METHOD AND SYSTEM OF PLAYING CASINO TWO FACE BLACKJACK TYPE GAME

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method for playing a game in which game pieces are dealt by the dealer to one or more players. Hands are dealt to the players and the dealer. The dealer is dealt one card face up and one card face down, referred to as in the hole. If the dealer is dealt a face card face up, the dealer exposes the card in the hole thereby showing the faces of both cards. The interest in the game is improved since the dealer only shows the hole card with a face card up, as opposed to always showing the hole card. The player forms a final player hand and the dealer forms a final dealer hand according to the conventional rules of Blackjack. Optionally, the dealer acts according to a predetermined set of house rules.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a method and system for conducting a Blackjack style game using playing cards or electronic systems and in particular to a method and system for playing a two face Blackjack type game in which anytime a dealer has a ten value card face up the dealer exposes the card in the hole thereby showing the faces of both cards.

2. Description of Related Art

In conventional Blackjack or “21” a dealer deals two cards to players and two cards to himself. The two cards to the players can be dealt face up or face down. Conventionally, one of the dealer's cards are dealt face up and the other card is dealt face down, referred to as the “hole” card. The rules of conventional Blackjack are well known in the art and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,981.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,632,486 describes a method of playing a card game using a card number subtracting technique in which cards of the playing deck are assigned numerical point values. Eights, nines and tens are removed from the standard deck to establish a deck of forty cards. Each numbered card is assigned its point value. Each ace is assigned a value of one. Each face card is assigned a value of zero. Two cards are initially dealt to each player with each player having the option of receiving a third card. If a third card is dealt, one of the cards is discarded. The hands are compared to determine a winning hand as the hand in which the point value difference between the two cards in the hand is closest to zero.

It is desirable to provide a game for enhancing a player's interest and wagering options.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method for playing a game in which game pieces are dealt by the dealer to one or more players. The game pieces can be selected from a deck or decks of conventional cards. In one embodiment, a modified deck or decks consisting essentially of four cards each of Ace, deuce, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Jack, Queen, and King is used.

The present invention can be considered an improved method for conducting a card game according to the conventional rules of Blackjack, or a game such as Spanish Twenty-One which is based upon the conventional rules of Blackjack. In such an embodiment, the game includes the player making an initial game wager. Hands are dealt to the players and the dealer. The dealer is dealt one card face up and one card face down, referred to as in the hole. If the dealer is dealt a face card face up, the dealer exposes the card in the hole thereby showing the faces of both cards. The interest in the game is improved since the dealer only shows the hole card with a face card up, as opposed to always showing the hole card. It is most interesting to players to see the hole card after a dealer has been dealt a face card. The player forms a final player hand and the dealer forms a final dealer hand according to the conventional rules of Blackjack. Optionally, the dealer acts according to a predetermined set of house rules.

In one embodiment, the player has the option of surrendering the initial hand and receiving half of their wager back with the house collecting the other half In an alternate embodiment, a player can have the additional option of splitting or doubling down according to the conventional rules of Blackjack in forming the player's final hand or hands. For example, doubling down can be used with any hand sum or total value of the cards of nine or higher. In one embodiment, if the player splits or doubles down, the player places an additional split wager or double down wager up to the amount of the game wager.

A reward is issued to the player on the player's game wager if the final player hand outranks the final dealer hand according to the conventional rules of Blackjack. Conversely, the player's game wager is collected if the final dealer hand outranks the final player hand according to the conventional rules of Blackjack. For example, a Blackjack for the player shall pay even money or shall pay six to five odds. In one embodiment, the dealer hits on a soft seventeen.

The present invention may also be embodied in a device, such as a gaming machine or general purpose computer executing software instructions. Such a device includes a data processor communicating with a display, an input device, a wager receiver, and a data structure. The data structure stores data representing playing cards, optionally a modified deck of playing cards, a set of house rules, and instructions executable by the data processor for conducting a game method.

The game method executed by the data processor includes receiving a signal from the wager receiver in response to receipt of a game wager from the player. In response to these signals, an two cards are dealt to the player to form an initial player hand and two cards are dealt dealer to form an initial dealer hand. The dealer is dealt one card face up and one card face down, referred to as in the hole. If the dealer is dealt a face card face up, the dealer exposes the card in the hole thereby showing the faces of both cards.

