Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
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NOVEL GAMING TABLE, NOVEL EVENT GENERATOR AND METHOD OF
ALTERING UNDERLYING GAMES ON THE GAME TABLE
RELATED APPLICATION DATA
Applicants claim priority from PROVISIONAL APPLICATIONS: SIDE BETS FOR
BLACKJACK OR BACCARAT WITH OPTIONAL PROGRESSIVE EVENT; US
Provisional Serial No. 62/172,266, filed 08 JUNE 2015; and US Provisional
Application
Serial No. 62/183,543, SIDE BETS FOR BLACKJACK OR BACCARAT WITH
PROGRESSIVE EVENT, filed 23 JUNE 2015; and SIDE BETS FOR BLACKJACK OR
BACCARAT WITH PROGRESSIVE EVENT, US provisional Application Serial No.
62/209,981, filed 26 August 2015; and in and claim priority under 35 USC 120
as
continuation-in-part applications from US Patent Application Serial No.
14/789,995; 02
JULY 2015; US Patent Application Serial No. ; 14/805,863; 22 JULY 2015, SIDE
BETS
FOR BLACKJACK OR BACCARAT WITH OPTIONAL PROGRESSIVE EVENT; SIDE
BETS FOR PLAYING CARD WAGERING EVENTS WITH OPTIONAL PROGRESSIVE
EVENT; and US Patent Application Serial No. 14/829,800, filed 19 August 2015,
SIDE
BETS FOR PLAYING CARD WAGERING EVENTS WITH OPTIONAL PROGRESSIVE
EVENT.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of gaming, particularly to the
field of card games
(both physical and electronic) and particularly to the use of bets and side
bets variations in
games.
2. Background of the Art
The industry has attempted to use side bet and jackpot events to attract
players to games
and to keep players active in games for extended periods. It has been found to
be extremely
difficult to develop jackpot games for use with baccarat and blackjack that
have a reasonable
ability to develop large jackpots (e.g., over 100,000 wagering units, such as
US dollars) and
to provide a significant hit frequency with less than entire jackpots being
awarded. Typically,
jackpots identified with blackjack and baccarat games have maximum jackpot hit
frequencies
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in the 1:50,000 range, so that jackpots rarely exceed 50,000 units.
Particularly with
networked games having many tables, low total jackpots do not attract as much
play as
jackpots in the 100,000 unit range (that is 100,000 times the amount of the
side bet wager)
and 500,000 range and even in excess of a million unit range. One reason for
the inability of
high jackpots to be reached is that all outcomes definable from three or four
cards (the initial
visible cards in blackjack and baccarat) occur with frequencies below the
1:50,000 range.
Published US Patent Application Document No. 20140309017 (LaDuca) discloses a
method of playing a combined casino card game combining a standard casino card
game with
an optional In Between side bet that uses the same cards as played in the
standard casino card
game.
U.S. Patent Nos. 8,926,421; 8,348,747; 8,147,316; and 7,758,411 and Published
Applications
Nos. 20060189365 (PokerTek) describe fully electronic tables with virtual
playing cards,
electronic wagering and even no live dealer. Multiple players have individual
active screens
displaying event outcomes and enabling wagers. US Design Patent D512,466 shows
a table
layout with individual player panels that individual player inputs on wagers
and discards.
Published US Patent Application Documents Nos. 20120157193 and 20100130280
(Arezina) describe a multi-player gaming system that senses multiple
simultaneous contacts
on a surface of a gaming table, differentiating contacts by different players.
Other systems emphasize control of playing cards and reading playing card and
hand
ranks. Published US Patent Application Documents No. 20100019449 (Downs)
describes a
playing card delivery shoe is used in the play of the casino table card game
of baccarat or
blackjack or any game where cards are pulled one at a time from the shoe. The
apparatus
comprises a reader or an imager that scans lines bisecting the image at spaced
intervals.
Published US Patent Application Documents No. 20110275432 (Lutnick) describes
an
apparatus comprising: a machine readable medium having stored thereon a
plurality of
instructions that when executed causes a computing device to perform a method
defining
execution of a gaming event. Published US Patent Application Documents No.
20150087417
(George) describes a system for use in operating gaming tables within a gaming
environment
is described herein.
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Published US Patent Application Document No. 20140370980 (Czyzewski) describes
a gaining assemblies with a playing surface including at least one screen
display. A system
projects visual light on the screen display. A radiation source illuminates
objects placed over
the screen display.
A series of U.S. Patents with a common inventor of Soltys (including by way of
non-
limiting examples, US Patent Nos. 7,575,234; 7,510,194; 7,427,234; 7,390,256;
7,317,615;
7,222,852; 7,011,309; 6,991,544; 6,964,612; 6,857,961; 6,758,751; 6,712,696;
and
6,688,979) describes various components and methods attempting to configure
and establish
a more automated gaming table.
U.S. Patent No. 8,915,786 (Baerlocher) discloses a plurality of
simultaneously,
substantially simultaneously or sequentially played primary games, wherein a
designated
triggering event in at least one of the games causes the gaming device to
change, modify,
supplement, add to, activate or otherwise influence the paytable of at least
another game.
U.S. Patent No. 8,613,650; 8,403,740; and 8,109,821 (Kovacs) provides a gaming
system including a central controller, a central display which includes a
plurality of display
segments and a plurality player stations.
U.S. Patent No.8,333,657 (Nelson) describes a system that changes the focal
point of
a display device at different points in time to assist the player in focusing
on different
simultaneously or concurrently played games at different points in time.
US Patent No. 5,275,411 (Breeding) discloses a position of start indicator for
Pai Gow
poker games where a hand-position for first hands dealt is randomly indicated
by a 7-segment
display for positions 1-7.
It is desirable for the functional ability of the game table to contribute to
specialty or
carnival wagering games. In particular, these technologies (including those in
the Related
Applications data section, herein), when providing side bets for progressive
jackpots using
physical playing cards, may have variations in probabilities of winning
outcomes as playing
cards are exhausted, enabling some level of card counting to be used to
determine advantages
in gaming outcomes. All patent literature cited herein is incorporated by
reference in its
entirety herein.
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SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A gaming system enables enhancement of wagering outcomes (e.g., in an
underlying
game, a side bet, a bonus event and/or a progressive jackpot) with: a) a
gaming table having a
game play surface for multiple players; b) a programmable electronic random
number
generator; c) a player input control at a player position; d) a display system
capable of
indicating a secondary random event outcome provided by the programmable
electronic
random number generator for each of the multiple players; and e) and the
random number
generator configured to control of a display of individual player position
secondary random
events determined by the random number generator. After a wager has been
locked in, the
secondary event generator provides the random secondary outcome, which is then
displayed
on the table and locked in. The secondary random event display should be
locked in after any
wagers (or most wagers) that can be affected by the secondary event. The
secondary random
event display should be locked in before the event outcome for the underlying
game is
completed to enhance interest.
A gaming system for enabling enhancement of wagering events, paytables and
outcomes includes: a) a gaming table having a game play surface; b) a
processor; c) a player
input control at a player hand position at least enabling input of wagers (the
player input
control may be in communication with the processor); d) a random number
generator
configured to output at least two differentially weighted outcomes for display
(which may be
in communication with the processor); and e) a display system in communication
with the
random number generator for displaying the differentially weighted outcomes.
The game
play surface at the player hand position or a display separate from the game
table but
viewable from the player positions (e.g., a display screen or panel of lights
near, above,
behind the dealer position such as an elevated display) has display components
(e.g., lights,
bulbs, LED displays, liquid crystal displays, CRT displays, plasma displays,
flip-panel
displays, and any other visually determinable displays for symbols, numbers,
figures, words
and the like) that are at card-receiving positions at the player position, a
power source in
communication with the display components; the processor, in response to
random selections
of the differentially weighted outcomes at each (at least player) card-
receiving positions, is
configured to direct that a specific randomly weighted outcome is displayed,
e.g., by closing
an electrical connection, providing a specific image to be displayed at each
player position,
providing a template of arrays of lights/images etc. to be displayed at (or
with a generally
viewable display panel that indicates the random differentially weighted
outcomes for each
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player position), or any other form of activating or providing direction for
content to the
display components for each player position. Lights or other display
components may also be
present at a dealer hand position to implement any event.
The gaming system may be used in a method and apparatus for hosting any game,
whether on
playing card tables, dice tables, roulette tables, big wheel tables,
electronic gaming tables,
physical gaming tables, and by virtual inclusion on an existing display
system, on any gaming
equipment having electronic components and electrical power (such as
electronic gaming
machines, hand-held wagering devices including smart phones with apps, smart
televisions,
etc.). The present application emphasizes the use of this technology on gaming
tables using
physical playing cards, but as noted above, the technology concepts are
applicable to a
broader range of gaming systems. Likewise, the present disclosure emphasizes
application of
the technology to playing card table games of blackjack, baccarat, poker (and
variations of
each of the games) with a player position in competition with or without a
dealer position, but
any other wagering game may benefit from the use of the present technology.
Similarly,
although physical playing cards are one method of implementation in
conjunction with the
present technology, virtual gaming object-providing systems (electronic
tables, electronic
gaming machines, etc.) may also be combined with the present technology. The
player
position and the banker position receiving (virtual or physical) playing cards
from one or
more (physical or virtual) decks of (typically at least 52) playing cards, the
method
comprising: performing a game or a side bet event during an underlying
wagering event
according to the present technology. The following are types of examples of
effects and
implementations on gaming that may be performed. Again, the use of playing
cards (rather
than virtual symbols, tiles, wheels, dice etc.) are emphasized, but without
any intention to
exclude the other gaming elements. The type of impact that the present
technology may have
at a gaming table includes at least:
a) The display components themselves providing an additional game outcome at
each
=
player position. For example, using a display component having (for example)
four
available displayable components and/or outcomes (e.g., 0, 1, 2 and 3), when a
wager
is made on the additional game, 0 (having a weighted probability of for
example,
70%) would be a loss; 1 (having a weighted probability of 20%) would be a win
at 3:2
odds; 2 (having a weighted probability of 8%) would pay 4:1; and 3 (having a
weighted probability of 2%) would pay 5:1. This would be a house advantage of
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28%. As the weighted probabilities should be programmable and preset before
game
play, the house advantage can be adjusted as can the frequency of events and
the
payout odds.
b) The display component may alter paytables on the underlying game (with or
without a
side bet). For example, some casinos have reduced payout odds on Blackjack to
6:5
from the traditional 3:2. These odds can be varied, still providing an
improvement to
the casino's house advantage (with respect to 3:2) by altering payouts by a
weighted
distribution between combinations of 1:1, 6:5, 3:2, 2:1, 3:1 an even higher.
For
example, using a display component having four available displayable
components
(e.g., 0, 1, 2 and 3), when a blackjack occurs, 0 (having a weighted
probability of for
example, 50%) would pay 6:5; 1 (having a weighted probability of 40%) would be
a
payout at 3:2 odds; 2 (having a weighted probability of 8%) would pay 2:1; and
3
(having a weighted probability of 2%) would pay 5:1. This would create an
average
payout of 1.46:1 which is less than 3:2 (providing a motivation of the casinos
to use
the game) and still offer close to traditional odds to a player. Again, the
frequencies
and payout odds may be varied to target a house advantage.
c) The alteration of the odds on an underlying game (as in b) may be made a
condition
of and/or result of placing a side bet on an event associated with the
underlying game.
As in the blackjack example of b), any position not placing a side bet could
be paid at
6:5 for a blackjack. Any player position making the side bet would get both
the
increased odds on the blackjack (according to the weighted distributions,
which could
be advertised as statistically always greater than or equal to 6:5) and entry
into a side
bet event on the underlying game (in this case blackjack). The side bet event
could be
a simple bonus event (e.g., Lucky Ladies side bet, OverandUnderTM side bet,
etc.)
or could be part of a progressive jackpot event as later described.
d) As casinos resist the use of "specially-marked playing cards" for various
reasons, the
present technology can replace the special markings simply and efficiently.
For
example, in a 6-deck shoe, if there were a single Ace-of-Spades in the deck,
that
single card would have an appearance frequency of 1/312 playing cards played,
while
any Ace-of-Spades (including the marked card) would have an appearance
frequency
of 1/52 playing cards played. The same is true with a King-od-Spades and a
Queen of
Spades. To remove the special markings requirement, the probability of special
marking events (independent of the playing cards) is frequency distributed by
the
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random event outcomes (generically referred to in the art as secondary
independent
random event outcomes as they are not dependent upon the playing cards).
Therefore,
with the secondary, weighted probability random event outcomes occurring in
the
play of every hand at every player position (no display is in effect an event
of 0) or at
least every player position that makes a side bet wager (which is usually
locked-in by
the casino), the number of special markings is artificially created by the
weighted
probability random event outcomes occurring. For example, with "0" indicated
as the
weighted probability random event outcome occurring at a player position,
there
would be no specially marked cards. With "1" indicated as the weighted
probability
random event outcome occurring at a player position, there would be one
specially
marked card in the player hand at the position where the "1" appears. With "2"
indicated as the weighted probability random event outcome occurring at a
player
position, there would be two specially marked cards in the player hand at the
position
where the "2" appears. With "3" indicated as the weighted probability random
event
outcome occurring at a player position, there would be three specially marked
cards in
the player hand at the position where the "3" appears. The frequency of the
"special
marking" can be programmed into the random number generator, with at least two
probabilities of two random outcomes being unequally weighted. That is, the
outcomes for four events could be any weighted probability totaling 100%
except for
25%, 25%, 25% and 25%. As shown above, probabilities of 70%, 20%, 8% and 2%
are differentially weighted, as could be 25%, 25%, 23% and 27%. Any number of
outcomes could be available (e.g., 1000 differently weighted outcome), but for
efficiency of the system and play of the games, between 2 and 100 outcomes is
a good
working target, with between 2 and 54 outcomes a strategic target for playing
card
games, between 2 and 20 outcomes being reasonable, but between 2-10, 2-8, 2-6,
2-5,
and 2-4 outcomes being preferred.
e) The weighted probability random event outcomes occurring at a player
position may
be used to alter paytables (similar to b). For example, in Three-card PokerTM
games,
the paytables may alter (for example looking at only three-of-a-kind payouts)
from
30:1 with no side bet wager, 35:1 with a single wagering unit side bet, 40:1
with 2
single unit side bet wagers, etc. The side bet wagers may also (and even
preferably)
alter payouts on more frequent underlying game outcomes (e.g., pairs,
straights and
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flushes) as well as possibly entering that player position in an additional
side bet
event, including progressive events.
f) The weighted probabilities can determines if additional cards are
available to a player
(with or without additional payments by the player) or if one or more playing
cards
can be wild cards. The number or types of indications of the secondary random
light
events described herein can indicate zero, one or even two additional or
replacement
cards, or one two or even three wild cards (additionally or from among cards
in the
player's natural hand).
