US20110309581A1

US20110309581A1 - Casino Card Betting Game with Jackpot Features

Info

Publication number: US20110309581A1
Application number: US12/816,484
Authority: US
Inventors: Ilya Zlobinsky
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2010-06-16
Filing date: 2010-06-16
Publication date: 2011-12-22

Abstract

The game is played on a gaming table with special layouts for each player, wherein players are placing wagers on 1, 2, 3 . . . , up to 13 different kinds of cards in their layouts, and they win or loose depending of how their bets match 7 cards dealt to them by the dealer. There is a jackpot feature in the game where players can raise the winning potential up to 1000 times of their total bet. The odds of winning for players are much higher then in regular lotteries, creating a lot of fun in a winning atmosphere and generating repeat business.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a casino card betting game adoptable for virtual electronic machine and internet play. The game has a Lottery type version with Jackpot Features.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

One of the most popular games played in casinos these days is Blackjack. The main reason for this is that the odds of winning for the players are very high. House edge in Blackjack is less than 1%. In comparison, the game of Keno has 25% house advantage.
As good as Blackjack is, it has a number of negative features. For one thing the decision of one player can have negative effect on the results of other players causing trouble among players at the table. Another drawback of Blackjack is that a skilful player with high card counting ability can actually have mathematical advantage of more than 1% over the house, which, of course is not acceptable for the business. For this reason casinos are forced to take counter measures, like increasing the number of card decks and frequency of shuffling, applying pressure on card counters up to barring of the highest winning players from the casino. These counter measures present a public relations problem for the casinos, creating a perception that casinos welcome only losers.
The casino industry needs a game of multiple choice (like Blackjack) based on players knowledge and ability, with high odds to win (like Blackjack), but without disadvantages of Blackjack, where players can influence the game of each other, and some players can turn mathematical odds in their favor, requiring artificial defensive measures from the casinos.
The game should create a festive win-win atmosphere of having fun, feeling lucky, and generating big crowds and repeat business.
It is an object of present invention to address the mentioned above problems and create such a game of excitement and fun.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

- The game of present invention belongs to the category of so called “Banking Games” where all players play against the house and not against each other. The game is played with one standard deck of 52 playing cards. No face value is assigned to cards. The game includes dealer and at least one player.
- Maximum number of players at a table is five.
- The table has five special layouts, one for each player (Attachment 2).
- The players place wagers on 1, 2, 3, up to 13 kinds of cards in their layouts.

They may bet any but the same amount on each position according to the posted table minimum/maximum.
The dealer starts dealing 7 cards to each player, one at a time. The far left player is dealt first. All 7 cards are placed in front of the player face down. Then the cards are opened one by one. If the card matches the kind of the bet the player is paid the amount of the bet and the chips are removed from the table and go to the player. If there is no match the card is placed aside and next card is opened. The procedure continues with the same player until all 7 cards are revealed. All unmatched bets are taken by the house. The dealer deals the next 7 cards to the next player to the right until all players are served The dealer starts all over again from shuffling.
The game seems very easy to win. If a player places only one wager and is dealt 7 cards it looks very-very likely to have a match in 7 attempts. But calculations show that the mathematical odds of winning for the player are 45%. These are very high odds in comparison with any lottery (and people love lotteries). The players will win frequently. It will create a festive atmosphere and draw big crowds to the game and to the casino.
Calculations also show that casino can increase the necessary built-in house advantage by slightly changing the rules. Changing the amount of cards dealt to players from 7 to 6 will raise the house edge to 10%. If the number is changed to 8 the odds for the house to win will be only 50.2% (similar to the single deck Blackjack).
There is a so called “Jackpot Feature” in the game.
In addition to regular payouts players hit a jackpot if there is a complete match (5 of 5, 6 of 6 or 7 of 7) of cards in their bet to the cards dealt. The proposed payouts are as follows:


	Odds of winning	Proposed Award in:
Match	For the players	Times of Total bet

5 of 5	1 in 50	5
6 of 6	1 in 125	10
7 of 7	1 in 275	25

Instead of “regular payout equal the bet” players will receive a “jackpot payout” of 5, 10 or 25 times of their total bet accordingly.
Finally, there is a “Progressive Jackpot” version where players go exclusively for the Jackpot. They may place bets on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 cards. If there is a total match Players win (and win Big), if not—they loose. The proposed payouts follow:


	Odds of winning	Proposed Award in:
Match	For the players	Times of Total bet

2 of 2	1 in 5	2
3 of 3	1 in 10	3
4 of 4	1 in 25	5
5 of 5	1 in 50	10
6 of 6	1 in 125	25
7 of 7	1 in 275	75
7 of 7 all same suit	1 in 1250000	1000

This 1000 times of total bet payout is called “Grand Jackpot”.
It happens when all 7 cards dealt to the player are of the same suit and match the player's 7 cards bet. The odds of this happening are 1 in 1,250,000
We believe that the “jackpot” feature of the Game will increase the Game Speed to around 750 hands per hour and multiply the excitement of players.
Players can use their skills and experience by making a choice of how to play the coming next game:

- The number of wagers they place (from 1 to 13)
- Whether they want to take advantage of the Jackpot Features (in this case they must place from 5 to 7 bets at a time).
- Whether they want to play a “Progressive Jackpot” version with lower winning probability, but with higher payouts, up to 1000 times of their total wager.

Lottery lovers will have a chance to have a drawing every few minutes with relatively high (much higher than in any Lottery or Toto) odds to win. Players can use all different existing systems and strategies of how to win the Lottery, or how to pick winning numbers, or how to win in general.
Finally, about mathematical foundation of the game:
B—is the probability of winning by the house
A—is the number of different combinations to pull 7 cards out of 52.
C—is the number of winning combinations for the house.
In order to win for the house not a single card dealt by the dealer should match the kind chosen by the player for his bit. This is equal to a number of different combinations of 7 from the total of 48 (52 minus 4 of a kind chosen by the player for his bid)
We are using a well known formula for calculating a COMBINATION—number of ways of picking “k” (herein 7) unordered elements from the total of “n” (herein 52 or 48) possibilities.

