Amusement devices: games – Card or tile games – cards or tiles therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-01
2004-06-01
O'Neill, Michael (Department: 3713)
Amusement devices: games
Card or tile games, cards or tiles therefor
C463S012000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06742781
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to methods and devices for playing a new casino card game using playing cards and based upon a Baccarat format where card values are summed modulo ten. A two card hand is dealt to a dealer and to each player. The dealer receives at least a third card exposed to all players. Each player opts to receive a third card to improve each of their hands. Depending upon the count of the dealer's first two cards, the dealer includes the value of the third card in summing his hand. Between each player and the dealer the one with the highest hand count wins.
BACKGROUND
Baccarat is one of the many live table games played in casinos or gaming establishments. Baccarat uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards and is usually dealt from a shoe having multiple decks that have been shuffled together prior to the beginning of play.
The object of the game of Baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the surrogate Banker hand or the surrogate Player hand is going to win, e.g. have a hand count, modulo ten, closest to the target count of 9. The bettor receives even money for his wager if he selects the winning hand and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand. Because of the rules of play of Baccarat and more particularly the pre-established draw rules, the Banker hand has a slightly higher chance of winning than does the Player's hand. Therefore, if the bettor wagers on the Banker hand and the Banker hand wins, the bettor must pay to the gaming establishment a commission (typically, 5%) of the amount the bettor wins. No commission is paid if the bettor successfully wagers on the Player hand.
As used in this specification, the term “Conventional Manner of Play of Baccarat” is as follows:
A multiple number of decks of standard playing cards, 52 in number, are used; typically eight decks are shuffled together and placed in a shoe from which the cards are dealt during the play of the game.
Each bettor makes a wager on whether the Bank's hand or the Player's hand will win. After all wagers are made, two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Bank position and two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Player position on the table layout. The cards are turned face up and the values of the Bank hand and the Player hand are determined, modulo ten.
Aces count one; Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens count zero and the other cards count their respective face value. The suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs) have no meaning in Baccarat.
The highest hand value in Baccarat is nine. All hand values range from a low of zero to a high of nine. If when the cards are added together, the total of the hand exceeds nine, then the hand value is determined modulo ten. For example, a seven and a eight total fifteen, but the hand value is five. An Ace and a nine total ten, but the hand value is zero.
A two card total of eight or nine is called a “natural”; a two card total of zero is called a “baccarat.” As will be explained below, in certain situations in the play of the game, a third card will be dealt. The value of this third card is added to the total of the first two cards and a new hand value is established. Again, if the new hand total exceeds nine, the hand value is determined by subtracting ten from the total of the hand.
Prior to the deal, each bettor can make one of three wagers: 1) that the Bank hand will win; 2) that the Player hand will win; or 3) that the Bank hand and the Player hand will tie. Wagering locations are provided on the Baccarat table layout. Whichever of the Bank hand or the Player hand is closest to a total on nine is the winner.
All winning Bank hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the house charges a five percent (5%) commission on the amount won by the bettor. For example, if a bettor wagers $100 on the Bank hand and the Bank hand wins, the bettor wins $100 and is charged a $5 commission on the amount that the bettor won. The bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his wager.
All winning Player hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his winnings or his wager because the house Banker hand, by virtue of the third card draw rules, has a statistical advantage over the Player hand. Winning wagers on the Tie hand bet are paid off at odds of nine-to-one or eight-to-one (depending on the gaming establishment) and the bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his winnings or his wager since there is already a statistical advantage in favor of the house on tie wagers. If a Tie hand occurs, all wagers on the Bank hand and all wagers on the Player hand are “pushes” and the amount wagered is returned to the bettor.
Depending on the point total of the Player's hand and the Banker's hand, one more card may be dealt to either the Player's hand, the Banker's hand or both. The rules for determining whether a third card is dealt are fixed rules; there is no discretion for either the Player's hand or the Banker's hand on whether a third card is dealt.
If either the Player hand or the Banker hand has a point total of eight or nine on the first two cards, no third card is dealt to either hand and the hand with the highest point total is the winner (or the hand is a Tie, as the case may be). If neither the Player hand nor the Banker hand has a point total of eight or nine, then there is a possibility of a third card draw.
The third card draw rules are as follows:
Rule #1: If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the Player hand draws a third card. If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Player hand stands and does not receive a third card.
Rule #2: If the Player hand stands and does not draw a third card, then the Bank hand follows Rule #1. In other words, if the Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Bank hand draws a third card on a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the Bank hand stands on a point total of 6 or 7.
Rule #3: If the Player hand draws a third card, the Bank hand must draw or stand as follows:
Bank hand
Bank hand DRAWS
Bank hand STANDS
two card
when the Player's
when the Player's
point total
hand third card is:
hand third card is:
0, 1 or 2
Bank always draws
3
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 9
8
4
2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7
0, 1, 8 or 9
5
4, 5, 6 or 7
0, 1, 2, 3, 8 or 9
6
6 or 7
0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8 or 9
7
Bank always stands
The draw rules for Conventional baccarat are summarized in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1
BACCARAT
- - - RULES - - -
(Note: 10s the same as 0)
PLAYER
HAVING TWO
CARD TOTAL OF
1-2-3-4-5-10
DRAWS A CARD
6-7
STANDS
8-9
TURNS CARDS OVER
BANKER
DOES NOT
HAVING
DRAWS WHEN
DRAW WHEN
TWO CARD
PLAYER'S THIRD
PLAYER'S THIRD
TOTAL OF
CARD DRAW IS AN
CARD DRAW IS AN
0, 1, 2
ALWAYS DRAWS
3
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-10, none
8
4
2-3-4-5-6-7, none
1-8-9-10
5
4-5-6-7, none
1-2-3-8-9-10
6
6-7
1-2-3-4-5-8-9-10, none
7
STANDS
8-9
TURNS CARDS OVER
At the end of each hand, winning wagers are paid and losing wagers are collected by the house. Any commission due to the house is marked in commission boxes in the center of the table. Gaming chips are used to represent the amount of money owed by each bettor to the house for the commissions. In order not to slow down the game, the commission is not actually collected from each bettor until the end of the round determined by all of the cards in the shoe being dealt down to the plastic cut card, usually approximately eighty hands.
In my prior patent U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,309 issued Jun. 25, 1996 I disclosed a game based on Baccarat where the dealer resolves his hand to a final hand before any action by each player. Inoue, U.S. Pat. No. 6,062,979 issued May 16, 2000 discloses an electronic Baccarat game having a video display. Among the initial four cards dealt to player and banker, one of them is randomly hidden. Cabot et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,295 issued Jun. 21, 1994 discloses a multi-hand Blackjack game where the dealer receives two cards and discards t
Anderson Philip J.
Anderson & Morishita, LLC
O'Neill Michael
LandOfFree
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