U.S. patent application number 11/909487 was filed with the patent office on 2008-10-09 for method for playing a card game, in particular black jack (variants) and gaming equipment for playing said game.
Invention is credited to Olexandr Ivanovich Kyrychenko.
Application Number | 20080246219 11/909487 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 38163218 |
Filed Date | 2008-10-09 |
United States Patent
Application |
20080246219 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Kyrychenko; Olexandr
Ivanovich |
October 9, 2008 |
Method for Playing a Card Game, In Particular Black Jack (Variants)
and Gaming Equipment for Playing Said Game
Abstract
Equipment for playing a card game, in particular Black Jack,
includes a playing table provided with a cover divided into sectors
for players and a dealer playing place, a unit for identifying and
recording the value symbols of the cards, a game monitoring system
provided with a unit for detecting the presence of objects on the
table, units for controlling bets of the players arranged in each
player sector, game control units arranged in each player sector, a
credit control unit arranged at the dealer playing place, a unit
for visualizing the game control orders of the players arranged at
the dealer playing place, a computer which is connected to
individual functional units by means of wire or wireless
communication elements and is provided with an electronic data
processing system, a device for displaying data items processed by
the computer, and an information storage system. The gaming
equipment also includes a unit for simultaneously transmitting the
card value information to the game control unit of each player and
to a unit for forming a common order to the dealer.
Inventors: |
Kyrychenko; Olexandr Ivanovich;
(Zaporozhie, UA) |
Correspondence
Address: |
SMITH-HILL AND BEDELL, P.C.
16100 NW CORNELL ROAD, SUITE 220
BEAVERTON
OR
97006
US
|
Family ID: |
38163218 |
Appl. No.: |
11/909487 |
Filed: |
February 6, 2006 |
PCT Filed: |
February 6, 2006 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/UA2006/000005 |
371 Date: |
September 24, 2007 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
273/292 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G07F 17/32 20130101;
G07F 17/322 20130101; G07F 17/3293 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
273/292 |
International
Class: |
A63F 1/00 20060101
A63F001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 15, 2005 |
UA |
200512073 |
Claims
1-9. (canceled)
10. Method of playing card game, in particular the game of Black
Jack in which dealer shuffles a deck(s) of playing cards before the
beginning of the game and places the said cards in the card shoe
face down; all players at the gaming table place compulsory bets
for the game of Black Jack; the dealer draws cards for each player
and himself; each player makes decision in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack--stand, request another card, double down,
split,--until all players have lost right to obtain more cards;
values of the first two cards and all additional cards, received by
each player, are added up in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack; the dealer stands or draws more cards for himself in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack; values of the cards,
received by the dealer, are added up; the dealer plays with each
player in turn, comparing the player's hand and the dealer's hand;
if the total value of a player's hand is higher than the total
value of the dealer's hand, the player is paid the win in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack; if the total value of a
player's hand is lower than the total value of the dealers hand,
the player's bet goes to the bank; if the total value of a player's
hand draws with the total value of the dealer's hand, it is push,
the player retains his bet; which differs in that after the dealer
completed distribution of the first two cards to each of the
players and himself, the players make decisions to stand, request
another card, double down or split simultaneously; after all the
players, who have right to stand, request another card, double down
or split, made their decisions to stand, request another card,
double down or split, and at least one player decided to request
another card, double down or split, the dealer draws a card from
the card shoe, the said card is common for all the players.
11. Method of playing card game, in particular the game of Black
Jack, in which dealer shuffles a deck(s) of playing cards before
the beginning of the game and places the said cards in the card
shoe face down; all players at the gaming table place compulsory
bets for the game of Black Jack; the dealer draws cards for players
and himself; each player makes decision in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack--stand, request another card, double down,
split,--until all players lost right to obtain another card; values
of the first two cards and all additional cards, received by each
player, are added up in accordance with the rules of Black Jack;
the dealer stands or draws more cards for himself in accordance
with the rules of Black Jack; values of the cards, received by the
dealer, are added up; the dealer plays with each player in turn,
comparing the player's hand and the dealer's hand; if the total
value of a player's hand is higher than the total value of the
dealer's hand, the player is paid the win in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack; if the total value of a player's hand is lower
than the total value of the dealers hand, the player's bet goes to
the bank; if the total value of a player's hand draws with the
total value of the dealer's hand, it is push, the player retains
his bet; which differs in that the first and the third cards, drawn
by the dealer from the card shoe after the players placed their
bets, are common for all players; values of the said first and
third cards are added up and the total value is common for all the
players; each player in turn makes decision about next steps in the
game; the dealer plays with each player in turn, drawing more cards
for each player individually if the player's decision requires the
dealer to do so; for each player the said total value of the said
first and the said third cards drawn by the dealer from the card
shoe, the said total value being common for all the players, is
added up to the values of individually obtained cards in accordance
with the rules of Black Jack.
12. Method of playing card game, in particular the game of Black
Jack, in which dealer shuffles a deck(s) of playing cards before
the beginning of the game and places the said cards in the card
shoe face down; all players at the gaming table place compulsory
bets for the game of Black Jack; any of the players can place
additional bet if wishes to do so; the dealer draws cards for
players and himself; each player makes decision in accordance with
the rules of Black Jack--stand, request another card, double down,
split,--until all players have lost right to obtain another card;
values of the first two cards and all additional cards, received by
each player, are added up in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack; the dealer stands or draws more cards for himself in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack; values of the cards,
received by the dealer, are added up; the dealer plays with each
player in turn, comparing the player's hand and the dealer's hand;
if the total value of a player's hand is higher than the total
value of the dealer's hand, the player is paid the win in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack; if the total value of a
player's hand is lower than the total value of the dealers hand,
the player's bet goes to the bank; if the total value of a player's
hand draws with the total value of the dealer's hand, it is push,
the player retains his bet; the said method differs in that the
first and the third cards, drawn by the dealer from the cards shoe
after the players placed their bets, are common for all the
players; values of the said first and third cards are added up and
the total value is common for all players; all players who have
right to receive another card in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack simultaneously make decisions about their next steps in the
game; after all players, who have the right to stand, request
another card, double down or split in accordance with the rules of
Black Jack, made their decisions and at least one player decided to
request another card, double down or split, the dealer draws a card
from the card shoe, the said card is common for all the players,
who's decision requires additional card; for each player the values
of the first and third cards drawn by the dealer from the card shoe
and values of all following cards, requested by the player are
added up in accordance with the rules of black Jack.
13. Method of playing card game, in particular the game of Black
Jack, as described in claim 10, which differs in that every
consecutive card, drawn by the dealer from the card shoe after all
players made decisions about their next steps in the game, is
common for all players who made decision to request another card,
double down or split; every card, drawn by the dealer from the card
shoe after all players made decisions about their next steps in the
game, will be counted as the dealer's hand next card, provided that
the total value of the dealer's hand does not exceed 17, for all
the players, who made decisions to stand.
14. Method of playing card game, in particular the game of Black
Jack, as described in claim 12, which differs in that every
consecutive card, drawn by the dealer from the card shoe after all
players made decisions about their next steps in the game, is
common for all players who made decision to request another card,
double down or split; every card, drawn by the dealer from the card
shoe after all players made decisions about their next steps in the
game, will be counted as the dealer's hand next card, provided that
the total value of the dealer's hand does not exceed 17, for all
the players, who made decisions to stand.
15. Method of playing card game as described in claim 12 which
differs in that a player can place additional bet for the game of
Baccarat, the said game is played as follows: the players' initial
two cards hand and the dealer's initial two cards hand for Baccarat
are as in the main game of Black Jack; if in accordance with the
rules of Baccarat a third card is required for the players' hand or
the dealer's hand, the said required third card will be the fifth
card, drawn by the dealer from the card shoe; if in accordance with
the rules of Baccarat a third card is required for the players'
hand and a third card is required for the dealer's hand, it will be
respectively the fifth and the sixth cards drawn by the dealer from
the card shoe.
16. Method of playing card games as described in claim 12, which
differs in that the time allocated to the players for decision
making is limited.
17. Method of playing card games as described in claim 13, which
differs in that the time allocated to the players for decision
making is limited.
18. Method of playing card games as described in claim 14, which
differs in that the time allocated to the players for decision
making is limited.
