Abstract:
Apparatus for tracking “all-in” bets in a game of poker with a set of markers. The first marker of the set of markers identifies an “all-in” pot a player is playing for. The second marker of the set of markers identifies the player that is playing for the “all-in” pot. There is at least one similar identifier on the first and second markers of the set to indicate that they are related to each other.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    1. Field of the Invention 
         [0002]    The present invention relates generally to card games and more specifically to keeping track of “all-in” bets in a poker game. 
         [0003]    2. Description of Related Art 
         [0004]    Card games have been used as a form of entertainment and gambling throughout history. Of all of them, Poker, Baccarat, and Blackjack are among the most popular means of gambling in casinos. Even though they each follow their own set of rules, they are all based on a standard deck of playing cards. The deck consists of fifty-two cards separated into four suits of clubs, spades, hearts, and diamonds. 
         [0005]    In Poker the game requires that the cards receive ranks, with an Ace having the highest rank and two the lowest. Suits or sets of a kind (spades, hearts, diamonds, and clubs) are equal in value. The player holding the highest hand wins. Some games use Wild Cards such as a Joker or perhaps a two and the player can allocate their value as he/she desires. 
         [0006]    A poker hand consisting of five cards has the following ranking order starting with the highest rank and going to the lowest: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a kind, A Full House, A Flush, A Straight, Three of a kind, Two Pair, Pair, and High Card. Royal Flush is composed of 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace in the same suit. Straight Flush is composed of five cards that are in order and in the same suit. Four of a Kind is composed of four cards of the same rank. A full house is composed of three cards of a kind and a pair such as QQQAA. A flush is composed of cards that are in the same suit. A straight is composed of five cards in numerical order such as 4-5-6-7-8 regardless of their rank. Three of a kind is composed of three cards that are of the same rank and two cards of a different rank. Two pair is composed of two distinct pairs of cards and a fifth card. Pair is composed of two cards of the same rank plus three cards of different ranks. High Card is composed of a hand which is none of the previously mentioned ones. 
         [0007]    In a game of Poker, players each start with a stake, which is the amount of the betting medium which each player has. The betting medium may be something of value, such as cash, coins or chips which represent cash value or it could be any items such as: chips, toothpicks, matchsticks or sugar cubes that have no value and are simply be used to keep track of the bets. 
         [0008]    In a game of Poker, players may be required to put a bet into the pot before the deal. This bet may be in the form of an ante or a blind. If there is a bet (ante and/or blind) all players at the table have to match it. Any player who cannot match the bet would have to put all of his/her remaining stake in the pot and would be All In. The dealer then deals the first round of cards around the table. The number of cards dealt, and whether they are face up or face down depends on the specific game. Once each round of cards has been dealt the players are given the opportunity to: Check, Call, Bet, Raise, All In or Fold. Once all players have acted, there is said to be no more action. If more than one player remains in the hand the next round of cards are dealt. Once all of the cards have been dealt and all of the players have completed the action, the hands are compared and the winner or winners are determined and the pot or pots are awarded. 
         [0009]    Play begins after each player has placed an initial bet, called the ante (if there is an ante), into the pot and or the blind or blinds (if there are blinds) have been placed. The term pot refers to the total accumulation of wagers made during a particular game. The pot can be made up of: the side pots (All Ins) and the working pot (the remaining players pot). There may be a single pot and there can be as many pots are there are players minus one. The amount of money or stake which is used in the game varies and follows the following format. After the each round of cards has been dealt, betting begins. Betting is done in clockwise order starting with the first player to the left of the dealer (or dealer button if there is a non-playing dealer) and each player may have the option to: Check, Call, Bet, Raise, All In or Fold. 
         [0010]    If a player bets, that bet must be matched (called), raised or All In by each player that wants to remain in the game. A raise includes matching the previous bet (calling the bet) and increasing the total bet (raise). A player who does not match a bet (call), raise or go All In (bets his/her remaining stake), drops out of the hand (folds). A round of betting ends when either every player but one has folded, or when the highest bet or raise has been called (or gone all in) by each remaining player. 