If the initial player hand forms an automatic winning outcome, a reward is issued to the player and play by the player is terminated. Otherwise the player forms a final player hand by opting through the input device to receive additional cards or stand on the initial player hand. In one embodiment, the player has the option to surrender the initial hand and receive half of their wager back with the house collecting the other half. In alternate embodiments, the player may have to option to split or double down when forming the final player hand or, in the case of one or more splits, final player hands.

The initial dealer hand is revealed at the display and a final dealer hand is formed according to the house rules. Wagers are resolved by issuing a reward to the player on the player's game wager if the final player hand is closer to a predetermined target value than the final dealer hand is or collecting the player's game wager if the final dealer hand is closer to a predetermined target value than the final player hand is.

The invention will be more fully described by reference to the following drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method of playing a game in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a method of playing a game with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method of playing a game with an alternate embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a betting board in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a device for playing a game in accordance with the teachings of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in greater detail to a preferred embodiment of the invention, an example of which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numerals will be used throughout the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for playing a game 10. In block 11, each of the players of the game places a game wager. In block 12, each of the players of the game are dealt game pieces. For example, the game pieces can be from one or more conventional deck of cards or a subset thereof which deck or decks of cards can be shuffled together. In one embodiment, the cards having a ten value are removed from each of the decks such that each deck includes 48 cards including four aces, four twos, four threes, four fours, four fives, four sixes, four sevens, four eights, four nines, four jacks, four queens and four kings. Face cards are assigned a value of ten. In an alternate embodiment, four ten value cards can be removed from each deck in which the ten value cards can also include face cards. In a preferred embodiment, one or more initial cards are dealt to each player face up. For example, two initial cards can be dealt to each player.

In block 14, game pieces are dealt to the dealer. In a preferred embodiment, two cards are dealt to the dealer in which the first card is dealt face down, referred to as the hole card and the second card is dealt face up. In an alternate embodiment, block 14 can be performed before block 12 such that one or more game pieces are dealt to the dealer first before game pieces are dealt to the players.

In block 16, the dealers hand is reviewed. When the dealer hand includes a card face up having a value of ten, for example if a face card is dealt to the dealer, the dealer turns the hole card face up to expose the value of the hole card. In block 17, it is determined if the dealer's hand has an automatic winning holding. For example, if the game played is Blackjack, the dealer automatically wins if the dealer's initial player hand is a natural twenty-one, i.e., a ten value card such as a face card of a Jack, Queen or King in combination with an Ace. The dealer having a natural twenty-one collects the game wager from each player who does not also have a natural twenty-one and play by the players is terminated.

In block 18, it is determined if each players initial hand has an automatic winning holding. For example, if the game played is Blackjack, the player automatically wins if the players initial player hand is a natural twenty-one, i.e., a ten value card such as face card of a Jack, Queen or King in combination with an Ace. The player obtaining an automatically winning hand shall be rewarded according to wager rules, for example as described below. The player can be rewarded a payout based on the amount of the game wager. In one embodiment, a player dealt a Blackjack is rewarded a payout of even money (1 to 1). Accordingly, if a player made a game wager of 10 units, the player is rewarded 10 units upon being dealt a Blackjack. In an alternate embodiment, a player dealt a Blackjack is rewarded a payout of six to five. In an alternate embodiment, Blackjack is rewarded a payout of three to two. Play is terminated for the player with the automatically winning hand. In one embodiment, block 18 can be performed before block 17.

If the player does not have an automatically winning hand, the player forms a final player hand by hitting, i.e., receiving additional playing cards, or standing, i.e., making final the cards held by the player at that time, in block 19. In an embodiment of the invention, the goal of the game is to obtain a hand closer to a predetermined target value than the dealer's hand is. For example, in an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a conventional Blackjack game, the goal for the player is to obtain a hand sum closer to twenty-one than the dealer's hand sum is, without exceeding twenty-one as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,549,642 hereby incorporated by reference into this application. If the player's hand exceeds a target sum, for example twenty-one, the player busts and the player's game wager is collected.