19. Method of playing card games as described in claim 15 which
differs in that the time allocated to the players for decision
making is limited.
20. Gaming equipment for playing card game, in particular the game
of Black Jack, comprising: gaming table with cloth provided with
markings, designating player zones, dealer zone and areas for
placing playing cards face up; card shoe for storing and
distributing cards, cards are drawn from the card shoe face up, the
said card shoe is equipped with optical electronic sensor for
detecting cards' movements and card value imprint recognition and
registration unit for recognition and registration of the values of
cards drawn from the card shoe; monitoring system of the game run,
provided with object's presence on the table recognition unit;
player bet control units, provided with zones for entering
operating commands and zone for displaying information about the
game run, the said player bet control units are positioned
correspondingly in each player zone; player's game control units,
provided with zones for entering operating commands and zone for
displaying information about the game run, the said player's game
control units are positioned correspondingly in each player zone;
credit control unit, provided with zones for entering operating
commands, the said credit control unit is positioned in the dealer
zone; players commands visualization unit, provided with zone for
entering operating commands and zone for displaying information
about the game run, the said players commands visualization unit is
positioned in the dealer zone; computer, connected to the
functional units by means of wire or wireless communications, the
said computer is equipped with programmed in accordance with the
game rules electronic data processing system; computer processed
data visualization device; information storage system, the inputs
of the electronic data processing system are connected respectively
to the outputs of: card value imprint recognition and registration
unit for recognition and registration of the values of cards drawn
from the card shoe face down, object's presence on the table
recognition unit; computer, player bet control units, credit
control unit; inputs of the computer are connected correspondingly
to the outputs of the electronic data processing system and
information storage system; inputs of the player bet control units
are connected correspondingly to the output of the electronic data
processing system; input of the credit control unit is connected
correspondingly to the output of the electronic data processing
system; input of the players commands visualization unit is
connected correspondingly to the output of the electronic data
processing system; input of the information storage system is
connected correspondingly to the output of the computer; input of
the computer processed data visualization device is connected
correspondingly to the output of the computer; the said gaming
equipment differs in that it additionally contains parallel
transmission of information unit for transmitting information about
value of the card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe to the
player game control units of all players, who have right to obtain
the said card; collective command formation unit for formation of
collective command of the players to the dealer; input of the
parallel transmission of information unit is connected
correspondingly to the output of the electronic data processing
system; output of the parallel transmission of information unit is
connected correspondingly to the inputs of each of the player game
control units; input of the collective command formation unit is
connected correspondingly to the outputs of each of the player game
control units; output of the collective command formation unit is
connected correspondingly to the input of the electronic data
processing system.
21. Gaming equipment for playing card game as in claim 20, which
differs in that it additionally comprises timers limiting length of
time available to the players for making a decision, the said
timers are installed in player bet control units and player game
control units.
22. Gaming equipment for playing card game as in claim 20, which
differs in that it additionally comprises one or more automated
gaming tables where each player's sector is equipped with: player's
bet control unit with zones for entering operating commands and
zone for displaying information about the game run, game control
unit with zones for entering operating commands and zone for
displaying information about the game run, automated credit control
units with zones for entering operating commands and zone for
displaying information about the game run, and the outputs of the
player bet control units, the game control units and automated
credit control units installed on the automated tables are
connected correspondingly to the inputs of the electronic data
processing system, herein the outputs of the game control units are
connected to the inputs of the electronic data processing system
via collective command formation unit, the inputs of the player bet
control units, the game control units and automated credit control
units are connected correspondingly to the outputs of the
electronic data processing system, herein the inputs of the game
control units are connected to the outputs of the electronic data
processing system via parallel transmission of information unit.
Description
[0001] The invention relates to methods of playing card games and
gaming equipment for actualization of games of chance such as Black
Jack. Variations of Black Jack realization of which is provided by
the claimed gaming equipment can be chosen in gaming houses in
accordance with the players' wish and/or decision of the management
of the house.
[0002] Method of playing card game is known, in particular the game
of Black Jack, (see German patent No. 4439502 dated 8 Nov. 1994,
published 14 Sep. 1995, Intern'l class A63F 9/00, A63F 1/00) which
consists in that before the beginning of the game the dealer
shuffles playing cards and places them in the card shoe face down,
each player makes compulsory bet for the game of Black Jack, the
dealer draws cards from the card shoe and deals them to the players
and also draws two cards for himself, the first of which the dealer
places on the table face up and the second one face down, values of
the cards dealt to the players are added up, players make decisions
about their subsequent deals in the game--additional card or stand,
after that the dealer stands or draws more cards for himself in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack, the values of the dealer's
cards are totalled, the dealer plays with each player in turn by
comparing each player's hand total with the dealer's hand total, if
a player's hand total is higher than the dealer's hand total the
player is paid his win in accordance with the rules of Black Jack,
if a player's hand total is lower than the dealer's hand total the
player's bet goes to the bank, if a player draws with the dealer,
the player keeps his bet.
[0003] When the game is performed in accordance with the known
method, which is traditional, each player places his bet using
jettons. Starting on the left and continuing clockwise the dealer
deals a card at to each player and draws one card for himself. In
the same manner the dealer deals a second card to each player and
draws second card for himself and places it on the table face down.
Having received two cards each, players can the double down, order
more cards or, in case of having two cards of the same value, split
the hand in two and place the same bet on the second hand and
double the bet(s) if desired. Players can also make insurance bets.
Insurance bet equals half of the initial bet of the player and
players may choose to do so in order to insure themselves against
the dealer's Black Jack if the first card in dealer's hand is an
ace. If the dealer wins, that is if the dealer obtains Black Jack,
the player wins double the insurance bet. If the dealer does not
obtain Black Jack, the player looses his insurance bet, but plays
the game on his initial bet as usual. The dealer plays with each
player in turn, which means that the next player can request more
cards only after the previous one decided to stand or drew the
total of over 21--bust.
[0004] The known method of card game is not dynamic enough, each
round lasts long, which makes the game less exciting.
[0005] This is due to the fact that a round of game takes a lot of
time. The dealer deals one playing card to each player in turn from
left to right, draws one card for himself, then the dealer deals
one more card to each player in turn and draws second card for
himself. Then the dealer draws more cards in turn for each player
who orders more cards. This requires plenty of cards and time.
Usually there are more than one deck of cards in the game and they
need to be shuffled frequently. Shuffling is a lengthy process and
also takes time. While the cards are being dealt and shuffled
players are idle, which reduces their interest in the game. When
the dealer is playing game with one of the players the rest of the
players are idle too. Transferring jettons between the players and
the dealer's bank during and after every round of play depending on
the outcome of the game takes time as well.
[0006] The closest to the claimed invention in terms of technical
substance and achievable technical result is the method of playing
card games, in particular the game of Black Jack (see U.S. Pat. No.
5,154,429 dated Feb. 24 1992, published Oct. 13 1992, Intern'l
class A63F 1/100, A63F 3/100), which consists in that before the
beginning of the game the dealer shuffles playing cards and places
them in the card shoe face down, each player makes compulsory bet
for the game of Black Jack, the dealer draws cards from the card
shoe and deals them to the players and draws cards for himself,
players make decisions about their subsequent deals in accordance
with the rules of Black Jack--stand, order additional card, double
down or split, until no player can order more cards,--values of
each player's cards are totalled in accordance with the rules of
Black Jack, the dealer stands or draws more cards for himself in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack, values of the dealer's
cards are totalled, the dealer plays with each player by comparing
each player's hand total with the dealer's hand total, if a
player's hand total is higher than the dealer's hand total the
player is paid his win in accordance with the rules of Black Jack,
if a player's hand total is lower than the dealer's hand total the
player's bet goes to the bank, if a player draws with the dealer
the player keeps his bet.
[0007] When the game is performed in accordance with the known
method each player may choose to make an additional bet on the
second hand of the dealer. After the dealer completed the game on
his first hand by comparing the hand total of each player with the
dealer's first hand total and finished pay-offs, the dealer draws
second hand for himself. Here the dealer uses the first card of his
first hand, the said first card was placed on the table face up, as
the first one in the second hand, and draws more cards in
accordance with the game rules. Next the dealer plays with each
player, who made additional bets, by comparing each player's one
and only hand with the dealer's second hand. Then the dealer
carries out pay-offs on the second bets of the players as set in
the game rules. The dealer can draw more than two hands for
himself, every time using the same first card which was placed on
the table face up.
