Patent Publication Number: US-2016243428-A1

Title: Modified Blackjack With Associated Wagering Game

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 62/119,012 filed on Feb. 20, 2015, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety into the present application. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to the field of gaming, particularly to the field of wagering games, and more particularly to modified systems and methods for providing, hosting, conducting and/or facilitating wagering games involving real or virtual standard playing cards. 
     2. Background of the Art 
     Many card games have been developed over the years and some are particularly adapted for gambling. Typically, such games include a dealer who deals cards and one or more players who place wagers on whether an outcome will be achieved based on the cards that the dealer deals. 
     An example is Blackjack which is also known as Twenty-One. The objective of Blackjack is for a wagering player to finish a round of play with a hand of playing cards with a sum of the total value of cards coming as close as possible to the value of twenty-one, without the player hand total exceeding twenty-one. The game is played by one or more players against a dealer with the player making an initial wager on a final outcome under the rules of blackjack, which remain fairly consistent throughout the world, and with only minor variations in different casinos or jurisdictions. Players&#39; hands that are less than or equal to twenty-one, and exceed the value of the dealer&#39;s hand wins. All players&#39; hands that have a lower sum than the dealer&#39;s hand and all hands that exceed the sum of twenty-one lose. Dealer and Player hands with the same total value (without the player first busting), result in ties (called a “push”). An initial two-card hand totaling twenty-one points is called blackjack, and in the absence of the dealer having a similar hand, automatically wins, without respect to the dealer&#39;s hand final; count and is often paid at odds greater than 1:1. 
     One conventional method of playing Blackjack uses one or more standard decks of playing cards (a fifty-two card deck without jokers). Each numbered card is counted according to its face value. The Jacks, Queens and Kings are worth ten (10), and Aces are worth either one (1) or eleven (11), depending on which is most beneficial to the count of the hand. A “ten” card therefore hereinafter includes any card which has a value of ten in the game of Blackjack, that is, a numbered 10 card, Jacks, Queens and Kings. 
     Once all the bets are made, the dealer will deal the cards to the players. The dealer will make two passes around the table starting with the player farthest to the left so that the players and the dealer have one card after the first pass and then receive a second card each after the second pass. The two cards dealt to the dealer or house includes one card face up or otherwise exposed to view, usually the second (and last) card dealt. 
     A player views an initial value of cards in the player&#39;s hand, views the dealer&#39;s up-card (the exposed card) and then makes decisions on drawing or not drawing further playing cards. This further drawing is done in an attempt to try and win the hand by having a higher count than the dealer&#39;s hand without busting, or allowing the dealer to bust the house hand. The player can “stand” on any count of twenty-one or less. Once the player exceeds a count of twenty-one or “busts,” the player&#39;s wager is lost, whatever the ultimate point count of the dealer&#39;s hand. Usually, the dealer must hit when with a point count of less than seventeen. Normally, a dealer must stand on a soft count of at least seventeen, a soft count being a hand value where an Ace is counted as a value of eleven. House rules may vary, however. 
     Although the game of Blackjack is a consistent winning game for the house, players tend to place the minimum wager on a blackjack game unless the player is using some system or feels that the cards are running in a favorable streak. While Blackjack is a very popular game, many new games which are quickly rising in popularity provide numerous wagering opportunities, thus increasing player participation and excitement. Consequently, further variations of existing wagering games are always of interest to players and casinos, and therefore, there is a desire for methods which would increase wagering in the game of Blackjack. 
     Baccarat is another popular game that is played in most casino environments. It may take the form of a card table game, played with a shoe of cards that is typically an aggregation of several randomly-ordered standard decks of fifty-two physical playing cards, or it can be simulated as an electronic table game or an online game. 
