WO2009053701A1 - Gaming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention concerns gaming apparatus comprising means for detecting the dealing of cards at a gaming table to participants at the gaming table so as to identify the cards dealt and a control system for sending the identities of the detected cards to participants at remote terminals. The apparatus includes a timing means for generating a variable timing interval the length of which is related to numbers of participants, the timing unit being adapted to disable the ability of the participants to communicate with the control system so as to provide a cut-off time for those participants who have not indicated their continued participation within the length of the timing interval.

Description

GAMING APPARATUS

The present invention concerns a gaming system involving the dealing of cards in which a number of players can take part .

A problem arises when there are a large number of potential players in the second group. As these players are not visible to the dealer and may be much greater in number than the first group, it is necessary for decisions to be made as to which players, and particularly those in the second group, are actually going to take part in any one deal and how long the players are given to make up their minds . Obviously waiting for a few players to make a decision whether to participate or not can substantially increase the playtime for each deal which in turn can lead to dissatisfaction amongst the players .

Accordingly one aspect of the present invention is directed to this problem.

Thus in one aspect the invention provides gaming apparatus comprising means for detecting the dealing of cards at a gaming table to participants at the gaming table so as to identify the cards dealt, a control system for sending the identities of the detected cards to participants at remote terminals if the cards have been dealt in such a manner as to be exposed to the participants at the gaming table, the control system including an interface for receiving input from at least the remote tables that one or more participants wishes to take part in a game, and a timing means for generating a variable timing interval the length of which is related to numbers of participants, the timing unit being adapted to disable the ability of the participants to communicate with the remote system so as to provide a cut-off time for those participants who have not indicated their continued participation within the length of the timing interval.

It is now known to play computer-generated video games such as draw poker and its variants at remote terminals . In such games an electronic random number generator generates the card identities which are transmitted to participants at remote terminals where they are displayed. Video draw poker and its variants is a popular gambling computer generated game in casinos. This popularity is due to its high game frequency, its ease of learning and privacy to the extant that decisions are not generally open to the criticism of other players. However the problem arises with draw poker in that participants are known to have the worry that the electronic system used to generate and transmit the card details could be programmed to select cards specifically so as to beat players.

In a second aspect the present invention comprises a gaming system for combining video draw poker and variants thereof with players at a gaming table, comprising a gaming table for actual players and a plurality of remote terminals, means for identifying cards as dealt by the dealer, means for transferring the identities of the cards for display at the remote terminals comprising a plurality of remote terminals, wherein each remote terminals has a display unit for displaying dealt cards to a participant at that terminal, and having input means by means of which a participant can send data representing his or her intentions to the control unit.

In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of an embodiment of a gaming system in accordance with the present invention;

Figures 2, 3 and 4 are illustrations of graphical user interface displays generated by the system of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a block diagram of control circuitry for the gaming system,- and

Figure 6 shows a timing curve; and

Figure 7 is a table showing a preferred timing schedule for the playing of a single game.

Referring now to Figure 1 of the drawings this shows a dealing table (1) , a seat (2) for a croupier and seats (3) for the participants who interact directly with cards as they are dealt with either by the croupier or by an automatic dealing machine. Such a dealing machine is shown at (4) . If the cards are actually dealt by the croupier, the cards will be taken from a special shoe which reads the cards as they are removed from the shoe. In either case, the details of the dealt cards are sent to an electronic control system

(5) . Naturally the order of the stored and dealt cards will be as random as possible and can involve known automatic shuffling machines. Connected to the control system (5) are a plurality of gaming terminals

(6) each being for use by a single participant in a game. Each terminal includes a video screen (7) and an input means (8) such as a keyboard or set of buttons (8) by means of which each of the participants can enter decisions made with regard to making bets and selecting cards. The dealer can communicate with the control system via a button (9) referred to as a start button. The result of operating this button will be described more fully hereinafter. It will however be appreciated that there are a wide number of other ways in which dealer commands can be transmitted to the control system (5) such as voice recognition, touch screen, a mouse or the like. As the game being described in this embodiment is a form of draw poker the input means (8) of each participant will include designated draw and hold buttons/keys.

