Systems, methods, and devices for monitoring card games, such as baccarat

• US 7,753,798 B2
• Filed: 09/02/2004
• Issued: 07/13/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/05/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sg Gaming, Inc. (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming International Incorporated (Light & Wonder Incorporated)
• Inventors: Soltys, Richard, Huizinga, Richard
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol; Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): MOSSER, ROBERT E
• Application Number:
  US10/934,785
• Publication Number:
  US 20050137005A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,140 Days
• Field of Search: 273/149.R, 273292-293, 273/296, 273/148.R, 273/148.B, 463/1, 463/47, 463/48
• US Class Current: 463/47
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/10 Card holders
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/12 Card shufflers
• 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 2001/001 Bridge or baccarat
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2001/0491 having markings on the rear face or reverse side
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2003/00164 Casino tables
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2419 Optical
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/242 Bar codes
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2250/58 Antifraud or preventing misuse
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 3/00157 Casino or betting games horse races A63F3/00082
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3202 Hardware aspects of a gaming system, e.g. components, construction, architecture thereof
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3232 wherein the operator is informed
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3241 Security aspects of a gaming system, e.g. detecting cheating, device integrity, surveillance computer security G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3288 Betting, e.g. on live events, bookmaking
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

Gaming systems, methods, and devices for determining or verifying the outcome of a card game, for example the card game of Baccarat. The systems, methods, and devices can be used in conjunction with the card game to enhance security by optically imaging the hands of playing cards dealt or by optically reading a set of cards to determine the outcome of each game that can be played from that set of cards. The playing cards each have at least one encoded symbol comprised of machine-readable indicia. The gaming system can include a card shoe-reader alone, a card shoe-reader in combination with at least one card hand-reader, or various other embodiments to include other devices such as a discard reader or a bet recognition device. The optically imaged playing cards can be processed within a computing system to allow the authentication of the playing cards.

Claims

1. A method of operating a card identification system to evaluate card games played with a number of playing cards at a gaming table, the method comprising:

determining by the card identification system a starting sequence of the playing cards in a set of playing cards from which at least one card game will be dealt;

reading from each of a number of dealt playing cards forming a first hand dealt from the set of playing cards respective machine-readable identifying information with at least one playing card hand reader of the card identification system;

reading from each of a number of dealt playing cards forming a second hand dealt from the set of playing cards respective machine-readable identifying information with the at least one playing card hand reader;

automatically and independent of a knowledge the starting sequence, determining a respective identity of each of the number of dealt playing cards forming the first hand dealt from the set of playing cards based on identifying information read from the dealt playing cards forming the first hand;

automatically and independent of the knowledge the starting sequence, determining by the card identification system the respective identity of each of a number of dealt playing cards forming the second hand dealt from the set of playing cards based on identifying information read from dealt playing cards forming the second hand;

for each dealt playing card forming the first hand, automatically determining by the card identification system whether the respective identity determined independent of knowledge of the starting sequence of the respective dealt playing card matches a respective expected identity of a respective playing card expected to be in the first hand before any wagers are resolved, wherein an expectation of respective playing card to be in the first hand is based at least in part on the knowledge of the starting sequence; and

