Abstract:
A gambling card game played in 3 main stages: initial betting and dealing, bet adjustment, hand checking and payouts, 7-card hands are ranked according to haw many cards of a hand has. Initial betting involves placing two equal bets, Ante and Bonus. Bet adjustment involves confirmation by placing a third (Raise) bet or throwing in. Ant and Raise bets are won if the player&#39;s hand beats the dealer&#39;s hand. The Bonus bet is won if the player&#39;s hand matches one of a set of several-of-a-kind combinations. A jackpot is won if the hand is the highest combination, ie 4-3. A player can place a Progressive bet. If the dealer has a jackpot hand, the jackpot is shared among all players with Progressive bets; otherwise, the Progressive bets are added into the jackpot. Online playing is possible.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates to card games, and more specifically to gambling card games and apparatus for playing them.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     There is a wide variety of gambling card games. In some, all participants are on an essentially equal footing; others are of the casino type in which there is a dealer or “house” which operates the game and against which the players play. The present invention is concerned with the latter type of game (although, of course, it may be agreed that different players can become dealer as the session progresses).  
         [0003]     Different types of games can involve different degrees of complexity and skill. It is desirable for a game to have the right degree of complexity; if it is too complex then many potential players will be put off, whereas if it is too simple, then potential players will soon lose interest. The same applies to skill; if little or no skill is involved (eg simply cutting for the highest card for fixed stakes) then potential players will soon lose interest, whereas if it appears to demand a high level of skill, then many potential players will be put off.  
         [0004]     The object of the present invention is to provide a game which is novel and attractive (ie involves intermediate levels of complexity and skill).  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     According to the invention there is provided a casino-type card game, the main features of which are as follows.  
         [0006]     The game is played in 3 main stages. In the first stage, bets are made by the players and the dealer deals to himself and the players. In the second stage, the players inspect their hands and adjust their bets. In the third stage, the dealer pays out on winning bets. It will be understood that the individual operations or phases in a stage can to a large extent be varied in sequence, and the stages can to some extent overlap.  
         [0007]     The game is preferably played with a standard pack of playing cards, and the hands are preferably 7-card hands with the hands being ranked according to a predetermined rule, which is preferably dependent on how many cards of a kind are in the hand (eg 3 fours, 2 twos, a five, and a four). In the event of matching hands, the rank of the largest group of a kind determines which hand is the higher (eg the hand just mentioned is higher than a hand of 3 threes, 2 Aces, a King, and a Queen). In the event of hands still matching (which can happen if the largest group of a kind is of size 1 or 2), the bets may either be cancelled or be held over for the next hand. The suits of the cards are irrelevant.  
         [0008]     The bets placed in the first stage preferably comprise two bets, for Ante and Bonus, and their adjustment in the second stage preferably consists of confirmation by placing a third, Raise, bet or throwing in (with the loss of the Ante and Bonus stakes). In the third stage, the Ante and Raise bets are won if the player&#39;s hand beats the dealer&#39;s hand, at 1:1 odds, and the Bonus bet is won if the player&#39;s hand matches one of a set of several-of-a-kind combinations, at odds dependent on the combination. Preferably the Ante, Bonus, and Raise bets are all required to be equal, but can be of any desired value (in appropriate units, and between house limits).  
         [0009]     A player also preferably wins a jackpot if their hand is the highest combination, ie 4-3 (4 of a kind and 3 of a kind). The jackpot is preferably initially set at a high value by the dealer.  
         [0010]     Each player can also preferably place a Progressive bet in the first stage, preferably of a fixed amount. If the dealer has a jackpot hand, then the jackpot is shared among all players with Progressive bets; otherwise, the Progressive bets are added into the jackpot.  
         [0011]     The number of players is variable, from one (apart from the dealer) up to the number of player positions on the playing surface. Partnerships between players are not allowed, and each player may play only one hand.  
       DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0012]     A game embodying the invention will now be described in detail, by way of example and with reference to the drawings, in which:  
         [0013]      FIG. 1  shows the playing table;  
         [0014]      FIG. 2  shows a player position in more detail;  
         [0015]      FIG. 3  is a simplified block diagram of computerized apparatus for playing the game; and  
         [0016]      FIG. 4  is a simplified diagram of part of the display of the apparatus. 
     
    
       [0017]     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the game is played at a table or playing surface  10  having a dealer position  11  and six player positions  12  suitably marked, either directly on the table top or on a cloth laid over the table top. The various positions are suitably marked to define various areas discussed below, with the player positions  12  being laid out in an arc around the dealer position  11 . The table is preferably approximately D shaped, with the dealer position at the middle of the vertical line of the D and the player positions spaced around the curve of the D facing the dealer.  
