CA2516802A1 - Black jack style card game - Google Patents
Black jack style card game Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- CA2516802A1 CA2516802A1 CA 2516802 CA2516802A CA2516802A1 CA 2516802 A1 CA2516802 A1 CA 2516802A1 CA 2516802 CA2516802 CA 2516802 CA 2516802 A CA2516802 A CA 2516802A CA 2516802 A1 CA2516802 A1 CA 2516802A1
- Authority
- CA
- Canada
- Prior art keywords
- players
- hand
- dealer
- player
- cards
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Classifications
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- A63F3/00—Board games; Raffle games
- A63F3/00003—Types of board games
- A63F3/00157—Casino or betting games
-
- A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
- A63—SPORTS; GAMES; AMUSEMENTS
- A63F—CARD, BOARD, OR ROULETTE GAMES; INDOOR GAMES USING SMALL MOVING PLAYING BODIES; VIDEO GAMES; GAMES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
- A63F1/00—Card games
- A63F2001/003—Blackjack; Twenty one
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Educational Technology (AREA)
- Multimedia (AREA)
- Management, Administration, Business Operations System, And Electronic Commerce (AREA)
Abstract
The present invention is a variant of the standard game of casino Blackjack, and, more particularly, to a poker style Blackjack game with the potential for players to achieve big payouts, but without altering the traditional game of Blackjack. The game can be implemented in a variety of embodiments, such as, but not limited to, a physical embodiment played at a casino, gaming establishment or as a board game, and virtual embodiments played on a desktop computer, video gaming machine or over a virtual system/network.
Description
Casino type card games are well known and are particularly popular as wagering card games.
In particular, card games of the Blackjack variety are well known in the prior art. In such games, the cards have established numerical values, such as ace equals one or eleven, face cards equal ten and all other cards equal their face values (e.g. a two has a numerical value of two, a three has a 16 numerical value of three, etc.). To play these card games, a player tries to reach an established target numerical total by sequentially accumulating cards and summing their numerical values. Typically, two cards initially are dealt, and the player then has the option of either (1) "standing" with the two cards, or (2) requesting and being dealt one or more additional cards ("hits").
21 As noted above, one of the most common form of these games is the game of "Blackjack" or "21" wherein the established target numerical total is the value 21. A player wins a wager if the numerical total of the player's cards is less than or equal to 2I and is closer to 21 than the numerical total of the dealer's cards. If the numerical total of-the player's or dealer's cards exceeds 21, the respective hand is a "bust", and loses to any hand having a numerical total of 21 or less. Conventional rules of the card game Blackjack (Twenty-One) are well known in the prior art and can be found, for example, in the Official Rule of Card Games, Albert H. Morehead, Fawcett Crest, New York,1990.
Depending on the point of view of the casino, or the player, the traditional Blackjack variety 6 card game has different faults. One, from the casino's point of view, is that the game is actually beatable. Players can actually win at Blackjack if they use the resources available to them, such as counting cards and wager variation depending on that count of cards.
Accordingly, with this fine line that exists between winning and losing, casinos have added many side bets and alterations to the game, with the sole purpose of making more money. Although there are many variations one simple 11 problem lays in the fact that these variations water down the game Blackjack, taking too much money from the player and making those variations less attractive than just the original game.
Many casinos find the game is so tough they have altered the rules such as Blackjack now pay 6 to 5 in Las Vegas, compared to the original 3 to 2. Players are turned off by these changes.
16 Although the game is considered beatable by the player who counts cards, casinos discourage this kind of play and even bar counters from their establishments. If a player is barred from the casino, obviously he can't win, but he also can't lose and that is how the casinos make their money. They need players playing the games otherwise they don't exist.
21 Players likely see more problems with the game of Blackjack than the casino. One such problem is that you cannot quickly win a lot of money in the game. Even when Blackjacks pay 3 to 2, a player who bets $100 in a hand can only win $150. Players love action and the opportunity to win a lot of money at one time, such as a slot machine where one spin of the reels can win $1,000 or much more. To win big money is action every player loves, and in traditional Blackjack that is just not offered unless players play side bets that are heavily stacked in the casino's favor.
Another problem with the game is many times arguments occur at the tables because a player who doesn't know how to play is perceived to be the reason other players are losing. This can be considered a potentially serious fault with the game of Blackjack. Although when things go well it is a social game, there is a high degree of tension present that is sometimes detrimental to one's 11 enjoyment level at the tables.
The game of Blackjack has never been a big tournament game and does not stack up well against this style of game. With the explosion of Internet gambling, this style of game is in demand and a Blackjack game that is great in a tournament atmosphere is very much in demand.
With the continued growth of gambling and more recently the growth of poker, there is a need to offer a poker style Blackjack game with big payouts, but without altering the traditional game of Blackjack. United States Patent # 5,413,353 (Damarest et a~, makes an attempt to combine Blackjack and poker. In this variation there was described a method of playing a Blackjack type of 21 card game in which the players play against one another, rather than against a dealer, as in conventional Blackjack. Initially, each player places an identical wager to form a pot and then receives two cards face down from a dealer. The dealer receives no cards but the house collects a rake from each pot. A player may split pairs, draw additional cards or stand.
A player receiving a Blackjack on the first two cards (i.e., ace and ten value card) or scoring the highest card sum without exceeding 21 wins the pot. If two or more players receive a Blackjack on the first two cards, all tie, 6 and the game is repeated using the same pot. If two or more players achieve the same card sum, then a predetermined schedule may be used to ascertain that all tie, and the game is repeated using the same pot.
In a game like Blackjack there have been likely a thousand or more variations of the game.
11 Clearly many of these are similar but yet in their own way different. In the game version described above in Damarest et al, the game was altered too much and was not Blackjack.
Simply put, players ante and receive a Blackjack hand, with the highest hand from among the players winning the pot.
The problem here is the game described is not truly Blackjack, as players do not play their hand against the dealer's hand, and all known Blackjack strategies are rendered useless. With the top hand 16 winning, players would have to ask for and receive another card (or "hit") on a hard 19 if another player had drawn, for example, a hard 20. By taking the strategies out of the game, there is no reason for the skilled player to play this game. The fun and enjoyment has been tossed out.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
21 It is an object of the present invention to provide an exciting variant of the standard game of casino Blackjack.
In particular, card games of the Blackjack variety are well known in the prior art. In such games, the cards have established numerical values, such as ace equals one or eleven, face cards equal ten and all other cards equal their face values (e.g. a two has a numerical value of two, a three has a 16 numerical value of three, etc.). To play these card games, a player tries to reach an established target numerical total by sequentially accumulating cards and summing their numerical values. Typically, two cards initially are dealt, and the player then has the option of either (1) "standing" with the two cards, or (2) requesting and being dealt one or more additional cards ("hits").
21 As noted above, one of the most common form of these games is the game of "Blackjack" or "21" wherein the established target numerical total is the value 21. A player wins a wager if the numerical total of the player's cards is less than or equal to 2I and is closer to 21 than the numerical total of the dealer's cards. If the numerical total of-the player's or dealer's cards exceeds 21, the respective hand is a "bust", and loses to any hand having a numerical total of 21 or less. Conventional rules of the card game Blackjack (Twenty-One) are well known in the prior art and can be found, for example, in the Official Rule of Card Games, Albert H. Morehead, Fawcett Crest, New York,1990.
Depending on the point of view of the casino, or the player, the traditional Blackjack variety 6 card game has different faults. One, from the casino's point of view, is that the game is actually beatable. Players can actually win at Blackjack if they use the resources available to them, such as counting cards and wager variation depending on that count of cards.
Accordingly, with this fine line that exists between winning and losing, casinos have added many side bets and alterations to the game, with the sole purpose of making more money. Although there are many variations one simple 11 problem lays in the fact that these variations water down the game Blackjack, taking too much money from the player and making those variations less attractive than just the original game.
Many casinos find the game is so tough they have altered the rules such as Blackjack now pay 6 to 5 in Las Vegas, compared to the original 3 to 2. Players are turned off by these changes.
16 Although the game is considered beatable by the player who counts cards, casinos discourage this kind of play and even bar counters from their establishments. If a player is barred from the casino, obviously he can't win, but he also can't lose and that is how the casinos make their money. They need players playing the games otherwise they don't exist.
21 Players likely see more problems with the game of Blackjack than the casino. One such problem is that you cannot quickly win a lot of money in the game. Even when Blackjacks pay 3 to 2, a player who bets $100 in a hand can only win $150. Players love action and the opportunity to win a lot of money at one time, such as a slot machine where one spin of the reels can win $1,000 or much more. To win big money is action every player loves, and in traditional Blackjack that is just not offered unless players play side bets that are heavily stacked in the casino's favor.
Another problem with the game is many times arguments occur at the tables because a player who doesn't know how to play is perceived to be the reason other players are losing. This can be considered a potentially serious fault with the game of Blackjack. Although when things go well it is a social game, there is a high degree of tension present that is sometimes detrimental to one's 11 enjoyment level at the tables.
The game of Blackjack has never been a big tournament game and does not stack up well against this style of game. With the explosion of Internet gambling, this style of game is in demand and a Blackjack game that is great in a tournament atmosphere is very much in demand.
With the continued growth of gambling and more recently the growth of poker, there is a need to offer a poker style Blackjack game with big payouts, but without altering the traditional game of Blackjack. United States Patent # 5,413,353 (Damarest et a~, makes an attempt to combine Blackjack and poker. In this variation there was described a method of playing a Blackjack type of 21 card game in which the players play against one another, rather than against a dealer, as in conventional Blackjack. Initially, each player places an identical wager to form a pot and then receives two cards face down from a dealer. The dealer receives no cards but the house collects a rake from each pot. A player may split pairs, draw additional cards or stand.
