WO2001036057A1

WO2001036057A1 - Modified baccarat gaming

Info

Publication number: WO2001036057A1
Application number: PCT/AU2000/001395
Authority: WO
Inventors: Gabby Steven Rona
Original assignee: Luxembourg Holdings Pty Ltd
Priority date: 1999-11-16
Filing date: 2000-11-16
Publication date: 2001-05-25
Also published as: EP1101513A2; AUPQ408499A0; EP1101513A3

Abstract

The invention is for modified baccarat gaming suitable for casinos and internet gaming which takes advantage of the approach to house takings, wherein the house takes a higher percentage but only from winning hands with certain characteristics such as a predefined certain total or a predefined specific combination. No commissions are paid for other normal winning hands. An additional wager based on these predefined certain characteristics as an insurance bet against the house takings.

Description

MODIFIED BACCARAT GAMING Technical Field

The present invention relates to the operation of commercially operated casinos, whether operating by physical presence or via electronic means such as the internet. More particularly, it relates to a modified baccarat game for play in commercial gaming operations. Background Art

Commercial gaming operations are run in many countries throughout the world. Casino gaming must compete with other forms of gambling for the available customer base. One of the key considerations in the economics of casino operations is the turnover achieved for a given table. In many cases, the casino will operate under specific restrictions as to the number of tables which it can operate, imposed by regulatory authorities. Costs associated with staff and the floor space occupied are also relevant. As a result, from the casino operator's perspective, the objective is to obtain as much turnover, and hence possibility for profit, as possible from the gaming facilities provided. One way of achieving this is to have tables with relatively high minimum bets. This means that instead of many smaller value wagers, fewer higher ones are placed and hence the costs associated with each table are reduced relative to turnover. However, as the minimum wager is increased, the pool of players decreases. If the casino is only catering to a relatively few so-called high rollers, a disadvantage for the operator is that the averaging effect of the statistical nature of the business is decreased. Returns will vary more widely, which is not advantageous from an operators perspective. Also, there are in practice relatively few such customers. Accordingly, it is desirable to be able to spread wagers over a wide range of values and customers, so as to provide a more predictable cash flow. Consequently, measures which serve to increase turnover without requiring new players or facilities are highly desirable from the perspective of the casino operator. One of the classic casino games operated by casinos is the game of baccarat, or Chemin-de-fer. Various variants of mis game are played, however, all will be referred to collectively as baccarat. For full details of the rules of this game, reference should be had to appropriate references - for Example, Hoyles Rules of Games, second revised edition, Albert H. Morehead and Geoffrey Mott-Smith, 1998, Penguin Books Australia. Many casinos also publish details of their own rules. A brief summary of salient points appears below. Casino Baccarat is generally played with multiple - often 8 - regular 52 card packs of cards, shuffled together. The banker (who is a customer, not the house) plays against the player hand. Participants in the game may back either the player hand, or the banker. Complex conventions surround the order of placing wagers, in part because the total amounts wagered by the players and the banker must conform, as this is not a game against the house but against the other players. However, the modern casino form of the game often allows for bets to be placed against the house, in effect, by not requiring banker and player bets to be matched. The house achieves its own return in modern forms of the game by taking a percentage, typically 5%, of winnings achieved by the banker. The object of the game is to hold 2 or 3 cards whose value together is nine, or as near nine as possible, with tens and face cards counting as 0, aces 1 and other cards their face value. Units of ten are not counted, so that for example a total of 2, 12 or 22 will are be counted as 2. The banker deals 2 cards to himself and to the player hand. If either total is 9 or 8, the hand wins, unless tied or beaten by the other participant on the first two cards. When the result is not decided in this way, an additional card may be drawn by each participant, in accordance with set guidelines generally known as the table of play. In order forms of the game, the participants may have had a discretion about drawing additional cards. In modern casino variants, generally the totals on which the banker and player will stand or draw are prescribed, so that no discretion is involved in play.

At the conclusion of the hand, bets must be settled and the house percentage taken from the banker's winnings. This is a time consuming process if many customers are playing. In particular, it is relatively tedious to extract 5% of a total, as this will often involve changing chips and issuing small denomination chips to constitute players net winnings. Multiple rounds of such play result in players having quantities of variously valued chips, which from Time to time they may wish tc consolidate, again taking up time otherwise available for play. In effect, a large part of the time on a baccarat table is spent settling relatively complicated wagering outcomes, and relatively little time actually playing. A consequence of this, in light of the economic issues noted previously, is that the game is only viable from the operator's perspective if a relatively high table limit is applied. Accordingly, it would be desirable to modify the rules so as to allow for more rapid settlement, and to allow for table turnover to be increased.

One modification to the rules is to allow for the house percentage to be taken on a different basis. One such basis is to substitute the percentage of winnings on each winning hand by the banker with a scheme in which the house percentage is only taken on certain hands, at a higher rate. For example, the house may win take 50% of bankers winnings if the banker wins with say, a certain total. This speeds up game play considerably. However, it does not increase the level of wagering on each hand at all - it simply speeds up play. Some casinos also allow for a bet on whether the banker and player have tied hands, which bet is generally paid at odds of 8 to 1.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a modified baccarat game, and table layout, so as to facilitate an increase in turnover per gaming table.