In block 20, after each of the players have formed a final hand, the dealer forms a final dealer hand by hitting, i.e., receiving additional playing cards, or standing, i.e., making final the cards held by the dealer at that time. In one embodiment, the dealer hits on a soft seventeen, for example a value of seventeen with any combination of an ace and a six. In block 21, each final player hand and the dealer final hand is compared to a target value. The player is rewarded in block 22 based on the player's game wager if the final player hand is closer to the target value than the final dealer hand is. Similarly, the player may be rewarded in block 22 if the dealer exceeded the target value and the player did not. For example, in an optional embodiment applied to Blackjack, a player with a final player hand sum of 19 would be rewarded if the dealer had a final dealer hand sum of 18 or less, or 22 or more. Optionally, the player would push if the dealer and player have the same hand sum. The player's game wager would be collected in block 24 if the final dealer hand is closer to the target value than the final player hand is. Thus, in the example above in which the final player hand sum is 19, a push occurs if the final dealer hand sum is 19 and the player's game wager would be collected if the final dealer hand sum is 20 or 21.

In one embodiment, the dealer is allowed to “push” on a total of 22 or more, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,435,172, hereby incorporated by reference into this application. For example, the dealer can push on one designated total between 22-26.

In the event of a player win, the player is rewarded based on the game wager. For example, if a player places a 10 unit game wager, a winning player hand results in a payout on the wager of 10 units. In one embodiment, the payout is even money; thus, in the example, a winning player would be paid 10 units.

In an alternate embodiment, method for playing a game 30 various options are included for providing additional interest, as shown in FIG. 2. In block 31, when it is determined that the dealer does not have an automatic winning hand, each of the players have the option of surrendering the initial cards which were dealt. In this option, a player surrendering the cards dealt will receive back half of the wager placed in block 11 and the house will collect the other half of the wager.

In block 33, before each of the final player hands are formed, a player will have the option of placing a double down wager on the initial cards dealt, i.e., two cards, with any hand sum. In a double down, the player places a double down wager less than or equal to the game wager. For example, in such an embodiment, assuming the game wager is 10 units, a player could place a double down wager of 10 or fewer units. In exchange for such a double down wager, the player is dealt one, and only one, additional card.

In block 35, before each of the final player hands are formed a player will have the option of splitting the player's hand. Splitting involves the player holding a pair in his initial player hand placing an additional split wager, in this case an amount up to the game wager, and playing each of the cards of the pair as a separate hand. In an optional embodiment, the player is required to place an additional split wager equal to the game wager. For example, suppose a player who placed a game wager of 10 units is dealt a pair of 8. If the player wishes wish to split the pair, the player places a split wager of 10 units and is then allowed to use the first 8 and the second 8 as the bases for separate hands. In a further optional embodiment, the player may be permitted to re-split a player hand a limited number of times if the player again obtains a pair after a split. In a preferred embodiment, the player may re-split twice for a total of four hands. Thereafter, blocks 20-24 (not shown) are preformed, as described above.

In an alternate embodiment, method for playing a game 40 various options are included for providing additional interest, as shown in FIG. 3. In block 43, before each of the final player hands are formed, a player will have the option of placing a double down wager on the initial cards dealt, i.e. two cards, on any total value of the cards of the hand being nine or higher. In a double down, the player places a double down wager less than or equal to the game wager. For example, in such an embodiment, assuming the game wager is 10 units, a player could place a double down wager of 10 or fewer units. In exchange for such a double down wager, the player is dealt one, and only one, additional card.

Betting can take place using betting board 100, as shown in FIG. 4. Betting board 100 can be a gaming table. Players can place game wagers in one of positions 101a-101n. A dealer places game pieces on betting board 100 in one of positions 102a-102n. In one embodiment, dealer board 100 is mechanically and/or electronically activated. Alternatively, dealer board 100 can be a video display and game pieces are randomly selected and displayed on the video display. In one embodiment, the game is played in a casino. Alternatively the game can be played on a video machine or over the Internet.

The present method could also be applied to device 200 for conducting a game for a player, as shown in FIG. 5. As discussed above, in such an embodiment, the dealer may be live or represented by the game device. It is further noted that the game device could be a specific use game device, such as a video card machine, or could be a general purpose computer programmed to conduct the present game.

