Abstract:
A game apparatus is disclosed. The game apparatus comprises a rotatable wheel having a display surface divided into fifty-four concentric areas including indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and indicia of two joker playing cards with stopping pegs disposed between each of the indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and the indicia of two joker playing cards. The rotatable wheel is rotatably mountable to a stationary wheel having at least three tangs. The game apparatus also comprises a horizontal playing surface used in conjunction with the rotatable wheel. The horizontal playing surface has a main playing area divided into six columns of nine plots including indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and indicia of two joker playing cards and a plurality of betting areas disposed on at least three borders of the main playing area.

Description:
PRIORITY STATEMENT  
       [0001]     This application claims priority to and is a Continuation of application Ser. No. 10/641,346, entitled “One Card Poker with the Jokers Pokey Wheel” and filed on Aug. 14, 2003. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     The present invention relates to a game apparatus, and more particularly to a game apparatus that utilizes playing card symbols with a rotating wheel. The use of a rotating wheel to play casino-type games (i.e., roulette) is known in the art, as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 1,670,692 to Rosar, U.S. Pat. No. 1,892,664 to Eyles, U.S. Pat. No. 3,941,389 to Guimond, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,363 to Marnell, II et al. However, none of these games combines the use of a rotating wheel with a stationary table to play poker using card indicia.  
         [0003]     U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,378 to Williams (“the &#39;378 patent”) discloses a game apparatus that utilizes a rotatable wheel in combination with a playing table. Both the table and wheel include indicia from the standard fifty-two card playing deck. A single rotatable wheel has fifty-two segments representing the fifty-two cards of the standard playing card deck. The game combines the rotatable wheel with a horizontal play surface, which includes fifty-two spaces arranged in rows according to suit and columns according to denomination. Although the &#39;378 patent, discloses a rotating wheel that can be used in combination with a horizontal playing surface, the arrangement of the card indicia on the wheel and the stationary wheel, and the method of playing the game is too complex to understand for even the skilled poker player.  
         [0004]     What is need in the art is a game apparatus, which utilizes playing card indicia, a rotating wheel, a horizontal game board, and elements of the card game Poker that is easy to understand and play.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0005]     The disclosure is directed toward a game apparatus. The game apparatus comprises a rotatable wheel having a display surface divided into fifty-four concentric areas including indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and indicia of two joker playing cards with stopping pegs disposed between each of the indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and the indicia of two joker playing cards. The rotatable wheel is rotatably mountable to a stationary wheel having at least three tangs. The game apparatus also comprises a horizontal playing surface used in conjunction with the rotatable wheel. The horizontal playing surface has a main playing area divided into six columns of nine plots including indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and indicia of two joker playing cards and a plurality of betting areas disposed on at least three borders of the main playing area.  
         [0006]     The disclosure also discloses that the indicia of the standard playing cards are represented by two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, jack, queen, king and ace each in a suit of hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs.  
         [0007]     The disclosure also discloses that the stationary wheel is mounted to a vertical support and the rotatable wheel is mounted on an axel attached to the stationary wheel. The disclosure also discloses that the stopping pegs physically interact with the at least three tangs to stop a rotation of the rotatable wheel.  
         [0008]     The disclosure also discloses that the indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and the indicia of two joker playing cards are positioned on the rotatable wheel in an order including A♦; 6         ; 5♥; 7         ; K♦; Q         ; J♥; 10         ; 9♦; 8         ; 7♥; 6         ; 5♦; 4         ; Q♦; 2         ; J♦; 9         ; small Joker; J         ; 8♥; 5         ; A♥; 4         ; 7♦; K         ; 8♦; A         ; 10♦; Q         ; 3♦; 9         ; 6♥; K         ; 2♥; 8         ; 4♦; 10         ; 2♦; 3         ; Q♥; big Joker; K♥; 2         ; 4♥; 5         ; 10♥; 3         ; 6♦; A         ; 3♥; 7         ; 9♥; and J         .  
         [0009]     The disclosure also discloses that the game apparatus is configured to be a single apparatus and the game apparatus is configured to be an electronic apparatus.  
         [0010]     The disclosure is also directed to a method of playing a game apparatus. The method comprises placing a betting piece on a horizontal playing surface to make a bet. The horizontal playing surface comprises a main playing area divided into six columns of nine plots including fifty-two standard playing cards and two joker playing cards and a plurality of betting areas disposed on at least three borders of the main playing area. The method also comprises spinning a rotatable wheel about an axel disposed in a stationary wheel having at least three tangs. The rotatable wheel has a display surface divided into fifty-four concentric areas including indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and two joker playing cards corresponding to the indicia of fifty-two standard playing cards and the indicia of the two joker playing cards of the game board. The rotatable wheel has stopping pegs disposed between each of the playing card indicia. The method comprises noting a position of each of the at least three tangs when rotational motion of the rotatable wheel is stopped by the at least three tangs and the stopping pegs. Lastly, the method comprises determining a winner of the bet.  
