METHOD OF PLAYING A CARD GAME

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to prior filed co-pending U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 60/564,262, filed Apr. 21, 2004, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method of playing a card game. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of playing a game that follows the rules of Blackjack where neither a player or dealer bust if one or both go over 21.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Blackjack is one of the most popular card games of all time. Blackjack is played with one or more standard decks of cards. In a typical game of Blackjack, each player is dealt two cards. The objective of Blackjack is to obtain a hand with a value as close to 21 as possible without going over 21.

The gaming industry is constantly in search of new games to draw customers into their casinos. New card games are constantly being invented that add excitement to otherwise common games. By adding or changing the rules to an existing game, a familiarity exists while still providing a novel game.

The odds of Blackjack are well known, as well as the accompanying strategy. A limitation to Blackjack is the rules do not permit a player to go over 21. If a player goes over 21, they “Bust” or lose their hand.

Thus, it is desirable to provide a variation of Blackjack that follows the basic rules, but also offers changes in the objective and strategy.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A method of playing a card game with at least one deck of Blackjack cards, between at least one player and a dealer, comprises the steps of dealing at least one player two cards to initiate a hand and dealing a dealer two cards to initiate a hand. Each player is given the option to receive at least one hit card, where the player's objective is to obtain a value of the player's hand that is closest to 21. The dealer may be compelled to take at least one hit card depending on the table rules. The table rules may require the dealer to draw a hit card if the value of the dealers hand is below 17 or if the dealers hand is a soft 17, as explained further below. A winner between each player and the dealer for that hand is determined by evaluating the value of each player's hand and the dealers hand, in which case the hand with a value that is closest to 21 is the winner. If both of the hands are above or below 21 and equally close to 21, a tie, game rules will determine the winner. In one embodiment, when there is a tie and one hand has a value below 21 and the other hand has a value above 21, the game rules will determine a winner.

In an alternative embodiment, a method of playing a card game, between at least one player and a dealer, with at least one deck of Blackjack cards, comprising the steps of dealing at least one player two cards to initiate a hand and dealing a dealer at least one card to initiate a hand. The player is given the option to add at least one hit card to his hand, where the player's objective is to obtain a value of the player's hand that is closest to 21. If the dealer received only one card to initiate the dealer's hand, the dealer must take another card before the dealer may determine whether the dealer must take a hit card under the table rules. Examples of these table rules include whether the dealer must hit if the value of the dealers hand is below 17 or a soft 17. A winner between each player and the dealer for that hand is determined by evaluating the value of each player's hand and the dealer's hand, in which case the hand with a value that is closest to 21 is the winner. If the hands are equally close to 21, game rules will determine the winner. In one embodiment, when the hands are equally close to 21 and one hand has a value below 21 and the other hand has a value above 21, the game rules will determine a winner.

The winning hand may be evaluated by a mathematical process as such as by evaluating the smallest absolute value of the player's hand and dealer's hand from 21, in which case the hand with the smaller absolute value from 21 is the winner. If the absolute value is equal, game rules will determine the winner.

Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from analysis of the following written description, the accompanying drawings and the appended claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of one embodiment of a game table upon which the card game of the present invention may be played.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The card game of the present invention, Detroit 21, is a variation of the typical game of Blackjack. In a typical game of Blackjack, a player or dealer will “bust” if the value of their hand exceeds 21, wherein they automatically lose that hand. A hand is commonly known term in card games and refers to the cards a player or dealer is holding. In Detroit 21, the player's hand or dealer's hand with a value closest to 21 is the winner, whether or not the player's hand or dealer's hand exceeds 21. In Detroit 21, a hand is valued exactly as it is in Blackjack.

In Detroit 21, the cards are valued as follows: an Ace can be valued as either 1 or 11, as in a typical game of blackjack, the Ace is assumed to have the value that makes the best hand. A 10, Jack, Queen, and King are all valued at 10. The cards from 2 through 9 are valued by their respective face amounts.

With initial reference to FIG. 1, a table 10 is shown whereat at least one of a plurality of players is located at one of the plurality of player locations 12. A dealer is located at dealer location 14. Each player location 12 has a corresponding player area 16, where each corresponding players cards are dealt and bets are laid. The dealer likewise has a dealer area 18 where the dealer's cards are dealt.

