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  Card game and method of playRelated Patent Categories: Amusement Devices: Games, Card Or Tile Games, Cards Or Tiles Therefor, With Functional Back IndiciaThe Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20080007004. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/701,389 filed Nov. 3, 2003, which is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/757,225 filed Jan. 5, 2001 and claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/174,664 filed Jan. 6, 2000, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference. NOTICE REGARDING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL [0002] A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent document or the patent disclosure as it appears in the public Patent Office file or records but other reserves all copyright rights whatsoever. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Twenty-One is a card game commonly available in casinos. The object of the game is for a player to have a hand of cards with a value closer to 21 than the value of the dealer's hand. If the value of the player's hand exceeds 21, however, the player loses (no matter what the value of the dealer's hand). [0004] Twenty-One is typically played as follows: each card is accorded a value equal to its face value, with the exception of aces (which have a value of one or eleven, depending which is most useful to the holder of the card), and the face cards (i.e. Jacks, Queens and Kings) which all have a value of ten. The player first makes a wager, and the dealer then typically deals one card to the player. The dealer is then dealt a card face up (a common variation is to deal the dealer two cards--one of which is face down). The dealer then deals the player a second card. [0005] The player may request additional cards (known as "requesting a hit") to increase the value of the player's hand. If the value of the player's hand is greater than 21, the player loses, or "busts". The player may cease taking cards, or "stand", when the player has a hand with a value of 21 or less. If the player busts, the wager is lost (it does not matter if the dealer also busts). [0006] After the player has busted or elected to stand, the dealer stands or takes hits based on pre-established rules. Typically, the dealer must take a hit if the value of the dealer's hand is less than 17, or must stand if the value of the hand is 17 or greater. Several variations exist, including those based on different values of the dealer's hand or whether or not the dealer's hand includes an ace. [0007] After the value of the dealer's hand is been established, the value of the dealer's hand is compared to that of the player's. If the player has busted, the player loses. If the player has not busted and the dealer has, the player wins. The player is then paid a value based on pre-determined odds in relation to its wager (typically, but not necessarily, the amount paid to the player is equal to the amount wagered). If neither the player nor the dealer has busted, the hand having the highest value wins. If the value of the player's hand and the value of the dealer's hand is the same, known as a "push", there is no winner. [0008] A feature commonly present in Twenty-One is "Doubling Down." If the player's first two cards have a total value of 10 or 11, the player has the option of "doubling down". If the player elects to double down he or she turns both cards face-up and makes a second wager equal to the amount of the initial wager. The dealer then deals the player an additional card and the resulting three-card hand is the final value of the player's hand. Usually, the player may double down only if the first two cards have a total value of 10 or 11. Common variations include allowing the player to double down on hands with a total value of 9, 10 or 11; only on 11; or on any two cards, and other variations are certainly possible. [0009] Another common variation in Twenty-One is called "Splitting Pairs." If the player's first two cards are a pair, the player may "split" such cards into two separate hands. The player's original wager is applied to one of the hands and an additional wager (equal to the amount of the initial wager) is made for the second hand. The player is then dealt a new second card for each hand. Each of the split hands is played separately and the player proceeds to play each hand according to the standard rules of Twenty-One. Commonly, if a player splits a pair of Aces, the player is dealt only one card for each hand. In such a case, if the new second card dealt to the player is another Ace, typically the player may again split the Aces and proceed to play each hand according to the standard rules of Twenty-One. [0010] "Splitting Pairs" may be combined with "Doubling Down" so that the player may double down on either or both of its split hands if it is eligible to do so. In some versions of the standard game of Twenty-One, a player may also split its hand if both of the initial cards dealt are ten count cards (i.e. Tens, Jacks, Queens or Kings). [0011] A further common variation is "Insurance" in which the player may make an additional "insurance" wager if the dealer's visible card is an Ace. The insurance wager may be made after the player is dealt his or her first two cards and the dealer reveals an Ace but before any additional cards are dealt. Insurance allows the player to wager one-half of the amount of his or her original wager as insurance against the dealer having a Blackjack (i.e. a two-card hand having a value of 21, for example, an Ace and a 10 count card such as a King, Queen, Jack or Ten). If the dealer has a Blackjack, the player loses its original wager but wins two-to-one odds on the insurance wager. A dealer's Blackjack ends the round and the player loses except if he or she also has a Blackjack (in which case there is a "push"). If the player makes an insurance wager and the dealer does not have a Blackjack, the player loses the insurance wager and the round proceeds according to the standard rules of Twenty-One. [0012] In yet another variation of Twenty-One, when the dealer initially receives two cards, the dealer shows both of its cards face-up before the player requests a hit. This improves the player's odds of winning so the payout odds are modified to maintain the house's advantage. [0013] The game of Twenty-one as described herein (including the variations described above), will be referred to in this document as the "conventional game of Twenty-One". The conventional game of Twenty-One incorporates all of the common variations of Twenty-One described above and others known to those skilled in the art (for example instead of a maximum value of 21, the maximum value could be 23 or another different number). [0014] A disadvantage of the conventional game of Twenty-One is that there is no opportunity for the player to win a large amount because the standard payout odds are not high. In other words, the conventional game of Twenty-One only allows the player to win a small amount with each winning hand, therefore, the player must play (and win) many hands in order to win a larger amount. [0015] Poker is another well-established card game. In a typical game of Poker as played in casinos and other gaming establishments, the player makes an initial wager and is dealt a number of cards. A second round follows, in which the player exchanges some, none or all of the cards currently held for new cards, or in some variations, draw new cards to add to his hand in an attempt to obtain the highest ranking hand. The player wins (or loses) an amount based on the odds of obtaining a certain hand (for example a hand with a four of a kind pays the player more than a hand with a full house). This standard Poker game commonly found in casinos will be referred to herein as "draw poker". The payouts vary widely depending on the particulars of the game, but are usually ranked from greatest payout to smallest as: Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair and a single Pair. [0016] There are many variations of the game of Poker commonly found in casinos. These include "stud" games wherein additional cards are given to the player (or revealed during the play of the hand). Other common variations are to vary the number of cards given to a player (3, 5 or 7 are the most common). The rules about wild cards (their presence or absence, and sometimes they can only be used in particular situations) vary. Some common names given to particularly popular variations are "Pai Gow Poker" and "Caribbean Stud Poker". [0017] The game of Poker, including draw poker and the common variations described above, will be referred to herein as the "conventional game of Poker". FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0018] This invention relates to a method of playing a card game, and more particularly, a method of playing a card game based on both the card game known as Twenty-One (also called Blackjack) and the card game known as Poker, and that offers a bonus wager. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART [0019] There have been several variations to the conventional game of Twenty-One and the conventional game of Poker to provide a game that is more fun for the players and that allows for larger prizes to be won. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,549,300 to Saunders discloses a method of playing Twenty-One wherein wild cards jokers) are used and the face cards and the Aces are removed. The wild cards function as Aces in the conventional game of Twenty-One. Such a game does not offer players larger payouts and greater odds than found in the conventional game of Twenty-One. Continue reading... Full patent description for Card game and method of play Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Card game and method of play patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. Fill in the keywords to be monitored. 3. Each week you receive an email with patent applications related to your keywords. Start now! - Receive info on patent apps like Card game and method of play or other areas of interest. ### Previous Patent Application: Method of playing a poker-type game Next Patent Application: Multi-game apparatus Industry Class: Amusement devices: games ### FreshPatents.com Support Thank you for viewing the Card game and method of play patent info. 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