A player receiving a Blackjack on the first two cards (i.e., ace and ten value card) or scoring the highest card sum without exceeding 21 wins the pot. If two or more players receive a Blackjack on the first two cards, all tie, 6 and the game is repeated using the same pot. If two or more players achieve the same card sum, then a predetermined schedule may be used to ascertain that all tie, and the game is repeated using the same pot.
In a game like Blackjack there have been likely a thousand or more variations of the game.
11 Clearly many of these are similar but yet in their own way different. In the game version described above in Damarest et al, the game was altered too much and was not Blackjack.
Simply put, players ante and receive a Blackjack hand, with the highest hand from among the players winning the pot.
The problem here is the game described is not truly Blackjack, as players do not play their hand against the dealer's hand, and all known Blackjack strategies are rendered useless. With the top hand 16 winning, players would have to ask for and receive another card (or "hit") on a hard 19 if another player had drawn, for example, a hard 20. By taking the strategies out of the game, there is no reason for the skilled player to play this game. The fun and enjoyment has been tossed out.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
21 It is an object of the present invention to provide an exciting variant of the standard game of casino Blackjack.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a poker style Blackjack game with the potential for players to achieve big payouts, but without altering the traditional game of Blackjack.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a poker style Blackjack game which provides more head to head play between players, whether in a casino or in a virtual environment, as 6 opposed to the player vs. house play that occurs in regular Blackjack, and which, as a result, lends itself more appropriately to tournament play.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of (a) the two or more players 11 each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;(c) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a 16 numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(d) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (e) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of 21 play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (f) repeating steps (b) to (e) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
A further aspect of the present invention provides for a method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of (a)the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in 6 normal Blackjack rules;(c)the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand; (d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one 11 or any of the players choose to stand;(e) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the 16 numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
A further aspect of the present invention provides for a method of playing a card game 21 involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of: (a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;(c) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, 26 or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand; (d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one 1 or any of the players choose to stand;(e) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the 6 numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the 11 jackpot.
A still further aspect of the present invention provides for a method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of (a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer issues a life token 16 to each of the two or more players;(c) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(d) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being 21 played independently of the player hand;(e) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand; (f) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;(g) a determination is 26 made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value 31 of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player;
and (h) repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
A still further aspect of the present invention provides for a virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in the present invention, the virtual gaming system comprising a display device; at least one user interface device; a processor for 6 executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;(b) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a 11 player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;(c) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(d) electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a 16 numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (f) an electronic determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are 21 eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) the processor repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
26 According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in the present invention, the virtual gaming system comprising a display device;at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries 31 out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot 1 illustrated on the display device;(b) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;(d) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, 6 doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;(e) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further 11 cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;(f) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (g) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's 16 hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded 21 by the processor to that successful player; and (h) the processor repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a virtual gaming 26 system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in the present invention, the virtual gaming system comprising a display device;at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:(a) each of the two or more 31 players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;(b) the processor electronically issues one life token to each of the 1 two or more players;(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;(d) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;(e) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, doubling 6 down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;(f) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards 11 to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;(g) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (h) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by 16 obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded by the 21 processor to that successful player; and (i) the processor repeating steps (b) to (h) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides an improved and exciting variant 26 of the standard game of casino Blackjack, and, more specifically, to provide a poker style Blackjack game with the potential for players to achieve big payouts, but without altering the traditional game of Blackjack.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that it allows an improved poker style 31 Blackjack game which provides for more "head to head" play between players, whether in a casino or in a virtual environment, as opposed to the "player vs. house" play that occurs in regular Blackjack, I and which, as a result, lends itself more appropriately to tournament play.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the 6 accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure I is plan view illustrating an example gaming table layout for use in playing a casino version of a card game according to one embodiment of the method of the present invention;
11 Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of playing a card game according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a continuation of the flow chart shown in Figure 2;
16 Figure 4 illustrates a sample arrangement through which a virtual embodiment of the present invention can be effected; and Figure 5 illustrates an automated or computer/video terminal screen of the type which may be used to play the card game of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention relates to a variant of the standard game of casino Blackjack. The game can be implemented in a variety of embodiments, such as, but not being limited to, a physical embodiment played at a casino, gaming establishment or as a board game, and virtual embodiments 26 played on a desktop computer or other computing device. By way of further illustration and without intending to limit the present invention, virtual embodiments can include video lottery kiosks or other similar stand-alone devices configured to play the game, computer software implementing the invention which runs on a user's computer, and network based software which uses wired or wireless networks, such as the Internet or cellular telephone networks to communicate and coordinate the game 31 with one or more remote computing devices.
The present invention offers a game of Blackjack played in a poker style form where big money can be won very quickly. The present invention has not altered the traditional game of Blackjack for the players and is offered in such a way casinos may allow the best players in the world to play at their tables without fear of losing.
The traditional game of Blackj ack is played with players placing a wager conforming to house 6 limits and receiving two cards, usually, but not always, face up. Players then, in order, make decisions on their hand, usually also factoring in the dealer's hand, which is usually comprised of one card face up and one card face down. Each player acts by either Standing, Splitting, Doubling down, Hitting, Surrendering or any other house rule offered to the player in that game. After all players have made decisions the dealer plays their own hand. The dealer will usually hit (give another card to) on a hand 11 of 16 or less and stay on all 17's or more. Any hand that goes over 21 is a bust and a loss for the player or for the dealer. After the dealer has played their hand they would determine if the player won or lost. A player who has a hand total higher than the dealer, without going over 21, wins their wager.
A player with a lower total than the dealer, or who has busted, loses their wager to the house. Hands that are of the same value are considered a push or tie, and are neither a win or a loss. Bonuses are 16 paid to the player for a two card 21, or a Blackjack.
In Blackjack, as in the present invention, each card in the deck has a certain value. Both Blackjack and the current invention use a standard deck of 52 cards, even though many could be used and dealt out of a shoe, say up to 8 or more decks combined. Each deck would consist of 52 cards, 21 in 4 suits, ranked 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. A
two counts as 2, three counts as 3 and so forth to the ten which counts as a total of 10 value. Jacks, Queens and Kings also have values of 10. An ace may be 1 or 11 and is always used to give the hand its best value, closest to 21 without going over.
26 In one variation of the present invention, a rotating dealer button is used to determine which player would receive the first cards and make the first decisions, wherein the dealer would randomly determine which player receives the dealer button. In a preferred embodiment, to start the game all players would place an ante wager, of a predetermined amount of money, for example, $100 on a $100 table, and so forth. The dealer would take all of the antes and place it in a Game Pot which will 31 eventually be won by a player(s). In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least two players will be required to play a game.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the dealer of the game would take a special token 1 or chip (which can be considered a "life" token) and place it in a predetermined area on each player's layout to show that that player is alive in the game. Only players with one of these "life" tokens play each round. Of course, in an alternative embodiment, a game could start with each player receiving any number of "life" tokens. It should be noted that a "Life token"
is just what it sounds like; a chip that represents a player's life in the game. Should a player "lose" this token (by not 6 winning or even pushing a hand during a round), that player is out of the game. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a player may not have more than two life tokens at any time during the game.
In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a rotating "Dealer Button"
or chip. This 11 is a physical (or virtual) dealer button that slides clockwise or counter clockwise on the tabletop representation depending on the way the game is offered. In the preferred embodiment this button would slide one player position in a clockwise fashion after each pot is won, ending that game, or as, in the preferred embodiment, after each round is played. Of course, as indicated above, in an alternative embodiment the Dealer button could slide one player position in a counter clockwise 16 direction after each pot is won or each round is played. A new game, or round, would begin with the dealer button in front of a new player.
Now starting with the player who has the rotating dealer button the dealer gives each player, including themselves one card and then each player including themselves a second card. These cards 21 may be face down, or some combination of one up or one down, or as in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, both of the players' cards would be face up and one of the dealer's cards face up. Starting with the player with the dealer button each player now determines it they want to Stand, Hit, Split or Double Down with their hand. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the goal of each player is very simple. They want to at least tie the dealer's point total at the end of this 26 hand (a push hand). If a player beats or ties to dealers total at the end of the hand, that player is still in the game and will get to play another hand in a subsequent round. Any player who loses to the dealer's hand loses a life token and is out of the game, provided they don't have any more life tokens they can use to stay alive in the game. If all players' hands lose in the same round, the players with additional Life tokens move on to the next round. If only one player has an additional Life token, he 31 wins. If no one has an additional Life token, the players) whose hand is closest to 21, without going over, wins the Game Pot. It is also understood that if a player "hits" their hand and goes over 21 they lose a life token. The dealer would physically take the life token in front of them and place it in the dealer's tray.
If a player decides to Double Down, which may be any card total although in the preferred embodiment would be allowed only in a two card hand, the player would have to place another Ante in the Game Pot. The dealer would give one additional card to any hand the player doubles on. If the dealer busts or if the player's total exceeds the dealer's total this player would win an additional life 6 token. In other words, if the player wins the double down, he is awarded an additional life token. If the players total ties that of the dealers (a push hand), that player does not receive an additional Life token for a double down push, but still moves on to the next round of play. If a player's total is less than the dealer's total that player would lose a life token. In any event to double down on a hand a player would have to add an Ante to the Game Pot and does not get this ante back even if they win 11 the hand.
If a player decides to split their hand, they must add an additional Ante to the Game Pot for each new Split hand. Players may only Split two card hands of equal value. In the preferred embodiment a player may have in total 4 hands resulting from a total of 3 splits. The value of 16 splitting a hand is a player needs only tie the dealer on any of the hands created through splitting. A
player would not lose a life token if they split three times, had four hands and lost three of them, and won or tied the last hand. In the preferred embodiment a player can hit, double down or re-split after splitting aces.