Each player makes a wager in accordance with the table's betting limits. Each player plays against the dealer. According to the method of the present invention, Detroit 21 is played between at least one player and a dealer with at least one deck of playing cards. In the preferred embodiment, the deck is a Blackjack deck, having no Jokers. Once all the bets are made, the dealer will deal the cards to the players and the dealer. In the preferred embodiment, the dealer deals at least one player two cards to initiate a player hand and two cards to initiate a dealer hand. According to tradition, the dealer will deal the cards by dealing one card to each player, a pass, and then deal another card to each player again, a second pass. The dealer makes two passes around the table so that the players and the dealer have two cards each. In a typical game of Blackjack, the dealer will flip one of his cards over, exposing its value and leaving the other card unknown.

Once the cards are dealt, play proceeds around the table, starting at the first seat to the dealer's left, commonly referred to as first base. Each player in turn indicates to the dealer whether they wish to stay, in which the player does not desire an additional card, or whether the player desires one or more hit cards. After each player has finished their hand, the dealer will complete the dealers hand, and then pay or collect the player bets.

In one variation of the present invention, the game is played where the dealer has only one card face up until all the players have finished their hands. The dealer then deals a second card to the dealer's hand, and then finishes the hand by dealing additional cards to the dealer's hand if necessary.

In an alternative embodiment, Detroit 21, may be played by dealing each player two cards to initiate a player hand and dealing a dealer one card to initiate a dealer hand, which is common in European casinos. Each player is given the option to add at least one hit card to his hand, where the player's objective is to obtain a value of the player's hand that is closest to 21. If the dealer received only one card to initiate the dealer's hand, the dealer must take another card before the dealer may determine whether the dealer must take a hit card under the table rules. The Examples of these table rules include whether the dealer must hit if the value of the dealers hand is below 17 or a soft 17, which is a hand having an Ace and a 6.

In Detroit 21, a hand that contains an Ace is called a “soft” total if the Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11 without the total exceeding 21. For example, Ace, 6 is a soft 17. The hand is soft because a player can draw another card to arrive a total closer to 21. The hand Ace, 6, 10 on the other hand is a “hard” 17; the Ace will be counted as only 1 because counting the ace as 11 would place the value of a player's hand farther from 21.

In Detroit 21, the value of a player's hand or dealer's hand is simply the sum of the value of each card in the hand. For example, a hand containing 5,7,9 has the value of 21. The Ace can be counted as either 1 or 11, the Ace is assumed to always have the value that makes the best hand. For example, if a player has an initial hand consisting of Ace, 6. This hand can be either 7 or 17. If the player takes no additional cards in this initial hand, the value of the hand will be 17. Assuming the player draws another card to the player's hand and now has Ace, 6, 3. The value of the player's hand is now 20, counting the Ace as 11. Assume instead that the player had drawn a third card which was an 8. The players hand is now Ace, 6, 8, which has a value of either 15 or 25. The Ace may be counted as 1 or 11, whichever gives the player the best hand.

Each player is given the option to receive at least one hit card, where the player's objective is to obtain a value of the player's hand that is closest to 21. The dealer may be compelled to take at least one hit card depending on the table rules. The table rules may require the dealer to draw a hit card if the value of the dealers hand is below 17 or if the dealer's hand is a soft 17, as explained further below. A winner between each player and the dealer for that hand is determined by evaluating the value of each player's hand and the dealer's hand. The hand with a value that is closest to 21 between each player and the dealer is the winner. In one embodiment of the present invention, it is conceivable that there may be a tie, in which case the hand is “push”.

As above, a winner between each player and the dealer for a hand is determined by evaluating the value of each player's hand and the dealer's hand, in which case the hand with a value that is closest to 21 between each player and the dealer is the winner. The winning hand is determined by a mathematical process known as absolute value. By evaluating the smallest absolute value of the player's hand and dealer's hand from 21, the hand with the smaller absolute value from 21 is the winner. For example, a player's hand with a value of 21 would have an absolute value from 21 of zero, and a dealer's hand with a value of 22 would have an absolute value from 21 of one, as such the player would win as zero is less than one. If the absolute value is equal, game rules will determine the winner.

