands, occur 0.8% of the time, with a percentage of dealer losing hands of about 97% and a resulting house edge of about 0.8% regardless whether a bug joker or wild joker is used.
Ten-high pai gow hands, including all lower pai gow hands, occur 0.2% of the time, with a percentage of dealer losing hands of about 98% and a resulting house edge of about 0.2% regardless whether a bug joker or wild joker is used.
Nine-high pai gow hands occur 0.02% of the time with a percentage of dealer losing hands of about 99% and a resulting house edge of about 0.02%, regardless whether a bug joker or wild joker is used.
Preferred embodiments of the Game as it incorporates the push mechanism are presented by way of example in the samples of derived house rule sets in Section E below. It may be readily appreciated that the push mechanism of the instant disclosure may be used to similar advantage in connection with other versions of card-based pai gow poker where the number of cards dealt to each position varies from five cards to eight cards (in contrast to the 7-card version described up to this point). For example, in an 8-card version, the dealer pushes when dealt 8-card pai gow hands of a desired level such as king-high or queen-high, as described above. Similarly, in a 5-card version, the dealer pushes when dealt 5-card pai gow hands of a desired level such as queen-high, as described above.
D. Player Banking Alternative
In cases where a player might wish to bank a deal, as may be offered in some gaming establishments, a 5% commission would still be charged by the gaming establishment against all player wins according to this disclosed version of the Game. Thus, if player banking is permitted by the gaming establishment, the player banker could play head-on against fellow table players, and thus cover their main bet wagers as the player banker, instead of the gaming establishment's covering the main bet wagers. This situation arises because the gaming establishment is not banking (or covering) the players' bets when the players play against each other, yet it still has to maintain a house edge mechanism under player-banking conditions in order to cover the gaming establishment's overhead costs. It should further be noted that, as a standard convention, if proposition bets are offered and are played by the players, the gaming establishment would cover (take or pay out) these bets in all cases in this version of the Game. Thus, as described, the banking player would only cover (or pay off wagers acting as the bank) the action (wager settlements) on the main bets against fellow players of the Game.
E. Derived House Rule Sets
Without limiting the disclosure and merely for illustrative purposes, the inventor shows four exemplary house ways (house rule sets) of the Game below. These house rule sets have been derived from the method of the instant disclosure to foster copies and utilize a push mechanism to improve the house edge in lieu of commission. It may be readily appreciated that these house rule sets are not the only possible house rule sets embodying the method of the instant disclosure, which is more broadly defined in Sections 3 and C above.
These house rule sets may be used: to set hands for table play of the Game; in software for the configuration of wagering and non-wagering devices, personal mobile telephones, computers and gaming boxes as are known in the art; in media suitable for transferring software incorporating the Game as is understood in the art; in internet or intranet service for-gaming or non-gaming purposes; and in public media, such as (but not limited to) television broadcasts. The house rule sets disclosed herein, and others contemplated by this disclosure, may be printed on instruction cards for use as reference by a gaming establishment's dealer in connection with the table game version of the Game, or otherwise displayed to assist dealers in other media, for example, on an LCD-type screen. Such house rule sets may also be shared by a gaming establishment with players, whether or not in connection with them acting as bankers, as desired.
Table 5 below illustrates an exemplary instruction sheet for the Game where the joker is used as a bug card:
Table 6 below illustrates an exemplary Instruction sheet for the Game where the joker is used as a bug card:
Table 7 below illustrates an exemplary instruction sheet for the Game where the joker is used as a bug card:
Table 8 below illustrates an exemplary Instruction sheet for the Game where the joker is completely wild:
Step 1006 poses the question: is the dealer's hand a one-pair hand? If so, the hand is arranged and the dealer's pair goes into the long side and the dealer's next two cards go into the short side as set forth in step 1006a, resulting in the dealer standing on this arrangement of cards (end 1016) to be compared against the other players' hand arrangements.
If the answer to the question of step 1006 is no, then step 1008 asks whether there are two pairs in the dealer's hand. If there are two pairs, the dealer is directed to step 1008a, which directs the dealer to
Step 1018 asks whether the dealer's hand has a straight and/or a flush. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1018a. If the flush and/or straight contain two pairs, then the dealer is instructed to go to
If the answer to step 1018 is no, then the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1020, asking if the hand has a royal flush or straight flush. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1020a. Step 1020a instructs the dealer to simply treat the hand as a regular straight and/or flush, as in step 1018a. 1f the answer is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1022, asking whether the hand contains a full house. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1022a. Step 1022a asks if the full house also has a straight and/or a flush with it. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1022b. Step 1022b directs the dealer to handle the hand as a straight and/or flush with full house by proceeding to
If the answer to step 1022 is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1024, asking whether the hand is a four-of-a-kind. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1024a, asking whether the hand contains a four-of-a-kind aces or kings with an extra pair. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1024b, asking whether the pair is a pair of 2's or 3's. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1024d. Step 1024d instructs the dealer to split off a pair of aces or kings for the short side, playing two pairs on the long side.
