Method, apparatus and article for evaluating card games, such as blackjack

• US 7,770,893 B2
• Filed: 04/21/2005
• Issued: 08/10/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2001
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Walker Digital Table Systems LLC (Walker Innovation Inc. (f/k/a Patent Properties, Inc.))
• Original Assignee: Bally Gaming Incorporated (Scientific Games Corporation)
• Inventors: Soltys, Richard, Huizinga, Richard, Mouchou, Robert B.
• Primary Examiner(s): Suhol; Dmitry
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rustemeyer; Malina K
• Application Number:
  US11/112,793
• Publication Number:
  US 20050206078A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,937 Days
• Field of Search: 273/149.R, 273/149.P, 463/27
• US Class Current: 273/149.00R
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 1/18 Score computers; Miscellaneous indicators time-testing devices G07C
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 13/70 Game security or game management aspects
• CPC Class Codes: A63F 2009/2419 Optical
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

A system reads an identifier from a hand of cards to identify the cards. For example, the system can read an identifier from a pair of cards forming the initial hand in blackjack, where the one card is face up and the other card is face down. The system determines the value of a hand of cards form the read identifiers. For example, the system can determine a value of an initial hand of two cards in blackjack, while only one card is face up. The system can inform a dealer of the value, or status based on value, of the hand. The system can determine whether cards forming a hand of cards are authenticate by validating the cards based on the read identifier. The system can determine if the cards forming the hand of cards are in an expected sequence based on a knowledge of the initial sequence of cards in a deck.

Claims

1. An automated system to monitor card games played with playing cards, the automated system comprising:

a card reader that reads identifying information from a first plurality of collected playing cards received by the card reader, the collected playing cards forming a first number (N), which is at least two, of hands of collected playing cards collected from at least two participants of a card game; and

at least one processor coupled to the card reader to receive a sequence of identifying information read by the card reader, wherein the sequence of identifying information corresponds to an order of the collected playing cards are received by the card reader, and that determines a succession of collected playing card identities based at least in part on the sequence of identifying information, wherein the succession of collected playing card identities is comprised of respective playing card identities corresponding to the first plurality of collected playing cards, and that determines a second number (M) of sets of playing card identities from the succession of collected playing card identities, the first number (N) and the second number (M) being the same value, based at least in part on an order of the succession of collected playing card identities and a specified pick-up order of the first number (N) of collected hands of playing cards, wherein each respective set of playing card identities of the second number (M) of sets of playing card identities corresponds to a respective hand of collected playing cards of the first number (N) of collected hands of playing cards, and that further determines a respective value of a respective hand of collected playing cards based on the corresponding respective set of playing card identities for each one of the first number (N) of hands of collected playing cards.

2. The automated system of claim 1, further comprising:

a deck reader that reads identifying information from a second plurality of playing cards forming a deck of playing cards from which the card game is dealt.

3. The automated system of claim 1, further comprising:

a dealer'"'"'s hand reader having a surface with an opening to a slot that is sized and shaped to have each playing card of a second plurality of playing cards that form an initial hand of playing cards of a dealer inserted therein and that reads during a round of the card game identifying information from each of the second plurality of playing cards inserted therein, wherein the second plurality of playing cards forming the dealer'"'"'s initial hand of playing cards are read after the second plurality of playing cards forming the dealer'"'"'s initial hand of playing cards in the round of the card game are dealt and before any of the first plurality of playing cards dealt in the round of the card game are collected from the participants.

4. The automated system of claim 3 wherein the dealer'"'"'s hand reader concurrently reads identifying information from two overlapping playing cards that are concurrently inserted into the slot.

5. The automated system of claim 3 wherein the dealer'"'"'s hand reader includes:

at least one reader that reads the identifying information; and

a stop that engages a respective first end of each playing card inserted therein such that the respective identifying information carried by each respective playing card inserted therein is in registration with the at least one reader.

6. The automated system of claim 1 wherein the card reader reads the identifying information as machine-readable symbols.

7. The automated system of claim 1 wherein the at least two participants of the card game include a dealer and a number of players, and wherein the processor is further determines a winner based on the determined value of a respective player'"'"'s completed hand of playing cards and a determined value of a dealer'"'"'s completed hand of playing cards for each of a number of players.

