Gaming tablet

Description

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPLMENT

None.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENTIAL LISTINGS, ETC.

None

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention comprises a gaming tablet for a card game. More specifically, the present invention comprises a gaming tablet for a card game which inhibits exposure of the cards during the shuffle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Card games have experienced a popularity explosion during in recent years due to the excitement and growth of entertainment in Las Vegas and increased media exposure of such games. For example, one game in particular which has recently become immensely popular is Texas Hold 'Em Poker.

Texas Hold 'Em has enjoyed a boost in popularity due to televised tournaments and new camera devices allowing viewers to become more involved in the game play. Many local and regional level groups have formed tournaments with player entry fees determining the pot or prize for the winner.

Further, as the popularity of Texas Hold 'Em Poker and various other card games has risen, players have recognized a need for ensuring proper shuffling of the at least one deck. When players shuffle cards on a hard surface it is nearly impossible for the shuffler, typically the dealer, to place his thumbs under the cards without lifting the cards during the riffle due to the hard surface. Thus, during the riffle and due to the hard surface, the cards must be lifted and are exposed to the players during the shuffle. One of ordinary skill in the art will understand that card counters and those who are very experienced at card play can, upon knowing the position of a card in a deck, affect game play to produce a favorable outcome based on the knowledge of the card position, for example, especially during a game of Blackjack.

One additional problem with playing on a hard surface is that cards can be bent during shuffling. Moreover, bent cards create markings for card counters to utilize in gaining an advantage. Thus fair play is inhibited.

Since card games are becoming increasingly popular and are occurring in various locations, an apparatus allowing for proper card shuffling is needed which may be easily transported from one place to another in easy fashion. Although table covers with indicia thereon have been utilized in combination with hard table-tops to provide a surface for gaming, such hard top tables do not allow a dealer to place his thumbs under the cards for shuffling and thus allow card exposure during shuffling.

Given the foregoing deficiencies, it will be appreciated that a gaming tablet is needed allowing for proper shuffling of cards during a card game and which may be utilized as a gaming surface.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gaming tablet.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a gaming tablet allowing proper shuffling of playing cards.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a gaming tablet having a cushioned surface allowing proper shuffling of playing cards.

It is yet an even further object of the present invention to provide a gaming tablet having a cushioned surface allowing proper shuffling of playing cards and which may be easily transported from one location to another.

More specifically a gaming tablet comprises a planar tablet having an upper surface, a lower surface and a plurality of sides wherein at least one of said plurality of sides is curved, a padding disposed over said planar tablet, and a covering material disposed over the padding. The gaming tablet further comprises a plurality of indicia representing card spaces. The padding material may be disposed over the upper surface and the plurality of sides. The covering material may be a napped polyester and the padding may be a soft resilient material such as sponge. The gaming tablet further comprises a backing disposed on a lower surface of the planar tablet and formed of a non-skid material.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the gaming tablet of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a top view of the gaming tablet of the FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the gaming tablet of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the gaming tablet of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an exploded side sectional view of the gaming tablet of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the gaming tablet with cards disposed thereon for shuffling; and

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the dealer performing the riffle with thumbs depicted beneath the cards and the tablet covering depressed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now in detail to the drawings, wherein like numerals indicate like elements throughout the several views, there are shown in FIGS. 1-6 various aspects of a gaming tablet 10 which allows proper shuffling of at least one deck of cards and which may be readily transported to various gaming locations.

For purpose of this invention description, the gaming tablet is shown and described with indicia representative of a Texas Hold 'Em Poker game. However, it should be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art that indicia for various card games may be utilized with the gaming tablet 10 of the present invention.

Referring initially to FIG. 1, where a perspective view of the gaming tablet 10 of the present invention is shown, the tablet 10 is generally planar in shape having an upper surface 12, a lower surface 14 (FIGS. 3 and 4), and a plurality of side surfaces 16, including at least one side 18 which is curvilinear in shape. In the exemplary embodiment the curvilinear side 18 may be directed toward the players to provide the feel of a real gaming table. Although the curvilinear side 18 is shown, it should be understood that this side may alternatively be straight. The upper surface 12 includes a plurality of indicia for game play, discussed further hereinafter.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an exploded side sectional view of the gaming tablet 10 is shown depicting the interior portions of the tablet 10. The innermost portion of the gaming tablet 10 comprises a planar tablet 30 which may be comprised of various materials including wood, lightweight metal, composite materials, polymeric materials or the like. The planar tablet 30 may be defined by a plurality of geometrical shapes which are sized to allow a plurality of playing cards to be positioned on an upper surface thereof. As shown from FIGS. 1-4, the planar tablet 30 of FIG. 5, includes an upper side which supports a plurality of playing cards and a lower side which rests on a table or other supporting surface below. The planar tablet 30, has three sides 16,17 which are generally straight wherein two of the sides 16 are substantially parallel and the third side 17 is perpendicular to the parallel sides 16 and extending there between. The fourth side 18 is substantially curvilinear and extending between the parallel sides 16. As previously indicated, the curvilinear side 18 provides a player with the perception of sitting around a gaming table as if at a full size gaming table. The edges of sides 16-18 where the upper surface 12 and lower surface 14 meet the sides 16-18 may be sharp edges or preferably chamfered edges to provide a more aesthetically pleasing product.