         [0011]    All Ins occur when a player wants to call but doesn&#39;t have enough stake to match the current bet or raise or when a player bets all of his/her remaining stake. If only he/she and one other player are playing, no more action is possible then the remaining cards are dealt and the winner is determined. If however there are other players involved in the game, a separate pot is created for each All In and a pot is created (working pot) to hold the bets for the players who are not All In. The game (betting) continues as usual in the working pot. When the hand is over, the player or players with the best hand win the working pot. Then the winner of the working pot compares his/her hand with the player who went All In. The best hand gets the All In pot. If there is more than one All In pot, pots are resolved in the reverse order that they are created—first created resolved last and last created resolved first. When the hand is over if the All In player wins the All In pot he/she remains in the game, otherwise he/she is eliminated from the game. 
         [0012]    All In betting occurs when a player bets all of his or her remaining stake.
       A. All In is less than the current bet or raise.   B. All In is more than the current bet or raise.   C. Creating All In pots.   D. Resolving All In pots.       
 
         [0017]    A. All In is less than the current bet or raise. 
         [0018]    When it is a player&#39;s turn to act and he or she wants to call the current bet, but their total remaining stake is less than the bet, they announce that they are All In and place all of their remaining stake as their bet. Action continues around the table until all players have had the opportunity to act. Once there is no more action on the table, All Ins pots and the new working pot are created. Note: There is not always a working pot, and in games with a non-playing dealer, the dealer will announce, who is in for each pot and that there is or is not a working pot. 
         [0019]    B. All In is more than the current bet or raise. 
         [0020]    When it is a player&#39;s turn to act and he or she wants to bet or raise the current bet and their stake is greater than the current bet or raise they may bet or raise to the maximum of their stake by going All In. This becomes the current bet and all players must at least Call or go All In to stay in the hand. Once there is no more action on the table, All Ins pots and the new working pot are created. 
         [0021]    C. Creating All In pots. 
         [0022]    Once all players have acted the dealer gathers the players bets and creates the pot or pots prior to the next round of play. If there are any players All In a pot must be created for each starting with the smallest All In first. An amount equal to the All bet is taken from each of the players who are still in the hand. This is added to the existing pot. This now becomes the first side pot and is the pot that the first All In player is playing for. An additional side pot is created for each All In player going from the least amount All In to the largest amount All In. Once all of the All In side pots are created if there is still a pot, this is the working pot and all of the remaining players are playing for it and the All In side pots. The first All In player is playing for the first side pot. Each additional All In player is playing for his or her side pot and all of the pots created before his or her side pot. Remaining players in the hand are playing for all of the side pots and the working pot. More than one player may be in for the exact same side pot if they are All In and had the exact amount of stake left when they went All In. 
         [0023]    D. Resolving All In pots. 
         [0024]    All In pots are resolved in the opposite order that they are created. Once the last card has been dealt and all of the players have completed the final betting round, the winner or winners must be determined. If there are two or more players who still have a stake and are in the hand they are playing for the working pot and all of the side pots. They turn up their cards and a winner or winners of the working pot are determined. The winner or winners are awarded the working pot. The player or players in the last created All In side pot now turn up their cards and compare them with the winner or winners of the working pot. The winner or winners are awarded the All In side pot. If there is more than one All In side pot the process continues with each All In side pot from last created to first created until all of the pots have been awarded. 
         [0025]    It is clear from the above detailed description of All In betting, that All In betting can be very difficult to keep track of in a poker game. The prior art solution is to take a stack of chips from each All In pot and tip it toward the player who is in the All In pot. It is up to the players and the dealer to know who is All In and, what pot they are playing for and in what order they went All In. 
         [0026]    What is needed is a method, process and apparatus that clearly indicates to the dealer and all of the players who is All In, what pot they are playing for and in what order they went All In. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0027]    In an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed an apparatus for tracking all in bets in a game of poker with a set of at least a first marker and a second marker. The first marker of the set of markers identifies an all in pot a player is playing for. The second marker of the set of markers identifies the player that is playing for the all in pot. There is at least one similar identifier on the first and second markers of the set to indicate that they are related to each other. 
         [0028]    In another embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a method of tracking all in bets in a game of poker with a set of at least a first marker and a second marker. The first marker of the set of markers identifies an all in pot a player is playing for. The second marker of the set of markers identifies the player that is playing for the all in pot. There is at least one similar identifier on the first and second markers of the set to indicate that they are related to each other. 
         [0029]    In still another embodiment of the present invention, there is disclosed a system of tracking all in bets in a game of poker with a set of at least a first marker and a second marker. The first marker of the set of markers identifies an all in pot a player is playing for. The second marker of the set of markers identifies the player that is playing for the all in pot. There is at least one similar identifier on the first and second markers of the set to indicate that they are related to each other. 