The following is a non-limiting example of a specific method and game content
of play in a
blackjack wagering event.
a) a player position provides a side bet wager to be determined by playing
cards
provided to the dealer hand position and/or the player hand position;
b) preferably, after the side bet wager has been placed and that side bet
wager locked-in
(preventing any further side bet wagers at that or any other player
positions), the
differentially weighted outcome generator provides directions and implements
display
of random signals at each player position (preferably) or only each player
position
where a side bet has been placed and locked-in;
c) two random playing cards are provided to a dealer hand position (typically
with one
card positioned face-up), and two random playing cards are provided to a
player hand
position face up;
d) resolving the side bet wager against a paytable which identifies a side bet
event (e.g.,
for exemplification only) such as a spread (number of card ranks available
between
the two face-up cards) in a player hand(s) on which the side bet wager has
been
placed, or an industry standard side bet as in Twenty-One plus Three, 21+3,
three-
card poker event;
e) providing a third random card (or third and fourth random card in baccarat)
as either
i) a card, such as separately provided playing card dealt to the table or ii)
using a
dealer single up-card (or banker two cards in baccarat) as a side bet event
card on
which the side bet wager has been placed; and
0 resolving the side bet wager against a paytable on a basis of the game
(e.g., three-card
pokerTM game) or whether the third (or third and fourth) random card has a
rank (or
point count when 10, J, Q and K are all zero-county or ten-count playing
cards) within
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the spread and size of the original spread determined by the two player cards.
In
baccarat either or both the player hand and the Banker hand may be used to
determine
a spread;
By using randomly generated images or lights on the display components to
identify rarified
playing cards (the functional equivalent in the practice of the present
technology of specially
marked cards), a side bet progressive game can be constructed in which
jackpots statistically
can grow to levels above one million dollars, without likelihood of extreme
variation in
advantages or probabilities because of exhausted "specially marked cards."
Where, for
example, four differentially weighted outcomes are available,
For example, the probability of a specific same suited (spades) A-K-Q
appearing in the
combination of the dealer hand up-card and the two player position up-cards is
approximately
3/52 X 2/52 X 1/52 or approximately 24,000/1. For any same suited A-K-Q under
these
conditions. The probability is approximately 6,000/1. Because of additional
payout event, the
payout odds on these events would likely be 110/1 and 30/1, respectively. For
a progressive
event in combination with these side bet payout event, the progressive
accumulations (50% of
side bets) less some intermediate jackpot payouts would be slow and the total
amounts for the
progressive jackpots would be relatively small (e.g., approximately $2,000
total average
jackpot). By using the present weighted random event display at each player
position, the
average jackpot payout could be increased (or maintained) to whatever level is
desired. For
example, by paying 0% for the lowest of four secondary random events with a
probability of
70%, 5% for the next higher of four secondary random events with a probability
of 20%, 10%
for the next higher of four secondary random events with a probability of 8%,
and 100% for
the highest of the four secondary random events, the average 100% progressive
jackpot will
now be over $500,000 with the same house advantage. By altering the
frequencies of the
secondary random events and the numbers of playing cards (from three cards in
blackjack to
four cards in baccarat), the jackpots in a progressive event can be
statistically designed to
average between $2,000 and $15,000,000 using the technology of the present
invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES
Figure 1 shows an electronic gaming table on which the gaming method may be
executed.
Figure 2 shows a panel used on a gaming table to show exhaustion of critical
marked cards
used in the progressive event.
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Figure 3 shows a view of a gaming table useful in the practice of the present
technology.
Figure 4 shows a schematic of a four channel secondary random event generator
of the
present technology.
Figure 5 shows a perspective exploded view of a gaming table including a four-
channel
secondary random event generator of the present technology.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
As noted above, when physical playing cards are used, especially with the use
of a
limited number of unique playing cards to be used in a jackpot or progressive
jackpot event,
the unique (such as specially marked playing cards) cards can be observed by
players to
become exhausted or become richer in remaining cards, which could
significantly alter
playing strategy and advantages/disadvantages with respect to the progressive
jackpot. For
example, in a game described herein a 6- or 8-deck shoe of 52-card decks of
physical playing
cards is used, with, for example, three specific cards (by suit and rank)
specifically marked
(e.g., Ace of spades, King of spades and Queen of spades are used as a non-
limiting example)
are used to define a 100% winning outcome for the progressive jackpot. In
using physical
playing cards to implement the outcome, the specially marked unique playing
cards can be
observed to become significantly richer or exhausted during play. For example,
if there were
a single round of play of blackjack with six players at a table, and no
specially marked Ace,
King or Queen of spades occurred with 22 other cards used in the round of play
(including
the dealer position cards), the probability of the specially marked cards
become at least 5%
richer in the remaining set of playing cards, increasing the likelihood of a
winning outcome
for at least a portion of the progressive jackpot. Similarly, if one, two or
three of the
specially marked playing cards are displayed in the first round(s), the
probability of a 100%
jackpot winning event can be decreased by as much as 50% or even completely
eliminated
(e.g., both Aces of spades where there are only two-each of the specially
marked A-K-Q of
spades set). Even though a continuous shuffler can be used to dramatically
reduce this
impact, players may still estimate that replacement cards will not be placed
into the front of
the remaining set of cards and adjust wagering accordingly. This partial
knowledge of
distribution is disadvantageous to the operation of the wagering event. The
present
technology offers apparatus and systems and methods that technically improve
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of the wagering event and other wagering events where special outcomes are to
be evidenced
on the gaming table and reduce the exhaustion factor of specially marked
cards.
A gaming system for enabling enhancement of wagering outcomes is provided with
at
least: a) a gaming table having a game play surface; b) a processor; c) a
player input control
at a player position, the player input control being in communication with the
processor; and
d) a random number generator in communication with the processor. The game
play surface
at the player position has lights (and optionally a vibrator or audio
component for visually-
impaired players) that are at card-receiving positions at the player position.
A power source
in (opened and/or closed) communication with the lights. The processor, in
response to
random selections of the card-receiving positions at the player position, is
configured to
direct that a (for example, closed electrical) connection occur between the
power source and
the lights at the player position so that the lights are randomly lit at at
least the player card-
receiving position(s)/ There may also be lights in communication with the
power source at a
dealer card-receiving position and the processor, and in response to
independent random
selections of the card-re ceiving position at the player position, t processor
is configured to
direct that a closed electrical connection occur between the power source and
the lights at the
dealer position. In this way, there is randomly provided lighting at card-
receiving positions at
player hand positions and dealer hand positions. By using the random lighting
at these
positions on gaming tables with physical playing cards, the use of actual
physically marked
or specially marked playing cards can be eliminated. Any one of the unique
cards is now
provided by the presence of that card in combination with the random lighting
at that playing
card position. In this manner, with exhaustion of cards in the original set,
including the suit
and/or rank cards used in a progressive jackpot event (in both blackjack and
baccarat, there is
a "cut" into the original set so that all cards are never exhausted) are less
dramatically
diminished or made rich during play. The variation in exhaustion is reduced by
at least about
30% (on average) and the variation in richness is reduced by at least about
10% (on average).
This gaming system therefore addresses and solves a specific technical issue
in gaming
technology.
The system also offers a possibility of a separate payout event, either on the
underlying wager of the side bet. When one, two, three or four of the playing
card positions
are randomly lit (with or without the specific ranks of cards used in the
preferred progressive
playing card jackpot wagering event), an additional payout may be provided,
such as 10
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wagering units for a single light, 20 wagering units for two lights and 100
wagering units for
three or more lights. The term wagering unit is used to identify the amount
actually wagered
and the units (cents, quarters, dollars, Yuan, Euros, etc.) used as the amount
and currency of
the wager. The gaming system includes a source of random physical playing
cards on the
gaming table for delivery of random physical playing cards to the card-
receiving positions at
the player position and preferably also the dealer position. The gaming system
may have the
source of random physical playing cards associated with a card-reading
component that
recognizes at least one of card suit and rank and reports that recognized at
least one of suit
and rank to the processor for each card-receiving position. The gaming system
enables the
lights to be controlled between at least an on-off set of conditions (the
lights may also be
enabled to flash or for unique colors to be provided) e.g., by circuitry
which, in effect, gives
direction that an effectively closed electrical connection occurs between the
power source and
the lights at the player position, which may be provided independent of
recognition of the at
least one of suit and rank delivered to the card-receiving positions, or which
is provided
dependently on recognition of the at least one of suit and rank delivered to
the card-receiving
positions, with the random number generator activated upon recognition of
physical playing
cards at card-receiving positions at the player position with specific at
least one of suit and
rank. For example, at player card-receiving position No. 1, the random number
generator
may have a range of probabilities for all cards delivered to that position to
be lit at a
frequency of between 1:1.1 to 1:100 or to 1:25 (as an example of available
ranges). At player
card-receiving position No. 2, the random number generator may have a range of
probabilities for all cards delivered to that position to be lit at a
frequency of between 1:1.2 to
1:30 (as an example of available ranges, which do not have to be identical to
the range or
absolute probability for position No. 1). At dealer card-receiving position
No. la, at player
card-receiving position No. 1, the random number generator may have a range of
probabilities for all cards delivered to that position to be lit at a
frequency of between 1:3.1 to
1:35 (as an example of available ranges, again which do not have to be
identical to the range
or absolute probability for positions No. 1 or No. 2). By varying the mapped
probability for
each and all positions, the average size of the jackpot, the probability of
each potential
winning outcome, such as 5%, 10% or 100% of the progressive jackpot, can be
controlled for
the long-term by the system. As with the use of physically marked special
cards (with three
positioned cards used, such as A-Q of spades in the player two-card hand and
the K of Spades
in the single dealer up-card), a frequency of 1:8 for each position would be
the equivalent of
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one set of three specially marked cards and a frequency of 1:4 for each
position would be the
equivalent of two sets of three specially marked cards. Using different
probabilities for each
position would be the equivalent of using different numbers of each of the
three specially
marked cards, but without requiring special marking on the physical playing
cards.
A method of performing a side bet wagering event on the gaming system
described
herein during a playing card wagering event in which any number of random
physical playing
cards are dealt (manually, automatically or virtually), and especially where
exactly three
physical playing cards or exactly four physical playing cards are exposed
without any game
play strategy or additional cards being provided during play of the playing
card wagering
event may include:
a) the player position providing a side bet wager to be determined by playing
cards
provided to at least one of a dealer hand position and the player hand
position;
b) providing a specific number (e.g., one, two, three, four, five or more, but
with two
being used in the non-limiting example) two random physical playing cards to a
dealer hand position, and providing two random physical playing cards to the
player
hand position (e.g., one, two, three, four, five or more, but with two being
used in the
non-limiting example), wherein if only one dealer random physical playing card
is
initially provided face-up, exactly three random physical playing cards are
used in
determining outcomes in the physical playing card wagering event, and if both
dealer
. hand random physical playing cards are dealt face-up, then four random
physical
playing cards provided are used in determining outcomes in the playing card
wagering
event;
c) determining the spread between the two random physical playing cards in a
hand on
which the side bet wager has been placed;
d) determining whether the side bet has been lost because of a spread of zero
between
the two random physical playing cards in the hand on which the side bet wager
has
been placed;
e) upon determining that there is a spread in excess of zero between the two
random
physical playing cards in the hand on which the side bet wager has been
placed, the
player position hand and uses a third playing card which appears in a position
selected
from the group consisting of a dealer position card, a player position third
playing
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card, a community card, and a randomly displayed image of a card to determine
if the
third card lies within the spread in excess of zero to resolve the side bet;
f) determining if the third playing card is within or not within the
spread; and
g) resolving the side bet wager against a paytable which identifies odds
dependent on the
spread determined in e) based upon the determination whether the third playing
card
is within or not within the spread;
wherein at least a portion of the side bet wager, but less than all of the
side bet wager is
contributed to .a progressive jackpot, the amount of which is stored,
incremented and
decremented in a processor, decrementing being based in-part upon resolution
of the side bet
for outcomes where percentages of a total in the progressive jackpot are
awarded for defined
random event outcomes when the third playing card is within the spread, and
the processor
sends a signal to a display screen available for view at the player position
indicating status of
the jackpot amount.
The method may require the display of exactly and only three random physical
playing cards(or even best five-of-six poker hand with two three-card poker
hands) to
determine an outcome in the progressive jackpot side bet and the method is
performed on the
gaming table and the side bet wager is provided through an electronic wagering
input device
at the player position on the gaming table to the processor, and the input
device
communicates location of a player position at which a side bet wager has been
placed and an
amount of the side bet wager to the processor. The processor preferably
transfers a portion of
at least 5% and less than 60% of the side bet wager into a progressive jackpot
account
monitored by the processor and the processor causes a display to visually
indicate an
available balance in the progressive jackpot. The method may provide a highest
payout from
the progressive jackpot within comprises the third physical random playing
card being a
suited rank card within a spread created by two of the same suited playing
cards that provide
a spread of one at the position at which a side bet wager has been placed and
an amount of
the side bet wager to a processor and the card-receiving position for each of
the random
physical playing cards is lit by lights at the card-receiving positions by
random selection by
the random number generator communicated to the processor. The method may also
provide
a highest and proportional amount of the progressive jackpot with any
preselected specific
suit and rank cards (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 cards) without any ordering, if
they are provided
and then randomly lit to provide the defined combination of numbers of cards,
ranks, suits
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and/or lighted cards according to a paytable. For example, the probability of
the random
lighting may be 1:50, so that the random lighting on four card positions,
without reference to
suit and rank of playing cards, would provide a frequency of the 100% winning
outcome at
1:6,250,000, which would roughly provide an average jackpot size (including
for example,
5%, 10% and 20% withdrawals from intermediate 1-lit card, 2-lit cards, and 3-
lit cards) of
about 2 million wagering units. This would also provide intermediate payouts
of 50, 2500,
and 125,000 units. If the maximum payout were for three of four card positions
(e.g.,
baccarat) being lit, without reference to the playing cards, with a 20% house
advantage, the
payouts would likely be about 15-25 for a single light, 500-1,200 for two
lights, and 10,000
to 50,000 for three lights.