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES  
       [0011]     Referring now to the figures, wherein like elements are numbered alike:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the rotatable wheel surrounded by the stationary wheel;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a side view of the rotatable wheel and the stationary wheel of  FIG. 1  illustrating the mounting arrangement; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the horizontal game surface.  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION  
       [0015]     Persons of ordinary skill in the art will realize that the following disclosure is illustrative only and not in any way limiting. Other embodiments of the invention will readily suggest themselves to such skilled persons having the benefit of this disclosure.  
         [0016]     The present invention is a game apparatus that can be used to play poker. However, no physical playing cards are dealt to the players. The game apparatus utilizes a rotatable wheel and a horizontal playing surface (or game board) to play poker. The players make bets on the game board and the dealer spins the rotatable wheel. The rotatable wheel has three stopping positions (or tangs) that are utilized to determine the winner of the bets. The various games can be played against the dealer (as in regular poker) or as a roulette type game (a game of chance). Many variations of bets can be placed on the game board utilizing each individual stopping position or a combination of two or all of the stopping positions.  
         [0017]     Referring to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a rotatable wheel  10  is connected to a stationary back wheel  12 . As is seen in  FIG. 2 , the rotatable wheel  10  and the stationary back wheel  12  are mounted on a vertical support  14 . Concentric with an axle  16 , the rotatable wheel  10  has low-friction bearings  18 , which enable it to spin freely on the axle  16  while the stationary back wheel  12  is rigidly secured to the vertical support  14 . A plurality of stopping pegs  20  in the form of rods, pins, and the like, project frontward from the rotatable wheel  10  and intersect a plurality of flexible stopping positions (or tangs) (three tangs  22 ,  24 ,  26  are illustrated in  FIG. 1 ), which eventually stops rotation of the rotatable wheel  10  when rotational inertia of the rotatable wheel  10  is insufficient to bend the tangs  22 ,  24 ,  26  so as to clear the stopping pegs  20 . The three tangs  22 ,  24 ,  26  can be positioned as described in relation to a conventional clock to be at about 12 o&#39;clock, about 9 o&#39;clock and about 6 o&#39;clock, respectively. Accordingly, when a person rotates the rotatable wheel  10  manually, the rotational position of the rotatable wheel  10  with respect to the stationary wheel  12  when the rotatable wheel  10  stops is determined only by chance. When utilizing this apparatus to play the game in which the angular position of the rotatable wheel  10  determines the outcome of the game, players rely on guesses which are registered on the game board  28  of  FIG. 3 .  
         [0018]     Referring again to  FIG. 1 , an exemplary rotatable wheel  10  is illustrated. The rotatable wheel  10  is divided by radii into fifty-four sectors  30 . Within each of the fifty-four sectors  30  are indicia of a standard playing deck of cards (i.e., fifty-two cards)  32  and two joker playing card indicia  34  for a total of fifty-four playing card indicia. The standard playing card indicia  32  include “two (2)”, “three (3)”, “four (4)”, “five (5)”, “six (6)”, “seven (7)”, “eight (8)”, “nine (9)”, “ten (10)”, “jack (J)”, “queen (Q)”, “king (K)” and “ace (A)” in the four suits of hearts (♥), spades (         ), diamonds (♦), and clubs (         ). The division of the rotatable wheel  10  into triangular areas  30  is only for the purposes of illustration, any configuration which includes fifty-four areas represented by the standard deck of playing cards and two joker playing cards is contemplated.  
         [0019]     The positioning of the standard playing card indicia  32  and the joker playing card indicia  34  on the rotatable wheel  10  is purposefully derived. The order of the standard playing card indicia  32  and the joker playing card indicia  34  on the rotatable wheel  10  allows for an equal number of losses and wins between the player and the dealer. The standard playing card indicia  32  and the joker playing card indicia  34  are disposed on the rotatable wheel  10  in the following order: A♦; 6         ; 5♥; 7         ; K♦; Q         ; J♥; 10         ; 9♦; 8         ; 7♥; 6         ; 5♦; 4         ; Q♦; 2         ; J♦; 9         ; small Joker; J         ; 8♥; 5         ; A♥; 4         ; 7♦; K         ; 8♦; A         ; 10♦; Q         ; 3♦; 9         ; 6♥; K         ; 2♥; 8         ; 4♦; 10         ; 2♦; 3         ; Q♥; big Joker; K♥; 2         ; 4♥; 5         ; 10♥; 3         ; 6♦; A         ; 3♥; 7         ; 9♥; and J         .  