It will accordingly be appreciated that the presence of live participants will give a greater feeling of security to those participants at remote tables whilst at the same time enabling a greater number of participants in a single game.

One possible game format will now be described by way of example, in order to illustrate the operation of a gaming system according to the present invention.

The game is based on draw poker and once the participants in the two groups have indicated their willingness to take part, perhaps by placing a stake, two sets of five cards each are dealt. Both sets can be dealt in immediate succession. If this is the case, only the first five cards are exposed to the players of the first group in seats (3) and are broadcast for display on the screens (7) of the players of the second group. It is possible that the cards involved have values other than those of a standard card deck but it is preferred that the cards dealt are standard so that the set of five exposed cards can represent a poker hand.

Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings shows what appears on the screen (7) of remote participants in the game. The exposed set of five cards is shown at (10) . At this stage the faces of the five cards of the second set (11) cannot be seen. Of course it is possible that the second set of cards is only dealt, whether automatically or by the croupier, after the participants have made their decisions as to how they will treat the first set of cards.

Normally each participant will have to have obtained credit to play by prepayment and this credit balance is displayed at (12) at the remote video screens.

Once the first set of cards has been dealt and broadcast to the remote terminals each participant has to make a decision as to which, if any of the five cards they wish to retain. In addition it may be arranged so that each participant can increase their stake if the initial payment of a stake was mandatory before they could take part in a game. Alternatively selection of cards from the first set may mean that a remote player has registered to take part in that deal so that his or her credit balance is automatically reduced by a set stake. For the participants at the remote terminals this is done by utilising appropriate keys or buttons on their input means (8) . Of course other input devices such touch screens, mice or roller balls could be used.

It may also be possible for the first group of participants to enter their acceptance and stakes by means of appropriate input devices .

Thus, once the first set of cards has been dealt, each player will indicate which of the five cards they wish to retain. With the remote group this consists of either marking the cards they wish to retain or those which they wish to discard again by manipulation of appropriate keys or buttons on their input means . In this embodiment a player indicates a wish to participate by indicating this fact using his/her input means which in turn results in a stake being removed from his/her appropriate credit balance.

Figure 3 shows the situation where a participant has discarded all cards other than the Ace of Diamonds and the King of Hearts. At an appropriate time, to be described in greater detail hereinafter, the second set of cards are exposed to the participants. Each video screen (7) of the remote participants will now show the selected cards at (10) and the exposed second set at (11) . The amount of the winnings for a participant will of course depend on the combination of cards that has occurred following his or her initial selection. In the example given, the player will be able to claim winnings for having a pair of aces . The calculation of winnings will be described hereinafter and for at least the remote participants their increased credit balance will be displayed on their video screens.

During a single game all those participating remotely will be registered in the control system (5) together with their credit balances. In a variant of this embodiment each participant at the gaming table will also be registered in the same manner.

As shown in Figure 5, the control system comprises a communication interface (20) which receives inputs from and communicates with each of the remote terminals. As described, it is also possible to have communication between the participants at the dealing table and the control system, particularly in respect of credit balances. In addition, the interface receives from either the automatic card dealing machine or the card reader (4) details of each of the cards which are dealt. Thus the card details of each deal are stored in a card register (21) each time a game is started and once the players have indicated their participation their locations are stored in the current player register (22) . Associated with the current player register (22) is a register (23) storing the credit balance for each player. Of course the credit balance register (23) may hold more credit balances for any one game than the number of actual participants.

In the present embodiment the control system also concludes a timing unit (24) which will now be described in greater detail.

The control system also includes a look-up table (25) which stores winning hand combinations and appropriate pay-outs for such combinations.

As explained earlier in the specification, if there are a large number of participants it would be counter-productive to wait until every participant has made a decision as to whether to play or not after notification that a deal is to be made. Accordingly the timing system is intended to ensure, particularly when there is a large number of remote players , that there is no undue delay during the playing of the game by generating a cut-off time for players to indicate their acceptance.

