Abstract:
An amusement system and method for playing a table-based dice game utilizing playing cards to determine the final outcome of rolled dice. The system includes a pair of dice, and each die includes six faces bearing a visual representation of a number from one through six. The system also includes a set of playing cards, each of the playing cards including indicia indicative of a number from one through six, and a playing surface upon which the dice may be rolled and upon which bets may be laid by physical placement of wagers. The playing surface also includes a roll determination area for determining, after the two dice are rolled, one of eleven different numbers based upon an arrangement of the playing cards in the roll determination area.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The present invention relates generally to games of chance, and more particularly to tabletop games of chance with randomness introduced by the play of cards or the throw of dice.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     There are several games that have the outcome of play determined by the roll of one or more die. In accordance with traditional craps rules for example, the play is governed directly by the roll of two standard six-sided dice. Specifically, a player initially makes a “Pass Line” wager on the first roll of the dice and winning Pass Line wagers are paid even money (one-to-one odds on the amount of the wager). On the first roll, three possibilities are present: a roll of 7 or 11 is a winning roll; a roll of 2, 3 or 12 is a losing roll; and a roll of any other number establishes a point to be made. If a point is made, the player continues to roll until either the point is rolled and the player wins their Pass Line wager or a 7 is rolled and the player loses his Pass Line wager.  
         [0003]     After a point is established, a player may make another wager such as taking odds on the point. When the player places an “Odds Bet,” the player is betting that the point number will be rolled before a 7 is rolled. In conventional craps, the Odds Bets do not pay even money. For example, if the point is a 6 or an 8, the Odds Bets pay 6-to-5 odds based on the amount wagered on the Odds Bet. If the point is a 5 or a 9, the Odds Bets pay 3-to-2 odds based on the amount wagered on the Odds Bet. If the point is a 4 or a 10, the Odds Bets pay 2-to-1 odds based on the amount wagered on the Odds Bet.  
         [0004]     The player may also make a “Come Bet,” which is treated like the initial roll to determine winning rolls, losing rolls or rolls that establish another point to be made. Odds Bets may also be made in relation to these Come Bet wagers.  
         [0005]     While the normal rolling of the dice is occurring, many other wagers can be made. Typical of these bets are “Place Bets” and the “Hard Ways Bets.” These bets stay in action until an event occurs or the player takes the bet down.  
         [0006]     Other bets are only in action for one roll. Typical of these bets are “Field Bets.” The determination of winning or losing on these bets is made on the next roll only. Traditionally, Field Bets include seven numbers out of the possible eleven numbers that can be rolled with a pair of dice. Field Bets usually are bets that the numbers 2, 3, 4, 9, 10 11 and 12 will be rolled on that roll of the dice. For a complete description of Craps, reference is made to Scarne&#39;s New Complete Guide to Gambling, pages 259-336, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. See also, Scarne on Dice, pages 64-65 for a discussion on how to figure the odds at Craps, pages 98-99 for an explanation of field bets and page 461 for a definition of a field bet, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0007]     The present invention pertains to a method of playing a table-top game with a playing card determinative outcome. The method includes providing a playing surface with six card positions, and providing two dice, each including six faces, each with indicia of one of the six card positions so as to identify at least one of the six card positions when rolled. The method also includes shuffling a collection of playing cards, each of the playing cards including a respective card value; placing each of six of the collection of playing cards upon a corresponding one of the six card positions; identifying, after the two dice are rolled, at least one of the six of the collection of playing cards based upon the at least one of the six card positions identified by the two rolled dice; calculating a roll outcome from at least one of the card values of the at least one of the six of the collection of playing cards; and playing the table-top game using the roll outcome.  
         [0008]     In one aspect the present invention relates to an amusement system including a pair of dice, each die including six faces, each of the six faces of each die bearing a visual representation of a number from one through six, and a plurality of playing cards, each of the playing cards including indicia thereon indicative of a number from one through six. Additionally the system includes a playing surface upon which the dice may be rolled and upon which bets may be laid by physical placement of wagers includes a roll determination area including means for determining, after the pair of dice are rolled upon the playing surface, one of eleven different numbers based upon an arrangement of the plurality of playing cards in the roll determination area. The playing surface also includes indicia representing a plurality of wager areas, the plurality of wager areas defining areas for betting upon the one of eleven different numbers prior to the pair of dice being rolled.  
