Patent Publication Number: US-2009230626-A1

Title: Card game

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/997,006, filed Sep. 28, 2007; U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/001,338, filed Nov. 1, 2007, U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/063,294, filed Feb. 2, 2008; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/222,937, filed Aug. 20, 2008. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     Many games have been developed using a standard deck of cards. The standard deck of cards has four suits, with each suit having 13 cards numbered 2-10 and having a Jack, Queen, King and Ace. In addition to the standard deck of cards, there is the Pinochle deck of cards, which has two sets of 9 through ace of all four suits. 
     Many card games include betting, where the player plays against the dealer, other players, or simply based on the cards that are dealt to that player. 
     Casinos, popular throughout the world, provide a venue allowing players to bet on the many variations of card games. Players believe that with their skill and luck they can win money from the casinos. A card game must appear interesting to the player and give the impression that the player has the opportunity to win more money than is lost during wagering. 
     It is an object of the invention to provide a card game upon which wagers are placed. 
     It is another object of the invention to provide a card game which is interesting to the players. 
     It is yet another object of the invention to provide a card game wherein the player wins or loses based on cards dealt to the player, not depending on a dealer or other player&#39;s cards. 
     It is still another object of the invention to provide a game which may be played with either a standard deck of cards or a Pinochle deck of cards. These and other objects of the invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reviewing the disclosure of the invention. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     In the first embodiment, the card game is played with up to six or 7 players but the amount can be changed based on the number of decks used. The cards are dealt to the players face up. A player wins when the dealt card matches or suits the previous card the player received. Bets are paid according to a pay-out table and a player may win a wager from having both a pair and two cards of one suit. 
     Another embodiment describes a game card in which dealt cards can also be used to match a suit or a card face such as a nine or King. This embodiment also offers the card player a choice of a Regular Payout Table or a Grand Slam Payout Table. Furthermore, this embodiment allows the player an option winning based upon the type of poker hand the player receives. 
     Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein as set forth by way of illustration and example as an embodiment of the present invention. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING 
         FIG. 1  is a drawing showing a typical table layout for playing the card game of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
     The game is best described by detailing tne sequence of events in a typical hand. In a first version, the game is played with a deck of Pinochle cards. Preferably, two decks of Pinochle cards are used and the nines may be removed. The player wins when the dealt card creates a pair or matches the suit of the previous card dealt to that player. The dealer does not play a hand and all cards are dealt face up. 
     Play begins with players placing down chips for ante or placing chips down for the grand slam bet, which is the chips for ante in an amount equal to or double the ante for each of the first, second, third and fourth bets in advance. The grand slam bet requires that the player win each of the four bets and is not paid out until after the player has won all four bets. If the player loses either of the first, second, third or fourth bet, the player loses the grand slam bet, the dealer removes that player&#39;s cards and the chips placed down by that player. If the player is not playing the grand slam bet, and that player is dealt a card which pairs or suits the previous card, the player wins that bet and the dealer pays as the bet is won. The player can also place a bet on the Ace of Hearts bonus bet, which pays the player for receiving the Ace of Hearts on a particular bet. 
     After each player has decided whether to bet ante only or the grand slam bet, each player is dealt a first card, face up. The player can fold after the first card. After the first card, the players remaining must place down a first bet, such as chips equal to or double the amount of the ante. The dealer then deals the second card to each player, face up. If a player matches or suits the first card, the player has won and receives a pay out. If the player fails to match or suit the previous card, that player has lost and that player&#39;s cards and chips are removed. A winning player has the option to quit play or continue play. If the play is continued, the player must set down another bet, such as the ante plus the amount of chips equal to or double the amount of the ante. 
     After the second bets have been placed, the dealer deals the third card, again face up. As before, players receiving the third card matching or suiting the second card receive a pay out whereas players that do not match or suit the second card have lost, having the cards and chips removed from the table. This process continues, with winning players deciding whether to continue or quit with the dealer dealing fourth and fifth cards with the winning players always having the option to quit or continue to play and, if continuing, placing a bet before receiving the next card. 
     To alter the odds of winning, the nines can be added to the deck. Nine or all 16 of the cards can be added and, in still another option, players may be paid for suiting the nines, but not pairing the nines. Players who pair the nines have lost the bet. An alternative is that any player receiving a nine loses. Obviously, this tilts the odds in favor of the house and away from the player. 
