Card handling apparatus and related methods
First Claim
1. 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 identity 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, and further configured to select 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, and to leave said selected number of cards undealt and in response thereto, sending a signal to command reconstitution and re-shuffling of the inventory.
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Accused Products
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.
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Citations
30 Claims
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1. 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:
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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 identity 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, and further configured to select 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, and to leave said selected number of cards undealt and in response thereto, sending a signal to command reconstitution and re-shuffling of the inventory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. 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:
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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 identity 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; 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; selecting the number of cards to remain in the inventory and not dealt from the shoe before reconstitution and reshuffling of the inventory; and said processor processing the scanner data to determine depletion of cards from the inventory by dealing, and to leave said selected number of cards undealt and in response thereto sending a signal to command reconstitution and re-shuffling of the inventory. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A card handling apparatus, comprising:
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a card shoe that is separate from any card shuffling devices, the card shoe including a housing having a card inlet positioned at an exterior portion of the housing and a card outlet positioned at another exterior portion of the housing separate from the card inlet, the housing configured to dispense playing cards through the card outlet directly to a dealer; and at least one barrier disposed within the housing and at the card outlet, the at least one barrier automatically movable between a blocking position in which at least one playing card stored in the housing is prevented from being dispensed through the card outlet and an unblocking position enabling the at least one playing card to be dispensed through the card outlet. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 25)
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23. A card handling apparatus, comprising:
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a housing having a card outlet, the housing configured to dispense playing cards through the card outlet, the housing including a stationary card storage area positioned adjacent to the housing, the stationary card storage area being fixed relative to the housing; at least one barrier disposed within the housing, the at least one barrier movable between a blocking position in which at least one playing card stored in the housing is prevented from being dispensed through the card outlet and an unblocking position enabling the at least one playing card to be dispensed through the card outlet; a processor in communication with at least one mechanism for moving the at least one barrier between the blocking position and the unblocking position, the processor programmed to command the at least one mechanism to selectively move the at least one barrier between the blocking position and the unblocking position; a scanner disposed in the housing to scan each playing card dispensed through the card outlet and to generate a signal representative of an identity of each card; and a memory configured to store predetermined rules for a card game, wherein the processor is in communication with the scanner and the memory and programmed to process the signal and to identify each card dispensed through the card outlet, and wherein the processor is programmed to command the at least one mechanism to move the at least one barrier automatically responsive to the predetermined rules for the card game stored in the memory. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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26. A method of handling cards, comprising:
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disposing a plurality of cards within a card shoe that is separate from any card shuffling devices, the card shoe comprising a housing having a card outlet; positioning at least one barrier in a blocking position to prevent cards of the plurality of cards in the housing from being dispensed through the card outlet with the at least one barrier; positioning the at least one barrier in an unblocking position to enable cards of the plurality of cards to be dispensed through the card outlet; dispensing cards of the plurality of cards from the housing through the card outlet; and moving the at least one barrier between the blocking position and the unblocking position according to rules of a card game and responsive to a processor command. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30)
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Specification