21 If a player has a two card Blackjack they automatically win a Blackjack Bonus. The Blackjack Bonus is equal to a full ante and is taken from the Game Pot and given to the player with the Blackjack. If a player stands, they receive no further cards on their hand and the next player, usually in a counter-clockwise position plays. After each player has played their hand the dealer would flip over their hole card and play their hand. The dealer would hit on all 16's and stay on any hand of 17 26 or more. After the dealer has played their hand the dealer will determine how each player did starting at the button.
As noted previously, if all players lost all their life tokens on the same hand, the player with the closest hand to 21 without going over wins the Game Pot. A player with a Blackjack would win 31 the pot over a player with a 21 if the Dealer flips over a Blackjack. After splitting a hand, a two card 21 is not considered a Blackjack so would not get a Blackjack Bonus nor beat a Dealers Blackjack, although this hand could win the pot as the closest hand to 21 if no Blackjacks appeared on the table.
If two players finish tied with the best hand, closest to 21 without going over in the same hand all players lose all their life tokens, these players would split the pot. An example of this would be the dealer drawing a 21 on the first hand of the game and the best hands on the player's side totalled 20. In this example, any player having 20 would share equally in the game pot.
When each game ends, which is usually after just a few hands the house would take a predetermined amount of the 6 Game Pot, say one ante or 5% of the Game Pot and a new game begins with each player placing a new ante wager for the new game and each also receiving a new life token.
Referring now to the drawings, the game consists of a table felt layout with a number of playing positions, and, preferably, a standard game utilizing the method of the present invention may 11 be set up at such a table, with 7 designated positions for players, it being understood that there need be no limit or restriction on that number, whether more or less. In a preferred embodiment, the game is designed for play with 8 (eight) decks of cards, namely because 8 (eight) decks of cards is the number of decks many casinos currently use and the shoe and the discard rack (that holds the spent cards) in these casinos already accommodate that number of decks. It is also understood, however, 16 that the game can function equally as well utilizing any given number of card decks, either higher or lower than 8. In another embodiment of the present invention, a cut card (not shown) can be used by the casino to cut the cards. This cut card, as it is known, is usually made of plastic and is the same size as a regular playing card. The dealer inserts this card into the decks used in the game, generally about a full deck from the end of the cards, before placing the cards into the shoe and starting a new 21 game, though there is no restriction on where in the deck the cut card is placed. When a game is being played and this cut card comes out of the shoe, the round being played is completed, but it signals the dealer that no further rounds are to be played until the cards are reshuffled.
With reference to Figure 1, on the table felt (1) of the casino table used in one embodiment 26 of the present invention there will be betting spaces for each player, as hereinafter described. It is understood that each table will have its own Minimum and Maximum Ante limits that will be posted at the table. In a preferred embodiment, players are not allowed to ante lower than the minimum, or higher than the table maximum, which will be the same amount. To start each new game, each player must place an ante wager. As noted previously, the Ante wager made by each of the players is first 31 made at the start of a new game, and before a player ever sees any of the cards.
Here are some examples from the start of the game. Life tokens for the players are initially placed on the casino table in their respective life token area (3). After all players at the table have placed their ante wager, of course, the game begins. With reference again to Figure 1, cards dealt to each of the players are placed in their respective hand areas (5) on the casino table.
Game Examples 6 Game #1, Round (A) -All Players Ante *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First *Player #1 draws Queen--Ace= Blackjack, (and player is paid BJ Bonus) Total BJ
Player #2 draws 2--9 (player Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot) then draws a "Ten", for a Total of 21 11 Player #3 draws 6--Ace (player Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot), then draws a "7", for a Total of 14 Player #4 draws an 8--Ten, player Stays, for a Total of 18 Player #S draws Queen - 9, player Stays, for a Total of 19 Player #6 draws a Queen - 7, players Stays, for a Total of 17 16 Player #7 draws a King - 3, player Stays, for a Total of 13 Dealers Hand Up Card is a "6", Down Card is a "2", Dealer then draws a "7", then an "8" _ Busted Pot = $700 in antes, Minus $100 BJ Bonus, Plus $200 in Double Downs = $800 All Players Move to next Round, Players #2 & #3 earn extra Life token (as a result of winning 21 their double downs).
Game #1 Round (B) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First 26 Player #1 draws 6 - 9, then Hits again and draws an Ace, hits again and draws a "4", Stays, Total =20 (Pushes, moves to next round) *Player #2 (life x2) draws an Ace - 2, then Hits again and draws a Jack, then Hits again and draws a "S", Stays Total =18 (Lost, still has 1 life) Player #3 (life x 2) draws a King - 3, then Hits again and draws a "5", Stays, Total =18 (Lost, 31 still has 1 life) Player #4 draws 2 - 8, then Hits again and draws a "5", then Hits again and draws an Ace, then Hits again and draws a "9"= Busts (Out of Game # 1 ) Player #5 draws a King - 9, Stays, Total=19 (Lost - Out of Game # 1 ) Player #6 draws a Ten - 4, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game # 1 ) 36 Player #7 draws 5 - 3, then Hits again and draws a "7", then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game #1) Dealers Hand Up Card is Ace (looks, no Blackjack), Down Card is a "4", then Hits again and draws a "5" = 20 Pot = $800 41 Player #1 moves to next round, by virtue of tying the dealer's total (a push). Players #2 and #3 can also move to the next round by using the extra life tokens awarded to them in the last round.
All other players eliminated.
46 Game #1 Round (C) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws 8 - 2, then Hits again and draws a Jack, Stays, Total =20 (Lost, closest to 21, Wins Pot) Player #2 draws 2 - Jack, then Hits again and draws a Jack, Busts (Out of Game #2) 51 *Player #3 6 - Ace, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Stays, Total 17 (Lost, Out of Game #1) Dealers Hand Up Card is Jack, Down Card is a "2", then Hits again and draws a "3", then Hits 1 again and draws a "6" = 21 Pot = $800 Notes: Both Players #1 and #3 lost to Dealers Hand of 21. Player #2 busted and is eliminated also. If all players lose on the same hand, and no player has extra life tokens which would enable them to move to another round, the game is over with the closest total to 21 without going over 6 winning the pot. In this example, Player #1 wins the pot, for being the player with the closest hand to 21 without going over.
Pot Distribution: Player #1 Gets 95% of Pot, or $760 and House 5% or $40 11 Game #2 Round (A) - All Players Ante *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws King - 3, Hits 7, Stays, Total= 20 (Pushes) Player #2 draws King - 7, Stays, Total=17 (Lost, Out of Game #2) Player #3 draws 4 - Jack, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Busts (Out of Game #2) 16 *Player #4 draws 9 - 3, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts, (Out of Game #2) Player #5 draws Ten - 3, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Busts, (Out of Game #2) Player #6 draws 7 - King, Stays, Total=17 (Lost, Out of Game #2) Player #7 draws Ten - 3, then Hits again and draws a "4", Stays, Total=17 (Lost, Out of Game #2) 21 Dealers Hand Up Card is Ten, Down Card Ten = 20 Pot = $700 Notes: All players lost except player #1, who pushed. Player #1 wins the pot, for being the player with the closest hand to 21 without going over.
Pot distribution: Player #1 Gets 95% of Pot, or $665 and House 5% or $35 Game #3 Round (A) - All Players Ante *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws a 4 - 4, Splits by Adding Another Ante to Pot. Hand 1A draws 4 - 2, then 31 Hits again and draws a "6", then Hits again and draws a King, Busts, Hand draws 4 - 2, then Hits again and draws a "5", then Hits again and draws a "2", Stays, Total= 13 Player #2 draw 3 - King, Stays, Total= 13 Player #3 draws 8 - Queen, Stays, Total =18 36 Player #4 draws Queen - Ace = Blackjack, paid BJ Bonus Total= BJ
*Player #5 draws 2 - 2, Splits by Adding Another Ante to Pot. Hand SA) 2 -Ace, Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Total=13, Hand SB) draws 2 - Queen, then Hits again and draws a "9", Stays, Total =21 41 Player #6 draws King - Jack, Stays, Total= 20 Player #7 draws King - 9, Stays, Total =19 Dealers Hand Up Card is 4, Down Card 4, Draws 7, Draws 9 = Busts Pot = $700 in Antes, Minus $100 BJ Bonus, Plus $100 in Double Downs, Plus $200 in Splits =
$900 46 All Players Move to next Round. Player #5 earns extra Life token (as a result of winning the double down).
51 Game #3 Round (B) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws 5 - 5, Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot, then Hits again and draws a Queen, Total=20 1 Player #2 draws 3 - Queen, Stays, Total= 13 Player #3 draws Queen - 7, Stays, Total =17 Player #4 draws Ten - 6, Stays, Total =16 Player #5 (life x 2) draws 9 - Queen, Stays, Total=19 *Player #6 draws King - 7, Stays, Total= 17 6 Player #7 draws Ten - Jack, Stays, Total= 20 Dealers Hand Up Card is 5, Down Card is a "7", then Hits again and draws a Jack= Busts Pot = $1000 All Players Move to next Round. Player #1 earns extra Life token (as a result of winning the double down).
Game #3 Round (C) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 (life x 2) draws 2 - Ten, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts 16 (Lost hand, life x 1) Player #2 draws Jack - 4, then Hits again and draws a "9", Busts (Out of Game #3) Player #3 draw Jack - Ace = Blackjack, paid BJ Bonus Total BJ
Player #4 draws 3 - Ace, Hits 7, Stays, Total =21 Player #5 (life x 2) draws 4 - Queen, then Hits again and draws a "7", Stays, Total =21 21 Player #6 draws 5 - Queen, then Hits again and draws a "9", Busts (Out of Game #3) *Player #7 draws 5 - Ten, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game #3) Dealers Hand Up Card is Ten, Down Card is a "4", Draws Jack, = Busts Pot = $900 Players #1,3,4 and 5 move to the next round. Players #2,6 and 7 eliminated.
