3-Card bonus twenty-one

Abstract

“3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” allows players the opportunity to play a familiar game with some changes and additions that make it more fun and easier to play. Played with three cards dealt to the player(s) and the dealer, it gives the player a chance to make 2 bets with new odds for getting exactly a total of “21” on the cards played. Additionally, a player's hand cannot be affected by the play of another player, and the player can also win with a total of less than 17 without needing the dealer to exceed “21”.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTING

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

“3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” is a casino styled card game specifically intended to be used in a gambling setting for either a casino table game or video game. It is patterned after the card game of “Twenty-One” also known as “Blackjack”. It specifically addresses three areas of concern encountered in traditional “Twenty-One”. These are:

• 1—Traditional “Twenty-One” does not allow the player to wager on getting exactly a total of 21 on two different bets offering special odds using two cards for one and three cards for the other.
• 2—Traditional “Twenty-One” allows for the play of one player to affect the outcome for another player. “3-Card Bonus 21” eliminates this, when there are two or more players playing at the same time.
• 3—Traditional “Twenty-One” allows a player whose total is less than 17 to win only if the dealer's total exceeds 21. “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” eliminates this and allows for the player with a total of less than 17 to win without the dealer exceeding 21.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” is to get a total of exactly 21 or as close as the player can to 21 without going over 21 using, at the least, two cards, or, at the most, three cards and beating the dealer's total in the process. They player makes a wager on this happening that is called a “Straight Wager”. “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” addresses three areas of concern that were mentioned in the “Background of the Invention”.

• 1—“3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” permits a player to place an additional wager or wagers for getting an exact total of 21 on the cards they play. “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” allows the player to place an additional wager on getting an exact total of 21 using just his first two cards. The player can also make an additional wager on getting an exact total of 21 using all three cards that are dealt to the player. Each of these additional wagers is a separate wager with corresponding odds that determine the payoff.
• 2—In traditional “Twenty-One” the play of one player can directly affect the outcome of another player's hand. In “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” each player is dealt three cards to begin play and no additional cards are dealt. Therefore, the play of one player cannot affect the outcome of another player's hand when two or more players are playing.
• 3—In traditional “Twenty-One” a player whose ending cards total less than 17 can only win if the dealer's card total exceeds 21. In “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” a player whose total is less than 17 can still win by beating the dealer's total. The player in this situation, that is, having a total of less than 17, is not dependent on the dealer's total exceeding 21 in order to win.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The enclosed drawing depicts the top of a gaming table representing one way the game of “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” can be played.

Before the cards are dealt each player can, if he chooses, make up to 3 bets. The only mandatory bet is the “Straight Bet” represented by FIG. 1A. The player places the amount he wants to wager in the circle designated for the “Straight Bet”, FIG. 1A. This bet is played against the dealer's hand with the winner being determined by whose hand is closer to 21 without going over.

Additionally, the player can make 2 optional bets. FIG. 2A represents the 2-Card 21 betting spot, and the player who makes this bet is betting that his first two cards will total exactly 21. FIG. 3A represents the 3-Card 21 betting spot and the player who makes this bet is betting that his three cards together will total exactly 21.

After all the bets are placed, the cards are dealt. The first two cards dealt to the player or players are done so in a traditional fashion, that is, they are dealt in front of the player. Since there is no “required” or “designated” spot for these two cards, except that they are dealt in front of the player, they are not represented in the drawing. The first two cards for the dealer, however, are placed in the designated areas for these two cards. The dealer's first card must be placed face-up in the designated area for the first card, FIG. 5A. The dealer's second card must be placed face-down in the designated area for the second card, FIG. 6A.

Finally, the player's third card must be placed face-down in the designated area for the third card, FIG. 4A. In turn, the dealer's third card must be placed face-down in the designated area for the third card, FIG. 7A. After all the cards are dealt play commences.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Using, at the least, two cards, or, at the most, three cards, the object of “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” is to get a total of 21 or as close as the player can to 21 without going over 21, and to beat the dealer's total. The game can be played using from one to eight 52-card decks. Before play begins with the dealing of the cards a player can place up to three bets.