         [0018]     The dealer position comprises a box area  20  onto which the dealer&#39;s hand is dealt. All the player positions  12  are similar, as shown in  FIG. 2 , each comprises three betting areas  31 - 33  for different types of bet—Ante, Progressive, and Bonus bets—together with a box area  30  onto which the cards of the player&#39;s hand are dealt and which receives a Raise bet. The box area  30  may be identified by a name having suitable connotations, giving eg the impression of oriental influence and being neutral or positive, such as “Wan Doy”, which may also be used as the name of the game.  
         [0019]     There are also some information areas. An elongated merit order area  21  is located between the dealer area and the player areas, and each player area  12  includes a jackpot information area  34  and a bonus information area  36 . For the player position, the betting areas  31 - 33  are arranged in an arc above the box area  30  and the information areas  34  and  35  are arranged at the sides of the box area, as shown.  
         [0020]     The merit order area  21  contains a listing of all possible types of hand in order of merit. Specifically, this listing consists of the following:  
       “Hands in Order of Merit” 
     4-3 4-2 3-3 3-2-2 4 2-2-2 3-2 3 2-2 2 No Pair” 
       [heading-0021]     The jackpot areas  34  each contain a brief statement of the jackpot conditions—specifically, the following:  
       “Dealer&#39;s Hand 4-3: All Eligible Players Share Progressive” 
       [heading-0022]     The bonus information areas  35  list the bonus conditions—specifically, the heading  
       “Bonus Payouts”together with a listing consisting of rows 1 to 8 and columns 2 and 3 (Hand type and Bonus odds) of the table given and discussed below.  
       [0023]     The play of the game involves two main factors: obtaining a bonus hand and beating the dealer&#39;s hand. (In addition, there are two jackpot situations.) A hand consists of 7 cards. The ranking of the hands is the same for both the factors just mentioned, and depends on obtaining one or more sets of cards each of which is 2 or more of a kind. Specifically, the ranking is as follows:  
                                             Hand Ranking Table            Rank no   Hand type   Bonus odds                1:   4-3   100:1        2:   4-2    80:1        3:   3-3    50:1        4:   3-2-2    25:1        5:   4    10:1        6:   2-2-2    5:1        7:   3-2    3:1        8:   3    2:1        9:   2-2   nil       10:   2   nil       11:   nil   nil                  
 
 In this table, line 1 indicates a hand of the highest rank, which consists of 4 cards of one kind (eg 4 7&#39;s) and 3 cards of a second kind (eg 3 Queens), and so on down to line 11, which all 7 cards are of different kinds. The suits of the cards are ignored; thus, for example, 5 of diamonds, 5 of hearts, and 5 of spades is taken as exactly equal to, 5 of clubs, 5 of hearts, and 5 of spades. All possible combinations are listed. 
 
         [0025]     The ranking corresponds roughly to the relative probabilities, with line 1 (4 of a kind plus 3 of a kind) being the least likely, though the ranking differs from the probability order near the bottom of the table. The table also lists the bonus odds, which are chosen to be generally well below the probabilities of the various hands, to give the dealer or “house” a suitable edge. (Obviously the precise values of the bonus odds may be varied, depending eg on how much house edge is desired.)  
         [0026]     The number of players is between one and six (six being the maximum number of play positions  12 ). To play the game, each player places equal stakes in their Ante and Bonus boxes, and the dealer deals out 7 cards to each player (including the dealer). The players then each inspect their hands. Each player then decides whether or not to confirm their bets on that hand. If the player decides to confirm, they place their hand in their box area  30  and place a confirmation Raise stake (of the same amount as the stake in the Ante box) on top of their hand (in box area  30 ). The dealer&#39;s hand is then exposed. Each player then claims their winnings if they have a winning hand.  
         [0027]     For Ante and Raise bets, a player wins these bets if their hand beats the dealer&#39;s hand, and the amount they win is the amount they staked in their Ante and Raise areas  30  and  31  (ie the odds for Ante and Raise are events, ie 1:1); otherwise, the player loses. The player&#39;s hand beats the dealer&#39;s hand if the player&#39;s hand has a higher rank (see the Table above) than the dealer&#39;s hand.  
         [0028]     For Bonus bets, a player wins their Bonus bet if their hand is a Bonus hand. The amount they win is determined by the amount of their Bonus bet (ie the amount they placed in their Bonus areas  33 ) and the odds given against the particular combination of their hand. In addition, if the player does not win the Bonus bet but their hand is higher than the dealer&#39;s hand, the Bonus stake is not lost. Instead, it is left on the Bonus area  33  for the next hand.  