     The object of the game of Baccarat is for the bettor to successfully wager on whether the Bank&#39;s hand or the Player&#39;s hand is going to win. The bettor receives even money for his wager if he selects the winning hand and loses his wager if he selects the losing hand. Because of the rules of play of Baccarat and more particularly the pre-established draw rules, the Bank&#39;s hand has a slightly higher chance of winning than does the Player&#39;s hand. The winning frequency for the Bank&#39;s hand has been determined to be 0.45859 (45.859%) whereas the winning frequency for the Player hand is 0.44624 (44.624%) with the remainder of the outcomes being ties. Therefore, if the bettor wagers on the Bank&#39;s hand and the Bank hand wins, the bettor must pay to the gaming establishment a commission (typically, 5%) of the amount the bettor wins. No commission is paid if the bettor successfully wagers on the Player&#39;s hand. 
     As used in this specification, the term “Conventional Manner of Play of Baccarat” is as follows: 
     A multiple number of decks of standard playing cards, 52 in number, are used; typically eight decks, or 416 playing cards, are shuffled together and placed in a shoe from which the cards are dealt during the play of the game. 
     Each bettor makes a wager on whether the Bank&#39;s hand or the Player&#39;s hand will win. After all wagers are made, two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Bank position and two cards are dealt from the shoe to the Player position on the table layout. The cards are turned face up and the value of the Bank hand the Player hand is determined, modulo ten. 
     Aces count one; Kings, Queens, Jacks and Tens count zero and the other cards count their respective face value. The suits (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds and Clubs) have no meaning in Baccarat. 
     The highest hand value in Baccarat is nine. All hand values range from a low of zero to a high of nine. If when the cards are added together, the total of the hand exceeds nine, then the hand value is determined modulo ten. For example, a seven and an eight total fifteen, but the hand value is five. An Ace and a nine total ten, but the hand value is zero. 
     A two card total of eight or nine is called a “natural”; a two card total of zero is called a “baccarat.” As will be explained below, in certain situations in the play of the game, a third card will be dealt. The value of this third card is added to the total of the first two cards and a new hand value is established. Again, if the new hand total exceeds nine, the hand value is determined by subtracting ten from the total of the hand. 
     Prior to the deal, each better can make one of three wagers: 1) that the Bank hand will win; 2) that the Player hand will win; or 3) that the Bank hand and the Player hand will tie. Wagering locations are provided on the Baccarat table layout. Whichever of the Bank hand or the Player hand is closest to a total of nine is the winner. 
     All winning Bank hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the house charges a five percent (5%) commission on the amount won by the bettor. For example, if a bettor wagers $100 on the Banker hand and the Banker hand wins, the bettor wins $100 and is charged a $5 commission on the amount that the bettor won. 
     All winning Player hand wagers are paid off at odds of one-to-one and the bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his winnings or his wager because the house, by virtue of the third card draw rules, has a statistical advantage over the player of 45.859−44.624 or 1.235% which is the vigorish (“vig”) of the house on player wagers. Winning wagers on the Tie hand bet are paid off at odds of nine-to-one or eight-to-one (depending on the gaming establishment) and the bettor is not charged any commission on the amount of his winnings or his wager since there is already a statistical advantage in favor of the house on tie wagers. 
     If a Tie hand occurs, all wagers on the Bank hand and all wagers on the Player hand are “pushes” and the amount wagered is returned to the bettor. 
     Depending on the point total of the Player&#39;s hand and the Banker&#39;s hand, an additional card may be dealt to the Player&#39;s hand, the Banker&#39;s hand, or both. The rules for determining whether a third card is dealt are fixed rules, there is no discretion for either the Player&#39;s hand or the Banker&#39;s hand on whether a third card is dealt. 
     If either the Player hand or the Banker hand has a point total of eight or nine on the first two cards, no third card is dealt to either hand and the hand with the highest point total is the winner (or the hand is a Tie, as the case may be). If neither the Player hand nor the Banker hand has a point total of eight or nine, then there is a possibility of a third card draw. 
     The third card draw rules are as follows: 
     Rule #1: If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5, the Player hand draws a third card. If the initial two card Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Player hand stands and does not receive a third card. 
     Rule #2: If the Player hand stands and does not draw a third card, then the Banker hand follows Rule #1. In other words, if the Player hand has a point total of 6 or 7, the Bank hand draws a third card on a point total of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 and the Bank hand stands on a point total of 6 or 7. 
     Rule #3: If the Player hand draws a third card, the Bank hand must draw or stand as follows: 
     