         [0020]     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , the horizontal game surface (or game board)  28  is illustrated. The game board  28  includes a main playing area  40  having indicia of a standard playing deck of cards (i.e., fifty-two cards)  36  and two joker playing card indicia  38  for a total of fifty-four cards disposed in six columns (or lines) of nine playing cards. The standard deck of cards indicia  36  include “two”, “three”, “four”, “five”, “six”, “seven”, “eight”, “nine”, “ten”, “jack”, “queen”, “king” and “ace” in the four suits of hearts, spades, diamonds, and clubs. The positioning of the standard playing card indicia  36  and the joker playing card indicia  38  on the game board  28  can correspond to the order presented above, or can be randomly arranged.  
         [0021]     Additionally, the game board  28  has other betting positions  42  disposed on either side of the main playing area  40 . These betting positions  42  can be grouped into three distinct areas card bets  44 ,  44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c ,  44   d ,  44   e ,  44   f ,  44   g , column bets  46 ,  46   a ,  46   b ,  46   c ,  46   d ,  46   e ,  46   f,    46   g ,  46   h ,  46   i ,  46   j ,  46   k , and row and descriptive bets  48 ,  48   a,    48   b,    48   c,    48   d,    48   e,    48   f,    48   g,    48   h,    48   i ,  48   j ,  48   k ,  48   l . The betting positions  42  are described further herein and illustrated in part on  FIG. 3 .  
         [0022]     The game apparatus illustrated in  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3  can be used to play several games, with the preferred game being Poker. The principle of the playing of the game apparatus is based on the worst hand of poker, in which the high card wins. In this game, the highest card is the joker playing card, followed by the ace, then the king, then the queen, etc. The playing of the game is derived from the nine hands of poker: straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pair, one pair, and best card wins.  
         [0023]     The first tang  22  located at the clock position of twelve o&#39;clock of the rotating wheel  10  represents the top card. The second tang  24  located at the clock position of nine o&#39;clock of the rotating wheel  10  represents the dealer&#39;s card. The third tang  26  located at the clock position of six o&#39;clock of the rotating wheel  10  represents the bottom card. Ideally, the dealer (not shown) will be positioned at the side  42  of the main playing area  40  near the rotatable wheel  10  with the players (not shown) surrounding the remaining areas of the game board  28 .  
         [0024]     In general, the playing of the game apparatus occurs as follows. A chip, bill or coin is placed on one of the playing cards  36 ,  38 , or other areas as described above, on the game board  28  to make a bet and the rotatable wheel  10  is spun by the dealer or a player. When the rotatable wheel  10  stops, the dealer determines a winner based on the bets made and the positioning of the tangs (e.g.,  22 ,  24 ,  26 ).  
         [0025]     One embodiment of playing the game apparatus is as follows. The playing card indicia  32 ,  34  that is present at the second tang  24  is used to determine whether the player that bets on a playing card indicia  36 ,  38  on the game board  28  wins bets to the top card (i.e., the playing card indicia  32 ,  34  stopped by the first tang  22 ) or the bottom card (i.e., the playing card indicia  32 ,  34  stopped by the third tang  26 ). For example, if the playing card indicia  32 ,  34  of the second tang  24  is the big Joker, the playing card indicia  32 ,  34  of the first tang  22  is the Ace of diamonds, and the playing card indicia  32 ,  34  of the third tang  26  is the Ace of spades. The possible winners would be:  
         [0026]     1.) a bet on the game board  28  betting position of high pair  44   e;    
         [0027]     2.) a bet on the game board  28  betting position of any pair  44   g;    
         [0028]     3.) a bet on the game board  28  playing card indicia  32  of the Ace of diamonds;  
         [0029]     4.) a bet on the game board  28  betting position of odd top  48   e  and odd bottom  48   i;    
         [0030]     5.) a bet on the game board  28  betting position of red top  48   g;  and  
         [0031]     6.) a bet on the game board  28  betting position of diamonds.  