     A second embodiment of the game uses a standard deck of cards, but again provides pay outs to the player for pairing or matching the dealt card with the previous card of the player. At the beginning of the game, the player can chose to bet on receiving 3, 4 or 5 of a kind. Explaining, by way of example, assume there are seven players, and players 1-5 place down ante only, player 6 bets for the three play bet and player 7 places a bet for the four play bet. The dealer then deals each player a card and the players receive as follows:
     Player 1 receives the Ace of Spades,   Player 2 receives the nine of Clubs,   Player 3 receives the King of Diamonds,   Player 4 receives the six of Hearts,   Player 5 receives the eight of Spades,   Player 6 receives the seven of Clubs, and   Player 7 receives the six of Diamonds.   

     Players can chose whether to continue to play or fold after the first card. If continuing, each player places down a second bet, except for players 6 and 7, which have placed down chips for the three or four plays, respectively, and will not know whether they have won the bet until the third or fourth card. The dealer then deals a second card, face up, with each player receiving the following:
     Player 1 receives the Ace of Clubs,   Player 2 receives the nine of Spades,   Player 3 receives the two of Hearts,   Player 4 receives the two of Diamonds,   Player 5 receives the two of Spades,   Player 6 receives the three of Clubs, and   Player 7 receives the King of Diamonds.   

     Players 3 and 4 have lost, as they neither suited nor paired their first two cards. Players 6 and 7 have suited their Clubs and Diamonds, respectively, but must win all three or four plays to receive a pay out. Player 1 receives a pay out for pairing the Aces and player 2 receives a pay out for pairing the nines. Player 5 receives a pay out for suiting the Spades. The pay out for suiting the first two cards may be different than for pairing the first two cards. Likewise, the pay outs may differ for pairing the numbered cards, face cards or Aces, with each receiving a different amount of pay out. Players 1, 2 and 5 receive pay outs for the winning and these players have the option whether to continue or to quit. Assuming all players continue, the dealer deals a third card to each player, face up, as follows:
     Player 1 receives the 10 of Clubs,   Player 2 receives the 9 of Spades,   Player 5 receives the 8 of Spades,   Player 6 receives the Jack of Clubs, and   Player 7 receives the Jack of Diamonds.   

     All players are winners, but, again, players 6 and 7 have won the second play, but must win all three or four, respectively, to receive a pay out. Player 1 receives a pay out for suiting the Clubs, now having the Ace of Clubs and the ten of Clubs, as the second and third card. Player 2 receives a pay out for having three of a kind, receiving three nines, and also receives a pay out for suiting the two nine of Spades. Player 5 receives a pay out for suiting his three cards, all Spades, and having a pair of eights, his first and third card. 
     Players 6 and 7 must still receive additional cards before determining whether they have won. Assuming players 1, 2 and 5 continue by placing down additional bets, the dealer gives each player a fourth card as follows:
     Player 1 receives the Jack of Clubs,   Player 2 receives the eight of Hearts,   Player 5 receives the three of Diamonds,   Player 6 receives the Queen of Clubs, and   Player 7 receives the three of Spades.   

     Player 1 wins for suiting the Jack of Clubs with the previous 10 of Clubs. Player 6 now wins the three play for winning three consecutive bets by suiting the first four cards. Player 7 has now lost, as the fourth card is a Spade and the previous three were Diamonds. Player 7 would have had to receive a fourth card and a fifth card that were Diamonds in order to receive a pay out. Players 2, 5 and 7, having lost, are done for this particular round, and player 6, having won the three play bet is also done. Therefore, only player 1 has the option of continuing. Assuming the player elects to continue and places a bet, a fifth card is dealt to the player. Assuming the player receives the Jack of Diamonds, the player wins for pairing the Jack of Diamonds with the previous Jack of Clubs. 
     The amount wagered, the timing and amount of bets, the pay out for each winning bet, and whether pay outs for pairs are varied depending on whether the card is a number card, a face card or Ace, can be altered as desired by the organizer of the game. Also, a player, having advanced by pairing or suiting the first two cards, may be allowed to continue by pairing or suiting each subsequent card with only the immediate preceding card or any preceding card. 