       
         
           
               
             
               
                 TABLE 1 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 BACCARAT 
               
               
                 RULES 
               
               
                   
               
             
            
               
                 PLAYER 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 HAVING TWO CARD 
                   
               
               
                 TOTAL OF 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 1-2-3-4-5-10 
                 DRAWS A CARD 
               
               
                 6-7 
                 STANDS 
               
               
                 8-9 
                 TURNS CARDS OVER 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
           
               
            
               
                 BANKER 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                   
                 DOES NOT DRAW 
               
               
                 HAVING 
                 DRAWS WHEN GIVING 
                 WHEN GIVING 
               
               
                 TWO CARD 
                 OR PLAYER&#39;S THIRD 
                 OR PLAYER&#39;S THIRD 
               
               
                 TOTAL OF 
                 CARD DRAW IS AN 
                 CARD DRAW IS AN 
               
               
                   
               
               
                 0, 1, 2 
                 ALWAYS DRAWS 
               
               
                 3 
                 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-9-10 
                 8 
               
               
                 4 
                 2-3-4-5-6-7 
                 1-8-9-10 
               
               
                 5 
                 4-5-6-7 
                 1-2-3-8-9-10 
               
               
                 6 
                 6-7 
                 1-2-3-4-5-8-9-10 
               
            
           
           
               
               
            
               
                 7 
                 STANDS 
               
               
                 8-9 
                 TURNS CARDS OVER 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     At the end of each hand, winning wagers are paid and losing wagers are collected by the house. Any commission due to the house is marked in commission boxes in the center of the table. Gaming chips are used to represent the amount of money owed by each bettor to the house for the commissions. In order not to slow down the game, the commission is not actually collected from each bettor until the end of the round determined by all of the cards in the shoe being dealt down to the plastic cut card, usually approximately eighty hands. 
     The mathematical analysis of the game reveals that the 5% commission is what gives the house its advantage on wagers on the Banker hand and allows the gaming establishment to make a profit from providing the Baccarat game to the bettors. Because the rules for standing and drawing third cards are automatic, the mathematical analysis shows that the Bank hand will win 45.859% of the hands, the Player hand will win 44.624% of the hands and the Tie hand will occur 9.517% of the hands. If the Tie hands are disregarded because they do not affect any Player or Bank wagers, it is then determined that the Bank hand will win 50.7% of the time and the Player hand will win 49.3% of the time. 
     Because the Bank hand wins more than 50% of the hands (disregarding the Tie hands that do not affect any Player or Bank wagers), if a bettor always bet on the Bank hand, the bettor would have an advantage over the gaming establishment. By charging a 5% commission on all Bank hand wins, the gaming establishment compensates for the percentage of winning Bank hands being slightly over 50%. 
     After figuring in the 5% commission that must be paid by bettors on winning Bank hands, the gaming establishment has approximately a 1.23% advantage over the bettor when the bettor wagers on the Player hand and the gaming establishment has a 1.057% advantage over the bettor when the bettor wagers on the Bank hand. The Tie hand wager gives the gaming establishment a 4.88% advantage over the bettor when the payoff odds are nine-to-one and a 14.1% advantage over the bettor when the payoff odds are eight-to-one. 
     Many new games are quickly rising in popularity because they provide numerous wagering opportunities, thus increasing player participation and excitement. Further variations of existing wagering games are always of interest to players and casino operators, and therefore, there is a desire for systems and methods which provide new wagering games that include some of the familiar features of existing wagering games, such as baccarat and blackjack. 
    
