System including card game dispensing shoe and method

• US 20030195025A1
• Filed: 05/16/2003
• Published: 10/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 10/17/1995
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Original Assignee: SHFL Entertainment Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Hill, Otho Dale
• Granted Patent: US 7,699,694 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/11
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/14 Card dealers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/18 Score computers; Miscellaneous indicators time-testing devices G07C
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2001/008 adapted for being playable on a screen
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2425 Scanners, e.g. for scanning regular characters
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2250/58 Antifraud or preventing misuse
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00157 Casino or betting games horse races A63F3/00082

Abstract

A system and method including card game dispensing shoe includes a scanner that discerns the value and suit of each card dispensed, and includes a CPU and a memory storing data such as rules for dealing cards, data representing player strategy criteria and card inventory data. The CPU, with the scanner data and wagering data can determine player proficiency in regards to player strategies, can determine whether the card inventory is in favor of the player, determine player first card advantage and can, on a floating basis, determine permitted deck penetration. The system and method can be incorporated into games to be broadcast over a communications network such as the Internet.

Claims

1. A game monitoring system for a card game including at least two competing hands of cards and where a player wagers on at least one of said hands, the system comprising:

a shoe including a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards defining a card inventory and configured for a dealer to dispense said cards one at a time through said outlet slot to complete said hands according to the rules of the game;

a scanner to scan said playing cards and generate a set of scanner signals determinative of the identify of cards dispensed from the shoe to each hand;

means for acquiring data representing the wager made by the player;

a memory storing data representing at least one predetermined player game play criteria in relation to at least one of the player'"'"'s wager or the cards dealt to at least one of said hands; and

a computer processor to receive said scanner signals and said wager data, said processor configured to compare said acquired data to said at least one predetermined game play criteria to determine adherence by the player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

2. The system of claim 1 comprising said shoe including said scanner disposed at said outlet slot to scan each card as it is dispensed to said hands.

3. The system of claim 1 comprising said card game is Baccarat, said memory storing data representing the sequence of cards to be dealt to each hand according to the rules of Baccarat, said processor configured to compare the sequence of cards dispensed to said game rule sequence data stored in said memory.

4. The system of claim 3 comprising said processor configured to issue a signal where the sequence of cards dispensed to said hands does not match said game rule sequence data stored in said memory and means for issuing a perceptible signal in response to said processor issuing said non-matching signal.

5. The system of claim 3 comprising said memory storing data representing game play criteria representing wagering patterns of the player over a series of games suggestive of the player having a priori knowledge of the first card to be dispensed from the shoe.

6. The system of claim 1 comprising a display, said processor configured to control the display to display representations of the cards designated for delivery to said hands.

7. The system of claim 6 comprising said processor configured to display the outcome of the game.

8. The system of claim 1 comprising a communication network in communication with at least one terminal located remotely from said game, a display for each terminal, means at each terminal for a remote player to input a wager according to the rules of the game, said processor configured to issue signals over said network to control the terminal display to display the scanned cards dealt to each hand according to the rules of the game and determine whether the remote player has won or lost their wager.

9. The system of claim 1 comprising said game is Blackjack including a dealer hand and a player hand and where the player has options in regards to the cards dealt to the player hand, said memory storing data representing at least one predetermined Blackjack player play strategy in relation to one of said wager and player options and said processor comparing at least one of the data representing said player wagers and the data representing the cards dealt to the player hand to determine adherence of the player to said at least one predetermined play strategy.

10. The system of claim 1 comprising a game round indicator, said processor controlling said indicator to indicate the outcome results of the game.

11. The system of claim 1 where the game is Baccarat where the game outcome is one of a Bank hand win, a Player hand win or a tie, said game round indicator controlled to indicate an outcome of a Bank win, a player win and a tie.

12. A game monitoring system for a Blackjack card game including a dealer hand at least one player hand of cards where a player makes a wager and exercises options with respect to the player'"'"'s hand according to the rules of the game, the system comprising:

a shoe including a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards defining a card inventory and configured for a dealer to dispense said cards one at a time through said outlet slot to complete said hands according to the rules of the game;

a scanner to scan said playing cards and generate a set of scanner signals determinative of the identify of cards dispensed from the shoe to each hand;

means for acquiring data representing the wager(s) made by the player;

a memory storing data representing at least one predetermined Blackjack game play criteria in relation to at least one of the player'"'"'s wager or the cards dealt to at least one of said hands and data representing the constituency of the card inventory; and

a computer processor to receive said scanner signals and said wager data, said processor configured to compare said acquired data to said at least one predetermined game play criteria to determine adherence by the player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

13. The system of claim 12 comprising selecting the number of cards to remain in the inventory and not dealt from the shoe for reconstitution and reshuffling of the inventory, said processor processing the scanner data to determine depletion of cards from the inventory by dealing to leave said selected number of cards undealt and in response thereto sending a signal to command reconstitution and re-shuffling of the inventory.