Device according to the present invention includes data processor 202. Data processor 202 can take any form. Data processor 202 communicates with a display 204, optionally through a display controller. Display 204 could be any form including cathode ray tube (“CRT”), liquid crystal display (“LCD”), plasma, or the like. Data processor 202 also communicates with a wager receiver 208. Wager receiver 208 could be any means for receiving a wager or wager data. For example, wager receiver 208 could receive coins; bills; tokens; encoded vouchers, tickets, or script; account data, such as banking or credit card data; or any other form of data or media representing a wager. Data processor 202 also communicates with an input device 206. Input device 206 could include any device usable by the player to input information or make selections, such as buttons, a keypad or keyboard, a touchscreen, or any other input device.

Data structure 209 communicating with data processor 202 stores electronic representations of playing cards (optionally with a full or modified deck constitution as discussed above), a set of house rules including pay outs, and instructions executable by the data processor for conducting a game method, as described in a method for playing a game 10, 30 and 40. Data structure 202 could be any structure storing data including any type of optical, magnetic, flash, electrical, or electronic memory, in any form, such as random access memory (“RAM”), read-only memory (“ROM”), or any of the many variations thereon. It is also noted that each of these elements, i.e., data processor 202, data structure 209, display 204, input device 206, and wager receiver 208, need not be physically proximate but may be remote from one another and, in such an embodiment, could communicate via computer network, telephone line, wireless communication, or the like.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3 and 5, in conducting the game method, data processor 202 receives a signal from wager receiver 208 indicating the placing of a game wager by the player, in block 11. In response to this signal, data processor 202 randomly selects and “deals” an initial player hand and an initial dealer hand for the dealer or assigns the cards to the appropriate hand as described in blocks 12 and 14. The cards of the initial player hand are exposed at the display 204 as is optionally one card of the initial dealer hand. Block 16 is performed by data processor 202, such that if the dealer hand has a face card up the hole card will be displayed at display 204. Block 17 is performed by data processor 202 to determine if the dealer has an automatic winning hand, in the case of Blackjack such a hand would be a natural twenty-one, the player's game wager is collected and play by the player is terminated. Block 18 is performed by data processor 202 to determine if the player has an automatic wining hand and if the player has an automatically winning hand, the player is rewarded, optionally at even money or at 6 to 5, and play by the player is terminated. Otherwise, blocks 18-21 are performed by data processor 202, and a final player hand is formed by inputting the player's selection to hit or stand through the input device 206. In one embodiment, the player may additionally have the option to split or double down in one or more of blocks 33-35 and 43 by placing at the wager receiver 208 a wager equal, or less than or equal, respectively, to the game wager. The final dealer hand is formed by data processor 202 according to the stored house rules. The final dealer hand and final player hand are compared in block 21 by data processor 202 to the predetermined target value, twenty-one in the case of Blackjack, and the player is rewarded in block 22 performed by data processor 202 on his game wager if the player's hand sum is closer to the target than the dealer's hand sum is, or if the dealer busts. Conversely, if the dealer's hand sum is closer to the target than the player's hand sum is, in block 24 performed by data processor 202 or, as discussed above, the player busts, the player loses his game wager.

It is to be understood that the above-described embodiments are illustrative of only a few of the many possible specific embodiments, which can represent applications of the principles of the invention. Numerous and varied other arrangements can be readily devised in accordance with these principles by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A method for playing a game comprising the steps of:

one or more players making a game wager,

dealing two cards to form an initial player hand to each of the one or more players;

dealing a first card to a dealer and a second card to a dealer to form an initial dealer hand, one of the first card or the second card dealt to the dealer being placed face up and the other of the first card or the second card dealt to the dealer being placed face down,

reviewing the dealer's hand and if a face up card of the dealer's hand has a value of ten, exposing the value of the face down card of the dealer's hand;

forming a final player hand by dealing at least one additional card to said initial player hand or standing on said initial player hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack;

forming a final dealer hand by dealing at least one additional card to said initial dealer hand or standing on said initial dealer hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack; and

issuing a reward to said player on the player's game wager if the final player hand outranks the final dealer hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack and collecting the player's game wager if the final dealer hand outranks the final player hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein a modified deck of forty-eight playing cards is used, said modified deck consisting essentially of four cards each of Ace, deuce, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Jack, Queen, and King and the face down card of the dealer's hand is exposed if the face up card the dealer is dealt is the Jack, Queen or King.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

said one or more players opting to surrender cards which were dealt, said one or more players receiving back half or the game wager and a house receiving the other half of the game wager.

4. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

said one or more players opting to place a double down wager after said initial player hand is dealt with two cards on any hand sum of the cards dealt, said double down wager equal to or less than the game wager.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

said one or more players opting to place a double down wager after said initial player hand is dealt after said initial player hand is dealt with two cards on any total value of the cards dealt of nine or higher, said double down wager equal to or less than the game wager.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

said one or more players opting to place a split wager equal to the game wager and split said initial player hand into separate player hands if said initial player hand forms a pair.

7. The method of claim 6 further comprising said player opting to place a double down wager less than or equal to the game wager after said initial player hand is dealt and receive only one additional playing card.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the game is played in a casino.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the game is played on a video machine.

10. The method of claim 1 further comprising operating the game through a data network.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the data network is the Internet.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein after the initial player hand is dealt, further comprising the step of:

determining if the initial hand is a Blackjack; and

issuing a reward to the player of the initial player hand being a Blackjack on a payout of one to one.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein after the initial player hand is dealt, further comprising the step of:

determining if the initial hand is a Blackjack; and

issuing the reward to the player of the initial player hand being a Blackjack on a payout of six to five.

14. The method of claim 1 wherein after the initial player hand is dealt, further comprising the step of:

determining if the initial hand is a Blackjack; and

issuing the reward to the player of the initial player hand being a Blackjack on a payout of three to two.

15. The method of claim 1 wherein if the total value of the cards in the final dealer hand is a predetermined designated point total between twenty two and twenty six, the dealer pushes the wager instead of issuing the reward.

16. A device for conducting a game for a player, comprising:

a data processor;

a display communicating with said data processor;

a wager receiver communicating with said data processor;

an input device communicating with said data processor;

a data structure communicating with said data processor storing data representing playing cards, a set of house rules, and instructions executable by said data processor for conducting a method, the instructions comprising:

receiving a signal from said wager receiver in response to receipt of a game wager from said one or more players;

dealing two cards to form an initial player hand to each of the one or more players;

dealing a first card to a dealer and a second card to a dealer to form an initial dealer hand, one of the first card or the second card dealt to the dealer being placed face up and the other of the first card or the second card dealt to the dealer being placed face down;

reviewing the dealer's hand and if a face up card of the dealer's hand has a value of ten, exposing the value of the face down card of the dealer's hand;

forming a final player hand by dealing at least one additional card to said initial player hand or standing on said initial player hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack;

forming a final dealer hand by dealing at least one additional card to said initial dealer hand or standing on said initial dealer hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack; and

issuing a reward to said player on the player's game wager if the final player hand outranks the final dealer hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack and collecting the player's game wager if the final dealer hand outranks the final player hand according to said conventional rules of Blackjack.

17. The device of claim 16 wherein said data structure stores data representing a modified deck of forty-eight playing cards consisting essentially of four cards each of Ace, deuce, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, Jack, Queen, and King.

18. The device of claim 16 wherein said instructions further comprise said one or more players opting to surrender cards which were dealt, said one or more players receiving back half or the game wager and a house receiving the other half of the game wager.

19. The device of claim 16 wherein said instructions further comprise: if said initial player hand forms a pair, in response to receiving a split wager equal to the game wager at said wager receiver, splitting said initial player hand into separate player hands; and in response to receiving a double down wager less than or equal to the game wager at said wager receiver after said initial player hand is dealt, dealing only one additional playing card to said player hand.

20. The device of claim 16 wherein the instructions include after the initial player hand is dealt, further comprising the step of:

determining if the initial hand is a Blackjack; and

issuing a reward to the player of the initial player hand being a Blackjack on a payout of one to one.

21. The device of claim 16 wherein the instructions include after the initial player hand is dealt, further comprising the step of:

determining if the initial hand is a Blackjack; and

issuing the reward to the player of the initial player hand being a Blackjack on a payout a payout of six to five.

22. The device of claim 16 wherein the instructions include after the initial player hand is dealt, further comprising the step of:

determining if the initial hand is a Blackjack; and

issuing the reward to the player of the initial player hand being a Blackjack on a payout a payout of three to two.

23. The device of claim 16 wherein if the total value of the cards in the final dealer hand is a predetermined designated point total between twenty two and twenty six, the dealer pushes the wager instead of issuing the reward.