SYSTEM, METHOD AND APPARATUS TO PRODUCE DECKS FOR AND OPERATE GAMES PLAYED WITH PLAYING CARDS

• US 20080113764A1
• Filed: 11/09/2006
• Published: 05/15/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LNW Gaming Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Soltys, Richard
• Granted Patent: US 9,101,820 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 463/22
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/00 Card games aspects of games using an electronically generated display having two or more dimensions showing representations related to the game A63F13/00; card games played on a gaming machine G07F17/32
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00157 Casino or betting games horse races A63F3/00082

Abstract

A composition of a set of playing cards employing a plurality of standard playing cards and bonus playing cards may be determined, resulting in a desired theoretical hold or advantage for the gaming establishment. The composition identifies the number of each of a variety of bonus playing cards to include in a set of playing cards to achieve the theoretical hold. The composition may be based on a desired theoretical hold, rule(s), and/or bonus parameters.

Claims

1. A system to form sets of playing cards, the system comprising:

an input subsystem configured to receive input indicative of at least one of a desired theoretical hold of a card game and a bonus game both played with playing cards from a set of playing cards, a rule of a game to be played with the set of playing cards or a progressive jackpot parameter; and

a processing subsystem communicatively coupled to the input subsystem and configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards based at least in part on the received input, the set of playing cards including both a number of standard playing cards and a number of bonus playing cards.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards based at least in part on the desired theoretical hold.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of at least two types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of at least three types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the bonus playing cards has a rank selected from a standard set of ranks, and the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of the at least three types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold based at least in part on a theoretical hold of an underlying card game which is resolved at least in part on the ranks of both the standard playing cards and the bonus playing cards, and a theoretical hold of a bonus game that is resolved at least in part on a respective bonus value ascribed to each of the bonus playing cards.

6. The system of claim 1 wherein each of the bonus playing cards has a rank selected from a standard set of ranks and has a bonus value independent of the rank, and the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of the at least three types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold based at least in part on a theoretical hold of an underlying card game which is resolved at least in part on the ranks of both the standard playing cards and the bonus playing cards, and a theoretical hold of a bonus game that is resolved at least in part on a respective one of the bonus values ascribed to each of the bonus playing cards.

7. The system of claim 6 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of the at least three types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold based at least in part on whether a push is treated as a loss for a player.

8. The system of claim 6 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of the at least three types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold based at least in part on whether a push with at least one bonus playing card in a player hand is treated as a loss for a player.

9. The system of claim 6 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of the at least three types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold based at least in part on a percentage of each wager allocated to a progressive bonus jackpot.

10. The system of claim 6 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards by determining a total number of each of the at least three types of bonus playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold based at least in part on a starting amount of a progressive bonus jackpot.

11. The system of claim 1 wherein the processing subsystem is configured to automatically determine a composition of the set of playing cards to include in the set of playing cards to determine a total number of each of the at least three types of bonus playing cards to achieve the desired theoretical hold based at least in part on a total size of the set of playing cards.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein supplying a plurality of standard playing cards, each of the standard playing cards having a rank symbol indicative of a rank from a standard set of playing card ranks and a suit symbol indicative of a suit from a standard set of playing card suits includes supplying a plurality of standard playing cards having standard rank symbols selected from the group consisting of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, J, K, Q, and A, and having standard suit symbols selected from the group consisting of , , ♡

, ♦

.

18. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving input indicative of a desired theoretical hold for a combination of an underlying card game and a bonus game played with the set of playing cards; and

automatically determining a composition of the set of playing cards based at least in part on the desired theoretical hold.

19. The method of claim 18 wherein automatically determining a composition of the set of playing cards based at least in part on the desired theoretical hold includes automatically determining a total number of the bonus playing cards to supply to the set of playing cards.

20. The method of claim 18 wherein automatically determining a composition of the set of playing cards based at least in part on the desired theoretical hold includes automatically determining a total number of the bonus playing cards of each of at least the first and the second bonus values to supply to the set of playing cards.

21. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving input indicative of a selection with respect to at least one rule of a game to be played with the set of playing cards; and

wherein automatically determining the composition of the set of playing cards is based at least in part on the selection with respect to the at least one rule.

22. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving input indicative of whether a push in an underlying card game counts as a loss for a player; and

wherein automatically determining the composition of the set of playing cards is based at least in part on the received input indicative of whether a push in an underlying card game counts as a loss for a player.

23. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving input indicative of whether a push with at least one bonus playing card in an underlying card game counts as a loss for a player; and

wherein automatically determining the composition of the set of playing cards is based at least in part on the received input indicative of whether a push with at least one bonus playing card in an underlying card game counts as a loss for a player.

24. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving input indicative of an amount of each of a number of wagers to be allocated to a progressive jackpot; and

wherein automatically determining the composition of the set of playing cards is based at least in part on the amount of each of the wagers to be allocated to the progressive jackpot.

25. The method of claim 20, further comprising:

receiving input indicative of a starting amount of a progressive jackpot;

and wherein automatically determining the composition of the set of playing cards is based at least in part on the starting amount of the progressive jackpot.

12. A method of forming a set of playing cards, the method comprising:

supplying a plurality of standard playing cards, each of the standard playing cards having a rank symbol indicative of a rank from a standard set of playing card ranks and a suit symbol indicative of a suit from a standard set of playing card suits;

supplying at least a first bonus playing card having a first bonus symbol indicative of a first bonus value, at least one symbol on the first bonus playing card indicative of a rank from the standard set of playing card ranks; and

supplying at least a second bonus playing card having a second bonus symbol indicative of a second bonus value, the second bonus symbol different from the first bonus symbol and the second bonus value different from the first bonus value, at least one symbol on the second bonus playing card indicative of a rank from the standard set of playing card ranks.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein supplying at least a first bonus playing card having a first bonus symbol indicative of a first bonus value includes supplying a first bonus playing card with a first bonus symbol indicative of a first rank, and wherein supplying at least a second bonus playing card having a second bonus symbol indicative of a second bonus value includes supplying a second bonus playing card with a second bonus symbol indicative of the first rank.

14. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

supplying at least a third bonus playing card having a third bonus symbol indicative of a third bonus value, the third bonus symbol different from the first and the second bonus symbols and the third bonus value different from the first and the second bonus values, at least one symbol on the third bonus playing card indicative of a rank from the standard set of playing card ranks.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein supplying at least a first bonus playing card having a first bonus symbol indicative of a first bonus value includes supplying a first bonus playing card with a first bonus symbol indicative of a first rank, wherein supplying at least a second bonus playing card having a second bonus symbol indicative of a second bonus value includes supplying a second bonus playing card with a second bonus symbol indicative of the first rank, and wherein supplying at least a third bonus playing card having a third bonus symbol indicative of a third bonus value includes supplying a third bonus playing card with a third bonus symbol indicative of the first rank.

16. The method of claim 12 wherein supplying a plurality of standard playing cards, each of the standard playing cards having a rank symbol indicative of a rank from a standard set of playing card ranks and a suit symbol indicative of a suit from a standard set of playing card suits includes supplying a plurality of standard playing cards having standard rank symbols selected from the group consisting of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, K, Q, and A, and having standard suit symbols selected from the group consisting of , , ♡

. ♦

.

26. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

packaging the set of playing cards.

27. A set of playing cards, comprising:

a plurality of standard playing cards, each of the standard playing cards having a respective standard rank symbol and a standard suit symbol;

a plurality of bonus playing cards, each of the bonus playing cards having a respective rank, the ranks of the plurality of bonus playing cards being equal to at least one of a set of standard ranks, where at least two of the bonus playing cards have different bonus values with respect to forming a bonus combination under the rules of a game played with the set of playing cards.

28. The set of playing cards of claim 27 wherein the standard rank symbols of the standard playing cards are selected from the group consisting of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, J, K, Q, and A, and wherein the standard suit symbols of the standard playing cards are selected from the group consisting of , , ♡

, ♦

.

29. The set of playing cards of claim 27 wherein the standard rank symbols of the standard playing cards are selected from the group consisting of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, J, K, Q, and A, and wherein the standard suit symbols of the standard playing cards are selected from the group consisting of , , ♡

, ♦

.

30. The set of playing cards of claim 29 wherein the bonus playing cards each have a rank equal to 7.

31. The set of playing cards of claim 30 wherein the plurality of standard playing cards each have a rank not equal to 7.