In a three-card initial display wagering event (e.g., the two player cards and
the dealer
up-card or player three cards), a lights only event might have a light
frequency of 1-10 to 1 to
200 for each position. This would enable maximum payouts at a frequency of
about
1:8,000,000 for the 1:200 predetermined light frequency. The average payout
for
intermediate lights only hits, with no particular rank or suit required could
be 20-50:1 for one
light, 200-1000:1 for two lights and 500,000 to 2 million (or higher) for
three lights at this
1:200 frequency. These parameters are completely in control of the designer
using the
enabling unique gaming system of the present technology. Rather than specific
suits and
ranks, general ranks may be used (e.g., any J-Q-K) along with the lighting
factor or just
specific suits (three spades for 100% jackpot with three lights, three hearts
for 50% jackpot
with three lights, three diamonds for 25% of the jackpot with three lights,
and 10% for three
clubs with three lights). The lighting offers a level, parameter, dimension of
control over the
odds, frequencies and payout amounts and rates not heretofore seen in the
industry, without
requiring the use of specifically marked playing cards.
The highest payout from the progressive jackpot may include the third random
physical playing card being a suited rank card within a spread created by two
of the same
suited playing cards that provide a spread of one at the position at which a
side bet wager has
been placed and an amount of the side bet wager to a processor and at least
one of the three
cards has a bonus indicator provided by the light at the card-receiving
position for at least the
suited ranked physical playing card for the side bet to win 100% of the
jackpot. Any other
card combination may be used. Three card poker ranks, for example may be used
in
combination with a requirement of 1, 2 or 3 lights being randomly provided for
those three
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playing cards, or the player and dealer three-card hands may be combined for
best-of-five
poker hand out of the six cards (e.g., 3-card player hand and 3-card dealer
hand). The
method may require that the two cards defining a spread in the side bet are
placed at a
location adjacent the position at which a side bet wager has been placed, and
the third card is
placed between and/or at the bottom of the two random cards at the position at
which a side
bet wager has been placed.
The method may require the use of playing cards as physical playing cards
provided
from an electromechanical device providing one or more random physical playing
cards for
manual delivery to a distinct player hand physical position on a gaming table
and a distinct
dealer hand position on the gaming table. The various lighting parameters
discussed above
may be used with these playing cards. It is preferred that the two random
physical playing
cards define a spread in the side bet are placed at a location adjacent the
position at which a
side bet wager has been placed, and the third random physical playing card is
placed at a
distinct location that is different from the position at which a side bet
wager has been placed.
Reference to the Figures may provide additional understanding of the present
technology.
Figure 1 shows a gaming table system 400 with a game play surface 402. A set
of
electronic compo9nents of processor 406, random number generator 404 and
progressive
jackpot display 408 are shown in one-way or two-way communication with the
game play
surface 402. On the game play surface 402 are shown two dealer card-receiving
positions
410a 410b, and five (5) sets of two-card player card-receiving positions 412a-
412b, 414a-
414b, 416a-416b, 418a-418b and 420a-420b> There are rows of lights or pixels
(e.g., lights
provided by bulbs, semiconductors, liquid crystals, LEDs or any other light
emitting
structure) 426 on the game play surface 402. The individual light emitters may
be analog or
digital and may be evenly distributed across the game play surface402 or
located (only or in
part) immediately about the card-receiving locations (e.g., all of 410a -
420b, inclusive). The
processor, executing the function or receiving information from the random
number generator
(RNG) 404 causes random sets of the lights about the various card-receiving
positions (both
player and dealer/banker or only player or only dealer) to randomly be lit at
the frequency
determined by the RNG 404. A shuffler providing the random physical playing
cards is
shown as 422. Special wagering positions, credit acceptors, side bet entry
and/or verification
of the presence of the side bet for each player position may be shown by
elements 424 which
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may, for example, be a D.E.Q. (e.g., G3 Platinum(TM) system) progressive wager
input
control. Upon the processor indicating to the game play surface that lighting
is to be
provided at a card-receiving position, lights or pixels in the rows (e.g.,
426) adjacent and
surrounding (e.g., combinations of ones to the left, right, above and/or
below) the card-
receiving position are lit to a degree to clearly indicate to an observer
(dealer, player and/or
by-stander) that a potential jackpot event is in play or any bonus event
provided by the side
bet wagering event.
The display of the lit areas, must of course be locked in to individual
positions after
the side bet has been received and further wagers on the side bet have been
locked out. The
processor will refuse to recognize any further side bet wagers through any
component, such
as 424 once this lock-out is in place.
A preferred method and apparatus for hosting a modified game of blackjack or
baccarat
with a player position in competition with a dealer position. The modification
includes a side
bet as defined herein. The player position and the banker position receiving
playing cards
from one or more decks of 52 playing cards, as a standard first step in the
play of blackjack or
baccarat. The dealer may still have one card face-down when first delivered in
blackjack.
The players' cards are placed face up, and it is desirable if the cards are
physically placed on
the table with a space between them. The order and position of placement in
two spots is not
material, but for reasons provided herein, some separation or placement of the
player position
cards adjacent to each other is desirable.
After the cards are dealt in the blackjack or baccarat event, the cards are
viewed and the
"spread" determined. The term spread as defined as the space or number of
spaces between
the two cards on which the wager is placed. For example, the following cards
exemplify a
spread produced by those cards:
Cards Spread Cards Spread
Ace and 2 0 or 11 Pairs or 10-value cards 0
Ace and 3 1 or 10 Ace and 10-value card 0
Ace and 4 2 or 9 2 and 10-value card 7
Ace and 5 3 or 8 3 and 10-value card 6
Ace and 6 4 or 7 4 and 10-value card 5
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Ace and 7 5 or 6 5 and 10-value card 4
Ace and 8 6 or 5 6 and 10-value card 3
Ace and 9 7 or 4 7 and 10-value card 2
Ace and 10-value card 8 or 0 (3, 2 or 1) 8 and 10-value card 1
As can be seen, the spread relates to the number of card ranks that are
available between the
two cards on which the side bet wager has been placed. The Aces and 10-value
cards may be
used in various formats adjusting payout odds in the practice of the wagering
event of the
present technology. The variations may be used to adjust the house advantage,
game
volatility and the odds in the paytable. For example, the house advantage may
be increased
and other payout odds increased and the game simplified by all 10-value cards
being
considered as a single rank, as opposed to an ascending order of 10, Jack,
Queen and King.
In the baccarat variation, the 10, Jack, Queen and King may maintain a zero
value and be at
the bottom of the count ladder, so that there is no spread between the ten-
value (zero value in
baccarat) cards and aces, and a spread of 1 between the zero value cards and a
2. Also, for
purposes of the side bet, the Ace may be considered only a 1-value in
baccarat, or only an 11-
value in blackjack (except for the jackpot event as described herein), or the
value (solely for
the purposes of the side bet) be the value that creates the smallest spread
with the other card.
If there is a progressive component in the side bet, a paytable may be
structured as follows,
with the unique events described in further detail later herein.
A unique event pays 100% of the progressive jackpot. Lesser events may have
payouts of
from 5%-25 of the jackpot (for example). Other event outcomes may have
specific odds as
already indicated in the table above, or even lower or higher odds to
accommodate the
amount contributed to the jackpot. One unique aspect of the content of the
game is the
identification of a specific three-card combination as the "unique event." Any
specific three-
card combination may be selected, but for convenience the construction of same-
suited Ace-
2-3 will be considered. For example, the unique three-card combination that
wins 100% of
the progressive jackpot may be only the A-2-3 of a specific suit, such as
spades. The jackpot
may be further qualified in the winning event only when the Ace spades and 3
of spades are
the first two cards and the 2 of spades is the third card. As multiple decks
of playing cards
are used, the probability of the maximum unique event may be further limited
by designating
only a limited number of the Aces of spades, 2 of spades and 3 of spades may
be specially
marked (e.g., the casino name) and the 100% jackpot may be paid only when at
least one of
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the three cards in the unique event must be present for the 100% jackpot to be
awarded. For
example, in an 8-deck blackjack shoe, fewer than all of at least the Aces of
spades (or
alternatively the 2's of spades and/or 3's of spades) may be marked with the
special bonus
symbol. For example, in the 8-deck shoe, where there are eight Aces of spaces,
only 7, only
6, only, 5, only 4, only 3, only 2 or only 1 may have the special jackpot or
bonus marking.
The marking may be performed on only one, only two or all three of the unique
event cards
may be marked, and less than all of one, two or three of cards may be used.
The use of
multiple ones of the marked cards and less than all of the marked card (or
cards) offers the
advantage of not dissuading players to avoid the side bet because an only
necessary card has
already been played, eliminating the possibility of any player obtaining the
100% payout on
the jackpot. The use of a continuous shuffler (where all cards are returned to
the shuffler
after each round of play, and the returned cards are randomly inserted into
the residual set of
playing cards in the shuffler) partially eliminates that issue from the
players. These
alternatives provide significant control over the events in the jackpot events
of the jackpot
wagering. For example, if all three specially marked cards in the sequence are
needed for
100% jackpot, the difference in probability going from 8 of each card (Ace of
spades, etc.)
being functional in the 100% jackpot down to only one of each of the cards in
the unique
event being marked can change the probability of that event occurring by more
than 100-fold.
The use of non-marked equivalent cards in the unique event (e.g., Aces of
spades without the
special mark) also adds to the availability of smaller, but significant
jackpot payments. For
example, if the specially marked A-2-3 of spades (or any other suit) is needed
for the 100%
jackpot payout, combinations (of A-2-3 of spades) for example with only one of
the specialty
cards (e.g., a specific one card or any card) may pay 5-10% of the jackpot and
combinations
(A-2-3 of spades) with two marked cards may pay 10-25% of the jackpot. This
shows the
flexibility of the wagering event.
Certain jurisdictions may have regulations that require that the largest
available
jackpot winning outcome must be available for that wager to be allowed. For
example, in the
event that a uniquely marked Ace, uniquely marked 2 and uniquely marked 3 are
required for
the final 100% jackpot winning event, in theory, once all of the specially
marked cards of a
single value are exhausted from tan original set (shoe) of playing cards, the
side bet wager
might no longer meet regulations. This can be addressed in numerous manners.
As noted
elsewhere, a continuous shuffler may be used so that all recently used cards
are immediately
returned to the set of playing cards. Alternatively, with card reading
delivery shoes and card-
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reading shufflers, the processor can be configured to determine when all of at
least one
essential specially marked card (from the set of three or set of at least two
specific cards) has
been exhausted from the set of available random playing cards. For example, if
a specially
marked Ace of spades is needed for the 100% jackpot, and there were four
marked Aces of
spades out of a six-deck show, once all four of the marked Aces of spades have
been used,
the shoe/shuffler is shut down and a new set of playing cards provided. An
alert notice can
be provided by an alphanumeric display on the delivery shoe or shuffler, or a
special alert
bulb or alarm can be provided. The card set would be replaced immediately
after the last
available necessary specialty card was provided. Where at least two cards with
jackpot
specialty marks are needed for the Jackpot (e.g., at least two of the Ace-2-3
same suited cards
must have the specialty marks), all three cards may be tacked by the card-
reading shoe or
shuffler, and when two of the three ranks of cards have been exhausted, then
the notice, alert
or alarm would be provided.
Figure 2 shows a panel 250 with three distinct columns 252a, 252b and 252c
indicating,
respectively, remaining numbers of specially marked Aces of Spades, 2 of
Spades and 3 of
Spades. The panel may also be provided as a marked area controlled by a live
dealer, who
moves a marker or lamer from positions within the panel 250 to indicate
exhaustion of
critical cards. As shown in Figure 2, there are spaces in the panel 250
indicating availability
of four (4) of each of the specially marked cards critical to winning outcomes
that award
percentages (e.g., 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% or100%) of the total jackpot
accumulated. As
shown in the Figure 2, spaces have markers that indicate remaining numbers of
critical cards
of specific rank by a symbol e.g., 41:0 254a indicating there are three of
four original specially
marked Aces of Spades cards. The panel may have only indications of three
critical cards
and marked appropriately. In the panels, the 0's are neutral marks or spaces
where lammers
or markers may be placed. In Figure 2, the position of the markers (1) 254b
indicates four
available 2 of Spades and 4:1) 254c indicates two available 3 of Spades. In
this way, legal
compliance may be observed and information provided to players. It is not
necessary to
make such indications on electronic gaming machines where new sets of playing
cards (e.g.,
in increasing order of preference, a single deck, two decks, four decks, sic
decks, eight decks,
etc.) are provided at the beginning of each round of play. Numbers of each of
the specialty
cards may be varied to further control the odds in the electronic systems.
Numbers of
specially marked cards may even be varied according to the time of day to
weight probability
of a win so that larger numbers of people may be available to observe a major
win. For
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example, the normal level of three or four specially marked cards of each
critical card
(generally exemplified as the Ace of Spades, 2 of Spades and 3 of Spades,
although other
combinations may be used, especially where the dealer position up card is used
as the random
third card) may be four cards in eight decks, and the reduced (but still
legally allowable)
frequency at different times of play may be three of each (or fewer than all,
such as only 2's
of Spades) specially marked card or even two of each (or less than all, such
as only Aces of
Spades and 3 of Spades) to reduce the probability of each major percentage win
from the
progressive jackpot.