         [0009]     In another aspect, the present invention pertains to an entertainment system comprising a collection of playing cards, each of the playing cards including one of a plurality of numerical values, and a playing surface including a plurality of wager areas and six card positions, each card position including an area for placing a corresponding one of six of the collection of playing cards thereon. Each wager area includes an area for wagering that a particular one of numbers two through twelve will be determined from at least one of the plurality of numerical values of at least one of the six of the collection of playing cards. The system includes two dice, each die including six faces, and each face of each die includes indicia of one of the six card positions such that when the two dice are rolled, the at least one of the six of the collection of playing cards is identifiable.  
         [0010]     In yet another aspect, the present invention relates to an entertainment apparatus upon which a pair of dice may be rolled and upon which bets may be laid by physical placement of wagers. The apparatus includes a roll determination area including a plurality of card positions for placement of a plurality of playing cards, wherein each of the plurality of playing cards is associated with a corresponding one of each face of each of the pair of dice when each of the playing cards is disposed upon a corresponding one of the plurality of card positions; and a plurality of wager areas for receiving wagers, the wagers betting on an outcome determined by numerical indicia on at least one of the plurality of playing cards, the at least one of the plurality of playing cards being identifiable based upon a card position identified by the pair of dice after the pair of dice are rolled. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0011]     For a better understanding of the nature of the features of the invention, reference should be made to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:  
         [0012]      FIG. 1  provides a top view of a gaming table in accordance with one embodiment of a playing card determinative entertainment system of the present invention;  
         [0013]      FIG. 2  is a flow chart depicting steps carried out during play in accordance with an embodiment of the inventive entertainment system; and  
         [0014]      FIG. 3  is a schematic representation of a potential distribution of playing cards on card positions of the gaming table of  FIG. 1 .  
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0015]     The present invention according to several embodiments is a system and method for playing a traditional dice game with outcomes being determined by values taken from playing cards instead of dice. In some embodiments, individual playing cards are randomly associated with each face of a die, and when the die is rolled, the numeral value on a face of the associated playing card determines the final outcome of the roll.  
         [0016]     Referring to  FIG. 1  for example, shown is a Craps table  10  including a playing surface  16  circumscribed at least in part by a sidewall  14  in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The playing surface  16  is provided with a lay-out  18  in the form of indicia indicative of the play of Craps. The playing surface  16 , may for example, be a felt material having the indicia of the lay-out  18  imprinted thereon. As shown, the lay-out  18  includes indicia indicative of a pass line bet area  20 , a don&#39;t pass bet area  22 , a proposition bet area  24 , a come bet area  26 , a don&#39;t come bet area  28  and a point number area  30  (a plurality of squares each having a corresponding one of the numbers 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10 imprinted thereon).  
         [0017]     Also shown is a roll determination area  32 , which includes six card positions that are arranged sequentially and numbered one through six for reference. In the present embodiment, each of the six card positions is associated with a corresponding one of six faces of a die. Specifically, the first card position is associated with a face of a die that has indicia of the number one, the second card position is associated with a face of the die that has indicia of the number two, and the third through six card positions are similarly associated with faces of the die with respective indicia of the numbers from three to six. In this way, when a playing card is placed on one of the card positions, it is also associated with one of the faces of a die. As shown in  FIG. 1 , indicia  34  of each face of a die may be imprinted on the playing surface  16  next to each corresponding card position so that players may immediately associate each face of each die with each card position.  
         [0018]     According to the exemplary embodiments described further herein, before a player rolls the dice, one playing card is placed on each of the card positions so as to associate each of six playing cards with a corresponding one of six faces of a die. In this way, when the two dice are rolled, the face of each die immediately identifies a playing card and the value of the identified paying card(s) is used to play the Craps game in the same way as the values of the rolled dice are used to play an ordinary game of Craps.  