Referring still to FIG. 5, a padding layer 32 extends over the planar tablet 30. The padding 32 may be formed of various materials, such as sponge, of a preselected stiffness so that the padding 32 returns to its original shape upon release of pressure. The padding layer 32 generally extends across the upper surface of the planar tablet 30 and over the sides 16-18 (FIGS. 1-2). The padding layer 32 provides a soft chamfer along the edges of the tablet 30, a cushioned tablet surface upon which playing cards may be disposed and upon which shuffling may occur, as well as an aesthetically pleasing design. The padding 32 further extends over the sides 16-18 and is affixed to a lower surface 14 of the planar tablet 30. The padding 32 may be affixed by an adhesive, for example hot glue, by fastener, for example staple or nail, or a combination of both. The padding 32 may extend across the lower surface 14 to completely cover the lower surface 14 or it may extend slightly over the edges to only cover a small portion of the lower portion of tablet 30.

Still referring to FIG. 5, a covering material 34 extends over the padding 32 to provide an aesthetically pleasing playing surface for the gaming tablet 10. The covering material 34 may be a polyester or other polymeric having a suede-like or felt-like texture. For example, the present embodiment utilizes polyester as a covering since 34 since such characteristic has been found by the inventor to be aesthetically pleasing to game players. The covering material 34 may also be formed of various colors. The illustrative embodiment may include a green covering 34 resembling typical playing tables of commercial casinos. The covering material 34 extends over the upper surface of planar tablet 30, the padding 32, and further extends about the sides 16-18 to the lower surface of the planar tablet 30. The covering material 34 may cover the lower surface of the planar tablet 30 completely or just slightly as depicted in the present illustrative embodiment. The covering material 34 may be affixed to the planar tablet 30 by adhesive such as a hot glue, by fastener such as staples extending through the padding 32 and into the planar tablet 30, or a combination of both. The covering material 34 may further comprise anti-static characteristics so that cards do not stick to the surface of the gaming tablet due to static charge of the tablet 10.

As further depicted in FIG. 5, a lower covering or backing 36 may be applied over the exposed ends of the padding 32 and the padding 30. The backing 36 may be formed of various materials including fabrics, heavy stock paper, polymeric materials or the like and need not be as aesthetically pleasing as the covering material 34 since the backing 36 will, in most circumstances, not be visible but instead will be positioned against a substrate such as a table during game play. The backing 36 may include a non-skid coating or the backing 36 may have a non-skid surface which interfaces with a substrate below so that the gaming tablet 10 does not slide along the table or substrate during game play. According to the present embodiment, the backing 36 is formed of a non-skid PVC having a feel and texture of leather in order to provide some aesthetically pleasing quality and as well as the non-skid function. The backing 36 preferably covers any edges of the padding 32 and/or the covering material 34 on the lower surface 14 of the gaming tablet 10 so that those edges may not be pulled loose from the planar tablet 30.

As seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper surface 12 of the gaming tablet 12 includes a plurality of indicia located thereon. Positioned on the upper surface of covering material 34 are a plurality of positions for placement of cards during, for instance, poker play. The present gaming tablet 10 may be utilized for shuffling cards due to its cushioned nature and the indicia may represent card positions for various games. In FIGS. 1 and 2, cards positions are provided for play of a game commonly referred to as Texas Hold 'Em poker. During Texas Hold 'Em poker, five card positions are needed for draw by a dealer during game play. More specifically, after each player is dealt two cards face down and a round of betting occurs. Next three cards are placed face up in the first three card positions 40. These cards are generally referred to as the “flop”. Based on the flop cards 40 and the face down cards each player may continue betting during a second round. After this second round of betting occurs, the fourth card position 42 is filled with the “turn” card. Next, a final round of betting may occur based on the face down cards, the flop cards 40 and the turn card 42. Finally, the “river” card is drawn and placed on the fifth or river card position 44. Thus a winner is determined based on typical poker rankings and from the players who bet in each round.

Referring now to FIG. 6, playing cards are depicted arranged on the tablet 10 for shuffling. When the dealer places his hands on the cards for riffling, as depicted in FIG. 7, the present invention allows a dealer to position each thumb at a lower elevation than the lowest card due to the flex of the padding and riffle the cards without lifting the cards from the tablet 10. Thus players can not see any cards positioned in the deck during the shuffle. This is typically impossible on hard surface tables or gaming covers placed on such tables since there is no cushion allowing the dealer to position his thumb beneath the cards. Further the padding 32 and covering material 34 provide a surface which flexes inhibiting bending or permanent deformation of the cards which may be used by players to gain an advantage over the house or competitors.

It should be understood that various alternative embodiments may be employed herein and are generally deemed to be within the scope of the present invention. Further, the gaming tablet is shown, described, and illustrative of one Texas Hold 'Em embodiment but may be altered for play of various games by altering the indicia located on the covering material.