[0008] The known method of card game is not dynamic enough, each
round lasts long, which makes the game less exciting.
[0009] This is due to the fact that a round of game takes long
time. The dealer deals one playing card to each player in turn from
left to right, draws one card for himself, then the dealer deals a
second card to each player in turn and draws second card for
himself. Then each player makes decision about the next step in the
game and the dealer draws cards for the first player on his left
who requires cards. After finishing with the first player the
dealer must draw cards for the next player who requires more cards.
The game continues in this manner until the dealer finished with
all of the players at the table. This requires plenty of cards and
long time. Each player at the table (usually seven players at a
table) is dealt at least two cards, there are more than one deck of
cards in use on the table and they need to be shuffled frequently.
It takes time as shuffling is a lengthy process. While the cards
are being dealt and shuffled the players are idle, which reduces
their interest in the game. Also when the dealer is playing game
with one of the players the rest of the players at the table are
idle too.
[0010] The aim of the claimed invention is to improve the card game
process, in particular the game of Black Jack, where introduction
of new operations and new sequence of performing operations
provides more dynamics to the game by reducing amount of time
needed per round of play, reducing the number of cards required per
round of play, increasing the number of players participating in a
round of play and also by combining variety of games of different
rules in one round of play. This makes the game more attractive for
both the players and the gaming house.
[0011] Variant 1
[0012] In variant 1 the task set is solved by that method of
performing a card game, in particular the game of Black Jack, in
which the dealer shuffles cards and places them in the card shoe
face down, each of the players at the gaming table makes compulsory
bet for the game of Black Jack, the dealer draws cards from the
card shoe and deals them to the players and draws cards for
himself, each player makes decision about subsequent deal in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack--stand, order more cards,
double down or split, until no player is entitled to obtain more
cards, the values of the first two and all of the following cards
for each player are totalled in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack, the dealer stands or draws more cards for himself in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack, the values of the cards
obtained by the dealer are totalled, the dealer plays with each
player in turn by comparing the dealer's hand with the hand of each
player, if a player's hand total is higher than the dealer's hand
total the player wins in accordance with the rules of Black Jack,
if a player's hand total is lower than the dealer's hand total the
player's bet goes to the bank, if a player's hand draws with the
dealer's hand the player keeps his bet, according to the claimed
invention excels in that in subsequent deal all players
simultaneously make their decisions to stand, order additional
card, double down or split in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack, when all the players who, in accordance with the rules of
Black Jack, are entitled to choose whether to stand, order an
additional card, double down or split made their decisions and if
at least one player decided to request additional card, double down
or split, the dealer draws a card from the card shoe which is
common (the same) for all players who's decisions require
additional card, the values of the first two cards obtained by each
player and every following card drawn from the card shoe as ordered
by each player are totalled in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack.
[0013] Causal connection between the aggregate of the technical
features of the claimed invention in the variant 1 and achievable
technical result is as follows.
[0014] When performed in accordance with the claimed method the
card game becomes more dynamic and duration of a round of play is
shorter. This is due to the fact that after the dealer performed
initial deal to all players and dealt two cards to himself in
succession, those players, who in accordance with Black Jack rules
are entitled to obtain additional card, simultaneously make their
decisions about subsequent deal in the game. When all players, who
in accordance with Black Jack rules can choose whether to stand,
order additional card, double down or split, made their decisions
and if at least one player decided to request additional card,
double down or split, the dealer draws a card from the card shoe,
the said card is common for all said players, that is the dealer
performs parallel deal. Every following card drawn by the dealer
from the card shoe will be also common for all players who in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack are entitled to obtain
additional card, thus parallel card dealing is performed. For all
of the players, whose decisions require another card to be dealt,
the same value is added to their respective initial deal cards
obtained at the beginning of the game, which simplifies
calculations. Duration of a round of play includes time spent on
dealing cards to the players and the dealer, players making
decisions about their subsequent deals in the game and calculating
hand totals, thus it is obvious that the game becomes faster when
performed in accordance with the claimed method. The claimed method
of the game requires fewer cards per round of play, which means
that cards do not need to be shuffled as often and fewer breaks are
required between rounds of play. Also successive-parallel
distribution of cards reduces mutual impact of decisions of the
players on an individual player's outcome in the game, which is
important for players.
[0015] Variant 2
[0016] In variant 2 the task set is solved by that method of
performing card game, in particular the game of Black Jack, in
which the dealer shuffles cards and places them in the card shoe
face down, each of the players at the gaming table makes compulsory
bet for the game of Black Jack, the dealer draws from the card shoe
and deals cards to the players and draws cards for himself, each
player makes decision about subsequent deal in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack--stand, request more cards, double down or
split, until no player can order more cards, the values of the
first two and all of the following cards for each player are
totalled in accordance with the rules of Black Jack, the dealer
stands or draws more cards for himself in accordance with the rules
of Black Jack, the values of the cards obtained by the dealer are
totalled, the dealer plays with each player in turn by comparing
the dealer's hand with the hand of each player, if a player's hand
total is higher than the dealer's hand total the player wins in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack, if a player's hand total
is lower than the dealer's hand total the player's bet goes to the
bank, if a player's hand draws with the dealer's hand the player
keeps his bet, according to the claimed invention excels in that in
the initial deal the first and the third cards, drawn by the dealer
from the card shoe after players made their bets, are common for
all players at the gaming table, their values are totalled and the
resulting sum is the same for all players, players make their
decisions regarding their subsequent deals in turn, the dealer
draws cards from the card shoe individually for each player who's
decision requires additional card, for each player the values of
the said first and third cards and every following card, obtained
by the player are totalled in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack.
[0017] Causal connection between the aggregate of the technical
features of the claimed invention in the variant 2 and the
achievable technical result is in the following.
[0018] When performed in accordance with the claimed method the
game becomes more dynamic and duration of a round of play is
shorter. It is explained by the fact that after the dealer shuffled
cards and the players made their compulsory bets the dealer
performs initial deal as parallel deal, that is the dealer draws
cards from the card shoe, of which the first and the third ones are
common for all players, and places the said cards on the table face
up. Dealing the said cards takes little time. The total of the said
cards is the same for each player. Having received the said two
cards, players make their decisions about their subsequent deals in
turn. The game then continues in traditional manner. The dealer
performs successive card dealing, that is the dealer draws cards
from the card shoe individually for each player whose decision
requires more cards in accordance with the game rules. For each
player the values of the first and the third cards and the values
of the following cards obtained are totalled in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack. Duration of a round of play includes time
spent on card dealing to the players and the dealer, players making
decisions about their subsequent steps in the game and calculating
hand totals, thus it is obvious that the game becomes faster when
performed by the claimed method. When the game is conducted in
accordance with the claimed method fewer cards are required per
round of play, which means that the cards do not need to be
shuffled as often and fewer breaks are required between rounds of
play.
Variant 3
[0019] In variant 3 the task set is solved by that method of
performing a card game, in particular the game of Black Jack, in
which the dealer shuffles cards and places them in the card shoe
face down, each of the players at the gaming table places
compulsory bet for the game of Black Jack, the dealer draws from
the card shoe and deals cards to players and draws cards for
himself, each player makes decision about his subsequent deal in
the game in accordance with the rules of Black Jack--stand, order
more cards, double down or split, until no player is entitled to
obtain more cards, the values of the first two and all of the
following cards for each player are added up in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack, the dealer stands or draws more cards for
himself in accordance with the rules of Black Jack, the values of
the cards obtained by the dealer are totalled, the dealer plays
with each player in turn by comparing the dealer's hand with the
hand of each player, if a player's hand total is higher than the
dealer's hand total the player wins in accordance with the rules of
Black Jack, if a player's hand total is lower than the dealer's
hand total the player's bet goes to the bank, if a player's hand
draws with the dealer's hand the player keeps his bet, according to
the claimed invention excels in that in the initial deal the first
and the third cards, drawn by the dealer from the card shoe after
the players placed their bets, are common for all the players, the
values of the said cards are totalled and the resulting sum is the
same for all players, in subsequent deal all players, who are
entitled to obtain additional card in accordance with the rules of
Black Jack simultaneously make their decisions to order additional
card, double down or split in accordance with the rules of Black
Jack, the dealer draws a card from the card shoe, the said card is
common for all players, for each player the values of the said
first and third cards and the values of all the following cards
obtained by the player are added up in accordance with the rules of
Black Jack.
