Amusement devices: games – Games accessories – Game supporting tables or surfaces
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-05
2003-11-25
Hotaling, II, John M (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Games accessories
Game supporting tables or surfaces
C273S292000, C463S013000, C463S016000, C463S020000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06651985
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The field of this invention is apparatus and methods for playing live table playing card games; namely, games which use playing cards and are played at a casino, cardroom, residential or other gaming table with live human participants.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the gaming industry there is a significant volume of gambling which occurs at live table games which use playing cards. Exemplary live table games include blackjack, poker, baccarat, and others. There is also a number of proprietary or specialty live table card games which have developed, such as pai-gow poker, Let-It-Ride™, Caribbean Stud™ and others. These and many other games all involve play using playing cards. The use of playing cards has a number of associated limitations and disadvantages which have long plagued the casino industry. Some of these are of general concern to all or most playing card games. Others are problems associated with the use of playing cards in particular games. Some of the principal concerns and problems are discussed below.
The use of playing cards at live table games typically involves several operational requirements which are time-consuming. These operations are conveniently described as collecting, shuffling and dealing of the cards. In many card games there is also a step of cutting the deck after it has been shuffled.
In the collecting operation, a dealer typically collects the cards just played at the end of a hand of play. This is done in preparation for playing the next hand of cards. The cards are best collected so all are in a face-down or face-up condition. The cards also are typically straightened into a stack with the long sides and short sides aligned. These manipulations take time and are not typically appreciated by either the dealer or players as enhancing the play and entertainment value of the game.
In many games the cards collected at the end of the hand are deposited in a discard rack which collects the played cards until the time a new stack is obtained or the stack is shuffled. In some games the cards are immediately shuffled into the stack either manually or using a shuffling machine. More typically, the cards are collected and then shuffling is performed later by the dealer.
When shuffling is needed, it involves a break in the action of the table game and consumes a significant amount of time. Shuffling is also the most time consuming operation in preparing for the next hand. Thus, shuffling is of substantial financial significance to the casino industry because it requires significant time and reduces the number of hands which can be played per hour or other period of time. The earnings of casinos is, primarily dependent upon the total number of hands played. This is true because the casino on average wins a certain percent of the amounts wagered, and many or most casinos are open on a 24-hour basis. Thus, earnings are limited by the number of hands that can be played per hour. In light of this there has been a significant and keen interest by casino owners to develop practices which allow more games to be played in a given, amount of time. Accomplishing this without detracting from the players enjoyment and desire to play the game is a challenging and longstanding issue with casino owners and consultants in the gaming industry.
An additional consideration in the casino industry is the costs associated with shuffling machines. Shuffling machines currently available have costs in the thousands of dollars. Such machines save time in performing the shuffling process, but still require time to load, operate and unload. These factors reduce the savings associated with reduced shuffling time and effort. Further reductions in the costs and time associated with shuffling of cards is still desired.
The amount of time consumed by collecting, shuffling and dealing is also of significance in private card games because it also delays action and requires some special effort to perform. In private games there is also some added complexity due to card players remembering or figuring out who previously dealt and who should now shuffle and re-deal the cards as needed.
In addition to the time delay and added activity needed to collect, shuffle and deal cards, there is typically some time devoted to cutting the deck of cards which have been shuffled and which are soon to be dealt. This traditional maneuver helps to reduce the risk that the dealer who has shuffled the cards may have done so in a way that stacks the deck in an ordered fashion which may favor the dealer or someone else playing the game. Although cutting the deck does not require a large amount of time, it does take some time. The amount of time spent on cutting reduces the frequency at which hands of the card game can be played.
The above and related considerations clearly demonstrate that a substantial amount of time is consumed by collecting, shuffling, cutting and dealing playing cards. The casino industry has long felt the desire to reduce the time spent and increase play of live table games.
In the gaming industry there is also a very significant amount of time and effort devoted to security issues which relate to play of the casino games. Part of the security concerns stem from frequent attempts to cheat during play of the games. Attempts to cheat are made by players, dealers, or more significantly by dealers and players in collusion. This cheating seeks to affect the outcome of the game in a way which favors the dealer or players who are working together. The amount of cheating in card games is significant to the casino industry and constitutes a major security problem which has large associated losses. The costs of efforts to deter or prevent cheating are very large and made on a daily basis.
Many of the attempts to cheat in the play of live table card games involve some aspect of dealer manipulation of cards during collection, shuffling, cutting or dealing of cards. Thus, there is a need for methods and apparatuses which can be used in the play of live table card games which reduces the ability of the dealer and/or players to cheat by manipulation of playing cards. Of greatest concern are schemes whereby the deck is stacked and the stacked deck is used to the collusive player's advantage. Stacked decks represent huge potential losses since the player is aware of the cards which will be played before play occurs and can optimize winnings by increasing bets for winning hands and decreasing bets for losing hands.
Casinos have recognized that their efforts to reduce cheating would be improved if the casino had comprehensive information on the cards which have been played, the amounts bet, the players and dealers involved and other information about actions which have taken place at the card tables. This is of particular importance in assessing the use of stacked decks. It is also important where card tracking is occurring. Additional explanation about card tracking is discussed below. The information desired by the casinos includes knowing the sequence and exact cards being dealt.
Some attempts have been made to record card game action. The best current technology involves cameras which are mounted above the tables to record the action of the card games. This approach is disadvantaged by the fact that not all cards dealt are easily known from a camera position above the table because some or all of the cards are not dealt face-up, or are hidden by overlying cards. Although many blackjack games are sufficiently revealing to later determine the order of dealt cards, others are not. Other card games, such as poker, have hands which are not revealed. The covered cards of the players do not allow the order of dealt cards to be ascertained from an above-table camera.
Even where above-table cameras are used, their use may not be effective. Such cameras may require time-consuming and tedious human analysis to go over the video tapes or other recordings of table action. This human study may be needed just to ascertain the sequence of cards dealt or to determine the amount of betting. Such human
Gregory Randy A.
Kuhn Michael J.
Sines Randy D.
Digideal Corporation
Gregory Randy A.
Hotaling, II John M
LandOfFree
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