US20130140773A1

US20130140773A1 - Baccarat associated wagering game

Info

Publication number: US20130140773A1
Application number: US13/707,487
Authority: US
Inventors: Heigo Goto
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2011-12-06
Filing date: 2012-12-06
Publication date: 2013-06-06

Abstract

Systems and methods for providing wagering games associated with an underlying game of baccarat in which wagers are won if the baccarat outcome data includes specific tie outcomes.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/567,489 which was filed Dec. 6, 2011, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to systems and methods of modifying, providing and conducting wagering games, and more particularly, multi-layered wagering games.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Baccarat is a popular game that is oftentimes played in 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 decks of physical playing cards, or it can be simulated as an electronic table game or an online game.
Baccarat is a card game typically played with multiple decks of standard 52-card decks. The cards may be shuffled, cut by a player (and such cut then marked with a “Cut” card), and placed in a “shoe” from which cards are dealt during play. As opposed to Poker or Black Jack, where each player is dealt an individual hand, typically only two “community” hands are dealt in Baccarat—a “Banker” hand and a “Player” hand. A “Caller,” usually a casino employee, facilitates the game and deals the Banker and Player hands. The Banker hand and Player hand are played against each other, and each player places one of three principal bets, that is, Player hand wins; Banker hand wins; or Tie hand.
A Baccarat table typically also has a spot for a commission at each player's location. A commission is a percentage paid by the player to the house on each winning bet made on the Banker hand. In Baccarat, a 5% commission is typically charged. For example, if a player makes a $100 bet on the Banker hand, and the Banker hand wins, the player wins $100 but owes a $5 commission to the house. A dealer may then place $5 in chips in the player's commission spot to keep track of the commission owed.
The rules of Baccarat are generally well known. Each player places a bet on whether Banker hand wins; Player hand wins; or Tie hand. After all bets are made, the Caller deals one card to the Banker hand and one card to the Player hand, until each hand has a total of two cards. The cards may be dealt face up or face down, and are dealt to a Banker position and Player position designated on the Baccarat table. If the cards were dealt face down, the cards are turned over, and the dealer totals the score of the Banker and Player hands by adding the value of the cards in each hand. Scoring in Baccarat is in modulo ten. For example, if a player has a total of 16, his Baccarat point total would be 6. A player with an Ace and a Nine would have a zero score because an Ace is worth 1, and added to 9 is 10, which is zero in modulo ten. Therefore, nine is the highest point total in Baccarat. The hand with the higher point total wins.
A player typically receives even money if the player bets on the winning hand. For example, if a player bets $100 on the Player hand and the Player hand wins, the player will be paid $100. The same is true for a winning bet on the Banker hand, but the player must also pay a commission to the house. In a casino that charges 5% commission, for example, the player would owe $5 in commission based on his $100 winnings. A casino may charge a higher commission rate, but fewer players may choose to participate in a Baccarat game where higher commissions are assessed. No commission is paid on a winning bet on the Player hand—commission is only charged on a winning bet on the Banker hand.
If the score of the Player hand equals the score of the Banker hand, a Tie hand occurs. In a Tie hand, all bets on the Banker hand and the Player hand are “pushes,” and the amount wagered is returned to each player. Winning bets on the Tie hand are typically paid at odds of nine-to-one or eight-to-one, depending on the casino or operator. A player is not charged commission on a winning bet on a Tie hand.
If either the Player or the Banker hand has a total of 8 or 9 on the initial deal, no further cards are drawn. If neither player has an 8 or a 9, a third card may be drawn depending on predetermined rules of the game. If the total of the Player hand is between 0 and 5, a third card is dealt to the Player hand. If the total of the Player hand is 6 or 7, the Player hand stands (i.e., does not draw a third card). Depending on whether the Player hand draws a card, and also depending on the particular card drawn, the Banker hand will automatically draw a third card according to predetermined rules. For example, if the Player hand draws a 2 or 3, the Banker hand draws a third card if the point total is between 0 and 4, and stands if the point total is between 5-7.
At the end of each hand, winning bets are paid and losing bets are collected by the house. A commission due to the house may be designated in a commission spot at a player's location at the table after each hand. The dealer may place the value of the commission in casino chips by each player, and commission may accrue until the end of the round. A round ends when all the cards—down to the Cut card—are dealt. The commission may be collected at the end of the round so that the flow of the game is not interrupted.
While Baccarat 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 Baccarat.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to systems and methods of modifying, providing and conducting wagering games, and more particularly, multi-layered wagering games.
Some embodiments of the invention are directed to systems and methods of providing a wagering game associated with an underlying game of baccarat, comprising the steps of: displaying one or more wagering areas and indicia relating to associated wagering opportunities, including displaying a wagering area for wagering on a specific tie outcome; receiving game outcome data from an instance of conducting an underlying game of baccarat according to its rules, wherein the underlying game outcome includes data relating to a player hand score and a banker hand score;