[0020] It excels also in that every following card drawn by the
dealer from the card shoe after all players made their decisions
about their subsequent deals in the game is common for all the
players, who decided to order additional card, double down or
split, and for the players, who decided to stand, each following
card becomes the dealer's hand card if the total value of the
dealer's hand before the said card is drawn does not exceed 17.
[0021] It also excels in that players can make additional bets on
the game of Baccarat, which is played on the first two cards
obtained by the players and the first two cards obtained by the
dealer, if the rules of Baccarat require a third card to be dealt
to the players or a third card to the dealer--it will the fifth
card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe, if the rules of
Baccarat require a third card to be dealt to the players and a
third card to be dealt to the dealer--it will be correspondingly
the fifth and the sixth cards drawn by the dealer from the card
shoe.
[0022] It also excels in that time available for the players'
decision making is limited.
[0023] Causal connection between the aggregate of the technical
features of the claimed invention in the variant 3 and achievable
technical result is in the following.
[0024] When conducted in accordance with the claimed method the
game becomes dynamic and a round of play takes very little time. It
is explained by the fact that after the dealer shuffled the cards
and the players made their compulsory and additional bets the
dealer performs initial deal as parallel deal, that is the dealer
draws cards from the card shoe, of which the first and the second
ones are common for all players. The dealer then performs
subsequent deal as parallel deal, all players simultaneously make
their decisions about their subsequent deals in the game. Duration
of a round of play includes time spent on dealing cards to the
players and to the dealer, players making decisions about their
subsequent steps in the game and calculating hand totals, thus it
is obvious that the game becomes faster when performed by the
claimed method. Duration of a round of play becomes practically
unaffected by the number of participating players, which removes
the limit to the number of players participating in the game. The
latter is important for the house, as it allows to deliver the game
with fewer personnel involved and increased number of bets per
round of play can boost the income of the house. When the game is
performed in accordance with the claimed method fewer cards are
required per round of play, which means that cards do not need to
be shuffled as frequently and fewer breaks are required between
rounds of play. Also slowly declining sequence of cards in the card
shoe makes card counting and thus taking advantage of the house
less effective. The players benefit from the fact that faster game
run allows them to play more rounds, which means that with the
right strategy of placing bets probability of win increases.
[0025] The dynamics of the game also benefits from the fact that
every following card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe after
all players made their decisions about their next step in the game
is common for all players, who decided to order additional card,
double down or split, and for the players who decided to stand the
following card becomes the card in subsequent deal to the dealer's
hand if the total of the dealer's hand does not exceed 17. When the
game is performed in accordance with the claimed method, there is
no mutual impact of individual decisions of the players on their
respective outcomes in the game. This allows to attract those
players who favour one-to-one game with a dealer or the players who
prefer the last place at the table.
[0026] The dynamics of the game also increases when Black Jack is
combined with Baccarat in that the players can make additional
bets. Baccarat is played on the first two cards dealt to the
players and the first two cards dealt to the dealer, if the rules
of Baccarat require a third card to be dealt to the players and a
third card to be dealt to the dealer--it will be correspondingly
the fifth and the sixth cards drawn by the dealer from the card
shoe.
[0027] The game of Baccarat is performed in the following manner.
According to the traditional rules participants in the game place
bets either on the house's win or on the player's win or on tie.
Two hands of cards are dealt from the card shoe, two cards each.
After that a third card may be required for either of the hands.
The first hand is for those who bet on the player's win, the second
hand for those betting on the house win. The winning hand is the
one that has value closest to 9. Tens, cards with the total value
of 10 are counted as zeroes. If a resulting hand's total is a
double-digit number then the last digit is the value of the hand in
the game. Four cards are drawn from the card shoe in turn: the
first card goes to players, the second card--to the dealer, the
third card--to players, the fourth card to the dealer. If a third
card is required to either of the hands, the said card is drawn
from the card shoe. The game rules determine how the cards are
dealt. The same amount of win is paid whether for the bet on the
house's win or for the bet on the player's win. The house retains
5% of commission from the wins obtained by players from betting on
the house's win. It is possible to bet on draw between the house
and the player. Such bet would give win 8:1.
[0028] Traditionally considered the most aristocratic of all games
of chance Baccarat is easy for the players, but difficult and
expensive for casinos. The table is usually supervised by up to
three members of personnel regardless of the number of
participating players. The bets are usually high, so credit
managers and security personnel must be nearby at all times.
Obviously combining two of the most popular games Black Jack and
Baccarat makes the game more exciting and increases the players'
satisfaction as well as is conducive to reduction of the house's
expenses and boosts the income.
[0029] Limiting the time available for decision making by the
players allows to improve the dynamics of the game. The said time
limit can be set at discretion of the house, say 60 seconds. If a
player is too slow in making decision about his bet and can't make
it within the set time limit, the round would be played without the
player, and/or if a player is too slow in making decision in the
game process and can't make it within the set limit of time, it
would be treated as if the player decided to stand.
[0030] In any of the variants of the game of Black Jack the dealer
can draw second card for himself after he finished initial deal to
the players and place it on the table face down as dictated by the
game rules in the majority of US houses. The dealer can also draw
second card for himself after all players lost their right to
obtain more cards in accordance with the rules of Black Jack in
majority of UK houses.
[0031] A feature of Black Jack is that after receiving their first
two cards the players can make different decisions about their next
steps in the game--some may choose to stand, others decide to order
additional card, double down or split, which means that it is
impossible to perform the game with live dealer and real cards and
dealing common cards to players using traditional equipment for
Black Jack. Such game can be implemented by using equipment in
which real cards are drawn from the card shoe and placed on the
table, the values of the drawn cards are recognised, information
about cards' values is transmitted to the electronic data
processing unit, where images of virtual cards are formed and
information about the said virtual cards is transmitted
simultaneously to the players as required.
[0032] Gaming equipment is known for card game, in particular the
game of Black Jack, (Ukraine patent No. 72328, dated 26 Nov. 2002,
published 15 Feb. 2005, Intern'l class A63F 1/100, A63F 1/18;
Application PCT No. 2004/049229 dated 11 Feb. 2003, published 10
Jun. 2004, Intern'l class GO6F 17/60, //161.00, A63F 1/18)
comprising [0033] gaming table with cloth provided with markings,
designating players' sectors, the dealer's sector and areas for
placing cards face up, [0034] card shoe for storing and dealing
cards drawn from it face down, equipped with optical electronic
sensor for detecting card movement and also with card location (on
the table) and imprint value recognition and registration unit,
cards are drawn from the card shoe, [0035] monitoring system of the
game run, [0036] information storage system, [0037] computer,
connected with separate functional units by wire or wireless
communications, supplied with programmed in accordance with the
game rules electronic data processing system, the said electronic
data processing system allows to evaluate signals coming from the
card location (on the table) and registration unit (playing cards
are drawn from the card shoe face down) and from the monitoring
system of the game run, [0038] computer processed data
visualisation device, [0039] card imprint value comparison
unit.
[0040] Card imprint value recognition and registration unit, the
said cards are drawn from the card shoe face down, allows to
determine card value both in the process of a card being drawn from
the card shoe and when the said card is placed on the table face
down as soon as the card is drawn from the card shoe. Monitoring
system of the game run is implemented as optical electronic device
which processes images of the objects on the gaming table, the said
monitoring system of the game run contains: [0041] card imprint
value recognition and registration unit, the said cards come to the
table to be placed in designated areas, [0042] players' bets
recognition and registration unit, [0043] dealers bank recognition
and registration unit, [0044] monitoring system of the game run
control unit.
[0045] Optical electronic device which processes images of the
objects on the gaming table is positioned over the gaming table.
The gaming table is supplied with sectors for placing bets and
other areas for placing jettons.
[0046] The known gaming equipment has limited functional
capabilities, so the game run is not dynamic enough as a round of
game takes long time which diminishes players' interest in the
game.