Game #3 Round (D) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First *Player #1 draws 4 - 3, then Hits again and draws a "9", then Hits again and draws a "6", Busts (Out of Game #3) 31 Player #3 draws Jack - King, Stays, Total=20 Player #4 draws 3 - Jack, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game #3) Player #5 (life x 2) draws Ten - 7, Stays, Total=17 Dealers Hand Up Card is Queen, Down Card is a "9", Total=19 Pot = $900 36 Notes: Player #3 moves on to next round. Player #5 Lost, but still has one life left, and as such will move on to the next round. Players #1 and 4 eliminated.
Game #3 Round (E) 41 *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First *Player #3 draws Ace - King = Blackjack, paid BJ Bonus Total BJ
Player #5 draws 5 -2, Hits Ace, Stays, Total=18 Dealers Hand Up Card is 8, Down Card 8, then Hits again and draws a "5", Total = 21 Pot = $800 46 All players lost except player #3, who pushed. Player #3 wins the pot.
Pot Distribution: Player #3 Gets 95% of Pot, or $760 and House 5% or $40 Of course, in an alternative embodiment, the present invention may also be a online game 51 found in online poker rooms. The advantage to this is that the game can be played not only for any denomination but in tournaments where thousands of players can play against each other at one time.
1 For instance, an online Poker room could offer a tournament where players pay a predetermined amount to join in a tournament, for example, $25. Another embodiment of the present invention could involve a charge for joining such a tournament, say $3 per person, or the operator of the tournament could take a percentage of the total Prize Pool. If one thousand players joined in this online tournament there would be a prize pool of $25,000. At the start each player could be randomly 6 seated at a poker style table with any number of players, say 10. Each player could be given any number of starting chips, say $1,500 in play money. At the start of the tournament the Ante could be any amount, say $25. This ante could increase every 30 minutes, or any predetermined amount of time. So the ante could go from $25, to $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000 and so forth as the game goes.
By increasing the ante, players are slowly forced out of the game as in poker tournaments played 11 online and eventually you have one final table and one final winner. Of course a predetermined number of prizes could be offered if not winner take all. This kind of tournament could be very popular amongst Blackjack players.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the game play previously described 16 herein can also be applied to a virtual embodiment, as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example, game play could begin with a player pressing a button to effect a computer "shuffling" a desired or pre-selected number of decks. Further interface buttons can be used to indicate the ante wagering of "chips" by a player. Such an arrangement supports a wide variety of implementations including, but not limited to, kiosks, home computers and client/server based 21 arrangements (which may be useful in casinos and on the Internet). In a still further embodiment, Figure 4 illustrates a sample arrangement through which a virtual embodiment of the present invention could be implemented. Such an arrangement supports a wide variety of implementations including, but not limited to, kiosks, home computers and client/server based arrangements (which may be useful in casinos and on the Internet). As Figure 4 illustrates, a virtual embodiment will 26 preferably display a user interface to a player through a display device (39). A user interface device (41) can include, but is not limited to, any of a mouse, keyboard, touch screen display, joystick, touch pad or voice recognition system, which is preferably provided to effect user interaction with the virtual embodiment. Game software (43) interprets the information from the user interface (41) and generates the user interface to be displayed on display device (39) based on the information and the 31 rules of the game. Information needed by the game software (43) such as bet values for the players) and the like, can be stored in a computer's random access memory (45) and/or hard disk drive/Non-Volatile storage (47). A microprocessor (49), of course, would be the heart of any such system described, executing the computations necessary to run the game software (43).
With reference to Figure 5 one embodiment of the virtual or automated version of the game play of the present invention is shown, wherein an example of a sample game is provided. Figure 5 shows an example of an automated video terminal or kiosk (51) useful to practice the game play methods of the present invention, and which includes a housing (53) of conventional design. The 6 housing (53) contains a video display screen (55) which displays the various presentations during the play of the game, and which may be any form of display screen such as a CRT, plasma screen, liquid crystal screen, LED screen or the like. The display screen may be a touch screen display, for example, in a preferred embodiment, or by providing a plurality of push buttons, or the like. Of course, the video display screen (55) provides a continuous display screen on which images of cards being dealt 11 to the players, the dealer hand, the ante wagers of the players) and touch screen player input functions are displayed.
As noted above, the automated video terminal or kiosk (51) provides means for enabling a player to make a wager when playing the game. These means, where the game is played for pure 16 enjoyment, may simply be means for the player to wager fictitious credits.
Alternatively, as shown in the drawings, where the automated video terminal or kiosk (51) is to be used in a gaming establishment, such as a casino, the terminal or kiosk (51) may include a coin slot (57) or variation thereof by which the player can wager units such as currency, coins, tokens, identification cards, player tracking cards, ticket in/ticket out acceptance, and the like. While not illustrated, it is well 21 known to provide a cash reader to accept cash denomination wagers, the cash reader enabling the player to accumulate credits for wagering with the terminal or kiosk (51).
Additionally, means may be provided for the player to wager from funds on a debit card, credit card or the like as known in the art.
26 In the present embodiment described herein, there is contained within the housing (53) a processor (not shown) of conventional design. The processor includes a first data structure including data representing each card of 8 (eight) decks of cards, namely because 8 (eight) decks of cards is the number of decks many casinos currently use and the shoe and the discard rack (that holds the spent cards) in these casinos already accommodate that number of decks. It is also conceivable, however, 31 that as few as a standard deck of 52 cards may also be used, and reshuffled as need be, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. The processor also includes a second data structure which includes data representing winning outcome combinations of any of the player and dealer hands that are finalized, along with the corresponding payouts. Additionally, the processor, in the manner described below, is programmed to generate and control the presentations at the video display screen (55), and play of the game according to the present invention using a set of programmable instructions. These instructions can, for example, be stored within a computer readable medium (not shown) configured for insertion within the processor.
6 With reference to FIG. 5, the video display screen (55) provides the player with the ability to control the play of the game and make various selections as hereinafter described. Furthermore, the processor includes means for determining the amount wagered by the player.
This amount may be by the player wagering credits accumulated during game play, or by obtaining credits to play the game by inserting currency in one of the many forms noted previously described above into the coin slot 11 (57) or variation thereo~
To start a new game, a player would first obtain credits to play the game by inserting currency in one of the aforementioned forms described above into the coin slot (57) or variation thereof. A
credit meter (61) for the player on the video display screen (55) would be incremented accordingly 16 to reflect the amount of credits the player has obtained. In one embodiment of the present invention, the video display screen (55) can display a prompt on the display screen instructing the player to make a wager prior to beginning the game. A player would then select Ante area (63) on the video display screen (55) to place their ante wager. In this example, the video display screen (SS), utilizes a touch screen display whereby a player can effect selections, in a preferred embodiment, though other 21 variations are conceivable, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art.
The amount initially indicated in Ante area (63) would then be subtracted from Credit Meter (61).
Of course, it is known that the amount of the wager a player places initially into Ante area (63) may have to conform to machine limits, casino limits, or another set limit. This limit may, of course, be posted somewhere on the machine or screen or otherwise, and may comprise minimum and maximum limits.
After a player has placed an ante wager in Ante area (63), the Deal/Draw Button (75) would light up, in a preferred embodiment, indicating to the player that the game is ready to play. To deal the cards the player would simply press the Deal/Draw Button (75). After the player has pressed the Deal/Draw Button (75), the processor is prompted to initiate play of the game, whereby the processor 31 then selects from the first data structure data which represents cards to be initially drawn by the virtual dealer and placed in each of the dealer hand area (65) and the various player hand areas (67), and to display that data on the video display screen (55) as representations of the faces of the cards drawn.
As the game continues, the processor then selects, from the remaining card data of the first data structure, card data sufficient to complete the hands contained in each of the dealer hand area (65) and 1 the various player hand areas (67).
In one embodiment of the present invention, an instruction or help button (not shown) may be placed upon the video display screen (55), so as to provide information to the player as to how to complete the round of play.
6 Of course, in another embodiment, the processor further comprises means on the video display screen (55) for allowing the player to place additional wagers or bets on the card game at various points when cards are drawn to any of the various player hand areas (67), the additional wagers or bets being paid or collected in accordance with a pre-established set of rules. It will, of course, be understood to those skilled in the art that these rules can include, but are not limited to, Doubling 11 Down, Splitting, and so forth. It will of course be understood that numerous variations are possible with respect to providing additional wagering or betting options, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. In another variation, it would also be conceivable to have a progressive jackpot, whereby if certain designated hands come into play during game play, players engaging in the additional wagering or betting options could obtain the jackpot, or a percentage of it, for example.
In another embodiment, the terminal or kiosk (51) also includes a cash out button (59) to enable the player to prompt the processor to distribute to the player in a known fashion accumulated credits (not shown) in the form of coins or tokens. Thus, at the conclusion of a game, if a player wanted to end the session, he could do so by pressing the Cash Out button (59).
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a poker style Blackjack game which provides more head to head play between players, whether in a casino or in a virtual environment, as 6 opposed to the player vs. house play that occurs in regular Blackjack, and which, as a result, lends itself more appropriately to tournament play.
According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of (a) the two or more players 11 each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;(c) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a 16 numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(d) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (e) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of 21 play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (f) repeating steps (b) to (e) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
A further aspect of the present invention provides for a method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of (a)the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in 6 normal Blackjack rules;(c)the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand; (d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one 11 or any of the players choose to stand;(e) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the 16 numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
A further aspect of the present invention provides for a method of playing a card game 21 involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of: (a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;(c) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, 26 or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand; (d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one 1 or any of the players choose to stand;(e) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the 6 numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the 11 jackpot.