As has and will be particularly indicated, many variations within the
disclosure of this
technology are available. For purposes of examples, A-2-3 or A-K-Q of same
suited and
specially marked cards have been particularly indicated. These are exemplary
but arbitrary
specific ranks as the use of spades and hearts in the discussion are arbitrary
suits for the
unique percentage jackpot awards. As within different cultures, different
numbers can have
different connotations, such as 4 and 8 in certain Pacific Rim cultures, the
unique card
combinations and outcomes may include these emotive cards in the jackpot
events. For
example, the spread may be determined by ranks of 3 and 5 (so that the 4-value
card is the
wedge card), 7 and 9 rank cards (so that the 8-value card is the wedge card)
or 6 and 8 rank
cards so that a 7-rank card is the wedge card. Any designated card, even cards
without a
single spread range may be used. For example, if the jackpot winning event is
arbitrarily
selected as 2-4-6, or Ace-3-5, or 2-4-8, or 4-8-King, those cards may be
specially marked in a
selected suit or even combination of suits, and the appearance of the
outermost spread
defining cards, 2-6, Ace-5, 2-8 and 4-King, respectively, makes the jackpot
percentage award
available. The only drawback with some of these variations is potential
confusion if a filling
card other than the bonus card is provided, or if different suits are used in
the percentage
jackpot awards, the determination of the final outcome is more confusing and
time
consuming. The use of a single suited event and a spread of any combination of
cards with a
single rank between them is the simplest and least confusing event.
In baccarat side bet events, similar considerations may be used. In a two-card
spread
baccarat game, for example, the spread hand (in either the player hand
position or the banker
hand position, by design or by allowance of either position with the side bet)
may be the Ace
and 4-rank of the same identified suit, and the winning wedge hand will be
both the 2-rank
and 3-rank cards of the same suit and preferably also the special markings on
at least one,
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two, three or four of those cards. The order of the rankings and distribution
of the rankings
should be maintained as a split event to keep the feel of the Acey-Deucy type
game and for
ease of resolution and control of the probabilities. For example, the presence
of A-4 in one
hand and 2-3 in the other hand is much less likely than the appearance of all
four of A-2-3-4
in both hands without consideration of distribution. That format could be
used, but that
would cause the jackpot event to have lower totals because of more rapid
payouts. The
payouts could also be made more frequent or otherwise adjusted by having a 5%
payout for
one specially marked card, 10% for two specially marked cards, 20% for three
specially
marked cards and 100% for four specially marked critical cards. To control the
frequency of
payouts and jackpot rate of growth in baccarat, a higher frequency of
specially marked cards
may be needed for 100% jackpots to be paid out. For example, in the blackjack
variant of the
side bet wedge event, it is believed that three or four specially marked cards
provides a
desired balance between frequency of payouts of percentages of the jackpot and
rate of
growth and size of the jackpot. In the baccarat variant, because two filling
same-suited,
specially marked cards must form the wedge event (as opposed to one filling
card) the
frequency of the event is reduced. It is therefore felt that four, five or
even six specially
marked ones of the same-suited critical cards is more desirable. This will
increase the
frequency of the smaller jackpot payouts, and their size may be accordingly
lowered to keep
the rate of growth of the 100% jackpot amount higher. For example, the one
specially
marked card successful wedge event may pay 2-4%, the two specially marked card
successful
event may pay 3-7%, the three specially marked card successful wedge event may
pay from
7-15% and the four specially marked card successful wedge event (e.g., 1-4 in
one hand and
2-3 in the other hand) would pay 100%. Again, the selection of rank and suite
can be varied.
The winning combinations can be hand distributions of 2-5 and 3-4, 3-6 and 4-
5, 10-K and J-
Q, J-Ace and K-Q and the like. Again, it is simplest if the spread is kept at
two ranks and the
edge must fill exactly the two same-suited cards within those rankings, with
at least one
specially marked card present.
The paytable for the four-card baccarat wedge event must be significantly
different
from the blackjack paytable. Spreads of one may also be "dead hands" in the
baccarat game
as only a specific rank pair can be between both cards. This could also be a
high payout
award. For example, where the spread hand is 3-5, the wedge hand of 4-4 might
pay 25:1. It
is desirable to require that both wedge hand cards fall within the split for
simplicity, although
there might be small award odds for single cards. Requiring both wedge hand
cards to fill the
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spread will create much higher volatility, with much higher odds available. It
is also likely
that each of 10, Jack, Queen and King will be) value cards and of equal rank
in play, as this
comports with play in baccarat. An exemplary range of payouts for the wedge
side bet be:
Spread Two Card Wedge Fill
1 10:1 to 50:1
2 8:1 to 25:1
3 4:1 to 20:1
4 3:1 to 12:1; or 0:1, 1:1 or 2:1
3:1 to 5:1; 1:1, 2:1 or 0:1 loss
6 2:1 to 4:1 or 0:1 loss to 1:1
7-8 1:1 or 0:1 loss
5 The odds may be varied outside these ranges. Joker(s) cards may also be
used as null
special cards with different payouts or payout multipliers. Payouts in excess
of 10:1, 15:1 or
20:1 may or may not be decremented from the jackpot.
In electronic gaming, video gaming, on-line gaming and the like, many of the
above
problems associated with depletion of critical specially marked cards become
trivial.
Multiple decks may be used with a single specialty marked card for one, two or
three of the
unique event cards, and new virtual sets of cards may be provided at the
beginning of each
round of play.
The method generally may have steps of: performing a side bet event during a
blackjack or
baccarat wagering event according to the present technology (the side bet
amount may be any
minimum amount, such as $1.00 or may be in amounts up to the table minimum or
maximum), and the steps includes:
a) a player position providing a side bet wager to be determined by playing
cards
provided to the dealer hand (banker hand position in baccarat) position and/or
the
player hand position; (the wager may be placed on the player hand, a dealer
hand or
even a dummy hand as later described. As explained, there are advantages to
each
option.) The dealer position up-card may be best used as the card indicating
whether
the spread in the player hand is filled. That is because the play of the
underlying
game is not affected, and the side bet game is immediately resolved. Tension
is still
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provided by waiting to see the dealer up card. The use of the player hand in
the side
bet wager assures the likelihood of only a single winner. The use of the
dealer hand in
the side bet wager would assure that all players entering the jackpot event at
a single
table would share the jackpot if won. If a dummy hand is used at the end of
game
play (receiving a required third card for the split or fill wager side bet
event), two
cards are dealt to the dummy position and a third card dealt to determine the
event
outcome, players will not feel that any actions done by intermediate players
are
affecting their own chances of game events. This method would also assure that
all
players entering the jackpot event at a single table would share the jackpot
if won.
b) providing two random playing cards to a dealer hand position, and providing
two
random playing cards to a player hand position face up; (Placement of the
cards can
have significance for security issues, so that a third card is not
intentionally or
accidentally confused with one of the original cards dealt to the position on
which the
side bet wager has been placed. The cards may be placed adjacent each other
(with
no space between them, and the third card placed overlapping a lower portion
of both
playing cards. The cards may also be placed on two spaces specifically marked
or
generally positioned for receiving the first two cards, with the space between
them
marked or sufficiently wide that placement of the third card should be clearly
distinguished from the other cards. The dealer position may also have the
first two
cards (even with one face-down) similarly positioned when the third card (if
any) is
delivered to the dealer position.
c) providing a third random card to the hand(s) on which the side bet wager
has been
placed; and
d) resolving the side bet wager against a paytable on a basis of whether the
third random
card has a rank within the spread and size of the original spread.
A non-limiting example of a paytable for the side bet wager (without a
progressive event)
may be as follows:
SPREAD PAYOUT ODDS
1 8:1 to 12:1 or 10:1 to 15:1
2 5:1 to 6:1 6:1 to 8:1
3 3:1 to 4:1 4:1 ¨ 6:1
4 1:1 to 2:1 2:1 to 4:1
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1:1 to 2:1 2:1 to 3:1
6 1:1 to 2:1 2:1
7 or more 1:1 1:1
The exact math and an alternative paytable for the progressive jackpot side
bet events
(without including jackpot payouts) may be:
Event #(Event) P(Event) Odds(1-n)
Payout (n:1) Value
Pair, no spread 10,426,176 0.14587581 6.86 0
0.00000000
Ace + ten value, no
spread 3,391,488 0.04745134 21.07 0
0.00000000
One gap, no spread 10,174,464 0.14235403 7.02 0
0.00000000
Loss 34,635,776 0.48459971 2.06 0
0.00000000
Win, spread 1 720,896 0.01008628 99.14 10
0.10086280
Win, spread 2 1,310,720 0.01833868 54.53 5
0.09169340
Win, spread 3 1,769,472 0.02475722 40.39 4
0.09902888
Win, spread 4 2,097,152 0.02934189 34.08 2
0.05868378
Win, spread 5 2,293,760 0.03209270 31.16 1
0.03209270
Win, spread 6 2,359,296 0.03300963 30.29 1
0.03300963
Win, spread 7 2,293,760 0.03209270 31.16 1
0.03209270
Win, spread 8 0 0.00000000 0 0
0.00000000
These numbers were derived from computer-generated outputs simulating
71,472,960 rounds
5 of dealing and provided a player return
of 44.75% and a house advantage (on the underlying
play, which does not include the jackpot) of 55.25%. By contributing, for
example, 35% of
all side bet wagers to the jackpot, there would be a residual house advantage
of 20.25%.
There may also be a side bet progressive component, with a portion of the side
bet wager
being automatically contributed to a progressive jackpot. Anywhere from 10% to
90% of all
side bet wagers may be used to contribute the jackpot, with underlying odds on
the WEDGE
event payouts adjusted.
Greater or lesser volatility and house advantage can be easily provided
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General Considerations for Side Bet for Blackjack with Progressive Component
Side Bet should be made before cards are dealt in normal blackjack fashion.
Side Bet may be in any amount up to Ante or maximum values.
The side bet may be based on first three visible playing cards of player and
dealer.
There are other controls over game play that can impact the house advantage
and
play. For example, the player may lose the side bet with a natural hard 17 (as
no card can be
between the 10-value card and the 7 without busting) and pushes or loses with
a natural 18,
19 or 20 and loses, pushes or wins 1:1 with a blackjack.
It is to be noted that the odds for the various spreads are merely exemplary.
In fact,
odds at variance with apparent normal odds may be used. For example, the 10:1
odds appear
to be typical odds for an event with a 1/13 probability. However, as the
condition for the
wager may not occur (the initial hand may be "dead" by being a pair,
consecutive cards, face
cards, etc. so the split side bet event may not occur), so that actual offered
odds may be
higher than even the statistical probabilities. For example, for a spread of
one, odds of 13:1,
14:1; 15:1 or even higher may be offered. For a spread of two (with
statistical odds of 1/6.5),
odds of 6:1, 7:1 or even 8:1 or higher may be offered. In this manner, the
casino may offer
payout odds that are statistically higher than the probability of the spread
being filled by a
third card.
As can be seen, the player always also loses the underlying wager in blackjack
when
the player MUST take a hit to provide the third random card, with a natural 16
on the first
two cards, as no card can be between 6 and 10 without busting. A same value
card as either
of the original cards is a loss. It is also possible to allow players to take
a hit "off the books"
for the blackjack event or baccarat event, such that the player may exercise a
step in the side
bet, without altering normal play in the blackjack game. This is the advantage
of using
electronic gaming or the dealer up card as the third playing card. It would
also be desirable
on electronic systems, or electronic gaming tables or electronic gaming
machines (especially
where there are multiple players) to have the spread identified, before,
during or after
provision of the wedge card, as this would be informative to the player(s).
Another aspect is that placing a single side bet wager on the progressive
jackpot
wager enables both a change in the underlying paytables or even events in the
underlying
wagering game (e.g., extra card, wild card, replacement and discard, etc.) and
also entry into
the jackpot event. This ability for the same wager to impact both underlying
games and
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progressive jackpot events using the electronic systems described herein is
part of the
advance in technology afforded herein.
A method of performing a side bet wagering event during a playing card
wagering event
on the gaming system described herein can be performed in which playing cards
are exposed
after being provided during play of the playing card wagering event including:
a) the player position providing a side bet wager against a paytable and a
jackpot to be
determined by playing cards provided to a card-receiving position at least one
of a dealer
hand position and the player hand position;
b) providing random physical playing cards to at least the dealer hand
position and/or to
the player hand position; and
c) the processor making a random determination as to whether lights at the
card-receiving
position are to be lit or not lit.
The multiple random physical playing cards may be dealt to multiple card-
receiving
positions on the game play surface of the gaming system, and the processor
makes a random
determination as to whether lights at each of the multiple the card-receiving
positions are to
be lit or not lit; and causing lights to be lit or unlit at at each of the
multiple the card-receiving
positions according to the random determination. The method may also resolve
the side bet
wager against the paytable or jackpot (including a progressive jackpot based
at least in part
upon how many lights at the multiple card-receiving position are lit or not
lit. At least two or
at least three random physical playing cards are dealt to at least two or at
least three card-
receiving positions and the random number generator communicates random number
selections to the processor, the random number selections being individually
indicative of
whether or not lights at each of the multiple card-receiving positions; and
lights being lit or
being unlit depending upon communication from the processor to individual
light controls for
lights at each of the multiple card-receiving positions. Alternatively, the
random number
generator communicates a single random number selection to the processor, the
single
random number selection being indicative of a single template indicating
whether or not
lights at each of the multiple card-receiving positions are to be lit or not
lit; and lights being
lit or being unlit depending upon communication from the processor to
individual light
controls for lights at each of the multiple card-receiving positions based
upon the single
template. The method may be practiced wherein exactly four random physical
playing cards
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are dealt (e.g., in baccarat) to exactly four card-receiving positions and the
random number
generator communicates a single random number selection to the processor, the
single
random number selection being indicative of a single template indicating
whether or not
lights at each of the exactly four multiple card-receiving positions are to be
lit or not lit; and
lights being lit or being unlit depending upon communication from the
processor to
individual light controls for lights at each of the exactly four multiple card-
receiving
positions based upon the single template. The templates would cover all ranges
of events in
individual or collective lighting of card-receiving positions, from zero
positions lit to all
positions (22-24 positions with seven players, one dealer and three initial
player position
cards and three initial dealer playing cards, with 1 or 3 cards exposed for
the dealer/banker;
or only 4-6 cards in baccarat, with two initial cards and a maximum of one
additional hit card
position). The available templates must therefore include (weighted or
unweighted) a large
number of possibilities, with every variation of lighting of individual card-
receiving
locations, which is approximately 24! (twenty-four factorial) individual
events
(approximately more than 100 billion probabilities, and this without weighting
of individual
events (e.g., weighting provides a larger number of outcomes that may be
randomly selected
than is physically or numerically possible, such as in choosing between 1 and
10, then gives
disproportionate numbers of chances to each selection, such as providing 100
selectable
outcomes for ten events, with 20 selectable events for 1, 15 selectable events
for 2, and as
few as one selectable event for 10, thus probability weighting each outcome).