[0047] It is explained by the fact that when the known gaming
equipment is used the game can be conducted only with the use of
jettons. Calculating wins and losses and transferring jettons
between the players and the dealer's bank takes a lot of time. The
known gaming equipment allows to determine card imprint value when
the card is drawn from the card shoe face down, when the card is
placed on the table face up and when the obtained results of
determining card imprint value are compared. It eliminates
possibility of transmitting corrupt information to the electronic
system. However, the known gaming equipment merely controls the
game run. Images of virtual cards are created only on the display
of the data visualization device, so with use of the known
equipment only the game with successive card dealing is possible,
which results in the game being not dynamic enough.
[0048] The closest to the claimed invention in terms of technical
substance and achievable technical result is the method of playing
card games, in particular the game of Black Jack (see Ukraine
patent No. 74268, dated 23 Dec. 2003, published 15 Feb. 2005,
Intern'l class A63F 1/100, A63F 1/18; Application PCT No.
WO2005/062228 dated 16 Apr. 2004, published 7 Jul. 2005, Intern'l
class G06F 17/60, A63F 9/00, G06F 161/00) including [0049] gaming
table with cloth provided with markings designating players'
sectors and the dealer's sector as well as areas for placing gaming
cards face up, [0050] card shoe for storing and dealing cards drawn
from it face down, equipped with optical electronic detector of
playing cards' movement and also with playing card imprint value
recognition and registration unit, the said cards are drawn from
the card shoe, [0051] monitoring system of the game run equipped
with objects' presence on the table recognition system; player's
bet control units supplied with zones for entering operating
commands and zone for displaying information about the game run,
the said player's bet control units are positioned in each player's
sector; game control units supplied with zones for entering
operating commands and zone for displaying information about the
game run, the said game control units are positioned in each
player's sector, [0052] credit control unit supplied with zones for
entering operating commands, the said credit control unit is
positioned in the dealer's sector, [0053] players' operating
commands visualization unit supplied with zones for entering
operating commands and zone for displaying information about the
game run, the said players' operating commands visualization unit
is positioned in the dealer's sector, [0054] computer, connected
with separate functional units by wire or wireless communications,
supplied with programmed in accordance with the game rules
electronic data processing system, [0055] computer processed data
visualization device, [0056] information storage system, [0057] the
inputs of the said electronic data processing system are connected
correspondingly to the outputs of the card imprint value
recognition and registration unit (the said cards are drawn from
the card shoe face down), objects' presence on the table
recognition unit, computer, player's bet control units, credit
control unit, [0058] the inputs of the said computer are connected
correspondingly to the outputs of electronic data processing
system, information storage system, [0059] the inputs of the said
player's bet control units are connected correspondingly to the
output of electronic data processing system, [0060] the input of
the said credit control unit is connected correspondingly to the
output of electronic data processing system, [0061] the input of
the said players' operating commands visualization unit is
connected correspondingly to the output of electronic data
processing system, [0062] the input of the said information storage
system is connected correspondingly to the output of computer,
[0063] the input of the said computer processed data visualization
device is connected correspondingly to the output of computer.
[0064] Also the input of the said electronic data processing system
is connected correspondingly to the outputs of game control units
and the inputs of game control units are connected correspondingly
to the output of electronic data processing system.
[0065] The known gaming equipment is designed for playing Black
Jack where cards are dealt successively to each player, that is a
card is dealt in to each player, then the dealer draws a card for
himself, then another card is dealt in to each player, the players
make their decisions and the dealer plays with each player in
turn.
[0066] The known gaming equipment has limited functional
capacities, the game with use of such equipment is not dynamic
enough, as each round of play takes long time it diminishes the
players' interest in the game.
[0067] The known gaming equipment allows to perform the game
without using jettons. All calculations are performed automatically
without dealer taking part in them, which makes the game faster.
However limited functional capacities do not allow to significantly
reduce time required per round of play. It is explained by the fact
that the known gaming equipment is designed for playing Black Jack
where cards are dealt to each player in succession--first the
dealer deals a card to each player who placed a bet, then the
dealer draws a card for himself, then the dealer deals a second
card to each player in turn, then the dealer draws more cards to
each player according to the decision. Information about values of
every first card placed face up on the specially designated areas
on the table for every individual player goes to the electronic
data processing system in succession, the said electronic data
processing system then passes this information correspondingly to
each player's game control unit. Following that, information about
values of every second card placed face up on the specially
designated areas on the table for every individual player goes to
the electronic data processing system, the said electronic data
processing system then passes this information correspondingly to
each player's game control unit. and so on until the player loses
right to obtain another card. Dealing cards takes time and makes
the game less exciting.
[0068] Besides, each player in turn communicates his decisions in
the game to the dealer, which also makes a round of the game
longer.
[0069] The aim of the claimed invention is to perfect the gaming
equipment for performing card games, in particular the game of
Black Jack, by introducing new constructive elements, new
connections between the constructive elements and new design of the
constructive elements, which would expand functional capacities of
the equipment, so that dynamics of the game would increase
resulting in shorter time required per round of play, using fewer
cards per round of play, accommodating more players per round of
play, combining games of different rules in the same round of play
and making the game more interesting from both the players' and the
house's point of view.
[0070] The task set is solved in that gaming equipment for card
games, in particular the game of Black Jack, including: [0071]
gaming table with cloth provided with markings designating players'
sectors and the dealer's sector as well as areas for placing cards
face up, [0072] card shoe for storing and dealing cards (cards are
drawn from the card shoe face down) equipped with optical
electronic detector of playing cards' movement and with card
imprint value recognition and registration unit (cards are drawn
from the card shoe), [0073] monitoring system of the game run,
equipped with: objects' presence on the table recognition unit;
player's bet control units supplied with zones for entering
operating commands and zone for displaying information about the
game run, positioned in each player's sector; game control units
supplied with zones for entering operating commands and zone for
displaying information about the game run, positioned in each
player's sector, [0074] credit control unit supplied with zones for
entering operating commands, positioned in the dealer's sector,
[0075] players' commands visualization unit supplied with zone for
entering operating commands and zone for displaying information
about the game run, positioned in the dealer's sector, [0076]
computer connected to separate functional units by wire and
wireless communications, the said computer is supplied with
programmed in accordance with the game rules electronic data
processing system, [0077] computer processed data visualization
device, [0078] information storage system, [0079] the inputs of the
said electronic data processing system are connected
correspondingly to the outputs of the card imprint value
recognition and registration unit (the said cards are drawn from
the card shoe face down), objects' presence on the table
recognition unit, computer, player's bet control units, credit
control unit, [0080] the inputs of the said computer are connected
correspondingly to the outputs of electronic data processing
system, information storage system, [0081] the inputs of the said
player's bet control units are connected correspondingly to the
output of electronic data processing system, [0082] the input of
the said credit control unit is connected correspondingly to the
output of electronic data processing system, [0083] the input of
the said players' operating commands visualization unit is
connected correspondingly to the output of electronic data
processing system, [0084] the input of the said information storage
system is connected correspondingly to the output of computer,
[0085] the input of the said computer processed data visualization
device is connected correspondingly to the output of computer,
excels in that the gaming equipment additionally contains: [0086]
parallel transmission of information unit, transmitting information
about the value of card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe to
the game control unit of every player who is entitled to obtain
cards, [0087] collective command formation unit for transmitting
joint command of the players to the dealer, [0088] the input of
parallel transmission of information unit is connected
correspondingly to the output of electronic data processing system,
[0089] the output of parallel transmission of information unit is
connected correspondingly to the inputs of game control unit of
each player, [0090] the input of collective command formation unit
is connected correspondingly to the outputs of game control unit of
each player, [0091] the output of collective command formation unit
is connected correspondingly to the input of electronic data
processing system.
[0092] It excels also in that player's bet control units and game
control units are equipped with timers limiting time available to
players for making decisions.
[0093] It excels also in that the claimed gaming equipment
additionally contains one or more automated satellite gaming tables
where each player's sector is equipped with: [0094] player's bet
control unit supplied with zones for entering operating commands
and zone for displaying information about the game run, [0095] game
control unit supplied with zones for entering operating commands
and zone for displaying information about the game run, [0096]
automated credit control unit supplied with zones for entering
operating commands and zone for displaying information about the
game run, [0097] the outputs of the player bet control units, the
game control units and automated credit control units installed on
the automated satellite tables are connected correspondingly to the
inputs of the electronic data processing system, herein the outputs
of the game control units are connected to the inputs of the
electronic data processing system via collective command formation
unit, [0098] the inputs of the player bet control units, the game
control units and automated credit control units are connected
correspondingly to the outputs of the electronic data processing
system, herein the inputs of the game control units are connected
to the outputs of the electronic data processing system via
parallel transmission of information unit.