A still further aspect of the present invention provides for a method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of (a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;(b) the dealer issues a life token 16 to each of the two or more players;(c) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(d) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being 21 played independently of the player hand;(e) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand; (f) the dealer's hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;(g) a determination is 26 made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value 31 of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player;
and (h) repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
A still further aspect of the present invention provides for a virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in the present invention, the virtual gaming system comprising a display device; at least one user interface device; a processor for 6 executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;(b) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a 11 player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;(c) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(d) electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a 16 numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (f) an electronic determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are 21 eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) the processor repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
26 According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in the present invention, the virtual gaming system comprising a display device;at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries 31 out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot 1 illustrated on the display device;(b) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;(d) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, 6 doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;(e) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further 11 cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;(f) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (g) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's 16 hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded 21 by the processor to that successful player; and (h) the processor repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a virtual gaming 26 system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in the present invention, the virtual gaming system comprising a display device;at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:(a) each of the two or more 31 players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;(b) the processor electronically issues one life token to each of the 1 two or more players;(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;(d) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;(e) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, doubling 6 down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;(f) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards 11 to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;(g) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen; (h) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by 16 obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are eligible to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded by the 21 processor to that successful player; and (i) the processor repeating steps (b) to (h) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
The advantage of the present invention is that it provides an improved and exciting variant 26 of the standard game of casino Blackjack, and, more specifically, to provide a poker style Blackjack game with the potential for players to achieve big payouts, but without altering the traditional game of Blackjack.
A still further advantage of the present invention is that it allows an improved poker style 31 Blackjack game which provides for more "head to head" play between players, whether in a casino or in a virtual environment, as opposed to the "player vs. house" play that occurs in regular Blackjack, I and which, as a result, lends itself more appropriately to tournament play.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
A preferred embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the 6 accompanying drawings, in which:
Figure I is plan view illustrating an example gaming table layout for use in playing a casino version of a card game according to one embodiment of the method of the present invention;
11 Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method of playing a card game according to one embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is a continuation of the flow chart shown in Figure 2;
16 Figure 4 illustrates a sample arrangement through which a virtual embodiment of the present invention can be effected; and Figure 5 illustrates an automated or computer/video terminal screen of the type which may be used to play the card game of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The present invention relates to a variant of the standard game of casino Blackjack. The game can be implemented in a variety of embodiments, such as, but not being limited to, a physical embodiment played at a casino, gaming establishment or as a board game, and virtual embodiments 26 played on a desktop computer or other computing device. By way of further illustration and without intending to limit the present invention, virtual embodiments can include video lottery kiosks or other similar stand-alone devices configured to play the game, computer software implementing the invention which runs on a user's computer, and network based software which uses wired or wireless networks, such as the Internet or cellular telephone networks to communicate and coordinate the game 31 with one or more remote computing devices.
The present invention offers a game of Blackjack played in a poker style form where big money can be won very quickly. The present invention has not altered the traditional game of Blackjack for the players and is offered in such a way casinos may allow the best players in the world to play at their tables without fear of losing.
The traditional game of Blackj ack is played with players placing a wager conforming to house 6 limits and receiving two cards, usually, but not always, face up. Players then, in order, make decisions on their hand, usually also factoring in the dealer's hand, which is usually comprised of one card face up and one card face down. Each player acts by either Standing, Splitting, Doubling down, Hitting, Surrendering or any other house rule offered to the player in that game. After all players have made decisions the dealer plays their own hand. The dealer will usually hit (give another card to) on a hand 11 of 16 or less and stay on all 17's or more. Any hand that goes over 21 is a bust and a loss for the player or for the dealer. After the dealer has played their hand they would determine if the player won or lost. A player who has a hand total higher than the dealer, without going over 21, wins their wager.
A player with a lower total than the dealer, or who has busted, loses their wager to the house. Hands that are of the same value are considered a push or tie, and are neither a win or a loss. Bonuses are 16 paid to the player for a two card 21, or a Blackjack.
In Blackjack, as in the present invention, each card in the deck has a certain value. Both Blackjack and the current invention use a standard deck of 52 cards, even though many could be used and dealt out of a shoe, say up to 8 or more decks combined. Each deck would consist of 52 cards, 21 in 4 suits, ranked 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace. A
two counts as 2, three counts as 3 and so forth to the ten which counts as a total of 10 value. Jacks, Queens and Kings also have values of 10. An ace may be 1 or 11 and is always used to give the hand its best value, closest to 21 without going over.
26 In one variation of the present invention, a rotating dealer button is used to determine which player would receive the first cards and make the first decisions, wherein the dealer would randomly determine which player receives the dealer button. In a preferred embodiment, to start the game all players would place an ante wager, of a predetermined amount of money, for example, $100 on a $100 table, and so forth. The dealer would take all of the antes and place it in a Game Pot which will 31 eventually be won by a player(s). In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, at least two players will be required to play a game.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the dealer of the game would take a special token 1 or chip (which can be considered a "life" token) and place it in a predetermined area on each player's layout to show that that player is alive in the game. Only players with one of these "life" tokens play each round. Of course, in an alternative embodiment, a game could start with each player receiving any number of "life" tokens. It should be noted that a "Life token"
is just what it sounds like; a chip that represents a player's life in the game. Should a player "lose" this token (by not 6 winning or even pushing a hand during a round), that player is out of the game. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a player may not have more than two life tokens at any time during the game.
In one embodiment, the present invention utilizes a rotating "Dealer Button"
or chip. This 11 is a physical (or virtual) dealer button that slides clockwise or counter clockwise on the tabletop representation depending on the way the game is offered. In the preferred embodiment this button would slide one player position in a clockwise fashion after each pot is won, ending that game, or as, in the preferred embodiment, after each round is played. Of course, as indicated above, in an alternative embodiment the Dealer button could slide one player position in a counter clockwise 16 direction after each pot is won or each round is played. A new game, or round, would begin with the dealer button in front of a new player.
Now starting with the player who has the rotating dealer button the dealer gives each player, including themselves one card and then each player including themselves a second card. These cards 21 may be face down, or some combination of one up or one down, or as in the preferred embodiment of the present invention, both of the players' cards would be face up and one of the dealer's cards face up. Starting with the player with the dealer button each player now determines it they want to Stand, Hit, Split or Double Down with their hand. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention the goal of each player is very simple. They want to at least tie the dealer's point total at the end of this 26 hand (a push hand). If a player beats or ties to dealers total at the end of the hand, that player is still in the game and will get to play another hand in a subsequent round. Any player who loses to the dealer's hand loses a life token and is out of the game, provided they don't have any more life tokens they can use to stay alive in the game. If all players' hands lose in the same round, the players with additional Life tokens move on to the next round. If only one player has an additional Life token, he 31 wins. If no one has an additional Life token, the players) whose hand is closest to 21, without going over, wins the Game Pot. It is also understood that if a player "hits" their hand and goes over 21 they lose a life token. The dealer would physically take the life token in front of them and place it in the dealer's tray.
If a player decides to Double Down, which may be any card total although in the preferred embodiment would be allowed only in a two card hand, the player would have to place another Ante in the Game Pot. The dealer would give one additional card to any hand the player doubles on. If the dealer busts or if the player's total exceeds the dealer's total this player would win an additional life 6 token. In other words, if the player wins the double down, he is awarded an additional life token. If the players total ties that of the dealers (a push hand), that player does not receive an additional Life token for a double down push, but still moves on to the next round of play. If a player's total is less than the dealer's total that player would lose a life token. In any event to double down on a hand a player would have to add an Ante to the Game Pot and does not get this ante back even if they win 11 the hand.
If a player decides to split their hand, they must add an additional Ante to the Game Pot for each new Split hand. Players may only Split two card hands of equal value. In the preferred embodiment a player may have in total 4 hands resulting from a total of 3 splits. The value of 16 splitting a hand is a player needs only tie the dealer on any of the hands created through splitting. A
player would not lose a life token if they split three times, had four hands and lost three of them, and won or tied the last hand. In the preferred embodiment a player can hit, double down or re-split after splitting aces.
21 If a player has a two card Blackjack they automatically win a Blackjack Bonus. The Blackjack Bonus is equal to a full ante and is taken from the Game Pot and given to the player with the Blackjack. If a player stands, they receive no further cards on their hand and the next player, usually in a counter-clockwise position plays. After each player has played their hand the dealer would flip over their hole card and play their hand. The dealer would hit on all 16's and stay on any hand of 17 26 or more. After the dealer has played their hand the dealer will determine how each player did starting at the button.
As noted previously, if all players lost all their life tokens on the same hand, the player with the closest hand to 21 without going over wins the Game Pot. A player with a Blackjack would win 31 the pot over a player with a 21 if the Dealer flips over a Blackjack. After splitting a hand, a two card 21 is not considered a Blackjack so would not get a Blackjack Bonus nor beat a Dealers Blackjack, although this hand could win the pot as the closest hand to 21 if no Blackjacks appeared on the table.
If two players finish tied with the best hand, closest to 21 without going over in the same hand all players lose all their life tokens, these players would split the pot. An example of this would be the dealer drawing a 21 on the first hand of the game and the best hands on the player's side totalled 20. In this example, any player having 20 would share equally in the game pot.
When each game ends, which is usually after just a few hands the house would take a predetermined amount of the 6 Game Pot, say one ante or 5% of the Game Pot and a new game begins with each player placing a new ante wager for the new game and each also receiving a new life token.