for each dealt playing card forming the second hand, automatically determining by the card identification system whether the respective identity determined independent of knowledge of the starting sequence of the respective dealt playing card matches a respective expected identity of a respective playing card expected to be in the second hand before any wagers are resolved, wherein an expectation of respective playing card to be in the second hand is based at least in part on the knowledge of the starting sequence.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein determining by the card identification system a starting sequence of the playing cards in a set of playing cards from which at least one card game will be dealt comprises determining a sequence of a number of the playing cards in a card shoe before a first one of the number of playing cards is dealt.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein determining by the card identification system a starting sequence of the playing cards in a set of playing cards from which at least one card game will be dealt comprises determining the respective identity of each respective playing card as the respective playing card is dealt from a card shoe.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein determining by the card identification system a starting sequence of the playing cards in a set of playing cards from which at least one card game will be dealt comprises determining a respective identity of each of the playing cards in the set of playing cards before a card shoe holding the set of playing cards is placed on the gaming table and before any one of the playing cards of the set of playing cards is removed from the card shoe.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein determining by the card identification system a starting sequence of the playing cards in a set of playing cards from which at least one card game will be dealt comprises determining a respective identity of each of the playing cards in the set of playing cards after a card shoe holding the set of playing cards is placed on the gaming table.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein determining by the card identification system a starting sequence of the playing cards in a set of playing cards from which at least one card game will be dealt comprises one of optically imaging and optically scanning a respective identity symbol from each of at least a number of the playing cards in the set of playing cards.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein reading from each of a number of dealt playing cards forming a first hand dealt from the set of playing cards respective machine-readable identifying information with at least one playing card reader comprises reading a respective symbol from each of the playing cards forming the first hand while at least a portion of the first hand is inserted into the at least one playing card reader located on the gaming table and wherein reading from each of a number of dealt playing cards forming a second hand dealt from the set of playing cards respective machine-readable identifying information with the at least one playing card reader comprises reading a respective symbol from each of the playing cards forming the second hand while at least a portion of the second hand is inserted into the at least one playing card reader located on the gaming table.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein for at least one respective hand of the first hand or the second hand, automatically determining by the card identification system whether the respective identity of each dealt playing card forming the at least one respective hand matches a respective expected identity of a respective playing card expected to be in the at least one respective hand based at least in part on the knowledge of the starting sequence and based at least in part on the identifying information read from the dealt playing cards forming the second hand before any wagers are resolved further includes making the determination before a fourth card is dealt.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein for at least one respective hand of the first hand or the second hand, automatically determining by the card identification system whether the respective identity of each dealt playing card forming the at least one respective hand matches a respective expected identity of a respective playing card expected to be in the at least one respective hand based at least in part on the knowledge of the starting sequence and based at least in part on the identifying information read from the dealt playing cards forming the second hand before any wagers are resolved further includes making the determination before a last card is dealt.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein the playing card game is baccarat and automatically determining by the card identification system an identity of each of a number of playing cards forming a first hand dealt from the set of playing cards comprises determining the identity of at least two and less than four playing cards forming the first hand.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein reading from each of a number of dealt playing cards forming a first hand dealt from the set of playing cards respective machine-readable identifying information with at least one playing card reader comprises reading a respective machine-readable symbol from each of the playing cards forming the first hand while the first hand is at least partially inserted into a first playing card reader of the at least one playing card reader located on the gaming table and wherein reading from each of a number of dealt playing cards forming a second hand dealt from the set of playing cards respective machine-readable identifying information with the at least one playing card reader comprises reading a respective machine-readable symbol from each of the playing cards forming the second hand while the second hand is at least partially inserted into a second playing card reader of the at least one playing card reader located on the gaming table.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein reading the machine-readable symbol from each of the playing cards includes reading the machine-readable symbol from a portion of a backside of each of the playing cards.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein reading a respective machine-readable symbol from each of the playing cards forming at least one of the first hand or the second hand includes reading the respective machine-readable symbol from a respective portion of a respective front side of each respective one of the playing cards.

14. A gaming system for managing a card game played with playing cards from a set of playing cards, the gaming system comprising:

a card shoe from which playing cards having a respective machine-readable identifier may be dealt in a determined order;

a first card hand-reader separated from the card shoe and sized to receive therein a respective first portion of each of at least two dealt playing cards forming a first hand of playing cards while the at least two dealt playing cards are positioned such that at least a respective human-readable symbol carried on a respective face of at least a respective second portion of a respective playing card of the at least two playing cards is viewably exposed to a wagering participant, and to read the respective machine-readable identifier carried by each of the at least two dealt playing cards while the respective first portions of the at least two dealt playing cards are positioned in the first card hand-reader; and

a processor communicatively coupled to receive identifying data from the first card hand-reader and configured to compare a respective determined identity of each of the at least two dealt playing cards in the first card hand-reader to at least one respective expected identity for a respective playing card expected to be included in the first hand of playing cards received by the first card hand-reader based on the determined order in which the playing cards are dealt from the card shoe.

15. The gaming system of claim 14 wherein the first card hand-reader comprises an optical reader positioned to read the respective machine-readable symbol carried by each of the at least two playing cards when the respective first portions of the at least two playing cards are received in the first hand reader while the second portion of the at least two playing cards including the first human-readable symbol is positioned outside of the first card hand-reader and is viewably exposed to one or more game participants.

