Patent ID: 8602417

Claim:
An electronic gaming system for playing a modified Blackjack game between a dealer and a player, the system comprising: at least one video monitor; a processor coupled to the at least one video monitor; a computer-readable medium coupled to the processor; a player input means for receiving user input from at least one player, said player input means being coupled to said processor; a set of processor-readable instructions embodied in said computer-readable medium, said set of instructions operative to: offer the player at least one side bet having an outcome dependant upon whether a card yet to be dealt will belong to at least one player-selected subset of a first set of identifying traits consisting of a first identifying trait, a second identifying trait, and a third identifying trait; receive player input with said player input means, said player input comprising data representative of the player's acceptance or non-acceptance of said at least one side bet, associated selections of subsets, and wagered amounts; deal a bonus card to the player from at least one deck of cards consisting of thirty-nine cards, wherein each card in a deck has a card ranking in addition to an identifying trait that is a subset of a second set of identifying traits consisting of said first identifying trait, said second identifying trait, said third identifying trait, and a fourth identifying trait; deal a first card from said at least one deck of cards to the player; deal a second card from said at least one deck of cards to the dealer; determine whether each accepted side bet was successful; for each successful side bet, pay a predetermined payout to the associated player; and for each unsuccessful side bet, collect the player's wager; deal a third card from said at least one deck of cards to the player; deal a fourth card from said at least one deck of cards to the dealer; complete a Blackjack game between the player and the dealer, wherein the player's Blackjack hand comprises the first card and the third card and the dealer's Blackjack hand comprises the second card and fourth card; wherein said deck of cards consists of a first group of twelve cards having said first identifying trait; a second group of twelve cards having said second identifying trait; a third group of twelve cards having said third identifying trait; and a fourth group of three cards having a fourth identifying trait, and wherein each card of a deck belongs to exactly one group of said first group, said second group, said third group, and said fourth group.