14. The system of claim 13 comprising said processor configured to alter said selected number of cards to remain in said inventory in response to said processor determining adherence by any player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

15. The system of claim 14 comprising a moveable barrier at said shoe outlet and said processor configured to control said barrier upon (I) determination of depletion of cards from the inventory by dealing to said selected number and (ii) completion of the current hand of play, to block further dealing of cards from said shoe.

16. The system of claim 15 comprising increasing said selected number of cards in said inventory to remain undealt in response to said processor determining adherence by any player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

17. The system of claim 12 comprising said game play criteria comprising a card count system and said processor configured to, from said scanner signals determine a card count system advantage for said inventory according to said card count system.

18. The system of claim 12 comprising a communication network in communication with at least one terminal located remotely from said game, a display for each terminal, means at each terminal for a remote player to input a wager according to the rules of the game, said processor configured to issue signals over said network to control the terminal display to display representations of the scanned cards dealt to each hand and determine whether the remote player has won or lost their wager.

19. The system of claim 12 comprising a communication network in communication with at least one terminal located remotely from said game, a display for each terminal, means at each terminal for a remote player to input game play strategy decisions according to the rules of the game, said processor configured to issue signals over said network to control the terminal display to display representations of the scanned cards dealt to each hand and determine whether the remote player has won or lost their wager.

20. The method of claim 19 comprising a communication network in communication with at least one terminal located remotely from said game, a display for each terminal, means at each terminal for a remote player to input game play strategy decisions according to the rules of the game, said processor configured to issue signals over said network to control the terminal display to display representations of the scanned cards dealt to each hand and determine whether the remote player has won or lost their wager

21. A method for monitoring a card game including at least two competing hands of cards and where a player wagers on at least one of said hands, the method comprising:

providing a shoe including a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards defining a card inventory and configured for a dealer to dispense said cards one at a time through said outlet slot to complete said hands according to the rules of the game;

scanning said playing cards to generate a set of scanner signals determinative of the identify of cards dispensed from the shoe to each hand;

acquiring data representing the wager made by the player;

storing data in a memory representing at least one predetermined player game play criteria in relation to at least one of the player'"'"'s wager or the cards dealt to at least one of said hands; and

processing said scanner signals and said wager data to compare said acquired data to said at least one predetermined game play criteria to determine adherence by the player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

22. The method of claim 21 comprising scanning each card as it is dispensed from the shoe to said hands to generate said scanner signals.

23. The method of claim 21 comprising said card game is Baccarat, storing in said memory data representing the sequence of cards designated to be dealt to each hand according to the rules of Baccarat, processor comparing the sequence of cards dispensed to said game rule sequence data stored in said memory.

24. The method of claim 23 comprising the processor issuing a signal where the sequence of cards dispensed to said hands does not match said game rule sequence data stored in said memory and generating a perceptible signal in response to said processor issuing said non-matching signal.

25. The method of claim 21 comprising storing data representing game play criteria representing wagering patterns of the player over a series of games suggestive of the player having a priori knowledge of the first card to be dispensed from the shoe.

26. The method of claim 21 comprising providing a video display and said processor controlling the display to display representations of the cards dealt to said hands.

27. The method of claim 26 comprising said processor controlling the video display to display the outcome of the game.

28. The method of claim 21 comprising establishing a communication link between said processor and a communication network which is in communication with at least one player terminal located remotely from said game, the player at the terminal inputting a wager according to the rules of the game, said processor issuing signals over said network to control the terminal to display at a terminal display the scanned cards dealt to each hand according to the rules of the game and determine whether the remote player has won or lost their wager.

29. The method of claim 21 comprising said game is Blackjack including a dealer hand and a player hand and where the player has options in regards to the cards dealt to the player hand, storing in said memory data representing at least one predetermined Blackjack player play strategy in relation to one of said wager and player options and said processor comparing at least one of the data representing said player wagers and the data representing the cards dealt to the player hand to determine adherence of the player to said at least one predetermined play strategy.