The “Straight Bet” is placed in the straight bet circle and is the only mandatory bet. The player wagers that his total will be closer to 21 than the dealer's total. To accomplish this the player can use either just the total of his first two cards, or, if he chooses, the total of all three cards. The player wins if his final total is closer to 21 than the dealer's. A tie between the player and the dealer is treated as a push and the player retains his original straight bet. Any time a player chooses to use his third card and the total of all 3 cards exceeds 21 he immediately loses his straight bet. The player can also “double down” on his straight wager, if the total of his first two cards is 10 or 11. At this point he doubles his original straight bet and his third card is played resulting in his final total. The suggested payout for straight bets is “even money”, but all payouts are at the discretion of the “house”.

The 2-Card 21 bet is an optional bet that must be played prior to the cards being dealt and is placed in the 2-Card 21 circle. The player wins this wager if his first 2 cards total exactly “21” and loses if they do not. The dealer's total is not considered for this wager. Payouts for this wager are determined by the “house” from a recommended paytable and are displayed.

The 3-Card 21 bet is an optional bet that must be played prior to the cards being dealt and is placed in the 3-Card 21 circle. The player wins this wager if the total of his 3 cards is exactly “21” and loses if they do not total exactly “21”. To win this wager a player must play his third card. If a player settles for the total of his first 2 cards, his 3-Card 21 bet is automatically lost. The dealer's total is not considered for this wager. Payouts for this wager are determined by the “house” from a recommended paytable and are displayed.

Either one or both of the optional bets can be played by the player.

There are no rules pertaining to the player and how he must play his hand. Choosing to play just his first two cards or using his third card is strictly a free decision. The dealer, however, must play his cards as dictated by the “house rules” pertaining to the playing of the dealer's hand. These are at the discretion of the “house”.

For totaling purposes all face cards have a value of 10, an ace is either 1 or 11, and all other cards receive their numerical value. However, when an ace is paired with any 10 valued card on the first two cards it's value is always 11.

As mentioned previously the advantages to “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” are three in number:

1—The player can make a specific bet with attractive odds on getting a total of exactly “21” in two ways. He can do this for his first two cards or for using all three.

2—A player's hand cannot be affected by the play of another player. Each player is given three cards to start play and no other cards are dealt.

3—A player with less than a total of 17 can still win his “straight bet” against the dealer without needing the dealer's total to exceed “21”. An example of this would be the following: Player's first two cards are a 2 and a 10. Dealer's face-up card is a 10. Player chooses to play his third card. Player's third card is a 3, which gives the player a total of 15. Dealer's second card is a 2. By rule the dealer must play the dealer's third card. Dealer's third card is another 2, which gives the dealer a total of 14. Player wins the hand, because 15 is closer to 21 than 14.

The last word with regard to the description of “3-Card Bonus Twenty-One” involves the dealing of the cards. After all the bets have been placed, the cards are dealt in a clockwise fashion. All players receive their first card in a face-down fashion and the dealer places this card in front of the player. The dealer's first card is placed face-up in the box designated for the dealer's first card. The dealer then deals the player's second card in a face-down fashion in front of the player. The dealer's second card is placed face-down in the box designated for the dealer's second card. The player's third card is dealt by the dealer face-down and placed in the box designated for the player's third card. The dealer's third card is dealt face-down and placed in the box designated for the dealer's third card. After the cards have been dealt play proceeds in a clockwise fashion and moves on as each player completes the play of their hand. The dealer is always the last to play. All outstanding bets are resolved after the dealer completes the dealer's hand.

Claims

1. It is claimed that no casino-styled “Twenty-One” game, in addition to the beginning mandatory bet, allows the player to make two additional wagers on getting exactly “21” on two optional bets where the player bets on getting exactly “21” using a 2-card combination for one bet, and any 3-card numerical combination totaling exactly “21” for the other bet using the cards the player is dealt.