Gaming system with card game and post round of play display of tracked cards

• US 8,123,604 B2
• Filed: 12/15/2005
• Issued: 02/28/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/17/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Original Assignee: IGT (International Game Technology)
• Inventors: Lancaster, Eric W., Kastner, Steven R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lewis, David L
• Assistant Examiner(s): Thomas, Eric M
• Application Number:
  US11/303,552
• Publication Number:
  US 20060135238A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,266 Days
• Field of Search: 463 12- 22, 463/29, 463/42, 463/43
• US Class Current: 463/16
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/32 for games, toys, sports, or amusements
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3267 Game outcomes which determine the course of the subsequent game, e.g. double or quits, free games, higher payouts, different new games
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/3293 Card games, e.g. poker, canasta, black jack

Abstract

A gaming device having a primary game and a secondary game is provided. The gaming device includes a primary game, such as blackjack or 21 operable on a wager by a player, and an optional secondary game that is operable on a secondary game wager by a player. After placing a secondary game wager and satisfying certain criteria in the primary game, one or more players are provided with a secondary game card to be used in the secondary game. The secondary game is resolved after a player has accumulated a plurality of secondary game cards over the course of several sequentially played rounds of the primary game.

Claims

1. A gaming device operated at least partially under control of at least one processor, said gaming device comprising:

a table for a card game including a designated number of player positions and a dealer position, said table configured for playing a primary game, wherein the primary game employs at least one deck of physical playing cards, said designated number being at least one;

an electronic tracking system configured, for each player position, to identify any physical cards from said at least one deck of physical playing cards dealt in a play of the primary game for said player position and to store into a memory information relating to the identified physical cards in said play of the primary game for said player position; and

at least one display device associated with and viewable, for each said player position, by a player at said player position of the table, wherein the at least one processor communicates with the memory and the display device, for each player position, to (a) retrieve from said memory the information related to at least one identified physical card from said play of the primary game and (b) display a representation of the at least one retrieved identified physical card from said play of the primary game for said player position after said play has ended and any said physical cards have been removed from the table.

2. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the at least one display device is configured to separately display, for each of the player positions, cards for said player position.

3. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the at least one display device is a communal display device configured to separately display, for each of the player positions, cards separately associated with said player position.

4. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein, for each of the player positions, the displayed cards for said player position are associated with a secondary game for said player position.

5. The gaming device of claim 4, wherein the secondary game, for each of the player positions, includes a secondary game outcome based on a plurality of displayed cards accumulated over a series of plays of the primary game for said player position.

6. The gaming device of claim 4, wherein the secondary game, for each player position, includes a secondary game outcome, said secondary game outcome determined after a predetermined number of displayed cards are obtained in the secondary game over a series of play of the primary game for said player position.

7. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein for each player position, the displayed card is displayable during a subsequent play of the primary game.

8. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured, for each player position, to determine at least one but less than all of the cards from a play of the primary game to display on the at least one display device.

9. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the at least one display device is associated with at least one input device.

10. The gaming device of claim 9, wherein the at least one input device includes at least one touchscreen.

11. The gaming device of claim 9, wherein the at least one input device, for each player position, enables the player at said player position to view one or more cards based on the information relating to the cards stored in the memory and associated with said player position.

12. The gaming device of claim 9, wherein the at least one input device is operable, for each player position, to cause the at least one processor to reset a secondary game associated with said player position if the player at said player position:

(i) leaves the table,

(ii) discontinues play for a predetermined period of time, or

(iii) elects to reset the secondary game.

13. The gaming device of claim 9, wherein the at least one input device enables, for each player position, the player at said player position to select one of a plurality of displayed cards for use in a secondary game.

14. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein, for each player position, the secondary game includes at least one opportunity for the player at said player position to exchange at least one of the previously selected cards.

15. The gaming device of claim 13, wherein, for each player position, the secondary game includes at least one opportunity for the player at said player position to eliminate at least one of the previously selected cards.

16. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the electronic tracking system includes a card recognition system having an optical recognition device or a radio frequency identification device to identify cards for each play of the card game for each player position.

17. The gaming device of claim 16, wherein the electronic tracking system operates according to a computer program executed by the at least one processor.

18. The gaming device of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is further configured to communicate with the at least one display device and the memory to simultaneously display cards from several plays of the primary game.