30. A game monitoring method for a Blackjack card game which includes a dealer hand at least one player hand of cards where a player makes a wager and exercises options with respect to the player'"'"'s hand according to the rules of the game, the method comprising:

dealing cards according to the rules of the game to the hands from a shoe which includes a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards defining a card inventory;

scanning said playing cards and generating a set of scanner signals determinative of the identify of cards dealt from the shoe to each hand;

acquiring data representing the wager made by the player;

storing data in a memory representing at least one predetermined Blackjack game play criteria in relation to at least one of the player'"'"'s wager or the cards dealt to at least one of said hands and data representing the constituency of the card inventory ; and

a computer processor receiving said scanner signals and said wager data, said processor comparing said acquired data to said at least one predetermined game play criteria to determine adherence by the player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

31. The method of claim 30 comprising selecting the number of cards to remain in the inventory and not dealt from the shoe before reconstitution and reshuffling of the inventory, said processor processing the scanner data to determine depletion of cards from the inventory by dealing to leave said selected number of cards undealt and in response thereto sending a signal to command reconstitution and re-shuffling of the inventory.

32. The method of claim 31 comprising said processor altering said selected number of cards to remain in said inventory in response to said processor determining adherence by any player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

33. The method of claim 31 comprising a providing a moveable barrier at said shoe outlet and said processor controlling said barrier upon (I) determination of depletion of cards from the inventory by dealing to said selected number and (ii) completion of the current hand of play, to block further dealing of cards from the shoe.

34. The method of claim 32 comprising increasing said selected number of cards in said inventory to remain undealt in response to said processor determining adherence by any player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

35. The system of claim 30 comprising storing said criteria data as data representing a card count system and said processor determining a card count system advantage for said inventory according to said card count system.

36. The system of claim 30 comprising a establishing a communication link between said processor and at least one player terminal located remotely from said game, the player at the remote terminal inputting a wager according to the rules of the game, said processor issuing signals over said link controlling a display at the terminal to display said scanned cards dealt to each hand according to the rules of the game and determine whether the remote player has won or lost their wager.

37. A game monitoring system for a Baccarat card game including a Bank hand and a Player hand of cards and where a player wagers on at least one of said hands and where the outcome is a winning Bank hand, winning Player hand or a tie and where a commission is assessed on winning Bank hands, the system comprising:

a shoe including a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards defining a card inventory and configured for a dealer to dispense said cards one at a time through said outlet slot to complete said hands according to the rules of the game;

a scanner to scan said playing cards and generate a set of scanner signals determinative of the identify of cards dispensed from the shoe to each hand;

means for acquiring data representing the wager made by the player;

a video display;

a memory storing data representing at least one predetermined player game play criteria in relation to at least one of the player'"'"'s wager or the cards dealt to at least one of said hands; and

a computer processor to receive said scanner signals and said wager data, said processor configured to determine winning Bank hands, winning Player hands and ties, the amount wagered by the player, the amount won by the player and the commissions owed by the player and controls the display to display at least data representing the outcome and said processor configured to determine a parameter related to a valuation of the player.

38. The system of claim 37 comprisng said processor configured to determine at least one of Earning Potential and Complimentary Equivalency for each game player.

39. A game monitoring system for a card game including at least two competing hands of cards and where a player wagers on at least one of said hands, the system comprising:

a shoe including a housing having an outlet slot, said housing sized to store a plurality of playing cards defining a card inventory and configured for a dealer to dispense said cards one at a time through said outlet slot to complete said hands according to the rules of the game;

a scanner to scan said playing cards and generate a set of scanner signals determinative of the identify of cards before the cards are dealt to any hand;

means for acquiring data representing the wager made by the player;

a memory storing data representing at least one predetermined player game play criteria in relation to at least one of the player'"'"'s wager or the cards dealt to at least one of said hands; and

a computer processor to receive said scanner signals and said wager data, said processor configured to compare said acquired data to said at least one predetermined game play criteria to determine adherence by the player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

40. A method for monitoring a card game conducted between a host and a player at a remote terminal including a display, the game including at least two competing hands of cards and where a player wagers on at least one of said hands, the method comprising:

establishing a communication link between the host computer and the remote terminal for the player;

the player at the terminal entering a wager to play the game, said host computer receiving the wager data;

the host computer selecting from a data structure storing data representing an inventory of playing cards, the cards for each hand and controlling the terminal display to display representations of said cards of said hands;

storing data in a memory data representing at least one predetermined player game play criteria in relation to at least one of the player'"'"'s wager or the representations of cards dealt to at least one of said hands; and

processing said selected card data and said wager data to compare said data to said at least one predetermined game play criteria to determine adherence by the player to said at least one predetermined game play criteria.

41. The method of claim 40 comprising said game is Blackjack, processing the selected card data over a series of games to determine at least one characteristic of the inventory based upon a predetermined card count system and said processor issuing a signal when the characteristic indicates the inventory is in the player'"'"'s favor according to said count system.