comparing the underlying game outcome data with preset criteria, wherein the preset criteria consists of the player hand score and banker hand score being a specific tie outcome of a single numerical number; providing a payout if the preset criteria is satisfied by the underlying game outcome data based on the odds of the specific tie outcome occurring; and collecting the wager if the preset criteria is not satisfied by the underlying game outcome data.
In some embodiments of the aforementioned method, the step of receiving the baccarat game outcome is further comprises using a program with a random number generator. In other embodiments, this step involves using at least one randomly ordered deck of physical playing cards.
Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a system or electronic platform for providing a wagering game associated with an underlying game of Baccarat, comprising a processor configured for comparing baccarat outcome data with preset criteria, wherein the preset criteria relates consists of the player hand score and banker hand score being a specific tie outcome of a single numerical number; and a communication interface configured for: displaying one or more wagering areas and indicia relating to associated wagering opportunities, including displaying a wagering area for wagering on a specific tie outcome; receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game; receiving baccarat outcome data relating to an instance of conducting the underlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccarat game; displaying a notification that the wager is collected if the preset criteria is not satisfied by the baccarat outcome data; and displaying a notification that the wager is paid according to an odds payout if the preset criteria is satisfied by the baccarat outcome data.
In some embodiments, the processor conducts the underlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccarat game. In other embodiments, real-time game play of the underlying game of baccarat is displayed through the communication interface. The communication interface and processor may be mounted in a unitary housing, or the processor may be remotely located from the communication interface.
Some embodiments of the invention are directed to computer-implemented methods of providing a wagering game associated with an underlying baccarat game, comprising one or more processors, communication devices and data storage devices, all for facilitating the steps of: receiving information relating to a wager placed by a participating player in the associated wagering game; transmitting information to the participating player relating to play of the underlying baccarat game; receiving information relating to the baccarat game outcome; and transmitting information to the participating player relating to the outcome of the wager placed, wherein the information transmitted either includes a notification of the awarding of an odds payout amount the baccarat game outcome is a tie outcome in which the player hand and banker hand both have numerical scores of two or a notification that the wager placed has been lost.
The communication devices may transmit information via a satellite network or the world wide web.
Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a method of providing a wagering game associated with an underlying game of baccarat, comprising the steps of: receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game; conducting the underlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccarat game, or receiving baccarat outcome data relating to an instance of conducting the baccarat game, wherein the baccarat outcome includes data relating to a player hand score, a banker hand score, the number of cards in the player hand, and the number of cards in the banker hand; comparing the baccarat outcome data with preset winning criteria, wherein the preset winning criteria includes the player hand score and the banker hand score being the same and the score being a specific numerical score; providing a payout if the preset winning criteria are satisfied by the baccarat outcome data; and collecting the wager if the preset winning criteria are not satisfied by the baccarat outcome data.
In some embodiments, the aforementioned method further comprises receiving a wager in the baccarat game. In some embodiments of the aforementioned method, the wagers are received electronically. In some embodiments of the aforementioned method, the underlying game of baccarat is conducted using physical playing cards drawn from a randomly ordered stock of playing cards. In some embodiments of the aforementioned method, the specific numerical score for the player and banker hands are both two according to the rules of baccarat.
Some embodiments of the invention are directed to a system for providing the methods described above.
In some embodiments, the aforementioned system provides an associated wagering game with an underlying game of baccarat, which includes a device, apparatus or method such as a communication interface for receiving outcome data relating to an instance of conducting the underlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccarat game, wherein the baccarat outcome includes data relating to a player hand score and a banker hand score; a processor configured for comparing the baccarat outcome data with preset criteria, wherein the preset criteria includes the player hand score and banker hand score being the same single numerical score. The communication interface may also be configured for (i) receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game; (ii) indicating that the wager is collected if the preset criteria is not satisfied by the baccarat outcome data; and (iii) providing a payout if the preset criteria is satisfied by the baccarat outcome data.
The information received regarding the underlying game of baccarat may be received upon the game being conducted via a processor or through physical playing cards drawn from a randomly ordered stock of playing cards. The system may further include a display device configured for displaying the game play as the baccarat game is being played and/or the results of the wager in the associated wagering game.