19. A gaming device operated at least partially under control of at least one processor, said gaming device comprising:

a table for a card game including a plurality of player positions and a dealer position, said table configured for playing a primary game, wherein the primary game employs at least one deck of physical playing cards;

an electronic tracking system configured, for each player position, to identify any physical cards from said at least one deck of physical playing cards dealt in a play of the primary game for said player position and to store into a memory information relating to the identified physical cards dealt in said play of the primary game for said player positions; and

a plurality of display devices, each of said player positions of the table having one of said plurality of display devices, wherein for each player position, the at least one processor is configured to communicate with the memory and the display device at said player position and without requiring any additional wager from a player at said player position to retrieve from said memory the information related to at least one identified physical card from said play of the primary game and display a representation of the at least one retrieved identified physical card for said player position from said play of the primary game after said play has ended and any said physical cards have been removed from the table.

20. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein for each player position any displayed cards are associated with a secondary game.

21. The gaming device of claim 20, wherein the secondary game includes a secondary game outcome based on a plurality of displayed cards accumulated over a series of plays of the primary game.

22. The gaming device of claim 20, wherein the secondary game includes a secondary game outcome, said secondary game outcome determined after a predetermined number of displayed cards are obtained in the secondary game over a series of plays of the primary game.

23. The gaming device of claim 19, wherein for each player position the displayed cards are displayable during a subsequent play of the primary game.

24. A method of operating a gaming device, said method comprising:

after a player at a table including a player position to places a wager on a play of a primary card game played at the table;

(a) identifying physical cards dealt in said play of the primary game for the player position via an electronic tracking system;

(b) storing information relating to the identified physical cards dealt in said play of the primary game for the player position in a memory via the electronic tracking system;

(c) retrieving from said memory the information related to at least one of the identified physical cards from said play of the primary game; and

(d) displaying on a display device at the table a representation of the at least one retrieved identified physical card from said play of the primary game after said play has ended and any said physical cards have been removed from the table.

25. The method of claim 24, which includes displaying cards dealt to the player position on the display device associated with said player position.

26. The method of claim 24, wherein any displayed cards are associated with a secondary game.

27. The method of claim 26, which includes determining a secondary game outcome based on a plurality of displayed cards accumulated over a series of plays of the primary game.

28. The method of claim 24, which includes displaying on the display device a card based on information relating to the stored card in a subsequent play of the primary game.

29. The method of claim 24, which includes determining at least one but less than all of the cards from a play of the primary game and displaying said cards to the player on the display device.

30. The method of claim 24, wherein the display device includes an input device.

31. The method of claim 30, wherein the input device is a touchscreen.

32. The method of claim 30, which includes enabling the player to view one or more cards based on information relating to the cards stored in the memory and associated with said player.

33. The method of claim 30, which includes resetting a secondary game associated with the player position if the player:

(i) leaves the table,

(ii) discontinues play for a predetermined period of time, or

(iii) elects to reset the secondary game.

34. The method of claim 24, which includes enabling the player to select one of a plurality of displayed cards for use in a secondary game.

35. The method of claim 34, which includes providing at least one opportunity for the player to exchange at least one of the previously selected cards.

36. The method of claim 35, which includes providing at least one opportunity for the player to eliminate at least one of the previously selected cards.

37. The method of claim 24, which includes for each play of the primary card game for said player position, identifying cards with the electronic tracking system, the electronic tracking system having an optical recognition device or a radio frequency identification device.

38. The method of claim 37, which includes operating the card recognition system according to a computer program.

39. The method of claim 24, which includes displaying one or more cards from several plays of the primary game.

40. The method of claim 24, which is operated through a data network.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the data network is an internet.

42. A method of operating a gaming device, said method comprising:

enabling at least one player at a table including a plurality of player positions to place a wager on a play of a primary card game played at the table;

(a) for each player position, identifying physical cards dealt in a play of the primary game for the player at said player position via an electronic tracking system;

(b) for each player position, storing information relating to the identified physical cards dealt in the play of the primary game in a memory for said player position via the electronic tracking system;

(c) retrieving from said memory the information related to at least one identified physical card from said play of the primary game; and

(d) for each player position, displaying on one of a plurality of display devices a representation of the at least one retrieved identified physical card from a play of the primary game after said play has ended and any said physical cards have been removed from the table, wherein each player position of the table includes one of said plurality of display devices.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the displayed cards are associated with a secondary game.

44. The method of claim 42, which includes determining for each player position a secondary game outcome based on a plurality of displayed cards accumulated over a series of plays of the primary game.

45. The method of claim 42, which includes displaying a card that is based on the stored information on the display devices associated with the player positions during a subsequent play of the primary game.

46. The method of claim 42, which includes determining at least one but less than all of the cards from a play of the primary game and displaying said cards to each player on the display device at each respective player position.

47. The method of claim 42, which is operated through a data network.

48. The method of claim 47, wherein the data network is an internet.