         [0019]     Advantageously, after the dice are rolled and players are paid and/or wagers collected, the six playing cards may be quickly removed from the card positions, shuffled and placed again on the card positions without disrupting the flow and emotion that is associated with Craps play. As a consequence, the present invention according to several embodiments may be easily implemented by gaming establishments and readily adopted by players accustomed to the play of ordinary Craps.  
         [0020]     Referring next to  FIG. 2 , shown is a flowchart, which depicts exemplary steps carried out in practicing an embodiment of the inventive playing card determinative game with the Craps table of  FIG. 1 . In the exemplary embodiment, a host casino provides the Craps table  10  including the roll determination area  32 , which includes the six card positions and six corresponding die indicia (Step  202 ).  
         [0021]     Before play, a collection of playing cards, each having indicia of a numerical value imprinted thereon, is shuffled (Step  204 ). In the exemplary embodiment, the collection of playing cards includes six playing cards, each with indicia of the values 1 through 6 inclusive (e.g., Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6).  
         [0022]     After the collection of playing cards is shuffled, each of the six cards is placed upon a corresponding one of the six card positions in the roll determination area  32  (Step  206 ). Referring briefly to  FIG. 3  for example, shown are six cards that have been randomly placed upon the six card positions. Specifically, a “4” is in the first card position  302 , a “2” is in the second card position  304 , a “3” is in the third card position  306 , an “Ace” is in the fourth card position  308 , a “6” is in the fifth card position  310  and a “5” is in the sixth card position  312 .  
         [0023]     Although  FIG. 3  depicts one possible order of playing cards on the card positions, in the exemplary embodiment, after every roll, the playing cards are shuffled, so that the particular playing card placed at each card position is substantially random.  
         [0024]     After the cards are shuffled and placed in the card positions (Steps  204 ,  206 ), a player rolls a pair of dice (Step  208 ), and based upon the roll of the dice, at least one of the six cards are identified (Step  210 ). In the exemplary embodiment, the numerical value of each rolled dice is matched with the associated card position and the cards on the playing position are identified. In the event the value of the two rolled dice are the same, then only the one card on the card position associated with the rolled value is identified.  
         [0025]     Once the playing card(s) that are associated with the roll of the dice are identified, the numerical values of each playing card are used in the play of Craps (Step  212 ). Referring again to  FIG. 3  for example, if a player rolls a “1” with one die and a “6” with the other die, the “4” playing card in the first card position  302  and the “5” playing card in the sixth card position are identified. In this example, the game proceeds with the final outcome of the “roll” being a “9” as determined by the sum of the numerical values of the identified playing cards.  
         [0026]     Referring again to  FIG. 3 , as another example, if a player rolls a “6” with each die, then the value of the playing card in the sixth position  312  (i.e., “5”) is identified and used as the final outcome for both die. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the numerical value of the playing card in the sixth position  312  (i.e., “5”) is multiplied by two to provide a final outcome of “10.” 
         [0027]     As shown, the six cards in the present embodiment are placed face up so players know what needs to be rolled in order to have a final determination in their favor. For example, if the players desire a seven as an outcome, the players will know after the cards are shuffled (but before the dice are rolled) that if a “1” and a “3” are rolled, then the “4” and “3” cards in the first and third card positions will add up to provide the desired outcome. In this way, the players still have an emotional connectivity with the dice even though the cards determine the final outcome for purposes of Craps play.  
         [0028]     Although the invention herein disclosed has been described by means of specific embodiments and applications thereof, numerous modifications and variations could be made thereto by those skilled in the art without departing from the principles of the invention.  
         [0029]     For example,  FIG. 3  depicts each of the card positions being in close proximity to six separate die indicia  320  (e.g., numerical markings), and each of the die indicia corresponds to one face of each die, but this is certainly not required. For example, if the card positions are simply identified sequentially with numbers one through six and ordinary dice (i.e., having six faces with corresponding numerical markings indicative of the numbers one through six) are used, then the die indicia  320  are not needed next to the card positions to associate the card positions with the corresponding faces of each die.