If the answer to step 1024b is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1024e. Step 1024e instructs the dealer to play the four-of-a-kind on the long side if the answer to step 1024a is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1024c for the four-of-a-kind procedure of
If the dealer was directed to
If the answer to step 1038 is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1040, asking whether the singletons are K-Q. If the answer is yes, the dealer proceeds to step 1040a. Step 1040a instructs the dealer to split all jacks and higher, 10's with 4's or higher, and 8's with 5's or higher. The dealer keeps all other two-pairs together on the long side and K-Q top on the short side. If the answer to step 1040 is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1042. Step 1042 asks whether the singletons are K-J. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1042a, where he will split all jacks and higher, 10's with 3's or better, 9's with 4's or better, and 8's with 5's or better. If the answer is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1044.
Step 1044 asks whether singletons are K-x. If the answer is yes, the dealer is instructed to split ail 9's or higher, 8's with 3's or higher, and 7's with 4's or higher. If the answer to step 1044 is no, the dealer is instructed to proceed to step 1046, asking whether singletons are Q, J or less. If the answer is yes, and it can only be yes at this point, the dealer is instructed to split all 7's and higher, and splits 6's with 4's or 5's. The dealer keeps all lower two pairs together in the long side.
F. Novel Proposition Bets
i. Dynasty Bonus Bet
A novel bonus bet is disclosed, which for convenience is referred to herein as the “Dynasty Bonus Bet.” The Dynasty Bonus Bet is a wager that allows a player to bet that his 7-card hand will contain a three-of-a-kind (labeled as “Trips” in the table below) or higher. If the player is not dealt a 7-card hand containing a three-of-a-kind or higher, he loses the bet. If the player is dealt a 7-card hand containing a three-of-a-kind or higher, he is paid according to Table 5 below. The Dynasty Bonus Bet may include an “Envy Bonus Feature” whereby any player betting a predetermined amount, such as $5, receives a payout whenever another player participating in the same Game obtains a four-of-a-kind or higher.
The Dynasty Bonus Bet is independent of the main bet, in other words, the player can win or lose the Dynasty Bonus Bet without regard to whether the player won or lost the main bet. A novel element of the Dynasty Bonus Bet is that, it pays 120:1 on an ace through 5 natural straight flush (natural, meaning, without the use of a joker). A further novel element of the Dynasty Bonus Bet is that it pays out 1,000:1 on a royal flush when the hand additionally contains a natural A-Q of same suit for the short side. Yet a further novel element of the Dynasty Bonus Bet is that, it pays out 2,000:1 on an ace through 5 natural straight flush, without the use of a joker, and the hand additionally contains a natural A-Q of same suit for the short side.
ii. Pai Gow Protection Bet
A novel protection bet is disclosed, which for convenience is referred to herein as the “Bar Gow Protection Bet.” The Pai Gow Protection Bet is a wager that allows a player to bet that his 7-card hand will contain no poker-elements aside from high-card singletons or that it will contain an A-5 natural straight flush. If the player is not dealt such a 7-card hand, he loses the bet. If the player is dealt such a 7-card hand, he is paid according to Table 10 below.
The Pai Gow Protection Bet is independent of the main bet, in other words, the player can win or lose the Pai Gow Protection Bet without regard to whether the player wins or loses the main bet. A novel element of the Pai Gow Protection Bet is that it pays 100:1 on an ace through 5 natural straight flush. A further novel element of the Pai Gow Protection Bet is that it pays out an additional bonus based on the rank of the higher “kicker” card (meaning the highest card outside of the ace through 5 natural straight flush) as set forth below in Table 10:
In another embodiment, the Pai Gow Protection Bet is the same as above, except that the ace through 5 natural straight flush pays out 120:1 regardless of the kicker card.
iii. Queen's Dragon Bet
A novel dealer push bet is disclosed, which for convenience is referred to herein as the “Queen's Dragon Bet.” The Queen's Dragon Bet is a wager that allows a player to bet that the dealer will push all main bets on a dealer's queen-high pai gow hand (for versions of the Game that push the main bet on a dealer's queen-high pai gow hand). If the dealer pushes the main bet on a queen-high pai gow hand, the player wins the bet. If the dealer does not push the main bet on a queen-high pai gow hand, the player loses the bet. A novel element of the Queen's Dragon Bet is that it pays 45:1 on a dealer's queen-high pai gow hand.
iv. Jack's Dragon Bet
A novel dealer push bet is disclosed, which for convenience is referred to herein as the “Jack's dragon Bet.” The Jack's Dragon Bet is a wager that allows a player to bet that the dealer will push all main bets on a dealer's jack-high or lower pai gow hand (for versions of the Game that push the main bet on a dealer's jack-high or lower pai gow hand). If the dealer pushes the main bet on a jack-high or lower pai gow hand, the player wins the bet. If the dealer does not push the main bet on a jack-high or lower pai gow hand, the player loses the bet. A novel element of the Jack's Dragon Bet is that it pays 100:1 on a dealer's jack-high or lower pai gow hand.