    
     ENABLING DESCRIPTION OF SOME EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION 
     The invention is directed to systems and methods of providing, hosting and playing a modified version of Blackjack with Baccarat-like elements. 
     Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of providing a modified Blackjack game and associated wagering game played with one or more standard fifty-two card decks of physical cards, including a gaming table surface having a dealer position and multiple player positions with designated areas defined therein and associated with a wager on a particular outcome occurring in the modified Blackjack game, wherein the placement of a physical element representing a monetary amount in a designated area constitutes receiving the wager on a particular outcome, the method comprising the steps of: a) receiving a wager relating to a standard Blackjack game; b) receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game; c) distributing cards to the dealer position and each player position from which a wager relating to the standard Blackjack game is received to form initial Blackjack hands for the players and dealer, respectively; d) distributing cards to a designated associated wagering game area to form an initial associated wagering game hand responsive to receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game from any player; e) forming a final player hand according to conventional Blackjack rules; f) forming a final associated wagering game hand according to conventional Blackjack rules for forming the dealer hand; g) forming a final dealer hand according to conventional Blackjack rules for forming the dealer hand; h) comparing the final player hand with the dealer hand to determine the outcome of the wager relating to the standard Blackjack game; and i) comparing the final associated wagering game hand with the dealer hand to determine the outcome of the wager relating to the associated wagering game, wherein the comparison is based on conventional Blackjack rules. 
     In some embodiments, a “tie” wager may be received that the associated wagering game hand and the dealer hand are tied in a designated area for ties in each player position of the gaming table surface. In some embodiments, the tie wager may be won if any of the player hand, associated wagering game hand or dealer hand match, even if the hands are numerically greater than twenty-one according to the card value and counting rules of Blackjack. In some embodiments, if the final hands are tied with more than two cards in one or both hands, then the payout is decreased compared to the payout if the final hands are tied with two cards in each hand. 
     An exemplary method of the invention, referred to by the non-limiting game name of “Jaccarat” is described below. 
     Jaccarat Dealing:
         1. This game is for 1-6 players and each can only play one hand only.   2. Players can wager on either “P” for Player (that is, the standard Blackjack game hand) and/or “H” (the associated wagering game hand, also referred to as the “House” hand). In addition, wagers may be received on “T” for the “Tie” side wager or bet.   3. If there are no bets received on the H designated area, then the Dealer will proceed to distribute cards as he would a basic Blackjack game in accordance with the house rules, including those related to splits and doubles.   4. If one or more bets are placed on the H, then the Dealer will deal cards to boxes with bets on Player and in a designated House or “Jaccarat Hand” area. The designated Jaccarat Hand will be treated as an additional hand that will represent all bets made on the H area.   5. Boxes with bets on P should proceed to play as a normal Blackjack game. Any player hand that busts should be removed from the table unless the player also placed a bet on T, that is, the Tie side bet. In this embodiment, if the player placed the Tie side bet and the player splits the player hand, then the Tie bet will only be applied to the first hand of the split.   6. Once all Player hands are formed in the final Blackjack condition, the Dealer will then play the Jaccarat hand in accordance with the same rules as the Dealer&#39;s hand (such as hitting on any combination of numbers in the value of 16 or below, as well as soft 17, with no doubles or splits allowed).   7. Once the Jaccarat hand is formed in final condition, the Dealer will proceed to play the Dealer&#39;s hand as normally played in basic Blackjack.       

     Jaccarat Exemplary Payouts:
         1. Wagers placed on the P area are paid in the same manner as a basic Blackjack game, that is, 1:1 on every winning hand and 3:2 on Blackjack hands.   2. Wagers placed on the H area are paid 1:1 less a 5% commission from the win (not including the original wager). Similar to the commission system in Baccarat, the Dealer may use lammers to keep track of commissions owed. Commission payments will be settled at various times, such as at the end of a shoe, when the player leaves the table or when player wishes to pay it off. Blackjack payouts on H wagers also pay 3:2.   3. Tie payout is 12:1 on a 2-card tie (2 cards with same value as the Dealer&#39;s hand and 2 cards with the same value as a Player and/or the Jaccarat hands. All other ties, including values over 21, pay 5:1.   4. If both Dealer&#39;s hand and Jaccarat hand bust, then the wager placed in the H area will be considered a push.       