         [0030]    The foregoing has outlined, rather broadly, the preferred feature of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention and that such other structures do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest form. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0031]    Other aspects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claim, and the accompanying drawings in which similar elements are given similar reference numerals. 
           [0032]      FIG. 1  is a top view of a set of pot and player markers that can be used to identify at least one “all in” pot and at least one “all in” player in accordance with the principles of the invention. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
       [0033]    When an “all-in” occurs, the player going “all-in” has bet all of his/her chips. The dealer must now create an “all-in” pot for that player and any other player that may be “all-in” on the same betting round. In accordance with the principles of the invention an “all-in” player with the least amount of chips bet gets a marker with that number on the marker. 
         [0034]    Referring to  FIG. 1  there is shown a top view of a set of pot and player markers that can be used to identify at least one “all-in” pot and at least one “all-in” player. A set of markers  10  that are individual and separate members that can have a shape and size of a chip such as a round disk  12  with a distinctive color such as white, black, red, blue, green, orange, or any color. The disk can also be striped with waving lines, or have vertical, horizontal and/or diagonal stripes or lines of contrasting colors. The lines can be thick or thin, or the disk can display only two colors where each color occupies a portion of the disk where a portion is located in a circle, is pie shaped, and or is a circle within a circle. The shape of the marker can be a disk that has the size and shape of a chip, or it can have a diameter that is smaller or larger than a chip. The marker can be thinner or thicker than a chip. The marker can have a shape that is different than a disk shaped chip such as being square, rectangular, oval or any shape desired. Thus, the marker can have a shape, size and/or color, and any combination of shape, size and/or color. 
         [0035]    The markers  12  shown in  FIG. 1  are shown as being disk shaped for convenience only. A set of markers consists of at least two markers having a common number such as the number “1”,  14  on one or each side of the disk. It is understood that a letter of the alphabet or a distinctive mark of symbol can also be used. As there can be more than one all in player during a hand, there can be a plurality of pairs of markers  12 A,  12 B . . .  12 N where each pair of markers are similar. As there can be more than a single player that is all in during a hand, each set of markers is not limited to two similar markers, but can have at least two of more similar markers such as three or four or more  12 NN up to at least one more than the expected number of players that are in a game. 
         [0036]    During a game, each “all-in” pot will have its own marker. Thus, each player and the dealer need only glance at the “all-in” pot(s) to know which pot is “all-in”. The marker on the pot will have a corresponding marker in front of the player of the “all-in” pot. It is not necessary for the dealer or any of the players to keep track of the “all-in” pots because both the pot and the player will have a marker. 
         [0037]    When an “all-in” occurs, the player that is betting “all-in” has bet all of his/her chips. The dealer must now create an “all-in” pot for that player and any other player that may be “all-in” on the same betting round. The “all-in” player with the least amount of chips gets the “all-in” marker with the number “1”, or the lowest number on the marker, and the stack of chips being played also gets a maker with that number on it. 
         [0038]    “All-in” bets are created starting with the player with the leaser amount of chips first, then the others, one by one. Each stack of chips and player get the next numbered marker. At the end of a hand the winners are resolved in reverse order. If more than one player is all in for the same pot, each player gets a marker with the same number on it, or the next sequential marker is given to the player and the marker is also on the pot to indicate, for example, that the pot with markers “2” and “3” means that the players with markers “2” and “3” are both playing for the same all in pot. 
         [0039]    The identification of “all-in” players and pots which is here disclosed simplifies “all-in” pots and players by making it clear to the players and the dealer who is in for each pot when an “all-in” situation occurs. 
         [0040]    In an embodiment, the markers have identifiers such as numbers on one or both sides. The markers can be the same size, weight and texture as the chips that are being used in the game. A minimum of two markers have similar numbers, and there can be as many numbers as there are players at a table minus one. The dealer keeps the markers when not in use and places them on top of the pot that are all in and in front of the players that are all in for that pot. The dealer retrieves the “all-in” marker as the pots are resolved. 
         [0041]    While there have been shown and described and pointed out the fundamental novel features of the invention as applied to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that various omissions and substitutions and changes of the form and details of the apparatus illustrated and in the operation may be done by those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit of the invention.