[0099] Causal connection between the aggregate of technical
features of the claimed invention and achievable technical result
is in the following.
[0100] Additional introduction in the claimed gaming equipment of
collective command formation unit for transmitting collective
command of the players to the dealer and connection of the said
collective command formation unit to others constructive elements
of the gaming equipment allows to form a hand of virtual cards on
each player's game control unit in accordance with decisions made
by the player in the game and at the same time to count hand total
for each player, that is to perform parallel card dealing in such
games as Black Jack or similar.
[0101] Additional introduction in the claimed gaming equipment of
collective command formation unit for transmitting collective
command of the players to the dealer and connection of the said
collective command formation unit to other constructive elements of
the gaming equipment as claimed in the present invention allows all
players to make their decisions simultaneously. Regardless of which
of the following decisions players made stand request another card,
double down or split,--the dealer either draws a card from the card
shoe if at least one player's decided to carry on or the dealer
does not draw a card if all of the players decided to stand. The
dealer receives collective command only when all players who have
right to carry on with the game made their decisions. When no more
players require another card the dealer receives his next command
from the electronic data processing system and finishes the game as
dictated by Black Jack rules. Obviously the equipment makes the
game more dynamic by enabling to perform Black Jack with parallel
dealing card dealing, which results in reducing time required per
round of play, using fewer cards per round of play, accommodating
more players per round of play and combining games of different
rules in the same round of play.
[0102] Additional introduction in the claimed gaming equipment of
timers restricting time available to players for decision making,
the said timers are fitted in the bet control units and in the game
control units, also facilitates improved dynamics of the game. If a
player takes too long to make decision when placing a bet, the
round of the game will be performed without the player taking part,
and/or if a player takes too long to make decision about his next
step in the game, it will be deemed that the player decided to
stand.
[0103] Additional introduction in the claimed gaming equipment of
one or more automated satellite gaming tables equipped in each
player's sector with bet control units, game control units and
automated credit control units, connected to the electronic data
processing system, allows to increase dynamics of the game by
accommodating more players participating in the game without
engaging additional personnel as additional automated satellite
gaming tables do not require dealers, this will significantly boost
the house's income.
[0104] Hereby, the claimed gaming equipment solves the
task--significant increase of the game dynamics.
[0105] The card game in accordance with the claimed method, in
particular the game of Black Jack, is performed as follows.
[0106] Before the game begins the dealer thoroughly shuffles cards
and places them in the card shoe face down. The players at the
gaming table make their bets. The dealer deals cards to the players
and draws cards for himself. Each player makes decision in
accordance with the rules of Black Jack--stand, order additional
card, double down or split,--until all players lost right to obtain
more cards. The values of the first two cards and all additional
cards dealt to the players are totalled in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack. The dealer stands or deals more cards to
himself in accordance with the rules of Black Jack. The values of
the cards obtained by the dealer are totalled. The dealer then
plays with each player in turn by comparing his hand with hand of
each player. If a player's hand total is higher then the dealer's
hand total the player obtains his win in accordance with the rules
of Black Jack, if a player's hand total is lower than the dealer's
hand total the player's bet goes to the bank, if a player's hand
total equals the dealer's hand total, the player keeps his bet.
[0107] When the game is conducted in accordance with the variant I
the dealer deals one card to each player in succession, draws a
card for himself, then the dealer draws one more card for each
player in succession. All players who are entitled to stand, order
additional card, double down or split in accordance with the rules
of Black Jack, having received two cards each, simultaneously make
their decisions and if at least one player decides to order another
card, double down or split the dealer draws from the card shoe a
card which is common for all players who's decision requires
additional card. Every following card drawn by the dealer from the
card shoe if ordered by players who are entitled to obtain
additional card also becomes common for all those players, hereby
the dealer performs parallel card dealing. The values of the first
two cards obtained by each player and all following cards ordered
by players are totalled in accordance with the rules of Black Jack.
Adding the same card values to the players' initial pairs of cards
simplifies counting. As the duration of a round of play consists of
time required for dealing cards to the players and the dealer, time
spent by players on decision making and counting hand totals for
each player, it is obvious that the game runs faster if performed
in accordance with the claimed method. Also the claimed method
allows to deal fewer cards per round of play, so cards need to be
shuffled less often and there are fewer breaks between rounds of
play. Besides, interference of players' decisions on the outcome of
the game of players sitting further down the table is reduced which
is important for players too.
[0108] When the game is performed in accordance with variant 2 the
first and the third card, drawn by the dealer from the card shoe
after all the players made their bets and placed face up on the
gaming table, are common for all players, that is the dealer
performs parallel card dealing. The total value of these initial
deal cards is the same for all players. Having received two cards,
the players make their decisions in turn. The dealer deals cards
individually for each player who decided to order additional card,
double down or split. For every player the values of the said first
and third cards are totalled with all other cards obtained by the
player in accordance with the rules of Black Jack. As the duration
of a round of play consists of time required for dealing cards to
the players and the dealer, time spent by the players on decision
making and counting hand totals for each player, it is obvious that
the game runs faster if performed in accordance with the claimed
method. Also the claimed method allows to deal fewer cards per
round of play, so cards need to be shuffled less often and there
are fewer breaks between rounds of play.
[0109] When the game is performed in accordance with variant 3 the
players at the gaming table in addition to compulsory bet of Black
Jack can make an optional bet. When the bets have been placed the
dealer begins to perform parallel card dealing. The first and the
third cards drawn by the dealer from the card shoe after the
players placed their bets are common for all players. The values of
the said first and third cards are totalled and the total is the
same for all players. All players who have right to obtain another
card simultaneously make their decisions in accordance with the
rules of Black Jack. When all players, who have right in accordance
with the rules of Black Jack to stand, order additional card,
double down or split, made their decisions and at least one player
decided to order additional card, double down or split, the dealer
draws a card from the card shoe which is common for all players
who's decision requires another card. Herein every following card
drawn by the dealer from the card shoe after the players made their
decisions is common for all players who decided to order another
card, double down or split, and for the players who decided to
stand the said drawn card is the next dealer's card if the dealer's
hand total before the said following card is drawn does not exceed
17. For every player the values of the said first and third cards
drawn from the card shoe and the values of all following cards
ordered are totalled in accordance with the rules of Black Jack. As
the duration of a round of play consists of time required for
dealing cards to the players and the dealer, time spent by the
players on decision making and counting hand totals for each
player, it is obvious that the game runs significantly faster if
performed in accordance with the claimed method. Duration of a
round of play is not affected by the number of participating
players, which removes limit to the number of players who can take
part in the game. The latter is important for the house, because it
allows to provide games with fewer personnel engaged and also
increased number of bets favourably affects the house's income. The
claimed method allows to deal fewer cards per round of play, so
cards need to be shuffled less often and there are fewer breaks
between rounds of play. Also slowly declining number of cards in
the card shoe makes card counting for taking advantage of the house
less effective. Players benefit from the fact that faster game run
allows them to play more rounds, which means that with the right
strategy of placing bets probability of win increases. Also
performing the game in accordance with claimed method eliminates
interference of individual decisions of players on other players'
outcomes in the game, which is important for players. It allows to
attract those players who prefer to play one-to one with the dealer
or favour the last place at the table.
[0110] The said optional bet players can make on the game of
Baccarat, which is played on the first two cards dealt to the
players, that is the first and the third card drawn from the card
shoe, and the second and the fourth cards drawn from the card shoe,
which are deemed the dealer's cards. If the rules of Baccarat
require a third card to the players or a third card to the dealer
it will be the fifth card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe,
if the rules of Baccarat require a third card to the players and a
third card to the dealer it will be correspondingly the fifth and
the sixth cards drawn by the dealer from the card shoe.