     Some embodiments of the invention are directed to gaming methods such as those described herein which are provided through one or more electronic terminals connected over a communication network, having one or more display devices, data communication devices and data processing devices associated therewith, comprising a) detecting through the data communication interface the receipt of a wager relating to a standard Blackjack game; b) detecting through the data communication interface the receipt of a wager relating to the associated wagering game; c) displaying on the display device randomly generated cards in the dealer position and each player position from which a wager relating to the standard Blackjack game is detected as being received to form initial Blackjack hands for the players and dealer, respectively; d) displaying on the display device randomly generated cards in a designated associated wagering game area to form an initial associated wagering game hand responsive to receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game from any player; e) a processor for facilitating the steps of forming a final player hand according to conventional Blackjack rules, forming a final associated wagering game hand according to conventional Blackjack rules for forming the dealer hand, forming a final dealer hand according to conventional Blackjack rules for forming the dealer hand, comparing the final player hand with the dealer hand to determine the outcome of the wager relating to the standard Blackjack game, and comparing the final associated wagering game hand with the dealer hand to determine the outcome of the wager relating to the associated wagering game, wherein the comparison is based on conventional Blackjack. 
     Some embodiments of the invention are directed to systems for providing the above methods, which may include one or more data communication devices, display devices, and processing devices, which may be local or remote, as necessary to provide these methods on any computerized or partially computerized platforms, online or through a local or global communication network, including mobile devices, home computers, single or multiplayer electronic gaming machines enabling the display of the gaming table, along with play with virtual or real currency and/or virtual playing cards displayed on a display device or real playing cards, such as in the case of multiplayer platforms, devices or kiosks for enabling wagering in the play of a local or broadcast live game. 
     Some embodiments of the invention are also directed to a non-transitory machine readable media for providing a wagering game associated with an underlying game of Baccarat including one or more software programs, code and/or data segments as necessary to provide any of the methods described herein on one or more machines. 
     It should be understood that the words “wager,” “wagering,” “betting” or “bet,” or the like, refers to any type of points, money, credits, items of value, including physical or virtual representations thereof, which are placed at stake in that they may be forfeit depending on the occurrence of machine-generated randomly generated outcomes, such as outcomes which may be provided by revealing physical playing cards drawn from one or more decks or groups of randomly-ordered physical playing cards or a random number generator for randomly generating numbers which can be mapped to identify playing card results. 
     This written description uses examples to disclose the invention and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the invention, including making and using any devices or systems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope of the invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examples that occur to those skilled in the art. Other aspects and features of the invention can be obtained from a study of the disclosure and the appended claims. The invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described within the scope of the appended claims. It should also be noted, that the steps and/or functions listed within the appended claims, notwithstanding the order of which steps and/or functions are listed therein, are not limited to any specific order of operation. 
     Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the systems and methods described herein may be a standalone system, gaming device, gaming machine or incorporated in an existing gaming system or machine. The system and gaming device of the invention may include various computer and network related software and hardware, such as programs, operating systems, memory storage devices, data input/output devices, data processors, servers with links to data communication systems, wireless or otherwise, and data transceiving terminals. It should also be understood that any method steps discussed herein, such as for example, steps involving the receiving or displaying of data, may further include or involve the transmission, receipt and processing of data through conventional hardware and/or software technology to effectuate the steps as described herein. Those skilled in the art will further appreciate that the precise types of software and hardware used are not vital to the full implementation of the methods of the invention so long as players and operators thereof are provided with useful access thereto. 
     While exemplary apparatus, systems and methods of the invention have been described herein, it should also be understood that the foregoing is only illustrative of a few particular embodiments with exemplary and/or preferred features, as well as principles of the invention, and that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Therefore, the described embodiments should not be considered as limiting of the scope of the invention in any way. Accordingly, the invention embraces alternatives, modifications and variations which fall within the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth herein and any equivalents thereto.