Patent ID: 8734245

Claim:
A hybrid wagering game apparatus, comprising: a playing surface; one or more physical elements selectively positionable on the playing surface, the one or more physical elements including at least one physical game piece having a respective monetary value associated therewith, the at least one physical game piece having a bottom side that is placed on the playing surface during game play and having the respective monetary value optically coded on the bottom side; one or more virtual elements selectively displayed on the playing surface, the one or more virtual elements including at least one virtual game piece having a respective monetary value associated therewith; at least one processor; and at least one sensor positioned below the playing surface to detect at least a placement and the optically coded respective monetary value of the at least one physical game piece having the respective monetary value associated therewith as one or more wagers at least when the at least one physical game piece having the respective monetary value associated therewith is placed as one or more wagers on the playing surface; and to detect a placement of the at least one virtual game piece having the respective monetary value associated therewith as one or more wagers at least when the at least one virtual game piece having the respective monetary value associated therewith is placed as one or more wagers displayed on the playing surface; the one or more wagers comprising one or more of the physical or virtual elements, the at least one sensor communicatably coupled to the at least one processor to provide information indicative of the placement of the one or more wagers to the at least one processor.