The communication interface may be a data input and/or data output device or a remote computer terminal, such as a home computer or mobile device with access to local or global network. The system and communication interface may be configured for providing the associated wagering game to players via an online system or the Internet. The processor may also be remotely located from the player interface. In some embodiments, the communication interface, processor and display device may be mounted within a unitary housing, and the aforementioned system may be an electronic gaming machine or electronic platform including multiple data input devices providing player positions. In some embodiments, the system may include one or more kiosks for viewing a baccarat game being played and providing associated wagering game methods as described herein.
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 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. In some embodiments, the aforementioned machine readable media may include software programs, code and/or data segments as necessary to perform any of the methods described herein or to facilitate the installation and operation of software programs to provide methods in a system as described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a process flow chart depicting an exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary table layout configured for use with methods according to some embodiments of the invention, including physical or live table systems and virtual or partially virtual electronic platforms.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of exemplary system components configured for use with methods according to some embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The exemplary embodiments herein relate to wagering games such as Baccarat or Blackjack or variants and modifications thereof in which additional or side wagers other than the underlying game wagers for such games are placed by players and received by the house or casino, or a person or entity acting as a banker of the game, to be subsequently resolved in a secondary or associated wagering game which is resolved at least in part by the randomly generated outcome of the underlying game.
It should be understood that each of the methods and individual steps recited herein may be partially or wholly carried out in a variety of ways and/or systems, which may include, but are not limited to, a live dealer physically dealing playing cards in a casino, an electronic gaming machine (EGM) for use by one or more players, a multiplayer platform which may include a player interface such as a touchscreen display and involve physical or virtual playing cards, dealer and wagering chips, a home computer or portable computing device, such as a tablet computer or mobile phone capable of communicating with a network or over the Internet, global telecommunication network or world wide web. It should further be understood that the methods and systems of the invention are described herein in connection with a conventional baccarat game for illustrative purposes only, as the methods and systems of the invention may be employed, combined or integrated with modified, variant or otherwise non-conventional baccarat games.
Unless stated otherwise, all references herein that are made to “cards”, “decks”, “dealing”, “hands” or other such expressions that are ordinarily used in describing a wagering game that is played with physical playing cards are also meant to describe and capture all associated electronic and online representations of said physical playing cards, including their associated graphical and numeric card symbols (for instance, suits such as hearts, spades, diamonds or clubs, face cards such as jacks, queens and kings, and the aces and other numbered cards of a typical playing deck). The said expressions are also meant to extend as well to all forms of electronic dealing, distribution or allocation of the said card symbols, according to the rules of the underlying wagering game.
It should further be understood that the invention is directed to, among other things, methods of providing, conducting and resolving multi-layered wagering games that include a sequence of controlled and concrete transformative events. Some of these events may involve wagering or transmission thereof, the generation of random data, the application of randomly-generated data to predefined rules, the determination of wager outcomes in accordance with preset outcome determining criteria, the notification of such outcomes, awarding of payouts and collecting of wagers. The generation of random data may be facilitated by computerized and/or physical implements. The transformative events may also include parsing of the data for comparative purposes with preset criteria to determine an outcome in a second, bonus or associated wagering game.
A method of conducting a wagering game associated with an underlying game of baccarat according to some embodiments of the invention is generally referred to by the reference numeral 10 in FIG. 1.
As shown by step 12, method 10 may be facilitated by providing a table layout such as layout 50 shown in FIG. 2 so that wagering areas and indicia relating to wagering opportunities may be displayed to potential players and used for the placement of wagers thereon.
In step 14, a wager is received by a player interested in playing the associated game. In this embodiment, the wager is optional, and may be received along with a wager in the underlying baccarat game. However, in other embodiments, the wager placed in step 14 may be mandatory, along with a wager received in the underlying baccarat game, so that the player must place wagers in both the underlying baccarat game and associated game.
In step 16, the underlying baccarat game is played or operated until an outcome is achieved according to the rules of the underlying baccarat game and received according to the invention. For example, regardless of the version of baccarat, the baccarat game will be carried out until an outcome is achieved in which the player hand win, banker hand win or tie. It should be understood that the underlying game and associated game may be conducted at the same or different locations and/or time, so long as baccarat game outcome data is received.