8. The automated system of claim 1 wherein the at least two participants include a dealer and a number of players, and wherein the processor determines a winner between the respective player and the dealer based on the determined value of the respective player'"'"'s completed hand of playing cards and the determined value of the dealer'"'"'s completed hand of playing cards for each player of the number of players.

9. The automated system of claim 1 wherein the processor determines a second number (M) of sets of playing card identities from the succession of collected playing card identities, the first number (N) and the second number (M) being the same value, by parsing the second number (M) of sets of playing card identities from the succession of collected playing card identities.

10. The automated system of claim 1 wherein the processor parses the second number (M) of sets of playing card identities from the succession of collected playing card identities by locating in the succession of collected playing card identities a first respective identity that corresponds to a first respective collected playing card determined to belong to a first respective hand of playing cards and locating in the succession of collected playing card identities a second respective identity that corresponds to a second respective collected playing card determined to belong to a second respective hand of playing cards.

11. The automated system of claim 10 wherein the processor determines the first respective collected playing card belongs to the first respective hand of playing cards and the second respective collected playing card belongs to the second respective hand of playing cards based at least on a dealing order of the first plurality of playing cards.

12. The automated system of claim 1 wherein the card reader further includes an imager having a field of view that simultaneously encompasses a respective playing card end of multiple ones of the first plurality of collected playing cards, the imager captures an image of the multiple playing card ends and provides the image of the multiple playing card ends to the processor, and wherein the processor determines the succession of playing card identities based at least in part on an order of the imaged multiple playing card ends.

13. An automated system to monitor a card game played with playing cards, wherein a first plurality of playing cards from at least one deck of playing cards are dealt in a dealing sequence to at least two participants of the card game at a beginning of a round of the card game, and each respective participant of the at least two participants is dealt, from the first plurality of playing cards, at least two respective playing cards that form a respective hand of playing cards, and wherein a first number (N), which has a value that is at least two, of the hands of playing cards of the at least two participants are collected in a specified pick-up order after the round of the card game, the automated system comprising:

a card reader that reads a respective identifier from each of the first plurality of collected playing cards;

at least one processor that receives a sequence of identifiers, the sequence of identifiers containing the respective identifiers read by the card reader where the respective identifiers of the sequence of identifiers are in an order corresponding to an order in which the first plurality of collected playing cards are received by the card reader, the order in which the collected playing cards are received by the card reader being different from the dealing sequence;

at least one computer readable storage medium; and

an evaluation module that is stored in the at least one computer readable storage medium and that is configured, when executed by the at least one processor, to;

determine a respective identity of a respective collected playing card based at least in part on the respective identifier read from the respective collected playing card for each of the first plurality of collected playing cards;

determine a succession of playing card identities, each playing card identity being a respective determined identity of a respective collected playing card;

determine a second number (M) of sets of playing cards identities from the succession of playing card identities based at least on the succession of playing card identities, the first number (N) and the second number (M) being the same value, wherein each respective set of playing card identities corresponds to a respective hand of collected playing cards; and

for each of the participants, determine a respective value of the respective participant'"'"'s hand of playing cards based at least in part on the corresponding set of playing card identities and the determined respective playing card identities forming the corresponding set of playing card identities.

14. The automated system of claim 13 wherein the at least two participants include a player and a dealer, and wherein the evaluation module is further configured to determine an outcome of the card game based on the determined value of the player'"'"'s completed hand of playing cards and the determined value of the dealer'"'"'s completed hand of playing cards.

15. The automated system of claim 13 wherein the evaluation module is further configured to determine the dealing sequence of number of playing cards in the at least one deck of playing cards from which the card game is dealt, prior to dealing any of the playing cards from the deck in the card game.

16. The automated system of claim 13 wherein the evaluation module is further configured to read a respective identifier from each of a number of playing cards forming a dealer'"'"'s initial hand of playing cards before any playing cards in the card game are collected.

17. The automated system of claim 13 wherein card reader further includes an imager having a field of view that simultaneously encompasses a respective playing card end of multiple ones of the first plurality of collected playing cards, the imager captures an image of the multiple playing card ends and provides the image of the multiple playing card ends to the processor, and wherein the processor determines the succession of playing card identities based at least in part on an order of the imaged multiple playing card ends.