[0111] The game of Baccarat is performed as follows. According to
the traditional rules the players make bets either on player's win
or on the dealer's win. Two hands of cards are dealt from the card
shoe, two cards each hand. The first hand is for the players who
put their bets on player's win, the second hand is for the players
who bet on the house's win. Winning hand is the one which value is
closest to 9. Tens, groups of cards with total value of 10 and
cards with pictures are counted as zeroes. If the resulting total
is a double-digit number then the last digit is the value of the
hand. If a third card is required for either of hands, the said
third card is drawn from the card shoe. The game rules determine
how the cards are dealt. The same amount of win is paid whether for
the bet on the house's win or for the bet on the player's win. The
house retains 5% of commission from the wins obtained from betting
on the house's win. It is possible to bet on draw between the house
and player. Such bet would give win 8:1. Combining two of the most
popular card games makes the game more exciting and increases
players' satisfaction from the game, facilitates reduction of the
house's expenses and accordingly boosts the house's income.
[0112] When performing the game of Black Jack in accordance with
any variant the dealer can draw second card for himself after he
dealt second cards to the players and place the dealer's second
card on the table face down as is required in majority of USA's
houses. The dealer can draw second card for himself after all
players lost right to obtain any more cards as is required in
majority of UK's houses.
[0113] The substance of the invention is explained in the drawings
where the general view of the gaming table is shown on FIG. 1,
block-diagram of the gaming equipment is shown on FIG. 2,
additional automated gaming table is shown on FIG. 3.
[0114] Gaming equipment for card games, in particular the game of
Black Jack, contains: [0115] gaming table 1 with cloth 2 provided
with markings designating players' sectors 3 and dealer's sector 4
as well as areas 5 for placing cards face up, [0116] card shoe 6
for storing and distribution of playing cards (cards are drawn from
the card shoe face down) equipped with optical electronic detector
of playing cards' movement 7 and with card imprint value
recognition and registration unit 8 (cards are drawn from the card
shoe 6), [0117] monitoring system of the game run 9 supplied with
objects' presence on the table recognition system 10, player's bet
control units 11 positioned in each of the seven player's sectors 3
and containing zones for entering operating commands and zone for
displaying information about the game run, game control units 12
positioned in each of the seven player's sectors 3 and containing
zones for entering operating commands and zone for displaying
information about the game run, [0118] credit control unit 13
positioned in the dealer's sector 4 and containing zones for
entering operating commands and zone for displaying information
about the game run, [0119] players' operating commands
visualization unit 14 positioned in the dealer's sector 4 and
containing zones for entering operating commands and zone for
displaying information about the game run [0120] parallel
information transmission unit 15 transmitting information about
value of card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe 6 to the game
control units 12 of every player who has right to obtain cards,
[0121] collective command formation unit 16 for transmitting joint
command of the players to the dealer, [0122] computer 17 connected
to separate functional units by wire and wireless communications
and supplied with programmed in accordance with the game rules
electronic data processing system 18, [0123] information storage
system 19, [0124] computer processed data visualization device 20,
the data are processed by computer 17 and characterize the game
run.
[0125] Player's bet control units 12 are provided with timers 21
restricting time available to the players for decision making.
[0126] The inputs of the data processing system 18 are connected
correspondingly to the outputs of card imprint value recognition
and registration unit 8 (cards are drawn from the card shoe 6 face
down), objects' presence on the table recognition unit 10, computer
17, player's bet control units 11, credit control unit 13,
[0127] the inputs of the computer 17 are connected correspondingly
to the outputs of electronic data processing system 18, information
storage system 19,
[0128] the inputs of the player's bet control units 11 are
connected correspondingly to the output of the electronic data
processing system 18,
[0129] the input of the credit control unit 13 is connected
correspondingly to the output of electronic data processing system
18,
[0130] the input of players' operating commands visualization unit
14 is connected correspondingly to the output of electronic data
processing system 18,
[0131] the input of information storage system 19 is connected
correspondingly to the output of the computer 17,
[0132] the input of computer processed data visualization device 20
is connected correspondingly to the output of the computer 17,
[0133] the input of parallel information transmission unit 15
transmitting information about value of card drawn by the dealer
from the card shoe 6 to the game control unit 12 of each player who
is entitled to obtain the card is connected correspondingly to the
output of electronic data processing system 18,
[0134] the output of parallel information transmission unit 15
transmitting information about the value of card drawn by the
dealer from the card shoe 6 to the game control unit 12 of each
player who is entitled to obtain the card is connected
correspondingly to the inputs of each player's game control unit
12,
[0135] the input of collective command formation unit 16
transmitting joint command of players to the dealer is connected
correspondingly to the outputs of each player's game control
unit,
[0136] the output of collective command formation unit 16
transmitting joint command of the players to the dealer is
connected correspondingly to the output of electronic data
processing system 18.
[0137] If one or more automated satellite tables are installed then
each player's sector 3 is equipped with [0138] player's bet control
unit 11 containing zones for entering operating commands and zone
for displaying information about the game run, [0139] game control
unit 12 containing zones for entering operating commands and zone
for displaying information about the game run.
[0140] Also [0141] the outputs of player's bet control units 11
installed on the automated satellite table(s), the outputs of game
control units 12 installed on the automated satellite table(s) and
the outputs of the automated credit control units 13 are connected
correspondingly to the inputs of electronic data processing system
18, herein the outputs of the game control units 12 are connected
to the inputs of the electronic data processing system 18 via the
collective command formation unit 16, [0142] the inputs of the said
player's bet control units 11, the inputs of the said game control
units 12 and the inputs of the automated credit control units 13
are connected correspondingly to the outputs of the electronic data
processing system 18, herein the inputs of the game control units
12 are connected to the outputs of the electronic data processing
system 18 via the parallel transmission of information unit 15.
[0143] Card imprint value recognition and registration unit 8 can
be implemented in such way as to provide possibility of recognition
and registration of imprint value of the cards lying on the gaming
table 1 face down and/or face up as well as position of the cards
on the gaming table 1.
[0144] Player's bet control units 11 can be implemented in the form
of sensory displays containing touch sensitive panel and/or
liquid-crystalline active colour matrix. Touch sensitive panels of
each player's bet control unit 11 can be provided with the
following zones for entering operating commands: "buy credit",
"sell credit" and "bet",--as well as contain numerical pad and
numerical indicator of players' places, whereas liquid-crystalline
active colour matrix of each of the player's bet control unit 11 is
provided with zones for displaying information about the game run.
Game control units 12 can be implemented in the form of sensory
displays containing touch sensitive panel and/or liquid crystalline
active colour matrix. Liquid crystalline active colour matrixes of
the game control units 12 are provided with zone for displaying
information about the game run. Touch sensitive panels of the game
control units 12 can be provided with the following zones for
entering operating commands; "additional card", "split", "increase
bet", "insurance (yes, no)", "stand". Credit control unit 13 can be
implemented in the form of sensory display containing touch
sensitive panel and/or liquid crystalline active colour matrix.
Touch sensitive panel of the credit control unit 13 is provided
with zone for entering operating commands, the said zone contains
numerical indicator of players' places. Opposite each player's
number on the liquid crystalline colour active matrix the following
zones for displaying information about the game run can be
provided: "credit" zone divided in three parts--the first one is
"credit value", the second one is "buy credit" the third one is
"sell credit", and "bet" zone. The touch sensitive panel of the
credit control unit 13 can also contain zone for entering operating
commands, the said zone implemented in the form of numerical board.
Players' commands visualization unit 14 can be realized in the form
of sensory display containing touch sensitive panel and/or liquid
crystalline active colour matrix. Touch sensitive panel of the
players' commands visualization unit 14 contains zone for entering
operating commands, the said zone contains numerical indicator of
players' places. Opposite each player's number on the liquid
crystalline matrix zones for displaying information about the game
run are situated. Card imprint value recognition and registration
unit 8, cards are drawn from the card shoe 6 face down, is realized
in the form of optical electronic device containing voltage
CCD-converter, lens and processor connected in series, the said
card imprint value recognition and registration unit allows to
determine a card value in the process of drawing the card from the
card shoe 6 as well as when the card is placed on the gaming table
face up as soon as the card left the card shoe 6. Objects' presence
on the table recognition unit 10 can be realized as optical
electronic device for processing images of objects on the table 1
containing imprint value recognition and registration unit of cards
coming to areas 5 for placing cards face up and determining
position of the said cards on the gaming table 1. Parallel
information transmission unit 15 transmitting information about the
value of card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe 6 to the game
control units 12 of every player who is entitled to obtain the card
is realized as logical digital finite automation which, if a dealt
card is classified by the electronic data processing system as
common for all players, simultaneously transmits information to the
game control unit 12 of all players who have right to obtain the
said card. Collective command formation unit 16 for transmitting
joint command of the players to the dealer is realized as logical
digital finite automation which receives information about every
player's decision from corresponding game control units 12--to
continue the game or to stand,--and, as soon as the last player
makes decision, forms and sends resulting command to the players'
commands visualization unit 14: draw another card if at least one
player decided to continue the game or do not draw another card if
all players decided to stand.