16. The gaming system of claim 14 wherein the processor is further configured to decode the respective machine-readable identifiers.

17. The gaming system of claim 14 wherein the card shoe comprises a reader to read the respective machine-readable identifier from each of at least a number of the playing cards in the card shoe to determine the order.

18. The gaming system of claim 14, further comprising:

a gaming table comprising a playing surface including at least a Banker wagering region, a Player wagering region, and a Tie wagering region, wherein the card shoe and the first card hand-reader are separated by at least a portion of the playing surface; and

a reader to read the respective machine-readable identifier from each of at least a number of the playing cards in the card shoe to determine the order, the reader installed in the gaming table and complementarily detachable with the card shoe.

19. The gaming system of claim 14 wherein the first card hand-reader comprises an optical reader positioned and configured to simultaneously read the respective machine-readable symbol carried by each of the at least two playing cards while the respective first portions of the at least two playing cards are received in the first card hand-reader and while the respective second portions of the at least two playing cards are positioned outside of the first card hand-reader to expose the first human-readable symbol to one or more game participants.

20. The gaming system of claim 14 wherein the first card hand-reader comprises an optical reader positioned to sequentially read the respective machine-readable symbol carried by each of the at least two playing cards while the respective first portions of the at least two playing cards are received in the first card hand-reader and while the respective second portions of each of the at least two playing cards are positioned outside of the first card hand-reader to expose each respective human-readable symbol to one or more game participants.

21. The gaming system of claim 14, further comprising:

a second card hand-reader sized to simultaneously receive a respective portion of each of at least two playing cards forming a second hand of playing cards while the at least two playing cards of the second hand of playing cards are each lying flat adjacent one another to expose at least a respective first human-readable symbol carried on a respective face of each of the respective playing cards, and to read the respective machine-readable identifier carried by each of the at least two playing cards of the second hand of playing cards while the at least two playing cards of the second hand of playing cards are received in the second card hand-reader.

22. The gaming system of claim 14, further comprising:

a card discard-reader sized to receive at least two hands of playing cards collected after resolving any wagers placed on the card game.

23. The gaming system of claim 14, further comprising:

at least one bet recognition device positioned on a playing surface to acquire data from at least two wager placements.

24. The gaming system of claim 14 wherein the processor is further configured to determine, independent of a knowledge of the determined order in which playing cards are dealt, a respective identity of each of the at least two dealt playing cards received by the first card hand-reader based on the received identity data.

25. A card identification system for evaluating an outcome of at least one card game, the card game played with a set of encoded playing cards, the system comprising:

a card shoe-reader sized to receive the set of playing cards;

an optical scanner communicatively coupled to the card shoe-reader for reading the set of encoded playing cards to determine a sequence of the set of playing cards;

a processor in communication with the card shoe-reader for evaluating the sequence of the set of playing cards based on a known dealing sequence and card game rules, the processor further configured to;

determine an outcome of each card game that can be played from the set of playing cards,

identify each dealt playing card based on, and independent of knowledge of the dealing sequence, the respective identifying data read from each of the cards dealt from the set of playing cards, and

verify that the playing cards comprising the first hand and second hand are consistent with the determined outcome based at least on the identification of the dealt playing cards and based at least on the knowledge of the dealing sequence;

an indicator in communication with the processor for indicating the outcome of the card game; and

at least one card hand-reader to read identifying data from each of the playing cards dealt from the set of playing cards, the playing cards dealt from the set of playing cards forming a first hand and a second hand.

26. The system of claim 25 wherein the playing cards are encoded with a machine-readable indicia.

27. The system of claim 25 wherein the sequence of the set of playing cards is determined after at least one burn card has been removed from the set of playing cards.

28. The system of claim 25 wherein the indicator is connected to the card shoe-reader.

29. The system of claim 25 wherein the card game includes a Banker'"'"'s hand and a Player'"'"'s hand, each hand having at least two cards, but not more than three cards as determined by the card game rules.

30. The system of claim 28 wherein the indicator displays the outcome of the card game of Baccarat;

the outcome being that either the Banker'"'"'s hand wins, the Player'"'"'s hand wins, or the Banker'"'"'s hand ties with the Player'"'"'s hand.

31. The system of claim 25 wherein the indicator is configured to display the outcome of the card game to at least one table participant.