Referring now to the drawings, the game consists of a table felt layout with a number of playing positions, and, preferably, a standard game utilizing the method of the present invention may 11 be set up at such a table, with 7 designated positions for players, it being understood that there need be no limit or restriction on that number, whether more or less. In a preferred embodiment, the game is designed for play with 8 (eight) decks of cards, namely because 8 (eight) decks of cards is the number of decks many casinos currently use and the shoe and the discard rack (that holds the spent cards) in these casinos already accommodate that number of decks. It is also understood, however, 16 that the game can function equally as well utilizing any given number of card decks, either higher or lower than 8. In another embodiment of the present invention, a cut card (not shown) can be used by the casino to cut the cards. This cut card, as it is known, is usually made of plastic and is the same size as a regular playing card. The dealer inserts this card into the decks used in the game, generally about a full deck from the end of the cards, before placing the cards into the shoe and starting a new 21 game, though there is no restriction on where in the deck the cut card is placed. When a game is being played and this cut card comes out of the shoe, the round being played is completed, but it signals the dealer that no further rounds are to be played until the cards are reshuffled.
With reference to Figure 1, on the table felt (1) of the casino table used in one embodiment 26 of the present invention there will be betting spaces for each player, as hereinafter described. It is understood that each table will have its own Minimum and Maximum Ante limits that will be posted at the table. In a preferred embodiment, players are not allowed to ante lower than the minimum, or higher than the table maximum, which will be the same amount. To start each new game, each player must place an ante wager. As noted previously, the Ante wager made by each of the players is first 31 made at the start of a new game, and before a player ever sees any of the cards.
Here are some examples from the start of the game. Life tokens for the players are initially placed on the casino table in their respective life token area (3). After all players at the table have placed their ante wager, of course, the game begins. With reference again to Figure 1, cards dealt to each of the players are placed in their respective hand areas (5) on the casino table.
Game Examples 6 Game #1, Round (A) -All Players Ante *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First *Player #1 draws Queen--Ace= Blackjack, (and player is paid BJ Bonus) Total BJ
Player #2 draws 2--9 (player Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot) then draws a "Ten", for a Total of 21 11 Player #3 draws 6--Ace (player Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot), then draws a "7", for a Total of 14 Player #4 draws an 8--Ten, player Stays, for a Total of 18 Player #S draws Queen - 9, player Stays, for a Total of 19 Player #6 draws a Queen - 7, players Stays, for a Total of 17 16 Player #7 draws a King - 3, player Stays, for a Total of 13 Dealers Hand Up Card is a "6", Down Card is a "2", Dealer then draws a "7", then an "8" _ Busted Pot = $700 in antes, Minus $100 BJ Bonus, Plus $200 in Double Downs = $800 All Players Move to next Round, Players #2 & #3 earn extra Life token (as a result of winning 21 their double downs).
Game #1 Round (B) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First 26 Player #1 draws 6 - 9, then Hits again and draws an Ace, hits again and draws a "4", Stays, Total =20 (Pushes, moves to next round) *Player #2 (life x2) draws an Ace - 2, then Hits again and draws a Jack, then Hits again and draws a "S", Stays Total =18 (Lost, still has 1 life) Player #3 (life x 2) draws a King - 3, then Hits again and draws a "5", Stays, Total =18 (Lost, 31 still has 1 life) Player #4 draws 2 - 8, then Hits again and draws a "5", then Hits again and draws an Ace, then Hits again and draws a "9"= Busts (Out of Game # 1 ) Player #5 draws a King - 9, Stays, Total=19 (Lost - Out of Game # 1 ) Player #6 draws a Ten - 4, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game # 1 ) 36 Player #7 draws 5 - 3, then Hits again and draws a "7", then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game #1) Dealers Hand Up Card is Ace (looks, no Blackjack), Down Card is a "4", then Hits again and draws a "5" = 20 Pot = $800 41 Player #1 moves to next round, by virtue of tying the dealer's total (a push). Players #2 and #3 can also move to the next round by using the extra life tokens awarded to them in the last round.
All other players eliminated.
46 Game #1 Round (C) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws 8 - 2, then Hits again and draws a Jack, Stays, Total =20 (Lost, closest to 21, Wins Pot) Player #2 draws 2 - Jack, then Hits again and draws a Jack, Busts (Out of Game #2) 51 *Player #3 6 - Ace, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Stays, Total 17 (Lost, Out of Game #1) Dealers Hand Up Card is Jack, Down Card is a "2", then Hits again and draws a "3", then Hits 1 again and draws a "6" = 21 Pot = $800 Notes: Both Players #1 and #3 lost to Dealers Hand of 21. Player #2 busted and is eliminated also. If all players lose on the same hand, and no player has extra life tokens which would enable them to move to another round, the game is over with the closest total to 21 without going over 6 winning the pot. In this example, Player #1 wins the pot, for being the player with the closest hand to 21 without going over.
Pot Distribution: Player #1 Gets 95% of Pot, or $760 and House 5% or $40 11 Game #2 Round (A) - All Players Ante *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws King - 3, Hits 7, Stays, Total= 20 (Pushes) Player #2 draws King - 7, Stays, Total=17 (Lost, Out of Game #2) Player #3 draws 4 - Jack, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Busts (Out of Game #2) 16 *Player #4 draws 9 - 3, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts, (Out of Game #2) Player #5 draws Ten - 3, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Busts, (Out of Game #2) Player #6 draws 7 - King, Stays, Total=17 (Lost, Out of Game #2) Player #7 draws Ten - 3, then Hits again and draws a "4", Stays, Total=17 (Lost, Out of Game #2) 21 Dealers Hand Up Card is Ten, Down Card Ten = 20 Pot = $700 Notes: All players lost except player #1, who pushed. Player #1 wins the pot, for being the player with the closest hand to 21 without going over.
Pot distribution: Player #1 Gets 95% of Pot, or $665 and House 5% or $35 Game #3 Round (A) - All Players Ante *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws a 4 - 4, Splits by Adding Another Ante to Pot. Hand 1A draws 4 - 2, then 31 Hits again and draws a "6", then Hits again and draws a King, Busts, Hand draws 4 - 2, then Hits again and draws a "5", then Hits again and draws a "2", Stays, Total= 13 Player #2 draw 3 - King, Stays, Total= 13 Player #3 draws 8 - Queen, Stays, Total =18 36 Player #4 draws Queen - Ace = Blackjack, paid BJ Bonus Total= BJ
*Player #5 draws 2 - 2, Splits by Adding Another Ante to Pot. Hand SA) 2 -Ace, Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot, then Hits again and draws a "Ten", Total=13, Hand SB) draws 2 - Queen, then Hits again and draws a "9", Stays, Total =21 41 Player #6 draws King - Jack, Stays, Total= 20 Player #7 draws King - 9, Stays, Total =19 Dealers Hand Up Card is 4, Down Card 4, Draws 7, Draws 9 = Busts Pot = $700 in Antes, Minus $100 BJ Bonus, Plus $100 in Double Downs, Plus $200 in Splits =
$900 46 All Players Move to next Round. Player #5 earns extra Life token (as a result of winning the double down).
51 Game #3 Round (B) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 draws 5 - 5, Doubles Down by Adding Another Ante to Pot, then Hits again and draws a Queen, Total=20 1 Player #2 draws 3 - Queen, Stays, Total= 13 Player #3 draws Queen - 7, Stays, Total =17 Player #4 draws Ten - 6, Stays, Total =16 Player #5 (life x 2) draws 9 - Queen, Stays, Total=19 *Player #6 draws King - 7, Stays, Total= 17 6 Player #7 draws Ten - Jack, Stays, Total= 20 Dealers Hand Up Card is 5, Down Card is a "7", then Hits again and draws a Jack= Busts Pot = $1000 All Players Move to next Round. Player #1 earns extra Life token (as a result of winning the double down).
Game #3 Round (C) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First Player #1 (life x 2) draws 2 - Ten, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts 16 (Lost hand, life x 1) Player #2 draws Jack - 4, then Hits again and draws a "9", Busts (Out of Game #3) Player #3 draw Jack - Ace = Blackjack, paid BJ Bonus Total BJ
Player #4 draws 3 - Ace, Hits 7, Stays, Total =21 Player #5 (life x 2) draws 4 - Queen, then Hits again and draws a "7", Stays, Total =21 21 Player #6 draws 5 - Queen, then Hits again and draws a "9", Busts (Out of Game #3) *Player #7 draws 5 - Ten, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game #3) Dealers Hand Up Card is Ten, Down Card is a "4", Draws Jack, = Busts Pot = $900 Players #1,3,4 and 5 move to the next round. Players #2,6 and 7 eliminated.
Game #3 Round (D) *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First *Player #1 draws 4 - 3, then Hits again and draws a "9", then Hits again and draws a "6", Busts (Out of Game #3) 31 Player #3 draws Jack - King, Stays, Total=20 Player #4 draws 3 - Jack, then Hits again and draws a King, Busts (Out of Game #3) Player #5 (life x 2) draws Ten - 7, Stays, Total=17 Dealers Hand Up Card is Queen, Down Card is a "9", Total=19 Pot = $900 36 Notes: Player #3 moves on to next round. Player #5 Lost, but still has one life left, and as such will move on to the next round. Players #1 and 4 eliminated.
Game #3 Round (E) 41 *Means Player has Dealer Button and Plays First *Player #3 draws Ace - King = Blackjack, paid BJ Bonus Total BJ
Player #5 draws 5 -2, Hits Ace, Stays, Total=18 Dealers Hand Up Card is 8, Down Card 8, then Hits again and draws a "5", Total = 21 Pot = $800 46 All players lost except player #3, who pushed. Player #3 wins the pot.
Pot Distribution: Player #3 Gets 95% of Pot, or $760 and House 5% or $40 Of course, in an alternative embodiment, the present invention may also be a online game 51 found in online poker rooms. The advantage to this is that the game can be played not only for any denomination but in tournaments where thousands of players can play against each other at one time.