         [0029]     If the two hands have equal rank in the table, then the winning hand is the one which has the highest denomination for the largest group of cards of the same kind. Suppose for example that the two hands are both of rank 2 in the Table, ie type 4-2. If the two hands are 7-7-7-7-2-2-3 and 6-6-6-6-A-A-K, the first hand beats the second because the largest group of cards of the same kind is the group of 4 cards and 7 (the denomination of the group of 4 cards in the first hand) is greater than 6 (the corresponding denomination in the second hand).  
         [0030]     For hands of ranks 6, 9, and 10, it is possible for two hands of the same rank to match exactly as far as the denominations of the pair or pairs is concerned. In this stand-off situation, the stakes on the Raise, Ante, and Bonus areas  30 ,  31 , and  33  are left in place as the stakes for the next hand.  
         [0031]     If desired, the denominations of the single cards in the hands can be considered in the event of a match. (This will require appropriate modification of the bonus odds.) However, it will still be possible to have exactly matching hands.  
         [0032]     The rules may be modified so that the Raise, Ante, and/or Bonus stakes can be returned to the player, so that they can leave the table or change their stakes for the next hand, instead of simply being left on the table for the next hand. The return may be either optional (at the choice of the player) or automatic.  
         [0033]     If a player has a Jackpot hand, then they win the Jackpot (in the rare event of more than one player having a Jackpot hand, the jackpot is shared). The “pot” will normally be set by the dealer at the beginning of the playing session to some suitably high value.  
         [0034]     In addition, a player may put a fixed stake on their Progressive area  32 . This will normally be taken by the dealer and added to the jackpot. However, if the dealer&#39;s hand is a jackpot, the jackpot is shared between all players who have Progressive bets. The use of the progressive jackpot feature is optional.  
         [0035]      FIG. 3  shows apparatus for playing the game. There is a plurality of player units  40 - 1  to  40 -n which are coupled via a communication system  41 , such as the Internet, with a game playing system comprising an administration unit  42 , a player register  43 , and a game unit  45 . Each unit  40  is typically a personal computer with a display unit and control means (a keyboard and a mouse).  
         [0036]     When a player logs on to the game playing system, their unit  40  identifies itself to the administration unit. The system holds the details of the players in the register  43 , which contains separate player register units  44 - 1  to  44 -n for all the players, ie for all the members of the system.  
         [0037]     Once the player has been identified, the player is assigned to a game unit  45 . The game unit contains a set of player data units  46 - 1  to  46 - 6 , a dealer unit  47 , a control unit  48 , and a random dealing unit  49 .  
         [0038]     Up to six players can be assigned to the game unit  45 . There can be several such units, as indicated, so that several games can be played at the same time if there are more than 6 members of the system logged on at the same time. The assignment of a player unit  40  to a player data unit  46  may be arbitrary or random, depending on which player data units  46  and game units  45  are free. Each player data unit  46  is loaded from the corresponding player register unit  44  and also contains essentially the same details as the corresponding player unit  40 , and is in communication with the player unit  40  to keep the contents of the player unit and player data unit updated with each other. In addition, the appropriate parts of the contents of the other player data units  46  and the dealer unit  47  are passed to the player unit  40  for display.  
         [0039]     The logic unit  48  of the game unit  45  steps the game unit through the various stages of the play, initiating the dealer actions and awaiting the appropriate responses from the player units  40 . The random dealing unit  49  deals cards essentially randomly to the dealer unit  47  and the player data units  46 . At the end of the hand, the logic unit passes the results of the hand, ie the wins and/or losses, to the player data units  46  to inform the players of their results. The administrative unit  42  also takes those results and updates the player register units  44  accordingly.  
         [0040]     The player units  40  are arranged to show a display which essentially corresponds to the layout shown in  FIG. 1 . To identify the player, the player&#39;s position is highlighted. As play proceeds, so the player selects the various boxes, enters bets in them, and so on, and the results of those actions are displayed. As the cards are dealt, a series of overlapping card symbols is shown in the Raise box  30 , as indicated at  55  in  FIG. 3 . At the option of the player, the cards can be shown in a line  56  below the box  30 , and similarly for the cards dealt to the dealer. At the end of the hand, a message is displayed informing the player of the results of their bets, ie the amounts won or lost.  
         [0041]     In the claims, all references in parentheses to technical features are references within the meaning of EPC Rule 29(7), whether the reference are to individual features within specific figures or to complete figures, and are not to be taken as implying reliance on those features within the meaning of Rule 29(6).