The system
may be used for any dealing event, with any number of playing cards, but one
preferred
modality is when exactly and only three random physical playing cards (e.g.,
the three up
cards in blackjack, three card poker, the three communal cards (the flop)
first dealt in Texas
Hold'Em) to determine an outcome in the progressive jackpot side bet and the
method is
performed on the gaming table and the side bet wager is provided through an
electronic
wagering input device at the player position on the gaming table to the
processor, and the
input device communicates location of a player position at which a side bet
wager has been
placed and an amount of the side bet wager to the processor. The processor may
transfer a
portion of at least 10% and less than 60% of the side bet wager into a
progressive jackpot
account monitored by the processor and the processor causes a display to
visually indicate an
available balance in the progressive jackpot. The jackpot may be a progressive
jackpot and a
highest payout from the progressive jackpot comprises a third physical random
playing card
being a suited rank card within a spread created by two of the same-suited
playing cards that
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provide a spread of one at a hand position at which a side bet wager has been
placed and the
card-receiving position for each of the multiple random physical playing cards
is lit by lights
at the card-receiving positions.
These cards are scored using the traditional Baccarat scoring method, with the
numerical
value of all cards in a hand summed (with 10, Jack, Queen and King being zero
value) and
only the last digit (the unitary value digit) being considered.
The method is best performed where discards are required so that a highest
count of 6, 7, 8 or
9 is formed in the two starting hand cards if possible and a lowest count
among 0, 1, 2, 3, 4
and 5 is formed in the two starting hand cards. Variations in the best
performance
requirements may be that a highest count of 5, 6, 7, 8 or 9 is formed in the
two starting hand
cards if possible and a lowest count among 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 is formed in the
two starting hand
cards. The method is preferably performed where playing cards are provided by
provision of
random physical playing cards provided from a randomized source of physical
playing cards,
and the physical playing cards are placed one-at-a-time from the source of
physical playing
cards to respective player hand position and banker hand position.
The method may be performed on a gaming table and the side bet wager are
provided through
an electronic wagering input device on the gaming table, and the input device
communicates
location of a player position at which a side bet wager has been placed and an
amount of the
side bet wager to a processor. The processor may transfer a portion of the
side bet wager into
a progressive jackpot account monitored by the processor and the processor
causes a display
to visually indicate an available balance in the jackpot. The method may
designate a highest
rank formed with only the four cards from a combination of the two random
playing cards in
the banker position hand and the two random playing cards in the player
position hand is a
pair or three-of-a-kind no winning outcome is present on the paytable. The
method may be
executed wherein when a highest rank formed with only the four cards from a
combination of
the two random playing cards in the banker position hand and the two random
playing cards
in the player position hand is a pair or three-of-a-kind no winning outcome is
present on the
paytable, or when a highest rank formed with only the four cards from a
combination of the
two random playing cards in the banker position hand and the two random
playing cards in
the player position hand is a pair or three-of-a-kind no winning outcome is
present on the
paytable, or when a highest rank formed with only the four cards from a
combination of the
two random playing cards in the banker position hand and the two random
playing cards in
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the player position hand is a straight, no winning outcome is present on the
paytable, or when
a highest rank formed with only the four cards from a combination of the two
random playing
cards in the banker position hand and the two random playing cards in the
player position
hand is a flush, no winning outcome is present on the paytable. Various low
frequency
combinations of playing cards may be used as the four-card poker ranks to
determine
maximum payouts from the progressive jackpot. For example, a maximum payout
from the
progressive may be selected from the group consisting of four-of-a-kind and a
same-suited A-
K-Q-J. The method may be formed with other defined hand conditions to increase
or reduce
the frequency of the ranks that provide the maximum payout from the
progressive jackpot.
For example, the highest payout rank may be selected from the group consisting
of a same-
suited four-of-a-kind and a same-suited A-K-Q-J wherein the A-K are in a
single one of the
player position hand or the banker position hand.
As further described and enabled herein, the method may be performed wherein
multiple players have placed side bet wagers against the paytable, at least
some of the players
being at player positions at a gaming table and at least some of the players
being in electronic
communication with the gaming table through the processor. A game performance
issue
occurs with this type of cross-technology and large number of players
situations. As all side
bet wagers rely on a single set of four cards (the first two banker position
cards and the first
two player position cards), the jackpot can be divided into so many small
parts that the
jackpot event becomes less attractive. For example, players would be attracted
to a $1.00
side bet with a potential $50,000 or higher payout. However, if there are 100
players making
side bets, an equal division of the jackpot would be only $500.00.
Knowledgeable players
would not be attracted to that side bet event because of the low return as
compared to the
probability of occurrence. A less desirable format is therefore where upon
occurrence of a
maximum payout event, the maximum payout is divided among all players having
made the
side bet. Numerous protocols can be implemented, especially with electronic
wagering and a
processor in the system. One simple adjustment is to limit the total number of
players that
can enter the side bet event (for example, in a first-come, first serve mode),
or to apportion
shares in the maximum payout based on amounts wagered on the side bet event
(e.g., a $5.00
wager receiving five times the portion that a $1.00 wager would receive.
There are additional protocols wherein the processor is configured to execute
a
protocol that divides the maximum payout unequally among all players having
made the side
bet. The meth od could be configured such that the processor receives and
stores electronic
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data from electronic wagering input devices comprising at least some data
selected from the
group consisting of a) length of time a player position has been wagering at
the gaming table,
b) number of consecutive hands that have been wagered on from a player
position, c) average
value of wagers made from a player position, d) maximum wager placed from one
player
position as compared to all player positions making side bet wagers, e) a
random selection
among players, and f) identified subsets of players based upon betting
histories.
In baccarat, versus blackjack, similar procedures may be used. The banker hand
or
the player hand may be indicated (by wager or fixed rule, preferably as the
spread defining
hand. The two cards in that spread defining hand are dealt and the first card
in the other hand
is dealt face-up. The side bet (otherwise identical to the blackjack side bet)
can be resolved at
that point, before the second other hand card is dealt. An alternative
variant, with lower hit
frequency but accordingly higher payout odds may be used for baccarat. The two
hands are
referred to herein as the spread hand (in which the spread is determined) and
the wedge hand,
in which filling of the spread is determined. Two cards are dealt to each
hand, and the split
wager is resolved by at least one of the wedge hand cards being within the
spread and the
other of the cards being within the spread or equaling the rank of the
(preferably lower rank)
other card. The jackpot bonus may be won by the spread hand being a spread of
one and the
two spread hand cards being a predefined specific rank and suit combination
(e.g., A of hearts
and Queen of Hearts again, or A of Diamonds and 3 of Diamonds, again with a
distribution/
control of numbers of these cards that are specially marked. Special marking
may be
eliminated by requiring that both of the wedge hand cards fill the single rank
spread with both
wedge hand cards being the suited cards. For example, if the jackpot
combination is A-K-Q
of Hearts, the spread hand must have the A-Q of hearts, and both cards in the
wedge hand
must be the King of Hearts. A null card of a joker may also be present so that
for the 100%
jackpot to be won, the exact wedge card and the joker may be present. Smaller
percentages
can be won by the wedge hand having the exact filling rank and suit, and the
other card being
the same rank and the same color, but different suit, or just the same rank.
In baccarat,
specific order or collective content of specific cards may be used for the
jackpot event. For
example, the banker or player hand may be required to have the specific suited
Ace and 4, the
respective player or dealer hand must have the specific suited 2 and 3, and
the two hit cards
must be compatible with the requirements of the third card rule, the player's
third card must
be a same suited Ace or 2, and the banker hit must be the same suited 3. This
may be done
with or without specially marked Aces, 2's and 3's of the desired suit winning
the jackpot
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level of the side bet. A paytable for other events, such as three-card ties,
three zero-value
cards in both hands, three zero-value same suited cards in individual hands or
both hands, etc.
These paying events are needed to keep the player engaged in the side bet
game.
The wagering event may be practiced with at least one, two, four, six or
preferably
eight decks as the original set of physical playing cards and two physical
playing cards are
provided to each of the banker hand position and the player hand position to
form a first
residual set of physical playing cards having 412 physical playing cards and
then any
additional physical playing card provided to the player position will be
provided from the
first residual set of physical playing cards to form a second residual set of
physical playing
cards having 411 physical playing cards. Any additional physical playing card
dealt to the
banker position is provided from the second residual set of physical playing
cards. As is
typical with baccarat and blackjack gaming events, especially high-stake
games, the original
randomized set of playing cards is not played to exhaustion of the cards where
card-counters
could identify advantages or disadvantages in events, especially side bet
events.
The method may use a set of any number of decks (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or
8 decks
of virtual playing cards stored in memory in a processor which is configured
to display
virtual playing cards on a video display, and two virtual playing cards are
provided to each of
the banker hand position and the player hand position to form a first residual
set of virtual
playing cards in the memory having 412 physical playing cards (in an 8-deck
set) and then
any additional virtual playing card provided to the player position will be
provided from the
first residual set of virtual playing cards to form a second residual set of
virtual playing cards
having 411 virtual playing cards in memory. Any additional virtual playing
card dealt to the
banker position is provided from the second residual set of virtual playing
cards. Gaming
apparatus may comprise a processor, player input controls and a video display,
wherein the
processor is configured to execute the electronic virtual card method
described herein.
Gaming apparatus comprising a gaming table having a randomized physical set of
playing cards comprising 312 or 416 playing cards in a dealer shoe with only a
back of one
card displayed to live players, the gaming table configured to allow play of
the physical
playing card method described herein. Playing card shufflers or randomizers
may be used in
accordance with this method as further described herein.
Computer-Based Implementations - Methods of the present invention also may be
implemented in computer hardware, software, or computer hardware and software.
A most
common form of computer implementation is a stand-alone, single player
electronic gaming
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machine with electronic player controls and one or more video output screens.
In computer-
based embodiments, the gaming device preferably includes at least one
processor, such as a
microprocessor, a microcontroller-based platform, a suitable integrated
circuit or one or more
application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC's) or Field Programmable Gated
Arrays
(FPGA's). The processor is in communication with or operable to access or to
exchange
signals with at least one data storage or memory device, and/or a player
monitor or monitors.
In one embodiment, the processor and the memory device reside within the
cabinet of a
gaming device. Multiple gaming devices are typically connected to a casino
information
network.
The memory device stores program code and instructions, executable by the
processor, to control the gaming device. The memory device also stores other
data such as
image data, event data, player input data, random or pseudo-random number
generators, pay-
table data or information, House Ways distributions and applicable game rules
that relate to
the play of the gaming device. In one embodiment, the memory device includes
random
access memory (RAM): which can include non-volatile RAM (NVRAM): magnetic RAM
(MRAM), ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM), and other forms as commonly understood in
the
gaming industry. In one embodiment, the memory device includes read only
memory (ROM).
In one embodiment, the memory device includes flash memory and/or EEPROM
(electrically
erasable programmable read only memory). Any other suitable magnetic, optical,
and/or
semiconductor memory may operate in conjunction with the gaming device
disclosed herein.
In one embodiment, part or all of the program code and/or operating data
described
above can be stored in a detachable or removable memory device, including, but
not limited
to, a suitable cartridge, disk, CD ROM, DVD, or USB memory device.
In other embodiments, part or all of the program code and/or operating data
described
above can be downloaded to the memory device through a suitable network. In
one
embodiment, an operator or a player can use such a removable memory device in
a desktop
computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable
computing device,
or another computerized platform to implement the present disclosure. In one
embodiment,
the gaming device or gaming machine disclosed herein is operable over a
wireless network,
for example part of a wireless gaming system. The gaming machine may be a hand-
held
device, a mobile device, or any other suitable wireless device that enables a
player to play
any suitable game at a variety of different locations. It should be
appreciated that a gaming
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device or gaming machine as disclosed herein may be a device that has obtained
approval
from a regulatory gaming commission or a device that has not obtained approval
from a
regulatory gaming commission. It should be appreciated that the processor and
memory
device may be collectively referred to herein as a "processor" or "computer"
or "controller"
or "game controller."
In one embodimentõ the gaming device randomly generates awards and/or other
game
outcomes based on probability data. In one such embodiment, this random
determination is
provided through utilization of a random number generator (RNG), such as a
true random
number generator, a pseudo random number generator, a programmable RNG or
other
suitable randomization process. In one embodiment, each award or other game
outcome is
associated with a probability and the gaming device generates the award or
other game
outcome to be provided to the player based on the associated probabilities. In
this
embodiment, since the gaming device generates outcomes randomly or based upon
one or
more probability calculations, there is no certainty that the gaming device
will ever provide
the player with any specific award or other game outcome. It is also possible
for templates or
weighted templates of sets of tiles or paylines as disclosed in U.S. Patent
No. 6,159,096 and
6,117,009 (Yoseloff, which are incorporated by reference in their entirety)
which disclose a
method of configuring a video output gaming device to randomly generate game
outcomes.