         [0032]     There following is a representation of the possible bets that can be placed using the game apparatus. Other betting configurations are contemplated. This list is descriptive of the possible bets and is not to be considered limiting. Examples of bets include:  
         [0033]     1.) Board Bet—a bet is placed on one of the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0034]     2.) Split Bet—a bet is placed on the line between two playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0035]     3.) Street Bet—a bet is placed to cover three playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0036]     4.) Square Bet—a bet is placed to cover four playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0037]     5.) Section Bet—a bet is placed to cover a section  48   a ,  48   b ,  48   c,    48   d  of six of the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0038]     6.) Line Bet—a bet is placed to cover a column  46   f,    46   g ,  46   h ,  46   i ,  46   j ,  46   k  of six of the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0039]     7.) Double Line Bet—a bet is placed to cover a two columns  46   a ,  46   b ,  46   c ,  46   d ,  46   e  of six of the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0040]     8.) Long Line Bet—a bet is placed to cover a line of nine of the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0041]     9.) Double Long Line Bet—a bet is placed to cover a two lines of nine of the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0042]     10.) Tri-Bet—a bet is placed on any three lines of six of the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  of the game board  28 ;  
         [0043]     11.) Top Card Against the Dealer Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the top card position (i.e., at tang  22 ) is higher than the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the dealer&#39;s card position (i.e., at tang  24 );  
         [0044]     12.) Bottom Card Against the Dealer Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the bottom card position (i.e., at tang  26 ) is higher than the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the dealer&#39;s card position (i.e., at tang  24 );  
         [0045]     13.) Top Card Even Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the top card position (i.e., at tang  22 ) is an even numbered playing card indicia  36 ,  38  (in the case the Joker appears, the bet stays or can be removed by the player);  
         [0046]     14.) Bottom Card Even Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the bottom card position (i.e., at tang  26 ) is an even numbered playing card indicia  36 ,  38  (in the case the Joker appears, the bet stays or can be removed by the player);  
         [0047]     15.) Top Card Odd Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the top card position (i.e., at tang  22 ) is an odd numbered playing card indicia  36 ,  38  (in the case the Joker appears, the bet stays or can be removed by the player);  
         [0048]     16.) Bottom Card Odd Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the bottom card position (i.e., at tang  26 ) is an odd numbered playing card indicia  36 ,  38  (in the case the Joker appears, the bet stays or can be removed by the player);  
         [0049]     17.) Suit Bet—a bet is placed on one of the suit positions (i.e., hearts, spades, diamonds, clubs) of the game board  28 ;  
         [0050]     18.) Three of a Kind Bet—a bet is placed that three of the same numbered playing card indicia  36  will be stopped by the tangs  22 ,  24 ,  26  (i.e., seven of hearts, seven of diamonds, and seven of spades);  
         [0051]     19.) High Pair Bet—a bet is placed that a pair of high card  44   e  playing card indicia  36  will be stopped by two of the tangs  22 ,  26 ;  
         [0052]     20.) Low Pair Bet—a bet is placed that a pair of low card  44   b  playing card indicia  36  will be stopped by two of the tangs  22 ,  26 ;  
         [0053]     21.) Any Pair Bet—a bet is placed that any pair  44   g  of the playing card indicia  36  will be stopped by the tangs  22 ,  24 ,  26 ;  
         [0054]     22.) Specific Bet—a bet is placed on betting positions as follows 7-7-7, A-A, 2-2, or  7 - 7  ( 44   a ,  44   b ,  44   c ,  44   d ) will be stopped by the tangs  22 ,  24 ,  26 ;  
         [0055]     23.) Color Black Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the top card position (i.e., at tang  22 ) is black (the Big Joker is considered black)  46   h ;  
         [0056]     24.) Color Black Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the bottom card position (i.e., at tang  26 ) is black (the Big Joker is considered black)  48   l;    
         [0057]     25.) Color Red Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the top card position (i.e., at tang  22 ) is red (the Little Joker is considered red)  48   g ; and  
         [0058]     26.) Color Red Bet—a bet is placed that the playing card indicia  36 ,  38  in the bottom card position (i.e., at tang  26 ) is red (the Little Joker is considered red)  48   k.    
         [0059]     Although the present invention is described herein as a game apparatus that is physically two separate playing areas, it is contemplated that the two separate playing areas can be combined into a single stand-alone device. It is also contemplated that the game apparatus can be utilized as an electronic game apparatus having push buttons to place bets and activate the wheel.  
         [0060]     The present invention is a game apparatus that utilizes a rotatable wheel and a game board to play poker. The players make bets on the game board and the dealer spins the rotatable wheel. The advantage of this game apparatus is that one player can play against the dealer at the same time that a player can play the game of chance against the rotatable wheel. The game apparatus is easy to understand and allows lovers of roulette to expand their abilities to include elements of poker.  
         [0061]     While the invention has been described with reference to an exemplary embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the invention not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this invention.