If each person wishing to participate has to place a stake then the timing system will set a time period from the indication that the game is to start within which any participant will have to pledge their stake . If the system is such that players only place their stakes as an indication that they are going to participate once the first set of cards has been exposed, then once again the timing system will set a time limit for the players to make the appropriate inputs .

It will be appreciated that the period of time required to be given to potential participants will be one which varies in accordance with the number of participants. In one preferred embodiment a statistical analysis is made which registers and stores the average times taken by groups of players to make their decisions. Such data can be stored in different ways such as curves or histograms. Figure 6 of the accompanying drawings shows a curve which has, for example, been generated by looking at the response times of twenty players. As it is likely that the response time will contain outliers from players who are slow in making their decisions, the more players the greater the likelihood that the curve would extend further along the time axis T. Accordingly, in the light of this statistical analysis, the timing system will accept the number of participants who have agreed to play and will set a period which is slightly shorter than the time defined by the pre-stored curve or histogram for that number of players . This has the consequence that a few of the slowest players may not be able to make their bet for a particular deal but also has the long term advantage of ensuring a relatively rapid turnover of games . The result of this analysis can also be stored in the form of appropriate look-up tables stored at (25) . Accordingly a dealer can request from the timing unit a particular timing interval calculated in advance from the stored timing intervals on the basis of the number of participants likely to be taking part in a game.

In what has just been described, it is assumed that a player will initially indicate participation in one format by making a fixed stake. Variants of this scenario are of course possible. In a game a player, having seen the first set of cards dealt, could make a second bet, the value of which is based on a judgement of the displayed cards.

In another variant, another opportunity to bet could be obtained by an intermediate step of displaying only some of the cards of the second set .

The operation of the control centre is controlled by a CPU (26) having a ROM (27) and a suitable volatile memory (28) .

In all of the possible variants of the main embodiment which has just been described the calculation of the winnings of the players will be carried out by referring to a look-up table (25) which stores values for each type of winning hand, starting from a single pair to a Royal Flush. However the actual calculation of a participant's winnings at a remote terminal could also be calculated at the remote terminal on the basis of a look up table held at that terminal. It may of course also be possible for each remote terminal to have a cash or token dispenser which provides the participants with their winnings directly. In such a case the dispenser could be arranged to receive cash, or tokens equivalent to cash or credit card input so as to boost individual participant's credit balances.

Figure 7 shows a preferred timing schedule for a typical game of Draw Poker .

Referring now to Figure 7 it will be seen that this Figure charts the steps taken during the playing of a game. Thus in step Sl control system (5) including the timing unit (24) are shown to be in a "ready to play state" .

At step S2 the dealer initiates the start of a game. In a preferred embodiment this is done by pressing the start button (9) shown in Figure 1. The pressing of button (9) starts a timing sequence controlled by the timing unit (24) .

With regard to the timing unit (24) this contains, in the present embodiment, two sets of records. There are firstly records detailing the times at which each stake was placed for a number of previous games are available for analysis and secondly records detailing the times when the Draw buttons were pressed and the time when "hold" buttons were enabled for previous games is made available for analysis. Based on analysis of the previous betting patterns with regard to numbers of stakes, times taken to bet and trend in increase or decrease of the number of stakes, the timing unit (24) selects a target time and begins to countdown .

The timing unit may also be arranged to take into consideration the number of participants who have a sufficient credit balance for taking part in a game.

Simultaneously with the start of the countdown each player will be informed in step S3 that the period for placing their bets has started.

It will be appreciated that the length of the countdown will be dependent on the output of the timing controlling system which is in turn dependent on the two sets of records .

In an alternative embodiment the timing control system would merely store in appropriate registers typical pre-calculated data storing timing periods for a range of numbers of players . Accordingly the dealer may have the option of selecting via the communication interface 20 what he or she considers to be an appropriate period in view of the number of players . This selection can of course be made with the acquired knowledge of the number of participants with sufficient credit balances.

The progress of the countdown may be communicated to the participants in step S4.