A=Cn,k(52,7)=52×51×50×49×48×47×46

C=Cn,k(48,7)=48×47×46×45×44×43×42

B=C/A=0,550355 (or 55% in favor of the house)
Six cards bring this advantage to 60%, 8 cards reduces advantage to 50.2%, 9 cards gives advantage to the player at 54.4%. All this is in the hands of the Casino to make a determination and decide. Of course they will not use the 9 cards version.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description herein makes reference to the accompanying drawings:

FIG. 1—shows the gaming table layout,

FIG. 2—is the player's layout,

FIG. 3—is an enlarged view of another version of the player's layout.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The casino card betting game of the invention is played on a table similar to one used for playing Blackjack. The top of the table is covered with a layer of felt or other suitable soft material. The table (FIG. 1) has a straight side at which the dealer stands and a curved side where the players sit. Provided mid-way along the straight side is a chips rack in which the dealer keeps betting chips of different value. There is an adapter to store paper money used by players to buy chips.
There is also a shoe used by the dealer to deal the cards out to each player, one by one, and five cup holders 4 for players.
Provided on the table cover along the curved side are five betting arches 1 used by players to place bets. Each player will have thirteen places 2 to place bets and one spot 3 to indicate the players' intention to use the Progressive Jackpot version of the game.
Each player's layout (FIG. 2) has images 2 of thirteen kinds of cards. The images are placed starting from 2 on the far bottom left, going right are 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 at the down curve, further continuing 9, 10, J, Q, K, and finally Ace at the far right on the upper curve, thirteen images in total. Each image has a special circle 1 to place bets (chips). The casino card betting game is provided with one deck of 52 cards consisting of 13 different kinds, 4 suits each. Prior to play dealer shuffles the deck, gives the first player from the left a chance to cut and change the order of the cards. The deck is placed in the shoe. The players make their bets by placing chips of the same monetary denomination on one or more kinds of cards. Maximum number of bets is 13. The dealer starts dealing 7 cards to each player, one at a time. The far left player is dealt first. All 7 cards are placed in front of the player face down. Then the cards are opened one by one. If the card matches the kind of the bet the player is paid the amount of the bet and 2 chips are removed from the table and go to the player. If there is no match the card is placed aside and next card is opened. The procedure continues with the same player until all 7 cards are revealed. All unmatched bets are taken by the house. The dealer deals the next 7 cards to the next player to the right until all players are served. The dealer starts all over again from shuffling.

Claims

1. A method for playing a card game having a dealer and at least one player using one standard deck of 52 cards with no face value assigned to cards, where all players play against the house and not against each other, comprising the steps of:

players placing their bets in special layouts, the number of bets is from 1 to 13;

the dealer then deals seven cards, one at a time to the first player;

if the card matches the kind on which the bet is placed the dealer pays the player the amount equal to the bet, all bets which don't find matches among the 7 cards are taken by the house;

the next 7 cards are dealt to the next player and the next one until all players are served; the cycle is over, dealer goes shuffling, starts all over again, players place new wagers.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

providing a playing surface, wherein said surface has among other things 5 special layouts, one for each player, said layouts consist of 13 pictures of all kinds of cards starting from 2 at the far bottom left going 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, Q, K to Ace at the far upper right; each player makes an initial bid by placing a chip on one of a kind; the player can place 2, 3 . . . , up to 13 chips, one on each kind.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

providing a Jackpot Feature of the game wherein players can get jackpot payouts of 5, 10, or 25 times of their total wager accordingly if there is a complete match (5 of 5, 6 of 6 or 7 of 7) of kinds of cards in their wager to the cards dealt to them by the dealer.

4. The method of claim 3 further comprising the step of:

to participate in the “jackpot version” players have to place bets on 5, 6 or 7 cards in their layouts at a time.

5. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

providing a Progressive Jackpot version of the game comprising the steps of:

players indicating their intention of choosing the this version by placing a chip on the PJ indicator in their layouts;

by choosing the version players indicate their intention to go exclusively for the jackpot;

in this version the players may place their bets on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 or 7 kinds of cards;

if there is a total match they win, otherwise they loose, the payouts are 2, 3, 5, 10, 25 and 75 times of their total bet accordingly.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of:

providing the opportunity for the players to get paid a Grand Jackpot equal 1000 times of their total wager if in Progressive Jackpot version of the game all 7 cards dealt to the player are of the same suit and match the player's 7 card bet.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

wherein the casino can change the necessary built in house advantage by slightly changing the rules;

decreasing the amount of cards dealt to players from 7 to 6 will raise the advantage to 60%;

if the number is changed to 8 the odds for the house to win will be only 50.2%;

the chances to win for the player will always remain high, much higher than in any lottery or popular Toto;

combined with simplicity the game will bring much fun and generate repeat business and profit for the casino.

8. The method of claim 5 further comprising the step of:

introduction of the lottery type version of the game provides significant advantages (in comparison with other games) both for the players and the casino like:

increasing the game speed up to 750 hands per hour;

the players familiar and appreciating Lotto and/or Toto will have a drawing every couple of minutes if they wish so;

the odds of winning for the players remain very high (in comparison with Lotto or Toto), the same time the advantages (the odds) for the casino are much higher than with other popular games (blackjack, baccarat, poker, etc.);

the excitement and fun of the players combined with profitability of the casino will create a win-win situation for the game.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of:

the game may be used by internet casinos and adopted for a virtual machine play.