Patent Publication Number: US-6659462-B1

Title: Game and game table

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention is directed to a game and associated game table wherein a card game is first played to determine the play on a following winner wheel game. In the card playing portion of the game, one or more players play against a dealer, and it is the dealer who manages the collection and payoff of bets during the winner wheel portion of the game. 
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many well-known card games include both skill and chance, with the cards falling randomly to each player and the players employing skill to influence the outcome of the game. 
     There are also games which rely totally on chance, such as roulette. The roulette odds are well known because there is a known number of divisions on the wheel, and there is an equal chance of the indicator falling on any one of the divisions. The odds are set so that the house gets a beneficial share of the wagers by providing one or more wheel spaces for which there is no payoff. 
     It is desirable to combine both of these concepts so that successful card playing can positively influence the payoff odds of the wheel. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In order to aid in the understanding of this invention, it can be stated in essentially summary form that it is directed to a game and game table with the game table having provision for a first phase card game and the game table having provision for a second phase wheel game, with the outcome of the first phase card game influencing the second phase of the game. 
     It is, thus, a purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a game and game table which has a mutually integrated card game and wheel game which cooperate with each other to provide an interesting game of skill and chance. 
     It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a first phase card game wherein cards are dealt to the players by a dealer, and the numeric values are added up toward a specified sum total, and when the sum total of any particular player&#39;s hand equals a predetermined value, then all of the players of that hand have a chance to bet on a random wheel spin. 
     It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a game and game table wherein the second phase includes an odds wheel and a winner wheel, with the odds wheel being spun to randomly select odds and a winner wheel which randomly selects the winning space. In this way, each game varies in accordance with random selection of odds. 
     It is a further purpose and advance of this invention to provide a game system wherein a card game which has a skill component is cooperative with a random wheel game. 
     It is another purpose and advantage of this invention to provide a game and game table which provides pleasure for the players and economic benefit for the operator. 
     Other purposes and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following portion of the specification, the claims and the attached drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the game table of this invention. 
     FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the top of the game table showing the second phase bet placement areas. 
     FIG. 4 is an enlarged front view of the winner wheel with the odds wheel superimposed thereon. 
     FIG. 5 is a side view of the winner wheel with the odds wheel superimposed thereon. 
     FIG. 6 is a flow diagram showing the logic and method step of the game of this invention. 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Game table  10  is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The game table  12  has a plurality of outer playing zones of which seven zones  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20 ,  22  and  23  are shown as an example, at which seven players can assemble. The playing zones are substantially flat surfaces at a convenient height so that the players may be seated around the table on chairs or stools. The front of the table, with the playing zones, is convexly curved. At the back of the table there is a recess  24  in which a dealer can be positioned. The game is particularly useful in a casino where the table is provided by the management and a dealer oversees the game. Each of the player areas has two ante areas. The dealer deals one card face-up to each of the players. The phase  1  ante area  26  must have an ante for that player to participate in the first phase of the game. If he also wishes to participate in the second phase of the game, he must ante in the second phase ante area  28  before the first phase begins. 
     Each person who wants to play occupies a space in front of his playing zone and antes up into the designated areas. There are two ante areas in each playing zone. The phase one game ante areas are diamond-shaped and, in zone  12 , the phase one game ante area is designated by numeral  26 . 
     When each person who wants to participate in the next phase one game has anted up, the dealer is ready to play the phase one game. However, before starting the game, anyone who wants to play the phase two portion of the game must ante up in the phase two ante area  28 , which is shown as circular. 
     It is not required that the player ante for the second phase, but if the player does not, he cannot participate in the second phase. Presuming all antes are made, the dealer deals one card face-up to each of the players and one face-down to himself. The dealer then deals a second card face-up to each of the players and to himself. The card stock from which he deals is a conventional 52-card bridge deck. A plurality of decks may be shuffled together to minimize the effects of card counting. In the deck, each of the numbered cards has a value equal to its number; each of the face cards has a value of 10; and each of the aces has a value of either 1 or 11, as chosen by the player. 
     At this stage, the new numerical total of each hand is taken. If the numerical total of any one hand is 13, 14, 15or 16, that is a bonus hand. In counting for this total an ace is always valued one. The payoff to all players having that total will receive a two-to-one payoff on their phase  2  ante. 
     In addition to that payoff, if the first two cards of any one hand total 13, 14, 15 or 16, then the second phase can begin upon completion of the first phase. Without this new numerical opening, the second phase does not open and all second phase antes are forfeited. Whether or not the hand has reached this key total, phase  1  plays to completion with the same rules as a conventional game of “21” including double-down, insurance and the like. 