     Yet another embodiment of the present invention will be described with respect to the game table  10  illustrated in  FIG. 1 . This new game is played with two decks of Pinochle playing cards with all of the nines in the decks removed, thereby resulting in a total of 80 cards. Therefore, there are four of every type of card, such as four ten of Clubs and four Ace of Diamonds. Based upon the number of cards utilized in each game, it has been determined that the game plays particularly well if there is a maximum of six players. These six players are denoted in the table  10  by positions  12 ,  14 ,  16 ,  18 ,  20  and  22 . Of course, less than six players can participate in the game at any time. Similar to the previously described embodiments, the dealer would not play and would act to deal the cards as well as to pay out winning bets as will be explained as well as to take the chips of the losing bets. 
     Similar to the previously described embodiments, all of the cards will be dealt face up and stacked to show the suit and value of each card. Each of the players would receive a maximum of five cards. Once five cards are dealt to any player, the dealer will begin dealing community cards in the position shown at  34 . The first community card dealt will become each players&#39; sixth card. As shown on the table  10 , a maximum of five community cards will be dealt. 
     Each of the players will be provided with an ante position at  24 , a poker bonus position  26  and a grand slam bonus bet position  28 . The grand slam bonus bet contains four additional bet positions  30 . All these betting positions are illustrated with respect to the player at position  22 . However, it can be appreciated that each of the players in the game is provided with all of these betting positions and options. 
     Initially, each player would choose to play the game based upon a regular payout table or a grand bonus bet payout table as shown by  36 . If the regular bet table is chosen, the player would place an ante amount in position  24 . The ante will always be paid 1 to 1, and the winning bet would be paid according to the regular payout table based upon the number of winning bets that the player has won. The player playing the regular bet table would always have the option of continuing to play by receiving an additional card at every turn, or declining to continue to play. As shown in the regular payout table, the player would win by either a suiting card or matching cards of the same rank. 
     However, if a player chooses to play the grand slam bonus bet, that player must place down the ante amount in position  28  as well as a factor of the ante amount, such as one time the ante amount, for each of the bets 1 through 4 in position  30 , in advance of the play of the game. The grand slam bonus bet is paid out based upon table  36  if that player either suits or matches a card of the same rank. With the grand slam bonus bet, the payout is paid after the player either wins all four bets or the player loses a bet before winning all four of the bets. The ante would be paid 1 to 1 for each of the bets won. If the player wins all four bets, the player will also receive a bonus of 2 to 1 on all chips won and placed down by the dealer. The chips of the losing bets will be removed by the dealer. 
     Each player can also choose to make a poker bonus bet for each hand regardless of whether they play the regular payout table or the grand slam bonus payout table. This bet is optional, but has to be made at the beginning of each game by placing chips on position  26  which is the same amount as the ante placed in position  24 . The poker bonus bet is a bet that the player&#39;s five cards would make a poker hand of three of a kind or better as illustrated in the poker bonus table  38 . 
     Similar to the previously described games, the object of this game is to match or suit the previous card. if the player matches or suits the previous card, than the player is a winner. If the player fails to match or suit the previous card, then the player has lost. The winning player will be paid 1 to 1 on the ante amount and the regular play table bet will be paid according to the payout tables. The ante amount must remain the same and the bet amount can either be a factor of the ante amount, such as one time or two times. The losing player&#39;s chips for the bet and ante will be removed, but the cards will remain and the losing player can continue to play, by placing down chips for the first bet. In this situation, no additional ante is required during that deal. The ante is required with the player&#39;s first wager in a new game and the grand slam bonus bet only. 
     Play begins with the player placing down chips for the regular play by placing chips in the ante position  24  for the grand slam bonus bet by placing the ante in position  28  as well as the four bets in the positions shown at  30 . Additionally, the player has the option of making the poker bonus bet by placing an amount of chips on position  26 . At this point, the dealer would deal a first card, face up to each of the players. The player playing the grand slam bet has to win all four bets, or lose one of the bets, before the dealer will pay or remove any of the player&#39;s chips. The player playing the regular payout table has the option of folding the hand or betting prior to each subsequent card dealt by the dealer. If the player folds, the dealer will remove the chips placed down but would not remove the cards, since a player which has lost will be allowed to continue betting. If the player decides to bet, that player must place down a factor of 1× or 2× the ante amount for the first bet. The dealer would then deal a second card to each player. If the player playing the regular payout table matches or suits the previous card, then that player is a winner and the dealer will pay according to the payout table. This winning player has the option of continuing to bet or to fold. If the player decides to continue, the player will leave the current amount of the ante and place down a factor of 1× or 2× the ante amount for the second bet. If the player playing the regular payout table fails to match or suit the previous card, then that player has lost and the dealer will remove the chips placed down for the ante and the first bet in position  30  but will leave the cards that the players will be allowed to continue betting by placing down chips for the first bet only. Play then continues in this manner until each of the participating players receives five cards. After each player has received all five cards, the dealer will begin to deal the community cards in position  34 . The first community card dealt after the player has received five cards will become the player&#39;s sixth card. When a player loses or wins the fourth bet with a community card, the game is over. Each player has to wait until all of the players either lose with a community card or win the fourth bet with a community card. The dealer will then shuffle and deal a new game. 