The method includes the steps of selecting a set of game symbols, assigning a
probability of
occurrence to each symbol, selecting a plurality of outcome templates, each
template
comprising X variables, selecting a probability of occurrence for each outcome
template,
assigning a subset of symbols from the set of game symbols to each template
for filling the
positions, defining payouts for selected outcomes, and configuring a video
output gaming
device, which randomly selects a template, randomly selects a symbol for each
variable in the
template from the subset of game symbols assigned to the selected template,
randomly fills at
least a portion of the positions in the template and displays the outcome on a
video output
display. A video output gaming device programmed to randomly select a
template, randomly
select symbols to define the variables and randomly display the selected
symbols is also
disclosed.
In one embodiment, described in more detail below as a "chipless gaming
platform",
the gaming device includes one or more display devices that are mounted into a
gaming table
surface and are controlled by the processor in addition to or separately from
the individual
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player monitors. The display devices are preferably connected to or mounted
into the table
structure. This may include a central display device which displays a primary
game, dealer
images, jackpot information, or information that is not specifically related
to the game, such
as sports information or winning events at other tables. This display device
may also display
any suitable secondary game associated with the primary game as well as
information
relating to the primary or secondary game (e.g., side bets, bonuses, jackpots
and the like).
An alternative embodiment may include a central horizontal game display device
and
a vertically oriented virtual dealer display device as in Shuffle Master,
Inc.'s Table MasterTM
gaming system. The central display device may display the primary game, any
suitable
secondary game associated or not associated with the primary game and/or
information
relating to the primary or secondary game. These display devices may also
serve as digital
glass operable to advertise games or other aspects of the gaming
establishment. The gaming
device includes a credit display 20 which displays a player's current number
of credits, cash,
account balance, or the equivalent. In one embodiment, the gaming device
includes a bet
display displays a player's amount wagered. In one embodiment, as described in
more detail
below, the gaming device includes a player tracking display which displays
information
regarding a player's play tracking status.
In yet another embodiment, at least one display device may be a mobile display
device, such as a PDA or tablet PC that enables play of at least a portion of
the primary or
secondary game at a location remote from the gaming device. The display
devices may
include, without limitation, a monitor, a television display, a plasma
display, a liquid crystal
display (LCD) a display based on light emitting diodes (LEDs), a display based
on a plurality
of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), a display based on polymer light-
emitting diodes
(PLEDs), a display based on a plurality of surface-conduction electron-
emitters (SEDs), a
display including a projected and/or reflected image, or any other suitable
electronic device
or display mechanism.
In one embodiment, as described in more detail below, the display device
includes a touch-
screen with an associated touch-screen controller. The display devices may be
of any suitable
size and configuration, such as a square, a rectangle or an elongated
rectangle. The display
devices of the gaming device are configured to display at least one and
preferably a plurality
of game or other suitable images, symbols and indicia such as any visual
representation or
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exhibition of the movement of objects such as mechanical, virtual, or video
reels and wheels,
dynamic lighting, video images, images of people, characters, places, things,
faces of cards,
images of dealers and the like. Other forms of the invention are in the form
of game software
that is implemented in a variety of formats, such as intemet gaming, PC
practice play, hand-
held game devices, wireless gaming devices and the like.
Chipless Gaming Table Implementation - One enabling system useful in the
practice of the
present invention is the use of playing cards with Chinese domino symbols
which can be
distributed for use with a system marketed under the name i-TABLETm by Shuffle
Master,
Inc. of Las Vegas, Nev. That system includes: a) a physical gaming table; b)
player monitors
at each player position; c) a playing card reading and delivery system (e.g.,
commercially
available shufflers and playing card delivery shoes with reading capability as
sold under the
Trade names of One2SixTM shuffler, AceTM shuffler, IDEALTM shuffler, ISHOETM
delivery
shoe, etc.); d) a processor receiving information (numbers of cards, rank of
cards, suits of
cards, etc.) from the card reading and delivery systems; e) communication
connectivity
(hardwired or wireless) between necessary combinations of the card
reading/delivery systems
and the processor, the processor and the individual player monitors, and/or
the card
reading/delivery systems and the video monitors; and f) software in the
processor that defines
predetermined advantage for distributions of playing cards into multiple
hands, game rules,
hand history, and the like.
A preferable card handling device for administering a video reel-type-style
game is a
hand-forming shuffler with integrated card recognition technology, from which
playing cards
are supplied, with a least a rank/count (and preferable also suit) of
individual packs of cards
are known before the cards are removed and delivered to player positions
and/or the banker
position. The card delivery system 102 is in communication with the controller
128 by wired
or wireless communication methods. Communication between the various system
components is not limited to electronic or electrical signals, but may include
optical signals,
audio signals, magnetic transmission or the like.
The shuffling devices work with various physical platforms. The shufflers may
create
a fully randomized set of cards that are removed one-at-a-time. Other
shufflers separate
cards into different compartments and then randomly deliver cards from the
compartments.
Other shufflers order the playing cards in compartments and then randomly
select playing
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cards. Other randomization equipment (which do not actually shuffle cards)
takes a set of
playing cards are randomly ejects or randomly selects and removes playing
cards from a set
of playing cards. The individual player position processors (not shown) are
preferable
graphics processors and not full content CPUs as a cost saving, space saving,
and efficiency
benefit. With the reduced capacity in the processor as compared to a CPU,
there is actually
reduced likelihood of tampering and fraudulent input.
Game history information regarding previous games played such as an amount
wagered, the outcome of the game and so forth may also be stored in a non-
volatile memory
device. The information stored in the non-volatile memory may be detailed
enough to
reconstruct a portion of the graphical presentation that was previously
presented on the
gaming machine and the state of the gaming machine (e.g., credits) at the time
the game of
chance was played. The game history information may be utilized in the event
of a dispute.
For example, a player may decide that in a previous game of chance that they
did not receive
credit for an award that they believed they won. The game history information
may be used
to reconstruct the state of the gaming machine prior, during and/or after the
disputed game to
demonstrate whether the player was correct or not in their assertion. Another
feature of
gaming machines, such as gaming computers, is that they often contain unique
interfaces,
including serial interfaces, to connect to specific subsystems internal and
external to the slot
machine. The serial devices may have electrical interface requirements that
differ from the
"standard" ETA 232 serial interfaces provided by general-purpose computers.
These
interfaces may include ETA 485, ETA 422, Fiber Optic Serial, optically coupled
serial
interfaces, current loop style serial interfaces, etc. In addition, to
conserve serial interfaces
internally in the slot machine, serial devices may be connected in a shared,
daisy-chain
fashion where multiple peripheral devices are connected to a single serial
channel. The serial
interfaces may be used to transmit information using communication protocols
that are
unique to the gaming industry. For example, the NetplexTM system of IGT is a
proprietary
communication protocol used for serial communication between gaming devices.
As another
example, SAS is a communication protocol used to transmit information, such as
metering
information, from a gaming machine to a remote device. Often SAS is used in
conjunction
with a player tracking system.
Gaming machines may alternatively be treated as peripheral devices to a casino
communication controller and connected in a shared daisy chain fashion to a
single serial
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interface. In both cases, the peripheral devices are preferably assigned
device addresses. If so,
the serial controller circuitry must implement a method to generate or detect
unique device
addresses. General-purpose computer serial ports are not able to do
this.Trusted memory
devices are preferably included in a gaming machine or gaming table computer
to ensure the
authenticity of the software that may be stored on less secure memory
subsystems, such as
mass storage devices. Trusted memory devices and controlling circuitry are
typically
designed to not allow modification of the code and data stored in the memory
device while
the memory device is installed in the slot machine. The code and data stored
in these devices
may include authentication algorithms, random number generators,
authentication keys,
operating system kernels, etc.
During the course of a game, a player may be required to make a number of
decisions,
which affect the outcome of the game. For example, a player may vary his or
her wager on a
particular game, select a prize for a particular game selected from a prize
server, or make
game decisions which affect the outcome of a particular game. The player may
make these
choices using the player-input switches, the video display screen 34 or using
some other
device which enables a player to input information into the gaming machine. In
some
embodiments, the player may be able to access various game services such as
concierge
services and entertainment content services using the video display screen 34
and one more
input devices.
During certain game events, the gaming machine or table may display visual and
auditory effects that can be perceived by the player. These effects add to the
excitement of a
game, which makes a player more likely to continue playing. Auditory effects
include various
sounds that are projected by speakers. Visual effects include flashing lights,
strobing lights or
other patterns displayed from lights on the gaming machine or from lights
within the separate
mechanical (or electronic) separately, individually wagerable gaming system.
After the player
has completed a game, the player may receive game tokens from the coin tray or
the ticket
from a printer, which may be used for further games or to redeem a prize.
Further, the player
may receive a ticket 20 for food, merchandise, or games from the printer. When
acting under
the control of appropriate software or firmware, in some implementations of
the invention a
CPU may be responsible for implementing specific functions associated with the
functions of
a desired network device. According to some embodiments, the CPU accomplishes
all these
functions under the control of software including an operating system and any
appropriate
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applications software. The CPU may include one or more processors. In an
alternative
embodiment, processor is specially designed hardware for controlling the
operations of any
network device. In a specific embodiment, a memory (such as non-volatile RAM
and/or
ROM and especially a random number generator component or software) also forms
part of
the CPU. However, there are many different ways in which memory could be
coupled to the
system. A memory block may be used for a variety of purposes such as, for
example, caching
and/or storing data, programming instructions, etc.
There are many available variations and standard situations that can be
addressed in
the execution of the present direct game or side bet event in the present
technology. The
following discussion will attempt to address those variations, which may be
mixed or
excluded to implement a side bet wagering event with either blackjack or
baccarat.
Aces are generally considered 1-value cards in baccarat. The unique event in
baccarat
can therefore be either a same-suited Ace-3, or a same-suited Ace-Queen for
the 100%
payout. Both of those point counts would ordinarily require an additional
card, so game play
would not be altered in either selection of the unique 100% jackpot event (or
5%, 10%, 20%,
25% etc. jackpot events). Pairs are automatic losses on the side bet for
baccarat. In
blackjack, players may elect to split pairs, but to engage the side bet event,
an additional
(preferably equal or less) side bet wager must be placed on a second hand for
the second hand
to be in play. Otherwise, only the first hand (player's furthest right set of
cards).
Ace ranks in blackjack can be more complicated, but can be easily regulated.
For
example, aces should usually be maintained as an 11-value card for the side
bet event. For
purposes of the jackpot unique events, however, the rank may be considered as
a 1-value card
for the Ace-3 combination in first two cards, and may be considered as a 1-
value card in
combination with a 3 (unsuited), any 4, any 5, (possibly) any 6 (treating the
combination as a
soft 17), but should be considered an 11-value card with any 7, 8, 9 or 10-
value card (not
sacrificing a blackjack for the side bet). House procedures may vary this, but
the above is
recommended.
The occurrence of certain events (with respect to the side bet) has already
been
addressed, but there are acceptable variations among them. By way of non-
limiting
examples, so as to minimize a feeling of "unfair" results with the side bet
wager, certain
natural hands can be specifically addressed. A hard 17 with a 10-value card
(as opposed to
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an 8-9 combination) may be considered a push or a loss. A hard 18 with a 10-
value card (as
opposed to a 9-9 combination) may be considered a push or a loss. All hard
19's (with a 10-
value card) may be considered a loss or a push. All hard 20's (with two 10-
value cards) may
be considered a loss or a push. All 10-value cards may be considered as a
single rank (a rank
between 9 and Ace), so that with an initial two cards of 9 and King, the third
card of a Jack
would not be an intermediate card, nor would a Queen or 10. This may be
varied, with the 10
itself being considered as distinct from the Jack, Queen or King in
determining intermediate
ranks within the spread. All pairs can be considered in the first two cards as
losses, unless the
player elects to split them and place a second side bet wager for the second
hand. If the pairs
are aces, however, the side bet is lost as most casino blackjack events allow
only a single hit
at each hand position when aces are split. This consideration of events
complies with
standard blackjack practice to minimize alteration of game play.
Players may elect to "convert" an Ace in combination with a ten value card to
a 1-
value Ace. To do so, the player may be required to double the amount of the
side bet, and in
that circumstance, it is likely that all 10-value cards would be equal. The
"conversion" would
also have to be permanent, such that the blackjack is lost. The player may (as
with a double
down) be allowed only a single hit if this is done, or may be allowed only two
hits. The
method may require that the resolution of the side bet as a winning event
outcome occurs
only when the spread is at least two and both of the third and fourth fill the
spread. The
different percentages of the jackpot that may be awarded should be restricted
to when at least
one of the cards determining the spread (of exactly two card ranks) or at
least one of the third
and fourth cards (exactly filling the two card ranks in the spread) have a
jackpot bonus
marking on them.
Any side bet and any underlying game technology may be used in combination
with the
gaming system described herein. The control of the special symbols in the
electronic format
may be adjusted and controlled to provide other elements into the outcome
determinations.
For example, rather than providing a simulated 8 decks with exactly 6 or 9 of
the specific
ranked cards (e.g., A, K and Q) virtually marked, the specially marked symbols
may be
randomly assigned to virtual cards, such that (using an 8-deck set as an
example, with 416
virtual cards), the random symbols may be provided to any displayed card at a
frequency of
6/416 times or 9/416 times. When all three of any cards, in any order or
arrangement have
the three special symbols, a bonus payment on the side bet of at least $50.00
may be paid. At
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least $2.00 may be paid for any single specially marked cards. When two such
random
specially marked cards appear, a special bonus of at least $20.00 may be paid.
This again
increases the rate of frequency of winning events and increases the volatility
of the wager.
All pairs and adjacent card ranks (e.g., 2-3, 5-6, 9-10, 9-K [as 10-King are
equal], and all
Blackjacks are dead hands for the side bet as there is no SPREAD.
In Baccarat the same principle exists. If the wager is made on the Banker Hand
(there is no
commission or possible difference in frequency between the Player and Banker
hands in this
wager), the best format is to require that BOTH Player hand cards fall within
the SPREAD
created by the Banker hand cards. There is flexibility in the event outcomes
so that even
higher odds can be paid on non-jackpot events. It is possible to have the
wager allow for
only one of the two opposing hand cards to Wedge within the SPREAD, but this
leads to
much lower payout odds, e.g., no more than 2:1, 3:1 or 4:1 on any event.