18. The automated system of claim 13, further comprising:

a dealer'"'"'s hand reader having a surface with an opening to a slot that is sized and shaped to have each playing card of a plurality of playing cards that form an initial hand of playing cards of a dealer inserted therein and withdrawn therefrom, the dealer'"'"'s hand reader concurrently reads during a round of the card game identifying information from each of the plurality of playing cards inserted therein, wherein the playing cards forming the dealer'"'"'s initial hand of playing cards are read after the playing cards forming the dealer'"'"'s initial hand of playing cards in the round of the card game are dealt and before any of the playing cards dealt in the round of the card game are collected from the participants.

19. The automated system of claim 18 wherein the dealer'"'"'s hand reads identifying information from two overlapping playing cards that are concurrently inserted into the slot.

20. The automated system of claim 18 wherein the dealer'"'"'s hand reader includes:

at least one reader that reads the identifying information; and

a stop that engages a respective first end of playing card inserted therein such that the respective identifying information carried by each respective playing card inserted therein is in registration with the at least one reader.

21. A computer-readable storage device storing instructions for causing a processor of a computing device to monitor a card game played with playing cards, wherein a number of playing cards from at least one deck of playing cards are dealt in a dealing sequence to at least two participants of the card game at a beginning of a round of the card game, and each respective participant of the at least two participants is dealt a respective plurality of playing cards that form a respective hand of playing cards, and wherein the hands of playing cards of the at least two participants are collected in a specified pick-up order after the round of the card game, by:

determining a respective identity of each playing card of a number of playing cards forming collected complete hands of playing cards from playing cards collected in a specified pick-up order from at least two participants in a card game, the two participants including at least one player and a dealer;

determining a succession of collected playing card identities comprised of the respective identity of each playing card of the number of playing cards forming collected complete hands of playing cards based on the playing cards collected in the specified pick-up order;

determining a set of playing cards that form a respective one of the collected complete hands of playing cards based at least in part on the determined succession of collected playing card identities and based at least in part on the specified pick-up order;

determining a respective value of the at least one player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards based at least on the determined set of playing cards that form a respective one of the collected complete hand of playing cards;

determining a value of the dealer'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards based at least on the determined set of playing cards that form a respective one of the collected complete hand of playing cards; and

for each of the at least one players, determining a respective outcome of the card game.

22. The computer-readable storage device of claim 21 wherein determining a respective outcome of the card game for each of the at least one players comprises comparing the respective value of the respective player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards to a threshold value, and determining that the respective player lost if the respective value of the respective player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards exceeds the threshold value.

23. The computer-readable storage device of claim 22 wherein comparing the respective value of the respective player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards to a threshold value comprises comparing the respective value of the respective player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards to a value equal to twenty-one.

24. The computer-readable storage device of claim 23 wherein determining a respective outcome of the card game for each of the at least one players further comprises comparing the respective value of the player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards to the value of the dealer'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards.

25. The computer-readable storage device of claim 21 wherein instructions cause the processor to monitor a card game played with playing cards further by:

determining a sequence of identities of a set of playing cards in a deck of playing cards from which the card game is dealt, prior to dealing any of the playing cards from the deck in a card game.

26. The computer-readable storage device of claim 25 wherein instructions cause the processor to monitor a card game played with playing cards further by:

determining an expected set of identities of playing cards for the player'"'"'s collected complete hand playing cards based at least in part on the determined sequence of identities of the set of playing cards in the deck of playing cards from which the card game is dealt;

for each set of playing cards that form a respective one of the collected complete hands of playing cards, comparing a respective determined set of identities consisting of the respective identities of each of the number of playing cards from the player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards to the expected set identities of playing cards for the player'"'"'s collected complete hand of playing cards; and

producing a notification if the determined set of identities does not match the expected set of playing cards for the player'"'"'s completed hand identities.

27. An automated system to monitor card games played with playing cards, the automated system comprising:

a card reader that reads identifying information from a number of playing cards forming at least two hands of playing cards collected from at least two participants of a card game after an end of a round of a card game; and

at least one processor coupled to the card reader that receives the read identifying information from the card reader and that determines a respective identity of each playing card forming the at least two hands of playing cards collected from the at least two participants and that determines each of the at least two hands of playing cards based at least in part on an order of a succession of the read identifying information and a pick-up order of the collected hands of playing cards and that determines after the end of the round of the card game a respective value of each of the at least two hands of playing cards based on the respective identity of each of the playing cards forming the respective hand of playing cards.