In a preferred embodiment, the Game includes one or more of the above-described proposition bets. However, it may be understood that none of the proposition bets are necessary to the Game, and should not be read as limiting the disclosure in any way.
2. Table Layouts
According to
Referring further to
Again, with reference to
Referring again to
In yet another aspect of the layout 100, another aid to the dealer may include a chip rack (or chip holder, token rack or token holder) 36 (shown in
Referring now to
Without limiting the disclosure,
In a further aspect of the shuffler verifier 400, the tracking module 42b may be in communication with one or more input/output modules 58 to permit the dealer to verify that a legitimate shuffling operation had been made. A playing card shuffling operation that is illegitimate may be voided as may be posted on a display device (not shown in
In yet another aspect, the CPU (central processing unit) 50a of the server 50 may be coupled to memory 50b comprising internal dynamic random access and/or internal flash memory (termed “bios” and other memory chips with relatively “static or fixed memory” components known as “firmware” or having had other similar designations) as understood in the art that allows the server to carry out increasingly complex computing tasks. As depicted in
Without limiting the disclosure, in some gaming jurisdictions and gaming establishments, it may be possible that the wagering chips (see the chip rack 36 having wagering chips or “tokens”) that may comprise “smart circuitry” coupled to a region located proximate to one or more player locations and the dealer location 10. In this manner, a gaming establishment may account for ail wagering chips using other aspects of the server 50 based on technologies such as radio frequency identification devices (RFID) (not shown) and the like as is known in the art. Furthermore, other peripheral devices such as magnetic strip readers, bar code readers, optical character readers, radiofrequency device readers and the like may be coupled to the server 50 to provide marketing information to a gaming establishment so that the gaming establishment may follow up with one or more players when the player uses the gaming establishment's recognized player identification device. Currently, m many gaming establishments such player identification devices often have the appearance of a credit card and may provide the player with various rewards and compensations to encourage game play with the gaming establishment. Naturally, the identification devices may be usable in one or more gaming establishments depending on the network of gaining establishments participating in marketing programs offered by the network of gaming establishments as is known in the art.
3. Mechanical Devices to Implement a Desired House Way Setting
Referring further to
Of course, in other aspects of the disclosure, it is understood that the mechanical device 60 could be configured as two separate mechanical devices 60a, 60b (not shown) as desired. Thus, each of the mechanical devices 60a, 60b would have an overlay member and a base member together with a fastener associated with specific playing card arrangements shown for each respective mechanical device.
Naturally, a second side or opposite side or back side 62b (not shown) of the overlay member 62 may have any desired features (not described or shown herein). As shown in
In operation, the user first refers to the ring segment window 82a, 82b, 82c that corresponds to his hand type, e.g., “Two Pairs,” “Full House” or “Four-of-a-Kind.” The user then rotates the overlay segment 62 to align this window to the description of the two remaining singleton cards comprising the user's short side, which descriptions are displayed on the periphery of the base member 64, side 64a. This will cause the window 82a, 82b or 82c, as the case may be, to display a data field 116b, 116c or 116d printed on the base member 64, side 64a. The data field 116b, 116c or 116d directs the user to the proper handling of his hand type as per the instant disclosure.
Turning now to other features shown in
To enable processing of more hand types, the reverse side of the mechanical device may be configured similarly to the front side in an embodiment, for example, the reverse side may be configured as shown in
Referring now to other features of the second overlay member 66 depicted in
With reference to the back side of the mechanical device 60, in operation, the user first refers to the ring segment window 86a, 86b, 86c that corresponds to his hand type, e.g., “Straight or Flush With Two Pairs” or “Straight or Flush With One Pair.” The user then rotates the overlay segment 66 to align this window to the description of the two remaining singleton cards comprising the user's short side when viewing the seven-card hand by its longest element(s) that give the strongest possible two-card short side, which descriptions are displayed on the periphery of the base member 64, side 64b. This will cause the window 86b or 86c, as the case may be, to display a data field 116f or 116g printed on the base member 64, side 64b. The data field 116f or 116g directs the user to the proper handling of his hand type as per the instant disclosure.
Turning now to other features shown in
It may be readily understood that the mechanical device or its electronic equivalent, as described above, may be configured for use with any playing card-based casino game, in essence, the mechanical device and its electronic equivalent can summarize the optimal strategy for a dealer or player based upon the cards dealt to the position in view of the statistics controlling the game in question. Because the combinations of cards and controlling statistics comprise too much information for the dealer or player to know by memory, the mechanical device or electronic equivalent marshal this information and permit its processing in real-time casino play.