Odds for a 2-Card SPREAD win (e.g., Banker Hand having an Ace and 4, and the
player
hand having a 2 and 3) can be 50:1 or higher. Even a 2-10 initial hand can pay
2:1 or 3:1 for
a two card Wedge result. This volatility and high odds are very attractive.
Your Mix-and-Match games can fit into these. An important security aspect,
however, in
your 3-Card Blackjack is that the first two cards must be positioned in a 1st
END position
and a 2nd END position to define the SPREAD. This is because the player cannot
be allowed
to create the SPREAD himself. It destroys the odds.
A 4-Card Baccarat works much better, as the single card is used as the WEDGE
card against
the SPREAD created by the opposed 2-card hand. The side bet would be played
exactly the
same as the Blackjack version.
This invention enables achievement of a previously is the technically
difficult outcome,
developing a large progressive jackpot resolved before play of a game, with
only 3 or 4
playing cards exposed. Probabilities in 3-Card events (two player cards and 1
dealer up-card
or three cards in a player hand), which is why Three-Card Poker(R) games have
a maximum
of 40-1 payout. Even with a positional requirement and same-suited requirement
(e.g., A-Q
of spades in player hand and King of Spades as the dealer up-card), the
frequency is still
about 1/10,000, so the jackpot would average about $10,000 without seeding).
In the 2-card
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Wedge for baccarat, the frequency is still about 1/75,000 which does not
achieve the industry
targeted jackpot levels of at least one million.
CONTROL VARIABLES With Single Suit Only in Progressive Win
There are many event outcome controls that can be used to adjust the House
Advantage.
In Blackjack, it is desirable to have 10-J-Q-K of equal 10-value. They may be
used in poker
style ranks where 10<l<Q<K, but then the odds on the other payouts will
accordingly be
lowered, in some cases significantly. All blackjacks are therefore considered
adjacent cards
and although the player wins the blackjack, the side bet is over. This will
also allow the
tables to continue paying 3:2 on blackjacks, while many are shifting to 6:5.
The odds may be
varied significantly, with payout odds on a single card SPREAD (e.g., 2-4)
allowable
between 8:1 and 15:1, while still offering a house advantage of 17% to 8.5%,
respectively
along with other changes in odds. Suits do not necessarily matter in the wedge
outcomes for
the side bet, except for the single (may have multiple, but that complicates
marking and
reading etc.) specific spread and wedge for the jackpot.
In Baccarat, the 10-J-Q-K are equal zero-value cards, keeping the reading of
the cards the
same. Therefore, again, A-K, A-Q, A-J, A-10 and A-2 combinations are "dead"
hands for the
side bet. It is preferred to require a 2-rank SPREAD as a minimum (e.g., 2-5)
rather than
allowing a 1-rank SPREAD minimum (e.g., 2-4), but both may be used, with the 1-
rank
SPREAD requiring a pair for a winning outcome.
The use of the same three marked cards (e.g., some but less than all of the A-
K-Q or A-2-3)
in the four-card Progressive Jackpot hand keeps the frequency in the 4 million
or 20 million
to 1 range. By changing it to four specially marked bonus cards for 100%
payout, the
frequency can exceed 100 million to 1, which is too infrequent. However, the
payout odds
could be adjusted to
A-K-Q-J with four specially marked cards 100% of the Progressive jackpot
A-K-Q-J with three specially marked cards 30% of the Progressive jackpot
A-K-Q-J with two specially marked cards 15% of the Progressive jackpot
A-K-Q-J with one specially marked card 5-10% of the Progressive jackpot
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This will keep the frequency of Jackpot payouts high enough to show
significant bonus
activity in the game. The odds on the non-Jackpot side bet events can also be
adjusted. The
use of only three indicators can limit numbers of payouts from the jackpot,
with decreased
frequency. The use of more than four (e.g., up to 100) indicators will
increase the number of
payouts with smaller amounts at increased frequencies. Again, without a
continuous shuffler
or electronic random number generation, an electronic panel or manual markers
showing
remaining critical cards should be used.
The partial exhaustion of critical cards will not have as critical an impact
on the desirability
of the Progressive wager for a number of reasons. There are still attractive
partial jackpot
events with fewer specially marked cards, and as long as there are specially
marked bonus
cards, exhaustion of other cards against shifts the richness or probability of
the remaining
specially marked bonus cards higher.
Simplified Variable Gaming Table Structure
It. is often important in industry to provide a more versatile system that is
highly flexible,
easily configured to multiple uses, and simple to construct. This engineering
principle is
emphasized in Figure 5, which shows a perspective exploded view of a gaming
table system
500 including a four-channel secondary random event generator 526 of the
present
technology. Again, four channels are shown to simplify the Figure, whereas 2-
10 channels
9for example) may be provided on a table, and preferably 5-8 player channels
and at most
one dealer channel may be provided. The gaming table system 500 is shown with
a base
support layer 502 and a gaming table top cover layer 504. The base support
layer 502 has an
edge facing 512 that would face the dealer (not shown) and an upper support
surface 508.
The upper support surface 508 carries the secondary random number generator
and any
included circuitry 516 necessary for relaying the secondary random number
generator events.
The circuitry may be supported by a wireless output component or I/O
connection port 526 as
integrated or not into the system 500. The secondary random number generator
and any
included circuitry 516 is shown to be wired to four separate and distinct
individual player
position visual output devices 518a, 518b, 518c and 518d by individual
dedicated wires 517
to form an insertable secondary random event generation component 506 which
includes all
elements of 516, 517, 518a-d and 526 (where used). Where there are fewer or
more player
positions, there would be fewer or more visual output devices such as 518a-d
and possibly a
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dealer visual output device in communication with the secondary random number
generator
and any included circuitry 516.
The table top cover layer 504 is supported by a table structure (e.g., ridges
on a table, not
shown) and provides a gap between the surfaces 510 of the table top cover
layer 504 and the
base support layer 502 which has an edge facing 512 that would face the dealer
(not shown)
and an upper support surface 508. The gap or spacing allows placement of the
(as shown)
elevated secondary random number generator and any included circuitry 516 and
its
associated output component or I/O connection port 526 (if present), and the
(as shown, but
not limiting) four separate and distinct individual player position visual
output devices 518a,
518b, 518c and 518d by individual dedicated wires 517 that form the insertable
secondary
random event generation component 506.The separate and distinct individual
player position
visual output devices 518a, 518b, 518c and 518d are respectively positioned so
as to be
exposed through holes or openings 520a, 520b, 520c and 520d in the table top
cover layer
504. Each separate and individual player position is also shown with a side
bet or jackpot bet
sensing/entering input system as 530a, 530b, 530c and 530d, respectively. An
alternative
construction may include a wireless or wired communication port 524 in linked
communication path 522 to an individual opening (520c is exemplified, but
paths would be to
each separate and distinct individual player position visual output devices
518a, 518b, 518c
and 518d as by a further direct connecting port 528 to each separate and
distinct individual
player position visual output devices 518a, 518b, 518c and 518d. The
communication
links/wires 517 are shown in a parallel arrangement, but as each of the
separate and distinct
individual player position visual output devices 518a, 518b, 518c and 518d
would have its
own identity, the communication link could alternatively be serial or by
wireless
communication.
ADDITIONAL GAMES
DOUBLE-TRIPLE POKERTM GAME
A single hand of 3 cards for poker is dealt. A first mandatory wager is for
standard or slightly
substandard Three-Card Poker game play. Typically, the dealer must qualify
with Q-high
or better. The paytable on the first mandatory wager may pay the typical 40:1
Trips, 30:1
Straight Flush, 5:1 straight, 4:1 flush and 1:1 pairs, or be slightly lower
for the highest hands
such as 30-35:1 and 20-25:1. The top pay outs may be dropped to 35:1 and 25:1
or the like.
An optional or mandatory second wager is also on the three-card poker game
paytable, that
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may be a typically full payout (e.g., 40:1 and 30:1, top payouts), but the
dealer may qualify
with a Jack (or Jack-9) or higher, which strategically gives players a greater
likelihood of
being paid on good hands. The second wager must be at least the amount of the
first wager,
up to 2X, or 3X ¨ 5X the original Mandatory wager. A best 5-card poker hand
out of the six
cards (one player hand and one dealer hand) may also be played. The secondary
random
event generator could be used to alter paytables, allow a player hand to
discard and replace
one or more cards (e.g., only in the best 5 of 6 event) or allow a wild
card(s) to be used, with
random card(s) dealt from the residual cards after all cards have been dealt,
the number of
replacements or wild cards being dependent on results from the secondary
random event
generator (e.g., no cards dealt for a hand with no special random secondary
event; one card
with one special secondary random event; etc.)
BACCARAT SIDE BET ¨ With 6 or 8 Decks
The best is placed and locked-in, then the secondary random light event is
locked in.
SUITED 9-TIE w/3-4-5-6 1000-5000:1
SUITED 9-TIE SAME SUIT 100-300:1
SUITED 8-TIE SAME SUIT 75-200:1
SUITED 9-TIE DIFFERENT SUITS 50-150:1
SUITED 8-TIE DIFFERENT SUITS 30-100:1
9-TIE 20-30:1
8-TIE 10-25:1
Alternate Paytable
SUITED 9-TIE w/3-4-5-6 1000=-5000:1
SUITED 9-TIE SAME SUIT 100-500:1
SUITED 8-TIE SAME SUIT 75-400:1
SUITED 9-TIE DIFFERENT SUITS 75-150:1
SUITED 8-TIE DIFFERENT SUITS 50-125:1
9-TIE 10-30:1
8-TIE 10-25:1
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7-TIE 5-20:1
EXPLANATION OF TERMS - "Tie same suit" both hands have naturals with the same
suit
as the suits for their naturals )e.g. 2-7 spades and 1-8 spades. "Tie
different suits" both hands
have same suited naturals, but the suits for their naturals are different)e.g.
2-7 spades and 1-8
diamonds.
If my secondary random number generator is used with a side bet (1 unit
through the
minimum wager on the mandatory wager), some three card poker hand or 6-card
poker hand
combination with the dealer hand may be used to define a jackpot event. A 5-
card straight
flush (or Royal Flush to up the jackpot) with maximum lights (e.g., 4 lights)
would be 100%
of the progressive jackpot, 3 lights 15%, 2 Lights 5% and one light $500 (or
500 units). If the
Royal Flush is 100%, the a 4-light straight Flush could get 5%. 4-of-a-kind
would pay 50X
the side bet wager, Full House 25X, Flush 4X and Straight 3X.While this
invention is
described in terms of preferred embodiments, there are alterations,
permutations, and
equivalents that fall within the scope of the invention. It should also be
noted that there are
many alternative ways of implementing the present invention. It is therefore
intended that the
invention not be limited to the preferred embodiments described herein, but
instead that the
invention should be interpreted as including all such alterations,
permutations, and
equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
This gaming table system may be networked with other game systems contributing
to a
progressive jackpot, preferably game systems having a probability of a winning
outcome
within +10 percent of the probability of the present system, at least when the
first random
physical playing cards are delivered. Such systems could be purely electronic
table games
(no physical playing cards), electronic gaming machines (e.g., electronic
blackjack on a
networked video gaming machine), multiplayer platform banks of gaming
elements, and on-
line gaming. Such networking and more detailed descriptions of those separate
venues are
described in the related applications data section which references have been
incorporated by
reference, herein.
The gaming system may enable enhancement of wagering outcomes comprising: a) a
gaming
table having a game play surface; b) a first processor; c) a player input
control at a player
position, the player input control in communication with the first processor;
and d) a random
number generator in communication with the first processor; wherein the game
play surface
at the player position has light elements that are at the player position, and
there is a power
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source in communication with the light elements; the first processor being
configured, in
response to random selections of light elements at the player position, to
direct that light
elements on the game play surface are randomly lit or unlit. There may again
also be light
elements in communication with the power source at a dealer card-receiving
position and the
first processor, in response to random selections of the light elements at the
dealer position, is
configured to that the light elements at the dealer position are lit.
The gaming system may have a second processor in communication with the gaming
table
provides a source of random virtual images on the gaming table for delivery of
random
symbols to the player position for use in a wagering event. These second
processors may be
at individual gaming tables or may be a central processor dedicated to one or
more individual
gaming formats as later described herein. In this manner, the light element
enabled wagering
event can be associated with a single gaming event or all gaming events within
a venue. For
example, individual playing card positions in card games can be "lit"
randomly, individual
symbol positions in video slot systems (e.g., 3 X 3, 3 X 5 and 5 X 5 displays)
can be "lit"
randomly, individual numbers in keno or bingo can be "lit" randomly, as well
as random
lights or dedicated lights independent of symbols, at player positions and/or
at gaming tables.
A random number generator can determine frequency of individual lights or
composites of
lights (e.g., by the template method described herein) that can be used to
determine awards or
jackpots. These awards may be independent of side bet wagers (e.g., they may
act as random
awards within a venue at any active player position, contingent upon a player
at that position
having an active, ongoing wager, for example, but without any special side
bet) or may be
dependent upon a side bet wager or a progressive jackpot side bet wager. The
frequency and
contribution, house hold and the like can be determined by the amount of
awards for different
events and the frequency set by the RNG (random number generator. For events
where there
is no wager contribution or even no additional wager (such as in a scatter
award, where the
occurrence of lights or multiple lights or color combinations of light
elements lit at individual
positions can determine the amount of awards), awards can be modest but
attractive, such as
$1.00, $5.00, $10.00, $25.00, $50.00, $100.00 and more. Where there are side
bets required
for participation in the light element-based awards, the amount of the awards
and/or the
frequency of the awards can be increased. Similarly in a progressive side bet
event, the
parameters exercised through the RNG can determine frequency and amounts of
awards, and
house advantages can be controlled easily. This unique system offers controls
over payment
that can be totally independent of wagering events or bet ties to wagering
events and
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outcomes as with the special games discussed herein. The size of the awards
can be tied to
game events to again make the award sizes either larger, smaller, more
frequent or less
frequent, as desired. For example, with any blackjack and one lit player
position light, the
blackjack payout may be in a range from a 2X multiplier up to a portion of a
progressive
jackpot, and with two lights lit at the player position with a blackjack, the
blackjack may be
in a range of from a 5X multiplier up to a 100% progressive jackpot award.