1 For instance, an online Poker room could offer a tournament where players pay a predetermined amount to join in a tournament, for example, $25. Another embodiment of the present invention could involve a charge for joining such a tournament, say $3 per person, or the operator of the tournament could take a percentage of the total Prize Pool. If one thousand players joined in this online tournament there would be a prize pool of $25,000. At the start each player could be randomly 6 seated at a poker style table with any number of players, say 10. Each player could be given any number of starting chips, say $1,500 in play money. At the start of the tournament the Ante could be any amount, say $25. This ante could increase every 30 minutes, or any predetermined amount of time. So the ante could go from $25, to $50, $100, $250, $500, $1000 and so forth as the game goes.
By increasing the ante, players are slowly forced out of the game as in poker tournaments played 11 online and eventually you have one final table and one final winner. Of course a predetermined number of prizes could be offered if not winner take all. This kind of tournament could be very popular amongst Blackjack players.
In an alternative embodiment of the present invention, the game play previously described 16 herein can also be applied to a virtual embodiment, as would be apparent to a person skilled in the art. For example, game play could begin with a player pressing a button to effect a computer "shuffling" a desired or pre-selected number of decks. Further interface buttons can be used to indicate the ante wagering of "chips" by a player. Such an arrangement supports a wide variety of implementations including, but not limited to, kiosks, home computers and client/server based 21 arrangements (which may be useful in casinos and on the Internet). In a still further embodiment, Figure 4 illustrates a sample arrangement through which a virtual embodiment of the present invention could be implemented. Such an arrangement supports a wide variety of implementations including, but not limited to, kiosks, home computers and client/server based arrangements (which may be useful in casinos and on the Internet). As Figure 4 illustrates, a virtual embodiment will 26 preferably display a user interface to a player through a display device (39). A user interface device (41) can include, but is not limited to, any of a mouse, keyboard, touch screen display, joystick, touch pad or voice recognition system, which is preferably provided to effect user interaction with the virtual embodiment. Game software (43) interprets the information from the user interface (41) and generates the user interface to be displayed on display device (39) based on the information and the 31 rules of the game. Information needed by the game software (43) such as bet values for the players) and the like, can be stored in a computer's random access memory (45) and/or hard disk drive/Non-Volatile storage (47). A microprocessor (49), of course, would be the heart of any such system described, executing the computations necessary to run the game software (43).
With reference to Figure 5 one embodiment of the virtual or automated version of the game play of the present invention is shown, wherein an example of a sample game is provided. Figure 5 shows an example of an automated video terminal or kiosk (51) useful to practice the game play methods of the present invention, and which includes a housing (53) of conventional design. The 6 housing (53) contains a video display screen (55) which displays the various presentations during the play of the game, and which may be any form of display screen such as a CRT, plasma screen, liquid crystal screen, LED screen or the like. The display screen may be a touch screen display, for example, in a preferred embodiment, or by providing a plurality of push buttons, or the like. Of course, the video display screen (55) provides a continuous display screen on which images of cards being dealt 11 to the players, the dealer hand, the ante wagers of the players) and touch screen player input functions are displayed.
As noted above, the automated video terminal or kiosk (51) provides means for enabling a player to make a wager when playing the game. These means, where the game is played for pure 16 enjoyment, may simply be means for the player to wager fictitious credits.
Alternatively, as shown in the drawings, where the automated video terminal or kiosk (51) is to be used in a gaming establishment, such as a casino, the terminal or kiosk (51) may include a coin slot (57) or variation thereof by which the player can wager units such as currency, coins, tokens, identification cards, player tracking cards, ticket in/ticket out acceptance, and the like. While not illustrated, it is well 21 known to provide a cash reader to accept cash denomination wagers, the cash reader enabling the player to accumulate credits for wagering with the terminal or kiosk (51).
Additionally, means may be provided for the player to wager from funds on a debit card, credit card or the like as known in the art.
26 In the present embodiment described herein, there is contained within the housing (53) a processor (not shown) of conventional design. The processor includes a first data structure including data representing each card of 8 (eight) decks of cards, namely because 8 (eight) decks of cards is the number of decks many casinos currently use and the shoe and the discard rack (that holds the spent cards) in these casinos already accommodate that number of decks. It is also conceivable, however, 31 that as few as a standard deck of 52 cards may also be used, and reshuffled as need be, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. The processor also includes a second data structure which includes data representing winning outcome combinations of any of the player and dealer hands that are finalized, along with the corresponding payouts. Additionally, the processor, in the manner described below, is programmed to generate and control the presentations at the video display screen (55), and play of the game according to the present invention using a set of programmable instructions. These instructions can, for example, be stored within a computer readable medium (not shown) configured for insertion within the processor.
6 With reference to FIG. 5, the video display screen (55) provides the player with the ability to control the play of the game and make various selections as hereinafter described. Furthermore, the processor includes means for determining the amount wagered by the player.
This amount may be by the player wagering credits accumulated during game play, or by obtaining credits to play the game by inserting currency in one of the many forms noted previously described above into the coin slot 11 (57) or variation thereo~
To start a new game, a player would first obtain credits to play the game by inserting currency in one of the aforementioned forms described above into the coin slot (57) or variation thereof. A
credit meter (61) for the player on the video display screen (55) would be incremented accordingly 16 to reflect the amount of credits the player has obtained. In one embodiment of the present invention, the video display screen (55) can display a prompt on the display screen instructing the player to make a wager prior to beginning the game. A player would then select Ante area (63) on the video display screen (55) to place their ante wager. In this example, the video display screen (SS), utilizes a touch screen display whereby a player can effect selections, in a preferred embodiment, though other 21 variations are conceivable, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art.
The amount initially indicated in Ante area (63) would then be subtracted from Credit Meter (61).
Of course, it is known that the amount of the wager a player places initially into Ante area (63) may have to conform to machine limits, casino limits, or another set limit. This limit may, of course, be posted somewhere on the machine or screen or otherwise, and may comprise minimum and maximum limits.
After a player has placed an ante wager in Ante area (63), the Deal/Draw Button (75) would light up, in a preferred embodiment, indicating to the player that the game is ready to play. To deal the cards the player would simply press the Deal/Draw Button (75). After the player has pressed the Deal/Draw Button (75), the processor is prompted to initiate play of the game, whereby the processor 31 then selects from the first data structure data which represents cards to be initially drawn by the virtual dealer and placed in each of the dealer hand area (65) and the various player hand areas (67), and to display that data on the video display screen (55) as representations of the faces of the cards drawn.
As the game continues, the processor then selects, from the remaining card data of the first data structure, card data sufficient to complete the hands contained in each of the dealer hand area (65) and 1 the various player hand areas (67).
In one embodiment of the present invention, an instruction or help button (not shown) may be placed upon the video display screen (55), so as to provide information to the player as to how to complete the round of play.
6 Of course, in another embodiment, the processor further comprises means on the video display screen (55) for allowing the player to place additional wagers or bets on the card game at various points when cards are drawn to any of the various player hand areas (67), the additional wagers or bets being paid or collected in accordance with a pre-established set of rules. It will, of course, be understood to those skilled in the art that these rules can include, but are not limited to, Doubling 11 Down, Splitting, and so forth. It will of course be understood that numerous variations are possible with respect to providing additional wagering or betting options, as would be apparent to one skilled in the art. In another variation, it would also be conceivable to have a progressive jackpot, whereby if certain designated hands come into play during game play, players engaging in the additional wagering or betting options could obtain the jackpot, or a percentage of it, for example.
In another embodiment, the terminal or kiosk (51) also includes a cash out button (59) to enable the player to prompt the processor to distribute to the player in a known fashion accumulated credits (not shown) in the form of coins or tokens. Thus, at the conclusion of a game, if a player wanted to end the session, he could do so by pressing the Cash Out button (59).
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that the same may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Claims (40)
1. A method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of:
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(c) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(d) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(e) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (f) repeating steps (b) to (e) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(c) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(d) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(e) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (f) repeating steps (b) to (e) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein, after receipt of the first two cards in step (b), the two or more players have the option of doubling down or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand.
3. A method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of:
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(c) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand;
(d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(c) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand;
(d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
4. The method of claim 1 or 3, wherein, when any of the two or more players decide to double down or split cards of equal value to form the additional hand to play, an additional ante must be placed, the additional ante being added to the jackpot.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein a variable number of a plurality of players can play the card game.
6. The method of claim 1 or 3, wherein the dealer playing the dealer hand is required to "hit"
on numerical totals of 16 or lower.
on numerical totals of 16 or lower.
7. The method of claim 1 or 3, wherein, when the numerical value of the finalized dealer hand is equal to the finalized numerical value of any hands owned by the two or more players, that hand is considered a "push" hand, and the player owning the "push" hand is enabled to play the subsequent rounds of play.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the card game has a minimum and a maximum limit set for placing an amount of the ante wager.
9. A method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of:
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(c) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand;
(d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(c) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand;
(d) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(f) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player; and (g) repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein, prior to step (b), the dealer issues one life token to each of the two or more players.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein, when the numerical value of any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of any of the players hands exceeds twenty-one, the life token is removed from that player, wherein any such player being without an additional life token is eliminated from the game.
12. The method of claim 9, wherein, when the numerical value of the finalized dealer hand is greater than the finalized numerical value of any hands owned by the two or more players who have optionally doubled down in step (c), the players owning the player hands with a numerical value less than the numerical value of the finalized dealer hand lose a life token, wherein any of the two or more players being without an additional life token are eliminated from the game.
13. The method of claim 9, wherein, when any of the two or more players decide to double down or split cards of equal value to form the additional player hand to play, an additional ante must be placed, the additional ante being added to the jackpot.
14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein, prior to step (a), the dealer issues a rotating dealer button to one of the two of more players, the rotating dealer button being used to determine which of the two of more players first receives the two first cards and begins a round of play.
