Patent ID: 7648140

Claim:
A method of playing the card game Blackjack, the Blackjack game including a dealer and at least one player, comprising: a) placing a primary wager by the player on a Blackjack playing surface for the underlying Blackjack game; b) dealing two initial cards to both the player and the dealer by placing the cards onto the Blackjack playing surface; c) providing the player with an option to place a side wager on the Blackjack playing surface if the two initial cards dealt to the player equal a qualifying hard card count, wherein the qualifying hard card count is one of a predetermined set of hard counts, the predetermined set defined as a hard 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20; d) dealing a third card to the player; and e) determining the outcome of an optionally placed side wager, wherein: i) the placed side wager is won by the player if the third card dealt to the player, when added to the hard card count, does not cause the hard card count to exceed twenty-one; and ii) the placed side wager is lost by the player if the third card dealt to the player, when added to the hard card count, causes the hard card count to exceed twenty-one.