     The first phase of the game is completed when each of the players, including the dealer, draws as many cards as he desires. The dealer is constrained by house rules and is required to draw when his card count is 13 or less and is prohibited from drawing when his card count is 14 or more. At the completion of dealing, if the dealer&#39;s total is over  21 , all players who have a count under 22 are winners and are paid off on a one-to-one basis. All players whose cards total more than 21 lose their ante, and all players whose card total is less than the dealer&#39;s lose their ante. Ties go to the dealer. All players who have a total in card count higher than the dealer and less than 22 receive a one-to-one payoff. If a total count of 21 is achieved by a player by a face card or 10 plus an Ace, the pay-off is one and one half to one. If the dealer achieves the same hand as the player, this player does not loose, but all others loose. This concludes the first phase of the game. 
     As previously stated, there is an ante area in each of the playing zones for the second phase portion or winner&#39;s wheel portion of the game. The phase  2  ante area for the playing zone  12  is indicated at  28 . As seen in FIG. 2, there is an ante area for the phase  2  game in each of the playing zones. At the beginning of the game, if the player wishes to play the phase  2  portion of the game, he must also originally ante up into that circle. 
     At this stage of the game—transitioning from the first phase to the second phase—the player&#39;s ante from that square is changed into color chips which identify players on the player betting section  36 . The players bet with the ante chip and/or chips from the player&#39;s stock. The bets are placed on the betting section  36  in front of the dealer. This betting section is seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 and is seen in more detail in FIG.  3 . 
     In the second phase of the game, the winner wheel  38  and the odds wheel  40  are utilized. These wheels are both mounted on the table and may be mounted with a common axis, as shown in FIGS. 1,  2  and  3 . The wheels are positioned so that they can be seen by both the players and the dealer. The wheels are preferably positioned with a wheel rotational axis from horizontal to 45 degrees above horizontal. The two wheels function separately even though they are spun at the same time and, thus, may be separately mounted. Each of the wheels has a plurality of segments, and the segments are separated by stop pins  42  and  44  on the winner wheel and odds wheel, respectively. There is a stop pin at the separation of each of the wheel segments. 
     Cooperating with the stop pins are flipper fingers  46  and  48 , which resiliently extend into the circumferential path of the stop pins so that they are each deflected by the passage of the stop pins. The flipper fingers thus unambiguously indicate a particular segment when the wheels are stopped. 
     In the present example, the winner wheel  38  has twenty-eight spaces, which correspond to the twenty-six letters of the alphabet plus two bankrupt spaces or “house wins.” This is the preferred number for this game, but a different total number and a different set of indicia can be employed if other odds are preferred. The betting section  36  has three rows  50 ,  52  and  54  of betting spaces and six columns of betting spaces  56 ,  58 ,  60 ,  62 ,  64 ,  66 ,  68  and  79  to define twenty-four of the alphabetically numbered spaces and two additional betting spaces  72  and  74  for the balance of the letters. Each of the rows has a betting space at each end which pays off if any of the letters in that row are randomly selected; for example, row betting space  76 . This space wins if any one of the numbers in row  50  win. There are similar betting spaces for the rows  52  and  54 . The left three columns, the right three columns and the center two columns have combined betting spaces therebelow. Betting space  78  is an example of a space that can be bet and which will win if any one of the numbers in columns  56 ,  58  and  60  is a winner. These spaces indicate a win if any of the letters in those particular columns are selected. 
     Each individual player who is still in the game, having played and won the first phase and anted up for the second phase takes his bet from the second phase ante area  34  and places it on a selected betting square on the betting section  36 . He may select an individual space or may select particular rows or groups of columns, as previously described As is common in roulette, two different colors can be employed on the spaces in the winner&#39;s wheel  38  (except for the house segment), and the player may bet on a color. The winner wheel has the same number of segments as the betting section  36  has individual betting spaces. When the bets are placed, the dealer spins both the winner wheel  38  and the odds wheel  40 . When the winner wheel  38  stops, either a selected letter or the house space is randomly selected. When the odds wheel  40  stops, the payoff odds ratio is selected. The spaces of the odds wheel are indicated with the odds 1×, 2×, 4×and 6×, where × means multiply the odds indicated on the table by this number. 
     These playing steps are visually shown in the flow chart of FIG.  6 . 
     In the preferred embodiment, there may be four 1×spaces, two 2× spaces, two 4× spaces and one 6× space. These odds wheel numbers show the payoff multiplier. Other multipliers such as 3× and/or 5× may be added to the wheel with suitable odds adjustments in other parts of the game. Each of the individual betting spaces, each row and each set of columns is indicated with the normal 1× odds so that the odds wheel shows multiplication of the basic odds. 
     This invention has been described in its presently preferred embodiment, and it is clear that it is susceptible to numerous modifications, modes and embodiments within the ability of those skilled in the art and without the exercise of the inventive faculty. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is defined by the scope of the following claims.