32. The set of playing cards of claim 30 wherein the bonus playing cards each have a bonus rank symbol selected from the group consisting of 7, 77, and 777.

33. The set of playing cards of claim 27 wherein the bonus playing cards each have a rank equal to 7.

34. The set of playing cards of claim 33 wherein the bonus playing cards each have a bonus rank symbol selected from the group consisting of 7, 77, and 777.

35. The set of playing cards of claim 27 wherein the bonus playing cards each have a respective bonus value associated therewith, the bonus values selected from at least a first bonus value, a second bonus value and a third bonus value, and where a combination of three bonus playing cards each having a first one of the bonus values is paid a jackpot amount.

36. The set of playing cards of claim 35 wherein the jackpot amount is a progressive jackpot amount.

37. The set of playing cards of claim 36 wherein a combination of playing cards including at least one bonus playing card of the first bonus value and at least one bonus playing card of either the second or the third bonus values is paid at a first set of payout odds under the rules of the game, unless paid the jackpot amount.

38. The set of playing cards of claim 37 wherein a combination of playing cards including at least one bonus playing card of the second bonus value and at least one bonus playing card of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values is paid at the first set of payout odds under the rules of the game, unless paid the jackpot amount.

39. The set of playing cards of claim 38 wherein a combination of playing cards including at least one bonus playing card of the third bonus value and at least two bonus playing cards of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values is paid at the first set of payout odds under the rules of the game, unless paid the jackpot amount.

40. The set of playing cards of claim 39 wherein a combination of playing cards including only a single one of the bonus playing cards of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values, in addition to the standard playing cards, if any, is paid at a second set of payout odds under the rules of the game, unless paid the jackpot amount or paid at the first set of payout odds, the second set of payout odds different from the first set of payout odds.

41. The set of playing cards of claim 40 wherein a combination of playing cards including only a pair of the bonus playing cards of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values, in addition to the standard playing cards, if any, is paid at the second set of payout odds under the rules of the game, unless paid the jackpot amount or paid at the first set of payout odds.

42. The set of playing cards of claim 41 wherein a combination of playing cards including three of a kind of the bonus playing cards of the second or the third bonus values, in addition to the standard playing cards, if any, is paid at the second set of payout odds under the rules of the game, unless paid the jackpot amount or paid at the first set of payout odds.

43. The set of playing cards of claim 27 wherein the set of playing cards includes over 52 of the standard and the bonus playing cards.

44. The set of playing cards of claim 27 wherein the set of playing cards includes an integer multiple of 52 of the standard and the bonus playing cards.

45. A method of operating a card game played with a set of playing cards that includes a plurality of standard playing cards and a plurality of bonus playing cards, each of the standard playing cards having a respective standard rank symbol and a standard suit symbol, each of the bonus playing cards having a respective rank, the ranks of the plurality of bonus playing cards being equal to at least one of a set of standard ranks, where at least two of the bonus playing cards have different bonus values with respect to forming a bonus combination under the rules of a game played with the set of playing cards, the method comprising:

for any winning hands under a set of rules of an underlying card game, paying a standard payout amount based on a standard payout schedule for the underlying card game; and

for any winning hands under the set of rules of the underlying card game that contain at least one bonus playing card, paying a bonus amount based on a bonus payout schedule.

46. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

for any losing hands, collecting a wagered amount.

47. The method of claim 45 wherein the bonus playing cards each have a respective bonus value selected from at least three bonus values and wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a winning hand including a bonus combination of three bonus playing cards each having a first one of the bonus values a jackpot amount.

48. The method of claim 47 wherein paying a jackpot amount includes paying a progressive jackpot amount.

49. The method of claim 47 wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a bonus combination of playing cards including at least one bonus playing card of the first bonus value and at least one bonus playing card of either the second or the third bonus values at a first set of payout odds, unless the bonus combination is paid the jackpot amount.

50. The method of claim 49 wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a bonus combination of playing cards including at least one bonus playing card of the second bonus value and at least one bonus playing card of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values at the first set of payout odds, unless the bonus combination is paid the jackpot amount.

51. The method of claim 50 wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a bonus combination of playing cards including at least one bonus playing card of the third bonus value and at least two bonus playing cards of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values at the first set of payout odds, unless the bonus combination is paid the jackpot amount.