[0145] Gaming equipment for card games in particular the game of
Black Jack operates as follows.
[0146] Before the game begins the dealer thoroughly shuffles cards,
preferably using a device designed for this purpose, the dealer
then places the cards face down in the card shoe 6. Each of the
players at the gaming table buys credit using player's bet control
unit 11, the said player's bet control units are positioned in each
player's sector 3. A player touches zone for entering operating
command "buy credit" and passes money or jettons over to the
dealer. On the credit control unit 13 the second part "buy" of the
credit zone and numerical board become activated. The dealer enters
the credit value using numerical board of the credit control unit
13 and sends it to the electronic data processing system 18 by
touching corresponding zone of the numerical indicator of players'
places. Zones for displaying information about the game run of the
player's bet control units 11 display information about credit
value of each player accordingly and numerical boards and numerical
indicators of players sectors become activated. Every player enters
his bet value for the current game by using numerical board of the
player's bet control unit and touches zone "bet". Electronic data
processing system 18 reduces credit value of each n layer according
to the bet value entered by the player. From the electronic data
processing system 18 information about bets entered is transmitted
to the dealer by appearing in the first part "credit value" of the
zone "credit" for displaying information about the game run and in
the zone "bet" of the credit control unit 13. The dealer then deals
cards to the players and himself in accordance with the game rules
(according to the variant of the game of "Black Jack" performed).
When the edge of a card crosses working zone of the optical
electronic detector of playing cards' movement 7 the said detector
activates card imprint value recognition and registration unit 8
(the card is drawn from the card shoe face down). Information about
imprint value of every card which comes to the area 5 for placing
cards face up on the gaming table 1 goes to the electronic data
processing system 18 of the computer 17 and then via parallel
information transmission unit transmitting information about value
of card drawn by the dealer from the card shoe 6 to the game
control unit 12 of every player who is entitled to obtain cards.
Electronic data processing system 18 also obtains information from
the objects' presence on the table recognition unit 10 of the
monitoring system of the game run 9 about which card came to the
area 5 for placing cards face up on the gaming table 1. The
dealer's first card is placed on the table face up and the dealer's
second card is placed on the table face down. Information data
processing system 18 totals values of the first two cards obtained
by each player as appropriate depending whether
successive-parallel, parallel-successive or parallel-parallel
dealing is performed and corresponding resulting sums appear in the
zones "total" for displaying information about the game run of the
game control units 12. Having received two cards each player makes
decision about the next step in the game. A player may order more
cards, double down or split. In two latter cases the electronic
data processing system 18 will automatically place appropriate bets
and reduce the player's credit accordingly. If the value of the
dealer's first card is 11 zones "insurance-yes,no" become activated
on the players' game control units 12 and players can buy
insurance. A player communicates his decision to the dealer by
touching appropriate zone of the game control unit 12: zone
"additional card", zone "split", zone "double down" or zone
"insurance-yes,no". If a player does not wish any more cards he
touches zone "stand" of the game control unit 12. The size of the
insurance bet usually equals half of the initial bet of the player
and a player may choose insurance option to protect his initial bet
against the dealer's win. If the dealer's hand is "Black Jack", the
player wins double his insurance bet. If the dealer does not obtain
"Black Jack" the player looses his insurance game but participates
in the main game as usual on his initial bet. Information about
players' decisions goes to the electronic data processing system
18. From electronic data processing system 18 information about
players' decisions is transmitted via collective command formation
unit 16 for transmitting joint command of the players to the dealer
to the dealer's zone for displaying information about the game run.
The dealer performs successive-parallel deal in the variant 1,
parallel-successive deal in the variant 2 and parallel-parallel
deal in the variant 3.
[0147] If a player wishes to leave the game at the end of a round
he touches zone "sell credit" on the player's bet control unit 11.
Electronic data processing system 18 performs final calculations
and produces information about the sum due to the player. All
information obtained by electronic data processing system 18 of the
computer 17 about the dealer's card values and each of the player's
card values, bets placed and the game run is displayed on the
computer processed data visualisation device 20.
[0148] Information which comes to the electronic data processing
system 18 from objects' presence on the table recognition unit 10
of the monitoring system of the game run 9, player's bet control
units 11, game control units 12 also is sent to the information
storage system 19. If required all data about any stage of the game
or the whole game can be obtained from the information storage
system 19.
[0149] At every stage of the game timers 21 restricting time
available to the players for decision making installed in the
player's bet control units 11 shut out a particular player's bet
control unit 11 if that player takes too long to make a decision
while placing a bet and the game continues without the player
taking part. Timers 22 restricting time available to the players
for decision making installed in the game control units 12 shut out
a particular player's game control unit 12 if that player takes too
long to make decision about the next step in the game and it will
be treated as the player decided to stand.
[0150] As seen from above the claimed gaming equipment ensures
increased dynamics of the game by reducing time per round of play,
requiring fewer cards to be dealt per round of play, increasing the
number of players participating in a round of play, combining games
played by different rules in the same round of play, which allows
to make the game more appealing for the players as well as for the
house. [0151] In the claimed gaming equipment for card games in
particular for the game of Black Jack gaming table 1 with cloth 2
provided with markings designating players' sectors 3 and [0152]
dealer's sector 4 as well as areas for placing cards face up, card
shoe 6 equipped with optical electronic detector of playing cards'
movement 7, card imprint value registration and recognition unit 6
(cards are drawn from the card shoe 6 face down), [0153] objects'
presence on the table recognition unit 10 of the monitoring system
of the game run 9, [0154] player's bet control units 11 and game
control units 12 positioned in each player's sector, [0155] credit
control unit 13 and players' commands visualisation unit 14
positioned in the dealer's sector, [0156] computer 17, [0157]
electronic data processing system 18, [0158] information storage
system 19, [0159] computer processed data visualisation device
20
[0160] are realized in the same way as in the gaming equipment
known from the prototype or any other standard gaming tables, card
shoes, means for recognition and registration of the values of the
cards drawn from the card shoe face down and means for recognition
of objects' presence on the table (including recognition of values
of cards present on the gaming table face up or face down, or cards
present in the card shoe when values of one or more cards are
determined before they are drawn from the card shoe), computers and
electronic data processing systems known in the given field of
technology can be used.
[0161] Player's bet control units 11, game control units 12, credit
control unit 13 and players' commands visualisation unit 14 can be
realized in the form of sensory displays each of which contains,
for example liquid-crystalline active colour matrix made on the
basis of thin film transistors (TFT) and special touch sensitive
panel (see magazine "Computer review" No 11, 22-28 Mar. 2000).
[0162] Automated credit control units 13 positioned on the
additional automated tables can be realized, for example, on the
basis of technology known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,729,985.
[0163] Parallel information transmission unit 15 transmitting
information about value of card drawn by the dealer from the card
shoe 6 to the game control units 12 of every player who is entitled
to obtain cards can be realized as logical digital finite
automation on the basis of family 8051 processor manufactured by
Atmel (see catalogue of DigiKey, 2004, Part No. AT 89C51
RC-24PI-ND) which, if a drawn card is classified by the electronic
data processing system 18 as common for all players, simultaneously
transmits information to the game control unit 12 of every player
who is entitled to obtain cards. Collective command formation unit
16 for transmitting joint command of the players to the dealer can
be realized as logical digital finite automation on the basis of
family 8051 processor manufactured by by Atmel (see catalogue of
DigiKey, 2004, Part No. AT 89C51 RC-24PI-ND).
[0164] The claimed method of game in particular the game of Black
Jack can be applied gaming equipment with incorporated random
number generators such as slot machines, video slot machines and
also can be used in computer games performed on computers connected
into a network. Automated gaming table can be any gaming terminal
connected to the electronic data processing system 18 as described
in the present invention including Internet channels.
* * * * *