Abstract:
A uniquely identifiable playing card includes: a flat material having a first surface and a second, opposite, parallel surface; the first surface having a card designator; and the second surface having a deck identifier.

Description:
RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application claims benefit of priority from U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/154,059, filed Feb. 20, 2009, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates generally to the field of playing cards, and more particularly to uniquely identifiable playing cards. 
         [0003]    A playing card is prepared from heavy paper, thin card, or thin plastic, and used as one of a set for playing card games. Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling. A complete set of cards is called a pack or deck. A deck of cards may be used for playing a great variety of card games such as poker and blackjack. The front side or play side of each card carries markings that distinguish it from the other cards in the deck and determine its use under the rules of the game being played. 
         [0004]    In current decks, the back side of each card is identical for all cards in any particular deck, and usually of a single color or formalized design. The back sides of playing cards do not have unique identifiers. Most backs of playing cards are exactly the same, i.e., Bicycle® brand of playing cards are exactly the same making it impossible for someone to distinguish an additional card being introduced from another deck, potentially creating an unfair advantage to the person introducing the extra card. 
         [0005]    What is needed is a way to uniquely identify a deck of cards by a matching sequence of symbols and/or characters in order to eliminate the possibility of introducing extra cards to a game. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0006]    In one aspect of the present invention, a plurality of playing cards includes: a plurality of playing cards defining a deck, the playing cards comprising a front play side and a back side, wherein the back side comprises a top half and a bottom half, further wherein the top half comprises a plurality of identifiable symbols and the bottom half comprises the plurality of identifiable symbols of the top half that have been rotated 180 degrees, the plurality of identifiable symbols of the cards being unique only to the deck, such that cards from another deck can be easily distinguished. 
         [0007]    In another aspect of the present invention, a card utilizing a deck includes: a flat material having a first surface and a second, opposite, parallel surface; the first surface having a card designator; and the second surface having a deck identifier. 
         [0008]    In yet another aspect of the present invention, a method of associating a card with a deck includes: providing an identifier on the card that uniquely identifies the deck. 
         [0009]    These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0010]    The FIGURE depicts an embodiment of a back side view of a playing card with uniquely identifiable symbols. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0011]    The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplated modes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. The description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims. 
         [0012]    Various inventive features are described below that can each be used independently of one another or in combination with other features. 
         [0013]    Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention generally provides uniquely identifiable playing cards. 
         [0014]    In an embodiment of the present invention, uniquely identifiable playing cards include symbols that are unique to only one deck of cards, which can be distinguished from any other cards from any deck of cards. 
         [0015]    The present invention relates to playing card decks that include unique back sides only for that particular deck of cards, for example cards that are uniquely identified on the back by a one-time used sequence of any 20 symbols and/or characters known to man or newly created, such as ABCs, 123s, Runes, and/or Roman Numerals and everything in between. 
         [0016]    One exemplary embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of playing cards defining a deck. The playing cards may include a front play side and a back side, and the back side may include a top half and a bottom half. The top half of the cards may include a plurality of identifiable symbols and the bottom half may include the same plurality of identifiable symbols as the top half that have been rotated 180 degrees. In such a configuration, the orientation of the cards, whether right-side-up or upside-down, will produce the same view on the back side of the cards. These plurality of identifiable symbols may be unique only to the deck at hand, such that cards from any another deck can be easily distinguished by other players who can see the back sides of the cards while playing. For example, the plurality of identifiable symbols may include 20 symbols on each half of the back sides of the cards, which may be in any combination so long as all of the cards of a particular deck of cards are the same, but different from other decks. 
         [0017]    In an embodiment, a “card” includes (but is not limited to) decks of playing cards, poker chips, other gambling chips, or other mass-produced materials produced in sets that are to be used as gaming tokens. Users will play or gamble based on the card designator (on the front) and want to make sure that there are no counterfeits added, because the deck identifier (on the back) will have an ID that is unique for that deck. 
         [0018]    It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates to exemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.