Amusement devices: games – Card or tile games – cards or tiles therefor
Reexamination Certificate
1999-10-19
2001-09-25
Layno, Benjamin H. (Department: 3711)
Amusement devices: games
Card or tile games, cards or tiles therefor
C273S274000, C463S012000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06293551
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to card games and, more particularly, to a Blackjack card game incorporating a two-card 21 proposition wager.
With the expansion of gaming and the increase in competition, casinos are striving to offer a wider variety of games. Growth in slot machine popularity and the increase in variety of specialty games has resulted in the overall reduction in conventional Blackjack (“21”) tables.
Many casinos, however, are reluctant to reduce the number of Blackjack tables because of the inherent game attractiveness to both players and casinos. The game is based on simple concepts and procedures that are readily understood by both casual and regular players. Moreover, the game requires relatively low overhead to facilitate and monitor. In addition, floor space is limited in a casino, and casino operators are reluctant to replace an income-generating Blackjack table with a new game variety.
Although Blackjack is currently the most popular casino game, the majority of Blackjack games feature only one bet most of the time. Virtually every Blackjack game features an optional proposition wager known as insurance. The insurance wager may be placed after the first two cards to each player and dealer have been dealt and in the instance that the dealer face-up card is an Ace. The insurance wager is a bet that the dealer will have a two-card hand total of 21, known as “Blackjack.” The odds paid on the insurance wager throughout the industry are 2 to 1. The true odds against a Blackjack hand with an Ace showing, however, are 4 in 13 or 9 to 4 (four ranks of cards of Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens, known as 10-value cards, versus nine ranks of non 10-value cards). The odds provide an excessive house advantage, and most gaming authors advise against making this wager, except where player known deck composition using skill techniques justifies doing so.
Moreover, as the wager is only available when an Ace is showing (which occurs on average once every 13 hands), many players, particularly novices, are not familiar with the nature of the wager. Also, as the wager is placed during the actual round of the Blackjack game, it must be operated by dealer announcement of the wager option. As dealers know, most players do not make the wager and the payoff is poor, and thus, dealer announcement is usually in a disinterested manner.
An additional problem with the current operation of Blackjack is that the dealer down card, also known as the hole card, may be vulnerable to being spotted by a player accomplice where a dealer is not using best procedure. Therefore, a player may have an option to make a wager knowing the exact outcome. A change in methodology of play to avert this occurrence would be beneficial in protecting the security of the game.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It would thus be desirable to incorporate an additional proposition wager in the conventional Blackjack game that occurs with higher frequency, has a fairer house advantage, a variety of payoff odds, and strong operational integrity. Such factors would ensure improved entertainment value, a higher degree of player participation, a higher player wager level, less security concerns, a more positive dealer attitude and higher casino revenue.
In accordance with the present invention, a methodology is described wherein players can wager that a two-card total of 21 will occur for the dealer and/or player when the dealer or player, respectively, first card is either an Ace or a 10-value card. The multitude of options for wagering and payouts makes the game considerably more exciting for the players by increasing the occurrence of such wagering opportunities. Because the proposition wager according to the invention is incorporated into the conventional Blackjack card game, existing table space can be utilized, and the general play of the game would remain unchanged.
A dealer Blackjack, or two-card total of 21, can be achieved two ways. First, the dealer may be dealt a face-up Ace and then subsequently dealt a 10-value hole card. When the dealer is dealt a face-up Ace, most conventional Blackjack games provide the proposition insurance wager. Alternatively, however, the Blackjack hand can be created when the dealer has a face-up 10-value card and an Ace hole card. Because there are considerably more 10-value cards than Aces in a conventional deck of cards, there would necessarily be an increased number of opportunities for two-card 21 proposition wagers if offered when the dealer is dealt a face-up 10-value card. Still additional opportunities arise when a player is dealt a first card Ace or a first card 10-value card. As these events are separately mutually exclusive for both the dealer and player, respectively, the same wager areas on the layout could be utilized.
By combining the dealer card wager options together, the frequency of wager opportunity is increased from 1 in 13 (being an Ace face-up card) to 5 in 13 (including the four 10-value cards). This is a dramatic five-fold increase from the current scenario. Additionally, higher odds can be paid when the dealer face-up card is a 10-value card, with a rarer Blackjack frequency than in the traditional aspect where the face-up card is an Ace. The aspects can also be combined into one wager such that odds can be quoted for the whole wager, giving a perception of better overall returns.
If the wager is offered after dealing one card only to each player and dealer, then there is no possibility of players having prior knowledge of the dealer hole card. Additionally, each player with a 10-value card or an Ace has the same chance of making Blackjack as the dealer. This methodology allows an opportunity for the player to wager that the player hand will be a Blackjack. As a consequence, this doubles the new wager frequency, and provides a total ten-fold increase in wager opportunity.
Still further, different combinations of Blackjack could be given different payoff odds to provide a fairer wager and an enhanced perception of this fairness. For example, a higher payoff may be provided where the Blackjack is suited (i.e., the Ace and the 10-value card in the two-card hand total of 21 being of the same suit). Rather than one traditional insurance scenario, there are thus a total of eight scenarios, with four different scenarios for each of the two wagers.
According to the present invention, there is provided a method of playing a casino Blackjack card game using at least one deck of cards. The method includes (a) dealing a player first card to a player and a dealer first card to a dealer, (b) if the player first card is an Ace or a 10-value card, providing an option for the player to wager that a player two-card total will be 21, and (c) if the dealer first card is an Ace or a 10-value card, providing an option for the player to wager that a dealer two-card total will be 21. The method may further include (d) dealing a player second card to the player and a dealer second card to the dealer, and (e) if the player wagered according to step (b) or step (c), resolving the wagers according to the player and dealer two-card totals, respectively. After step (e), the method includes continuing with a Blackjack game.
Step (e) is preferably practiced by (e1) paying a first payout if the player first card or the dealer first card is an Ace and the respective player second card or the dealer second card is a 10-value card, and (e2) paying a second payout, higher than the first payout, if the player first card or the dealer first card is a 10-value card and the respective player second card or the dealer second card is an Ace. Step (e) may further be practiced by (e3) paying a third payout, higher than the first payout if the player first card or the dealer first card is an Ace and the respective player second card or the dealer second card is a 10-value card having a predefined relationship with the player first card or the dealer first card, and (e4) paying a fourth payout, higher than the second payout, if the player first card or the dealer first card is a 10-val
Layno Benjamin H.
Mendiratta Vishu K.
Nixon & Vanderhye P.C.
Prime Table Games LLC
LandOfFree
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