In step 18, data describing the underlying baccarat game outcome is compared with preset criteria for resolving the wager received in connection with the underlying game in step 14. The outcome of the underlying game obtained in step 18 may be stored in memory, displayed through physical cards, automatically determined such as by a card reading camera or other card reading baccarat card shoe, or input by a dealer for purposes of conducting the comparison of step 18.
The preset criteria relates to the score of the player hand and banker hand being the same one or more scores as determined pursuant to the rules of the underlying baccarat game. In the exemplary embodiment described herein, the preset criteria includes the score of the player hand and the score banker hand being the same single number, that is, a tie outcome of two according to the rules of the underlying baccarat game. In other words, the preset criteria may relate to a 2-2 tie outcome, that is, a final outcome in which the player and banker hands tie with a point total of “2” according to the rules of the underlying game of Baccarat of any version.
It should be readily apparent that the preset criteria may vary and be modified in accordance with the invention and depending on the data obtainable from the underlying game outcome.
As shown by step 20, if the data obtained from the underlying game outcome does not satisfy the preset criteria, then the outcome of the associated game is determined to be a loss and the wager received in step 14 is collected in step 22.
As also shown by step 20, if the data obtained from the underlying game outcome satisfies the preset criteria, then the outcome of the associated game is determined to be a win, the wager received in step 14 is resolved as such and a payout is provided in step 24. The payout in step 24 may be anything of value, such as a fixed amount, a multiple of the wager received in step 14, an odds-based payout, all or a portion of an incremented progressive award or a prize. In the exemplary embodiment, a payout for satisfying the winning preset criteria of a 2-2 tie outcome may be 195 to 1 unit wagered on step 14. It should be readily apparent that many variations of the preset criteria and payouts may be advantageously employed in embodiments of the invention.
As mentioned above, layout 50 shown in FIG. 2 is intended to facilitate play of a method according to the invention, such as method 10. Layout 50 includes a player interface or position 52. It should be understood that layout 50 may include a plurality of player positions 52, depending, for example, on whether layout 50 is used in a live table game format in which there would be multiple players seated at the gaming table, or is electronically provided at a gaming kiosk provided for individual players. Layout 50 may be a physical or virtual representation of a felt table display, as it should be understood that the methods of the invention would function as described herein if any one or more of the layout, cards, dealers or wagering chips or apparatus were virtually or physically represented. In this embodiment, each player position 52 includes a player hand wagering position 54, a banker hand wagering position 56, and an associated game wagering position 58 for wagering on the associated wagering game according to the invention. Layout 50 further includes a player hand card position 60 and a banker hand card position 62 for forming the respective player and banker hands. It should be understood that player interface 52 may be an electronic device. It should also be understood that the exact location of the wagering areas and configuration of layout 50 may differ.
In some embodiments, the layout 50 may entirely be provided via a computer interface. Alternatively, the game methods according to the invention may be implemented and presented by means of computer program code which, by way of example, when executed by a processor, causes the display of the wagering options described herein and a game layout.
Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the methods described herein may be incorporated in an electronic gaming system in accordance with the invention using virtual representations of table layouts such as layout 50. The system 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. 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, either through a gaming platform, or a mobile device or other computing platform via a global telecommunication network.
FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary system 151 constructed in accordance with some embodiments of the invention. System 151 includes processing device 168 in communication with a database or memory device 170, communication or data input/output device 172 and a display device 174. In some embodiments, display device 174 is a touch-enabled device and includes a data input device component. Memory device 170 may include data relating to the underlying game and embodiments of the invention as described herein, such as the preset criteria. A virtual representation of a layout such as layout 50 and one or more player positions 176 may be displayed on display device 174 for facilitating the transmittal and receipt of wagers in accordance with any of the embodiments herein, such as method 10. Game outcomes may be received from a live table game or generated by a random number generator. Game outcomes are displayed and wagers are tracked using display device 174 and processing device 168 compares the underlying game outcome with the preset criteria, storing information relating to the satisfaction of the preset criteria in memory 170. Processing device 168 compares the preset criteria with the underlying game outcome stored in memory 170. Should the preset criteria be satisfied, a payout will be determined by processing device 168 and indicated on display device 174. If the preset criteria are not satisfied, the same is indicated on display device 174.
While exemplary systems and methods, and applications of 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 in the claims and equivalents thereto.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method of providing a wagering game associated with an underlying game of baccarat, comprising the steps of:

displaying one or more wagering areas and indicia relating to associated wagering opportunities, including displaying a wagering area for wagering on a specific tie outcome;

receiving game outcome data from an instance of conducting an underlying game of baccarat according to its rules, wherein the underlying game outcome includes data relating to a player hand score and a banker hand score;

comparing the underlying game outcome data with preset criteria, wherein the preset criteria consists of the player hand score and banker hand score being a specific tie outcome of a single numerical number;

providing a payout if the preset criteria is satisfied by the underlying game outcome data based on the odds of the specific tie outcome occurring; and

collecting the wager if the preset criteria is not satisfied by the underlying game outcome data.

2. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the single numerical number is two.

3. A method as recited in claim 1, wherein the step of receiving game outcome data is achieved further comprising using at least one randomly ordered deck of physical playing cards for conducting the underlying game.

4. A system for providing a wagering game associated with an underlying game of Baccarat, comprising:

a) a processor configured for comparing baccarat outcome data with preset criteria, wherein the preset criteria relates consists of the player hand score and banker hand score being a specific tie outcome of a single numerical number; and

b) a communication interface configured for:

(i) displaying one or more wagering areas and indicia relating to associated wagering opportunities, including displaying a wagering area for wagering on a specific tie outcome

(ii) receiving a wager relating to the associated wagering game;

(iii) receiving baccarat outcome data relating to an instance of conducting the underlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccarat game;

(iv) displaying a notification that the wager is collected if the preset criteria is not satisfied by the baccarat outcome data; and

(v) displaying a notification that the wager is paid according to an odds payout if the preset criteria is satisfied by the baccarat outcome data.

5. A system as recited in claim 4, wherein a processor conducts the underlying game of baccarat until a baccarat outcome is achieved according to the rules of the baccarat game.

6. A system as recited in claim 4, wherein real-time game play of the underlying game of baccarat is displayed through the communication interface.

7. A system as recited in claim 4, wherein the communication interface and processor are mounted in a unitary housing.

8. A system according to claim 4, wherein the processor is remotely located from the communication interface.

9. A computer-implemented method of providing a wagering game associated with an underlying baccarat game, comprising one or more processors, communication devices and data storage devices, all for facilitating the steps of:

receiving information relating to a wager placed by a participating player in the associated wagering game;

transmitting information to the participating player relating to play of the underlying baccarat game;

receiving information relating to the baccarat game outcome; and

transmitting information to the participating player relating to the outcome of the wager placed, wherein the information transmitted either includes a notification of the awarding of an odds payout amount the baccarat game outcome is a tie outcome in which the player hand and banker hand both have numerical scores of two or a notification that the wager placed has been lost.

10. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the communication devices transmit information via a global computing network.

11. The computer-implemented method according to claim 9, wherein the communication devices transmit information via a satellite network.