52. The method of claim 51 wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a bonus combination of playing cards including only a single one of the bonus playing cards of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values, in addition to the standard playing cards, if any, at a second set of payout odds, unless the bonus combination is paid the jackpot amount or paid at the first set of payout odds, the second set of payout odds different from the first set of payout odds.

53. The method of claim 52 wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a bonus combination of playing cards including only a pair of the bonus playing cards of any of the first, the second or the third bonus values, in addition to the standard playing cards, if any, at the second set of payout odds, unless the bonus combination is paid the jackpot amount or paid at the first set of payout odds.

54. The method of claim 53 wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a bonus combination of playing cards including three of a kind of the bonus playing cards of the second or the third bonus values, in addition to the standard playing cards, if any, at the second set of payout odds, unless paid the jackpot amount or paid at the first set of payout odds.

55. The method of claim 45 wherein paying a bonus amount includes paying a winning hand that includes a bonus combination of bonus playing cards a jackpot amount upon an occurrence of an independent event.

56. The method of claim 55 wherein paying a winning hand that includes a combination of bonus playing cards a jackpot amount upon an occurrence of an independent event includes paying the winning hand that includes a combination of bonus playing cards upon the occurrence of a random event.

57. The method of claim 55 wherein paying a winning hand that includes a combination of bonus playing cards a jackpot amount upon an occurrence of an independent event includes paying the winning hand that includes a combination of bonus playing cards upon the occurrence of a first of a random event and a termination of a time period.

58. The method of claim 45 wherein paying a standard payout amount includes paying a standard payout amount based on the rules of blackjack.

59. The method of claim 45 wherein paying a standard payout amount includes paying a standard payout amount based on the rules of baccarat.

60. The method of claim 45 wherein paying a standard payout amount includes paying a standard payout amount based on the rules of at least one of poker, PIA GOW poker, or CARIBBEAN stud poker.

61. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

allocating a portion of each of a number of wagers placed on an underlying card game to a progressive jackpot.

62. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

automatically determining an amount of each of a number of wagers;

automatically allocating a portion of each of the wagers to a progressive jackpot.

63. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

displaying the amount of the progressive jackpot to patrons.

64. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

determining whether a player'"'"'s hand beats a dealer'"'"'s hand based on a set of rules of an underlying card game.

65. The method of claim 64 wherein determining whether a player'"'"'s hand beats a dealer'"'"'s hand is based on the rules of blackjack.

66. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

determining whether a player'"'"'s hand beats a banker'"'"'s hand based on the rules of baccarat.

67. The method of claim 45, further comprising:

determining whether a player'"'"'s hand beats another hand based on the rules of at least one of poker, PIA GOW poker, or CARIBBEAN stud poker.

68. A system of operating a card game played with a set of playing cards that includes a plurality of standard playing cards, each of the standard playing cards having a respective standard rank symbol and standard suit symbol and a plurality of bonus playing cards, each of the bonus playing cards having a respective rank, the ranks of the plurality of bonus playing cards being equal to at least one of a set of standard ranks, where at least two of the bonus playing cards have different bonus values with respect to forming a bonus combination under the rules of a game played with the set of playing cards, the system comprising:

a wager recognition subsystem that automatically identifies an amount of each of a respective wager placed by each of a number of players;

a wager allocation subsystem that automatically allocates a portion of the wager placed by each of the players to a bonus jackpot pool;

a bonus event subsystem that automatically determines when a bonus event occurs; and

a bonus jackpot award subsystem that awards the bonus jackpot pool to a player having a winning hand that includes a first number of a first type of bonus playing card when the bonus event occurs.

69. The system of claim 68 wherein the wager recognition subsystem includes at least one electromagnetic sensor that senses information indicative of an amount of a number of chips at a location at least proximate at least one wager placement areas.

70. The system of claim 68 wherein the bonus event subsystem is configured to determine the occurrence of a random event.

71. The system of claim 68 wherein the bonus event subsystem is configured to determine the occurrence of a first one of a random event and a termination of a time period.

72. The system of claim 68 wherein the bonus jackpot award subsystem is configured to produce a hand containing a first number of a first type of bonus playing card when the bonus event occurs.

73. The system of claim 68, further comprising:

at least one display subsystem configured to display a current amount of the bonus jackpot pool.