The lights may be used with any bonus or jackpot game as described above, in
place of
specially marked cards, to produce higher average progressive jackpots. Again,
however, by
altering the frequency of the random lighting at player positions, frequency
and size of
winning outcomes can be controlled and adjusted at the designer's choice. For
example,
with an individual lit light frequency of 1/416, an eight deck shoe with a
single set of three
marked cards can be approximated. With a lit light frequency of 1/156, a six
deck shoe with
two sets of three marked cards can be approximated. With 1/78 lit light
frequency, a six deck
shoe with 4 sets of three marked cards is approximated. In poker, bingo, keno,
roulette,
craps and other table games, the frequency of lit lighting can be controlled
by the first
processor to balance frequency of hits and size of awards independent of
underlying game
wagering event outcomes or tying the size and frequency to the underlying
wagering game
event outcomes.
The gaming system may have a second processor in communication with the gaming
table
provides a source of random virtual images on the gaming table for delivery of
random
symbols to the dealer position for use in a wagering event. The gaming system
may have a
source of random virtual symbols is associated with a game processor providing
a first set of
symbols for use in a first wagering format selected from the group consisting
of virtual
playing card wagering events, column and row video virtual slot wagering
events, virtual
roulette wagering events, virtual keno wagering events, virtual dice wagering
events, and
virtual bingo wagering events. The system may also be provided on physical
gaming table
wagering events.
The gaming system may enable and be configured to provide a system with
communication
between the first processor and multiple different wagering events selected
from the group
consisting of virtual playing card wagering events, column and row video
virtual slot
wagering events, virtual roulette wagering events, virtual keno wagering
events, and virtual
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bingo wagering events, virtual dice wagering events, and the first processor
randomly selects
lights to be lit at each of the gaming tables having the multiple different
wagering events.
The gaming system may have each gaming table is configured to perform multiple
ones of
the multiple different wagering events from a single player input terminal at
the each gaming
table.
The gaming system may have each player position have a player input terminal
having a
dedicated input function for wagering an amount into a progressive jackpot and
the first
processor executes software to manage the progressive jackpot by accumulating
at least
portions of the amounts wagered into the progressive jackpot and awarding at
least portions
of the progressive jackpot based upon random lighting of lights at the player
position and/or
the dealer position.
A method of performing a wagering event during a wagering event on a gaming
system as
described herein could include:
a) the player position providing a wager that includes a wager against a
paytable,
outcomes of the wager against the paytable being determined at least in part
by whether
or not a first processor has randomly caused light elements at the player
position to be lit;
b) the first processor making a random determination as to what specific
images/numbers/colors/lights at the card-receiving position are to be
displayed or the
multiple random virtual symbols may be provided by a second processor to
individual
player positions at the game table and the light elements are associated with
individual
symbols as a distinct characterization of the random individual symbols used
in
determining wagering event outcomes.
Again, physical wagering event implements (physical playing cards, reel slots
machines,
keno boards, keno tickets, dice, roulette wheels, physical bingo sheets, etc.)
may be used with
the lighting being distally controlled, or individual cards, tickets, sheets,
displayed on a view
board where the random light element events are separately displayed.
The gaming table technology described herein is extraordinarily flexible with
respect
to provision of gaming content and additional wager/outcome control to the
gaming table
itself. This can be added to any existing game and most gaming tables by
retrofitting the
gaming tables having electronic functionality, even as simple as just the
electronic wagering
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input panels used with physical playing card games. Figure 3 shows a view of a
gaming table
300 useful in the practice of the present technology. There are three player
position input
devices 304 on the gaming table surface 302. Each of the player position input
devices 304
has a side bet wagering input section 306 and adjacent thereto is shown a four-
light element
panel portion 308 useful in the practice of the present invention. Four lights
are shown for
purposes of convenience, although a single light, two lights, three lights or
more lights may
be provided. For purposes of discussion, having four light elements a, b, c
and d is
convenient. An optional lighting box 310 at the dealer or banker position with
lights e and f
is also shown. A first processor 314 is shown to monitor input of side bet
wagers from the
respective side bet wagering input sections 306. The connections from the
first processor to
the the respective side bet wagering input sections 306 is shown as serial,
but the connections
316 may be parallel. A second processor and/or processor with random number
generator
(preferably programmable) and/or random number generator only 312 associated
with and in
communication with the first processor 314 is also shown. These components
operate as
previously described. A source of random physical playing cards 320 is also
shown on the
table. The physical playing cards are delivered from the source 320 according
to the structure
of the table wagering event being performed. The source 320 may be a pre-
shuffled delivery
shoe of one or more sets/decks of playing cards, a batch shuffling machine, a
continuous
shuffling machine or even a printing element that provides randomly printed
playing cards.
The random playing card source 320 might have its own processor therein (e.g.,
as a shuffling
or randomization device or as a card delivering shoe), or may be in
communication with
another processor, such as the gaming table first processor 314 which can
implement and
execute multiple functions. The three player position input devices (more
devices may be
used, but for simplifying the figure, three are shown) 304 on the gaming table
surface 302
may be wagering input panels such as the D.E.Q. Platinum(TM) wagering box, or
simpler
proximity detectors for wagers (where the wagers would be recognized and hand
retrieved by
a dealer), or a drop box wagering device as known in the art where the
individual wagers are
recognized when coins/tokens/chips and the like are dropped through a slot and
collected in
a drop box. Each of Galaxy Gaming, Inc., D.E.Q. Gaming; AGS Inc., and
Scientific Gaming
have game tables with side bet wagering capability, and the present technology
can be easily
retrofit into those tables. All that needs to be minimally done is to add the
light panel
segments 308 and/or dealer position light panel 310 to the existing table and
then provide
lines of communication 318 between the light panel segments 308 310 and a
processor (here
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the second processor 312) with a random number generating function. The RNG
function in
the processor 312 is performed upon recognition of the start of a new round of
a wagering
event, as by recognition of wagers entered through side bet wagering input
section 306 and
preferably also by locking of the side bet wager entries as by locking wagers
through the
dealer position locking input control 322.
The wagering event may be performed as with the gaming system wherein a source
of
random physical playing cards is available for use in an underlying physical
playing card
wagering event to be performed on the gaming table surface. Any physical card
game may
be used, such as blackjack, baccarat, poker variations, casino war, Acey-
Deucey, and the like.
The impact of the random lights may traverse a wide range of direct results on
game
outcomes and/or paytables. For example, in a simplest form, the presence of
random lights at
each player position may be a multiplier for any payout or an adjustment of
the paytables. As
is known, casinos have been reducing awards on blackjacks from the traditional
3/2 to 6/5,
which is not desired by players. With or without a side bet, the random lights
could alter the
payout on blackjack, such as any lights randomly lit return the payout to 3/2,
or one
combination of lights could reduce the payout to 1/1, while other combinations
of lights
would pay 3/2 or even 2/1.
The impact of lights as modifying individual cards or pairs or more of cards
at player and/or
dealer positions has already been thoroughly addressed, but more variations
could be
implemented. One (or more) random light might could allow a discard from a
player
position, or enable a free card to be delivered. The player input control may
include a wager
mechanism for a side bet event accompanying the underlying physical playing
card wagering
event. The input control may communicate wagering input at the player position
to the first
processor and the first processor is configured to maintain an accounting
function on a
progressive jackpot event resolved at least in part by random playing cards
provided to the
player position from the source of random physical playing cards. The gaming
system may
have the input control communicate wagering input at the player position to
the first
processor and the first processor is configured to maintain an accounting
function on a
progressive jackpot event resolved at least in part by light elements on the
game play surface
being randomly lit or unlit.
The EGM gaming system may have the source of random virtual symbols is
associated with a
game processor providing a first set of symbols for use in a first wagering
format selected
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from the group consisting of virtual playing card wagering events, column and
row video
virtual slot wagering events, virtual roulette wagering events, virtual keno
wagering events,
and virtual bingo wagering events. The gaming system may operate where the
source of
random virtual symbols is associated with a game processor providing a first
set of symbols
for use in a first wagering format selected from the group consisting of
virtual playing card
wagering events, column and row video virtual slot wagering events, virtual
roulette
wagering events, virtual keno wagering events, and virtual bingo wagering
events. The
gaming systems may be in communication with the first processor are multiple
different
wagering events selected from the group consisting of virtual playing card
wagering events,
column and row video virtual slot wagering events, virtual roulette wagering
events, virtual
keno wagering events, and virtual bingo wagering events, and the first
processor randomly
selects lights to be lit at each of the gaming tables having the multiple
different wagering
events. Each gaming table may be configured to perform multiple ones of the
multiple
different wagering events from a single player input terminal at the each
gaming table.
The gaming system my have a player input terminal having a dedicated input
function for
wagering an amount into a progressive jackpot and the first processor executes
software to
manage the progressive jackpot by accumulating at least portions of the
amounts wagered
into the progressive jackpot and awarding at least portions of the progressive
jackpot based
upon random lighting of lights at the player position and/or the dealer/banker
position.
A method of performing a wagering event during a wagering event on a gaming
system may
include:
a) the player position providing a wager that includes a wager against a
paytable,
outcomes or odds of the wager against the paytable being determined at least
in part by
whether or not a random number generator/processor has randomly caused a
visual
display element at the player position to appropriately identify a degree of a
secondary
random events be lit;
b) the processor/RNG making a random determination as to what the display at
the card-
receiving position is to be. Multiple random virtual symbols may be provided
by a
second processor to individual player positions at the game table and the
light elements
are associated with individual symbols as a distinct characterization of the
random
individual symbols used in determining wagering event outcomes.
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In practicing this technology, it has been estimated that the novel gaming
table with the
randomly provided lights can provide at least four different generic classes
of game
effects during an underlying wagering event and a nearly infinite number of
variations on
side bets, paytables, frequency of positive events, and wagering event
outcomes. For
example:
Generic classes of game effects:
1) A random event side bet game based on image combinations. 2) A random
alteration of
paytables in an underlying wagering event. 3) A random effect on game content
and game
outcome. 4) A random progressive event component necessary for attaining
partial or
total jackpot awards. 5) Random wild cards or replacement cards. 6) Random
numbers of
wild cards and replacement cards.
2) Random i) virtual symbols, ii) quantities of lights and/or iii) illuminated
symbols are
selected by the random number generator for display at individual player
positions at the
game table and content of i), ii) and/or iii) act as a distinct
characterization of I) outcomes
of the underlying primary random wagering event, II) available extra cards,
III) available
discards and replacements, IV) altered paytables on an underlying wagering
event, V)
altered paytables on a side bet, VI) altered paytables on a progressive
jackpot or VII)
entry into a bonus event on the underlying primary random wagering event. The
secondary random event may be preferably weighted (each or multiple outcomes
having
different probabilities) or not.
Variations on Side bets:
The side bet game based solely on light/image/number illumination frequency
can be
adjusted/designed by programming of the frequency of one or more
lights/displays being
lit to provide payouts based exclusively on whether 1, 2, 3, 4 (or any
specific number
and/or colors) lights are lit.
The random variation on side bet games by alteration of paytables is itself
very broad
in application. As mentioned above, in blackjack, the number of random lights
(and/or
random color lights) can alter the award on blackjack (as between 1:1, 6:5,
3:2; 2;1; 5:1;
10:1 and the like), can be a "defense" against a dealer's blackjack (allowing
a loss of only
1/2 the player's wager or none of the player's wager), allowing a defense
against 1/2 of a
double down wager (if the player hand loses), allowing a player hand a defense
against
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busting with a 22-count (causing it to be a tie), enabling a tie at 21 count
to be a player
win, etc.
In baccarat, the presence of random lights/displays may enable odds paid on
ties to be
higher than 8:1, 9:1 or 10:1, a player may be allowed an extra card (over-
ruling normal
rules) with reduced awards (e.g., 1/2 win available, a surrender available
before or after
dealing to conclusion), suited or number combinations receiving an award
(e.g., two
natural nines or natural eights may be a player win, etc.).
In poker games where Jacks or better are needed for a win, lights may enable
10's Or
better or any other pair to be a winner against a paytable, odds for
particular ranks may
vary (e.g., in combination with two lights, trips may pay 7:2 rather than 3:1,
straights may
pay 5:1 rather than 4:1, etc.).
In a jackpot event, including progressive jackpots, the lights/displays can
determine levels
of award in the jackpot. For example, in addition to the possibility that the
presence of a
predefined number of lights can alter the paytable for a certain rank in an
underlying
event (paytables in Three-card Poker(R) games have been recently reduced, for
example,
where three-of-a-king used to pay 40:1, they now pay 30:1, so that the
presence of a
certain number of random lights can alter the paytable and return it to
previously higher
or yet higher again amounts), the lights may be essential elements in a
progressive
jackpot event such that A-K-Q of a specific suit (for maintaining a highest
level of
average progressive jackpot) or for A-K-Q of any suit will be awarded 5% of
the total
jackpot for a single random light in combination with that A-K-Q suited hand,
two lights
will provide an award of 15% of the progressive jackpot and three (or four)
lights will
award 100% of the progressive jackpot.
One aspect of this technology can be the fact that the use of a gaming table
according to
the present technology enables a distinct event on the table itself (the
provision of random
lights, random numbers of lights, the provision of random numbers and colors
of lights,
etc.) to alter any chosen aspect of the underlying game or side bet events
desired.
It is also to be noted that, even though the location of lights has been
emphasized at the
player positions (independently) and/or the dealer position, a common light
panel may be
provided so that the common light panel is active with respect to every player
that has
made a side bet, or where the effect of the random lights is an underlying
feature of the
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wagering event, the common light panel is active with respect to every player
in the
wagering event.