According to
In another embodiment of the display device 400,
4. Gaming Devices Incorporating the Games
Additionally one or more peripherals 606 may be in communication with the server system 608. The server system 608 may include one or more processors 610 such as one or more central processing units as is known in the computer, arc, one or more addressable memory units 612 that may be randomly accessible in a dynamic or a fixed fashion as desired, and means for communicating between the peripherals 606, the memory units 612 and the processors 610 through one or more buses 614 comprising wires and the like as is known in the art. Software components may be associated with certain sections of the gaming machine's schematic diagram 600, and may be programmed with any version of the Game into one or more memory chips (not shown) of the server system 608 or, alternatively, downloaded through various peripherals 606 (not shown) such as disk drives, USB drives, floppy drives, tape drives, paper tape drives and the like as are known in the art. Direct communication through an internet or an intranet specific to the gaming establishment download would be another way to program the gaming machine 500 using one or more peripherals 606 such as routers (not shown) and other known communication means whether hard-wired or wirelessly, such as through a server network, as desired. Such downloads could also be secured in any desirable fashion as is known in the art of encryption. Thus, information transfer could readily be achieved. Without limiting the disclosure, the elements shown in
5. Networking and Tournament Play
Further, the one or more remote displays could be configured as a pay-per-view event on a television network or as a general television broadcast. As is understood, the tournament play arrangement described above could be configured in any kind of entertainment or educational environment such as a game offered between computer players.
Turning back to
Looking further at
The Game disclosed herein may be offered in an Internet-style context. This could be offered in either a wagering or non-wagering environment as desired using networked conferencing through web cameras linked to fast personal computers or other mobile communication devices on a live basis using streaming video. In another embodiment, this could be offered in a wagering or non-wagering context as desired using networked conferencing through virtual representations of the house and players using pop-up images, streaming video or other video technologies as known in the existing art or as shall become known in the future. The Game may be offered over the Internet in secure transactions by way of digital rights management software. As described herein, it may be readily appreciated that those features regarding tournament play (see above) using servers and video devices coupled to gaming table layouts may be readily adapted to such Internet activity where players might use the equivalent or the POS system described above on their own computers or mobile communication devices to interface with a hosting site offering the Game. Without limiting the disclosure, the computers or mobile communication devices may be securely interfaced with one another and a house (hosting web-site) through secure Internet protocols and connections such as VPN (virtual private networks) to participate in one or more versions of the Game. In fact, because of the ability to perform efficient networked conferencing, players could readily play the Grime while remaining anonymous, and with the hosting website performing the function of the dealer/banker representing a gaming establishment offering the Game as desired. Naturally, players participating in a wager-driven version of the Game would provide funding to participate. Such player funding could be represented as credit banks, and payouts would be made back to winning players through their credit banks. Such financial activities could be displayed to players as desired and incorporated in one or more appropriate secured software programs interfacing with players' displays and input/output terminals in a manner similar to the activities described earlier (see above).
Without limiting the disclosure, the Game may be configured for play in multiple forms and media including, but not limited to, single-player slot video machines, multi-player slot video machines, electronic games and devices, mobile telephone devices, lottery terminals, software as v/ell as in-flight, home, and Internet entertainment. In addition, the Game can be readily implemented in any computer program peripheral (e.g., floppy disk, compact disc (CD), SIM card, USB device, etc.) comprising a computer readabie medium having control logic located on one or more readable chips recorded therein to implement the features herein as described in relation to the multiple embodiments of the Game. As depicted above, the control logic may be loaded into the memory of a computer and executed by one or more central processing units (CPU) to perform one or more operational steps embodied in these products with clear advantages to one or more entities offering one or more versions of the Game.
While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
This application Claims the Priority Date of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/137,597, filed Aug. 1, 2008, entitled “Advantage Pai Gow Poker, Commission-Free Pai Gow Poker for Casino House Use” and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/200,126, filed Nov. 25, 2003, entitled “Tao Pai Gow Poker, Commission-Free Pai Gow Poker for Casino House Use” with the same inventor being named.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10786727 | Lubin | Sep 2020 | B2 |
| 20080099996 | Webb | May 2008 | A1 |
| 20100222122 | Vang | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20100244381 | Chan | Sep 2010 | A1 |
| 20110115160 | Snow | May 2011 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20210008441 A1 | Jan 2021 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61200126 | Nov 2008 | US | |
| 61137597 | Aug 2008 | US |
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| Parent | 15590419 | May 2017 | US |
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| Parent | 14868195 | Sep 2015 | US |
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| Parent | 13562178 | Jul 2012 | US |
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| Parent | 12498341 | Jul 2009 | US |
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