At step S5 players commit their stakes. This can be done by depositing a coin, a bank note or a counter or the like or by utilising pre-obtained credit stored at (23) .

Once a participant has committed funds he presses a deal button (11) at the terminal to carry out step S6. The control system registers the stake and deducts funds from storage if applicable.

At step S7 the timing system times -out so that no further stakes can be registered and at step S8 sends a "no more bets" signal to the players and further betting is disabled. In step S9 five cards are dealt face up. As already described five further cards could be dealt at the same time face-down.

In step SlO the timing unit calculates a second time period which is based on analysis of the previous patterns with regard to numbers of players, times taken to between "hold" buttons being enabled and the "Draw" button being selected and the trend in increase or decrease of the number of players, the "Draw timer" calculates a target time and begins to countdown. Preferably this second period is based on analysis of the previous patterns with regard to numbers of players, times taken to between "hold" buttons being enabled and the "Draw" button being selected and the trend in increase or decrease of the number of players . The timing unit calculates a target time and begins to countdown (see step SlO) .

At step SIl hold buttons for each of the players are enabled and the timer countdown is communicated to the players whilst in step S12 the control system enables hold buttons on the player's keypads (8) . It is then necessary for players to indicate which of the face-up cards they wish to hold by pressing appropriate "hold" buttons on their key pads and this is done in step S13. In step S14 the timing unit times -out the period set for operation of the drawing buttons by individual participants .

In step S15 the draw and the hold buttons are disabled at the remote terminals and at step S16 either additional five cards are dealt face-up or are revealed if they were previously dealt face-down.

In step S17 the system compares the resulting hands against the pay-out table and awards appropriate pay- outs.

At step S18 the control system returns to the "Ready" state of step Sl. It may be advantageous for the dealer to be able to communicate to the participants that a game is over before the control system enters the ready state .

The above description has been directed to an embodiment for playing a form of draw poker. However it will be appreciated that the same timing principles can be used to control the time taken for players to accept an invitation to play or to carry out a particular action during a game for a number of other forms of game .

It will also be seen that the embodiment described has a particular advantage in that it enables a single dealer to act on behalf of both players seated at a gaming table and players at remote terminals. It is of course possible that in addition further players may be linked to the dealer, the control system and the timing unit via the internet.

Claims

CLAIMS :

1. Gaming apparatus comprising means for detecting the dealing of cards at a gaming table to participants at the gaming table so as to identify the cards dealt, an electronic control system for sending the identities of the detected cards to participants at remote terminals if the cards have been dealt in such a manner as to be exposed to the participants at the gaming table, and characterised in that the control system includes an interface for receiving input from at least the remote tables that one or more participants wishes to take part in a game, and a timing means for generating a variable timing interval the length of which is related to numbers of participants, the timing unit being adapted to disable the ability of the participants to communicate with the contol system so as to provide a cut-off time for those participants who have not indicated their continued participation within the length of the timing interval.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 and including means for generating an indication to participants that a game is starting and an enabling signal to start the timing unit.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein the timing unit is adapted to calculate at least two timing intervals within which participants have to make decisions regarding their participation and/or place bets .

4. Apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the control system includes means for storing a credit balance for each participant, means for deducting at least the value of one bet from this balance, means storing a pay-out table for calculating winnings for any participant who has won, and means for generating pay-out information for winning participants .

5. A gaming system for combining video draw poker and variants thereof with players at a gaming table, comprising a gaming table for actual players and a plurality of remote terminals, means for identifying cards as dealt by the dealer, means for transferring the identities of the cards for display at the remote terminals comprising a plurality of remote terminals each remote terminal having a display unit for displaying dealt cards to a participant at that terminal , and having input means by means of which a participant can send data representing his or her intentions to the control unit.

6. A gaming system and a gaming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 in combination with a plurality of remote terminals, wherein each remote terminal comprises a video screen and an input means in the form of a keypad or buttons.

7. A system according to any one of claims 5 or 6 and including means whereby a dealer can indicate to remote participants that a game is over.