     It is important to note that the bets 1 through 4 for the grand slam bonus bet are the same as the ante and are placed down in advance. The dealer would wait until a player has won all four bets or the player loses a bet before removing any chips or paying the players. If the player has won a bet but then loses, the dealer matches the ante for each bet won and payout the bet amount according to the grand slam payout table. At this point, the chips are removed that were placed down for the ante and for all the bets that were lost. The chips placed down for the bets won by the player can be removed by the player but the ante and the chips placed down for the bets lost are removed by the dealer. 
     Regular play bets are generally one time or two times the amount of the ante and the ante cannot be increased during betting. The player may lose and start over by placing down chips for the first bet only without placing down another ante. 
     Poker bonus bets are made at the beginning of a new game only and cannot be greater than the ante and will be placed down with the ante and therefor the player&#39;s five cards will always be used to determine whether the poker bonus bet has been won. If a player is not playing the poker bonus or the grand slam bonus and that player loses the bet, that player&#39;s cards may be stacked to reveal only a top card as the remaining cards are dead and not part of any bet. Once a player either loses or wins all bets using a community card, that is the end of the game for that player and the player has to wait on the remaining players to either win or lose. Once this occurs, the game is over and the dealer will shuffle the cards and deal a new game to each of the players. 
     It is important that the dealer maintain control of the game and the payout. Therefore, the dealer must keep up with the ante amount of each player since this ante amount must remain the same throughout each game. The ante in this game is used as a safeguard on a player&#39;s post betting. For example, if a player loses a bet, the player can continue to play by placing down a first bet without placing down an additional ante. The first bet must be a factor of the ante, such as one time or two times the original ante amount. Players playing the grand slam bet must have the ante and the first one through four bets placed prior to the game commencing, with the first through four bets being the same amount. This would make it difficult for post betting or other cheating techniques such as adding or removing chips during the play of each hand. Only one ante is required per game if the player were playing the regular payout table. However, playing the grand slam bonus bet, the ante as well as the first through four bets are always required in advance. When a player playing the regular pay table loses a bet, that player can decide to continue to play and to play the grand slam bonus bet. Although the player has placed down an ante with the first bet that was lost, the player will be required to place down an additional ante as well as the first through four bets in advance. 
     When playing the game without the poker bonus, the dealer will place the player&#39;s cards down vertically with the player&#39;s first card being dealt closest to the player. The player&#39;s remaining cards will be placed down vertically, showing the full card in the direction of the dealer. The dealer will then pay the bets won and/or remove any chips from the bets that were lost. The dealer will stack the last card dealt on top of the previous card dealt because the previous card dealt is now a dead card. Stacking of the cards to show that the cards are dead is a safeguard against post betting the poker bonus bet. Care would be made in the amount of the cards dealt each player as the player is allowed only five cards. 
     When the dealer is dealing a poker bonus bet, the dealer would also place the player&#39;s cards down vertically with the player&#39;s first card being dealt closer to the player. The player&#39;s remaining cards will be placed down vertically, showing the full card in the direction of the dealer. The dealer will then pay the bets won and/or remove any chips from the bets that were lost. The dealer will stack the last card dealt in a manner to show at least half of the previous card dealt. This will show that the player&#39;s playing a poker bonus and although the player might have lost the bet, the card will still be active in pursuit of winning the poker bonus bet. When the fifth card is dealt, the dealer will pay the bets won and/or remove any chips of the bets that were lost. The dealer will then spread open the player&#39;s five cards vertically to show whether the player has one the poker bonus bet. The dealer will pay the poker bonus bet, or remove the chips placed down for the poker bonus bet. Unless the fifth card was a winner, the cards will be stacked to show only the fifth card dealt because the other cards are now considered to be dead. If the fifth card was a winner, continue to show it, and any previous cards that are part of the winning computation. 
     While the game has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, variations and modifications would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading the disclosure of the invention. The invention encompasses such variations and modifications.