15. The method of claim 14, wherein the rotating dealer button rotates to a subsequent player at the conclusion of the round of play, and prior to the beginning of the subsequent rounds of play.
16. The method of any one of claims 1 to 15, wherein the two cards dealt to the dealer in step (b) comprise a first card being placed face up, and a second card being placed face up only after each of the hands of the two or more players are finalized.
17. The method of any one of claims 1 to 16, wherein any of the two or more players obtaining a two card Blackjack is awarded a Blackjack bonus, the Blackjack bonus being equivalent to a value of the ante wager.
18. The method of claim 9, wherein the dealer finalizing the dealer hand is required to "hit" on numerical totals of 16 or lower.
19. The method of claim 9, wherein, when the numerical value of the finalized dealer hand is equal to the finalized numerical value of any hands owned by the two or more players, that hand is considered a "push" hand, and the player owning the "push" hand is enabled to play the subsequent rounds of play.
20. The method of any one of claims 11 to 19, wherein, when all of the two or more players have lost the life tokens, the jackpot is awarded to that player having the player hand which has obtained the numerical total closest to 21, without exceeding 21.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein, when all of the two or more players have lost the life tokens, and one or more players have player hands which have obtained an equal numerical total closest to 21, without exceeding 21, and are tied, the jackpot is split amongst those players.
22. A virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in claim 1 or 9, the virtual gaming system comprising:
a display device;
at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:
(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;
(b) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;
(c) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(d) electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(f) an electronic determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) the processor repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
a display device;
at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:
(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;
(b) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;
(c) electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(d) electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(e) electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(f) an electronic determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game; and (g) the processor repeating steps (b) to (f) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
23. A virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in claim 1 or 9, the virtual gaming system comprising:
a display device;
at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:
(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;
(b) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;
(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(d) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;
(e) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(f) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(g) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded by the processor to that successful player; and (h) the processor repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
a display device;
at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:
(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;
(b) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;
(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(d) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;
(e) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(f) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(g) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded by the processor to that successful player; and (h) the processor repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein, when any of the two or more players decide to double down or split cards of equal value to form the additional hand to play, an additional ante must be placed, the additional ante being added to the jackpot represented on the display device.
25. The system of claim 24, wherein the game program also contains instructions for allowing any of the two or more players to play multiple hands independently of one another.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein a progressive building jackpot is added to the card game, an amount of the progressive building jackpot being displayed on the display device.
27. The system of claim 26, wherein the processor further comprises means for allowing the at least two players to each place a side bet to enter a progressive building jackpot, the side bet being paid or collected in accordance with a pre-established rules set of rules, and wherein the progressive building jackpot is connected to other on-going virtual card games having the same or substantially similar rules, the other on-going virtual card games being run at a same location as the virtual card game, or elsewhere.
28. The system of claim 27, wherein the progressive building jackpot is connected to other on-going card games having the same or substantially similar rules, the other on-going card games being run at a same location as the virtual card game, or elsewhere.
29. The system of claim 27, wherein the other on-going card games are run simultaneously in occurrence with the virtual card game.
30. The system of claim 29, wherein the display device further comprises a touch screen.
31. The system of claim 30, wherein the virtual gaming system is implemented as a kiosk.
32. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the game program provides a minimum and a maximum limit set for placing the first wager.
33. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the game program is stored within a computer readable medium configured for insertion within the virtual gaming system.
34. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the display device further comprises a display screen, the display screen being a CRT, plasma screen, liquid crystal screen, or LED
screen.
screen.
35. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the display device provides a plurality of push buttons for enabling the two or more players to effect their selections.
36. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the processor further comprises means to generate a display of each of the players hands on the display screen.
37. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the cards are dealt from a predetermined number of decks of playing cards.
38. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the two or more players further comprise a real player, and at least one virtual player.
39. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein any of the two or more players obtaining a two card Blackjack is awarded a Blackjack bonus, the Blackjack bonus being equivalent to a value of the ante wager.
40. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the virtual dealer finalizing the virtual dealer hand is required to "hit" on numerical totals of 16 or lower.
50. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the display device and the at least one user interface device are connected to the game program via a network.
51. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the network is the Internet.
52. A method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of:
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer issues a life token to each of the two or more players;
(c) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(d) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand;
(e) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(f) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(g) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player; and (h) repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
53. A virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in claim 52, the virtual gaming system comprising:
a display device;
at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:
(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;
(b) the processor electronically issues one life token to each of the two or more players;
(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;
(d) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(e) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;
(f) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(g) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(h) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded by the processor to that successful player; and (i) the processor repeating steps (b) to (h) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
50. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the display device and the at least one user interface device are connected to the game program via a network.
51. The system of claim 22 or 23, wherein the network is the Internet.
52. A method of playing a card game involving two or more players and a dealer comprising the steps of:
(a) the two or more players each placing an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot;
(b) the dealer issues a life token to each of the two or more players;
(c) the dealer beginning a round of play by dealing two first cards to each of the two or more players, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, and dealing two cards to the dealer, so as to form a dealer hand, as in normal Blackjack rules;
(d) the two or more players have the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand;
(e) the hands of the two or more players are finalized one at a time, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(f) the dealers hand is finalized, the dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the dealer hand until a numerical value of the dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(g) a determination is made to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded to that successful player; and (h) repeating steps (b) to (g) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
53. A virtual gaming system for effecting the card playing method of playing a card game as defined in claim 52, the virtual gaming system comprising:
a display device;
at least one user interface device;
a processor for executing a game program, including generating game play images on the display device, wherein the processor interprets input from the at least one user interface device and carries out the game program utilized by the virtual gaming system as follows:
(a) each of the two or more players utilizing the interface device to place an ante wager, the ante wager being added to a jackpot illustrated on the display device;
(b) the processor electronically issues one life token to each of the two or more players;
(c) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to each player, so as to form a player hand for each of the two or more players, the initial hand of two cards being represented on the display device;
(d) the processor electronically dealing an initial hand of two cards to a virtual dealer, so as to form a virtual dealer hand, the cards being represented on the display device;
(e) the processor providing the two or more players with the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value so as to form an additional player hand that player may play, the additional player hand being played independently of the player hand, the option of standing, doubling down, or splitting cards of equal value being selected by any of the two or more players through use of the interface device;
(f) the processor electronically finalizing the hands of each of the two or more players one at a time, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the hands of the two or more players until a numerical value of the hands either exceeds twenty-one or any of the players choose to stand;
(g) the processor electronically finalizing the virtual dealer hand, the virtual dealer sequentially drawing and adding further cards to the virtual dealer hand until a numerical value of the virtual dealer hand exceeds sixteen;
(h) the processor effecting an electronic determination to see if any of the two or more players hands has beat the virtual dealer's hand by obtaining a numerical total closest to 21, and, if so, then those players are enabled to play subsequent rounds of play, and, if any of the two or more players hands has not beat the numerical total of the virtual dealer's hand, those players are eliminated from the game, and wherein if any of the two or more players doubled down and successfully beat the numerical value of the dealer's hand, or the numerical value of the dealer's hand exceeds twenty-one, an additional life token is awarded by the processor to that successful player; and (i) the processor repeating steps (b) to (h) to continue play and begin the subsequent rounds, if necessary, until only one player remains, the one player being awarded the jackpot.
Priority Applications (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2516802 CA2516802A1 (en) | 2005-08-22 | 2005-08-22 | Black jack style card game |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2516802 CA2516802A1 (en) | 2005-08-22 | 2005-08-22 | Black jack style card game |
Publications (1)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| CA2516802A1 true CA2516802A1 (en) | 2007-02-22 |
Family
ID=37770740
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CA 2516802 Abandoned CA2516802A1 (en) | 2005-08-22 | 2005-08-22 | Black jack style card game |
Country Status (1)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| CA (1) | CA2516802A1 (en) |
-
2005
- 2005-08-22 CA CA 2516802 patent/CA2516802A1/en not_active Abandoned
Similar Documents
| Publication | Publication Date | Title |
|---|---|---|
| US5806855A (en) | Poker wagering game | |
| US6626433B2 (en) | Card game | |
| US7168705B2 (en) | System and method for playing a table and electronic card game | |
| US6345824B1 (en) | Bonus feature for casino card game | |
| US6638163B2 (en) | Stud poker games | |
| US6409174B1 (en) | 21 Draw poker game | |
| US6237917B1 (en) | Method of playing a baccarat game | |
| US7618044B2 (en) | System and method for playing a table and electronic card game | |
| US20060163807A1 (en) | Systems and methods for card games that simulate non-card casino table games | |
| US7562876B2 (en) | System and method for playing community hand poker games utilizing mathematical dealer qualifying criteria | |
| US20060178183A1 (en) | Poker game | |
| US20030071418A1 (en) | Method and device for playing an improved game of blackjack | |
| US7549642B2 (en) | Method and device for conducting a blackjack-type card game | |
| US20040092301A1 (en) | Method of electronically playing a casino card game | |
| US20070170652A1 (en) | Poker game variants and methods thereof | |
| US6742781B1 (en) | Baccarat game methods and electronic device for playing the same | |
| US11992750B2 (en) | Blackjack variation | |
| US7097175B2 (en) | Method and device for conducting a blackjack-type card game | |
| US20100213671A1 (en) | Method and Device for Conducting a Multi-Hand Wagering Game | |
| US20160275758A1 (en) | Electronic entertainment system and method | |
| WO2005087331A1 (en) | Casino card game involving wagering | |
| CA2504494A1 (en) | A method of playing a blackjack style card game having an accumulated jackpot | |
| US20140024426A1 (en) | Pair 9 Poker Plus | |
| US20120040729A1 (en) | Method and apparatus for playing a wagering card game | |
| US20090091082A1 (en) | Method and apparatus for playing a wagering game |
Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| FZDE | Dead |