A Blackjack, or Natural, is a total of 21 in a player's or dealer's first two cards. A Natural is therefore an Ace and any ten-valued card, where these be the players first two cards. For example, If a player splits a pair of Aces, and then draws a ten-valued card on one of the Aces, this is not a Natural, but rather a total of 21. The table rules may determine the payout for a Natural, for example according to one embodiment of the present invention, a Natural pays the player odds of 3 to 2.

The dealer must play his hand in a specific way, with no choices allowed. There are two variations according to the present invention. The first is the dealer stands on all 17s. In this case, the dealer must continue to take cards (“hit”) until the dealers hand value is 17 or greater. An Ace in the dealer's hand is always counted as 11 if possible giving the dealer the best hand. For example, Ace, 8 would be 19 and the dealer would stop drawing cards or “stand”. Also, Ace, 6 is 17 and again the dealer will stand. Ace, 5 is only 16, so the dealer would hit. The dealer will continue to draw cards until the value of the dealer's hand is 17 or more. For example, Ace, 5, 7 is 13, so the dealer will hit again. Alternatively, Ace, 5, 7, 5 makes 18 so the dealer would stop “stand” at that point.

In an alternate embodiment of the present invention, the dealer must hit soft 17. Examples of Soft 17 are hands such as Ace, 6; Ace, 5, Ace; and Ace, 2, 4. If the card game of the present invention is played under this particular rule, the dealer must hit these hands, and stand on soft 18 or higher, or hard 17 or higher. When this rule is used, the house advantage against the players is slightly increased.

Again, the dealer has no choices to make in the play of the dealer's hand. The dealer cannot split pairs, but must instead simply hit until the value of the dealers hand reaches at least 17.

Additionally, one embodiment of the present invention permits an insurance bet to be made if the dealer is showing an Ace, similar to that of traditional Blackjack. For example, the insurance bet may pay off at 2 to 1.

A winner between each player and the dealer for a hand is determined by evaluating the value of each player's hand and the dealer's hand. The hand that is closet to 21 between the dealer and each player wins, even if the player or dealer goes over 21. In one embodiment, if a players first two cards are an Ace and a 10 or an Ace and a face card, then the players hand is a Natural and the player is an automatic winner. In another embodiment, if a player and dealer both have a Natural the hand is a tie or push.

A hand value of 21 wins the hand, unless there is a tie, in which case game rules will determine the winner, where the tie may go to the dealer, the player or may be a push. Otherwise, the hand with a value that is closest to 21 is the winner. If the hands are equally close to 21, a tie, game rules will determine the winner. If either or both the dealer and player are over 21 and the hand is a tie, the game rules may determine the dealer to win, the player to win or the hand may be a push.

In one embodiment, when one hand has a value below 21 and the other hand has a value above 21, the game rules will determine a hand with a value below 21 to be the winner. Examples of winning hands according to the present embodiment are set forth in Table I below.

TABLE I
A Hand of	Beats	A Hand of
20		22
19		23
18		24
17		25
22		19
23		18
24		17
25		16

A variety of game rules may be applied to the game of the present invention, if either or both the dealer and player are over 21 and the hand is a tie, the game rules may determine the dealer to win, the player to win or the hand may be a push. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the odds change when the rules determining a winning hand in the event of a tie change.

For example, in the following embodiment, the odds as determined by a computer program are set forth in Table II below for the following game rules: if there is a tie and either the player or dealer have a hand over 21, the dealer wins; if there is a tie and the player and the dealer both have hands over 21, the dealer wins; or if there is a tie and neither hand is over 21, it is a push.

	TABLE II
	Number of	Player's Detroit 21 Payoff

	Decks	1 to 1	6 to 5	3 to 2
	4	3.07%	2.11%	0.69%
	6	3.06%	2.11%	0.68%
	8	3.05%	2.10%	0.68%

The foregoing discussion discloses and describes the preferred structure and control system for the present invention. However, one skilled in the art will readily recognize from such discussion, and from the accompanying drawings and claims, that various changes, modifications and variations can be made therein without departing from the true spirit and fair scope of the invention.