Summary of the Invention

Broadly, the present invention takes advantage of the approach to house takings, wherein the house takes a higher percentage but only from winning bankers hands which fulfill a certain characteristic. A simple form is where the banker wins with one or more specific totals, but alternatives could be where the banker wins with one or more specific totals, but alternatives could be where the banker's winning hand includes certain cards, or indeed where the players losing hand has a certain total or includes certain cards. When such a system is used, the present invention allows players to place an insurance bet, against the house, on any such outcome occurring. Thus, in addition to the normal banker/player outcomes, the house is taking side bets, placed before cards are dealt, against the outcome in which the house percentage is payable. From the players perspective, this provides an additional interest in the game and the possibility of exercising control over another aspect of the outcome. It allows for risk management strategies to be employed when making wagers. From the perspective of the casino operator, the insurance bets are a direct bet on well understood odds against the house, and which additionally can be quickly settled with players. Some players may even prefer to simply make such a bet and not participate in general play, which is sometimes confusing to novices. It accordingly provides a way for new players to participate to a certain extent without having to understand all the intricacies of the game.

The present invention further relates to an improved baccarat game in a commercial gaming establishment, of the type in which a gaming surface is provided with marked spaces for placement of wagers on the banker or player, and subject to the cards dealt to the banker and player, the wagers placed in said marked spaces are paid in accordance with predetermined rules by paying player bets to the banker or vice versa, characterised in that said gaming surface further includes further marked spaces for the placement of wagers on defined outcomes other than the result of play between the banker or player, said wagers being placed with the commercial gaming establishment. Preferably, the baccarat game includes rules in which the house extracts a percentage of bankers winnings only in the event that the cards dealt meet predefined criteria, being criteria other than whether the banker or player wins, ties or draws, and the defined outcomes are either those criteria or a subset thereof. Accordingly, the present invention defines a new working interrelationship between the participants, the cards, the playing surface and the wagers. The interelationship allows for the players to place a wager on a factor not necessarily related to the outcome of the principal game, and in particular to make an insurance bet against having to pay a percentage to the house. The present invention allows for a new class of player, who may not want to participate in a game against other players for significant stakes, but who is interested in participating in a wager for an easily understood situation against the house. It further allows a sophisticated player to utilise a more complex betting strategy, which may contribute to his enjoyment of the game, and hence from the perspective of the casino operator his frequency of play may increase. Further, the volume of wagers per deal is likely to be increased, with virtually no extra effort or time taken, so that the daily turnover of the table is likely to increase. Description

A description of an implementation of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures, in which;

Figure 1 illustrates a possible table layout according to the present invention; and

Figure 2 illustrates a flowchart for determining outcomes for use in conjunction with an online gaming facility.

For the purposes of explanation, a version of the present invention will be described with reference to a particular base set of rules and a specific outcome on which the house percentage is taken from the banker. However, it will be appreciated that additional or alternative outcomes could be used, with suitable modifications to odds. Similarly, the noted outcomes may need to be varied to take account of local rules and regulations, and the house percentage taken in particular establishments. For example, the house could take 25% of winnings if the outcome was a banker win with a total of 6 or 7. In such a case, an insurance bet could be separately offered against 6 total, 7 total, or either six or seven, with appropriate odds for each.

The preferred implementation of this present invention is for a casino game in which the operator pays even odds for either player or banker wins, unless the banker wins with a total of six (as previously defined), in which case the operator only pays 1 to 2, or 50% of the bet as winnings. This may be either a game in which wagers are strictly matched against other players, or where the operator allows bets and will honor them regardless of matching. The table provides some facility, for example a specially marked area either in front of each player or in front of all players on a portion of the table (this will be explained further below) for an insurance bet to be placed. This bet is against the house, and pays 10-1 if the banker wins, and his cards have a point total of six. In any other case, the bet is lost. Referring to figure 1. much of the table layout shown is conventional for casino baccarat. At either end of the layout, generally referred to as 20, are areas 26 adjacent the banker end and 27 adjacent the player end. A series of seven positions numbered 1 to 7 are provided at the player end 27, and seven positions numbered 8 to 15 at the banker end 26. At each end, a series of curved lines generally following the shape of the playing area define the spaces for making banker 23 and player 22 bets in front of each participant. Additionally, an inner area 24 defines a space where bets on a tie can be placed by any player, One implementation of the present invention provides a further inner area 30, immediately inside the tie area, for placement of insurance bets. This may either be divided into specific areas for each player, or be an open area where any such bet can be placed. Numerous alternative positions could be used, as desired. In play, after the outcome is determined and the banker has either won with a total of six or not, the insurance bets may be paid, preferably prior to disposition of other bets, as in most cases there will be no pay out required. Hence, only in something less than 10 % of cases will the croupier be required to pay out, and so the time involved from a game play perspective is small. Similarly, the odds of 10 to 1 are relatively easy to calculate and pay.

The present invention also has advantages for baccarat play via an electronic game, or via an electronically facilitated game. By the latter is meant a game which actually takes place with human participants, and which can be viewed via a video facility, for example via the internet or a pay television channel. The latter may be simply an electronic layout, with buttons for bets to be placed operated via mouse clicks or the like. Such facilities are already in existence, and will not be described in detail.

Figure 2 shows an exemplary flowchart for implementing such a system in an electronic gaming environment, where at least the bets are placed and paid via software systems. It will be appreciated that the present invention requires only simple changes to implement. Prior to the cards being dealt, the system determines at box 40 if an insurance bet had been made. If not, then this process ends at box 46. If a bet has been made, at box 44 the amount is stored as valus X in a suitable register. After the cards have been dealt and the hand completed, the process enquires at box 41 if the dealer has won. If not, the bet is lost and this is communicated to the credit system at box 47. If the dealer has won, at box 42 the system enquires if the dealer's card score a point value of 6. If not, then the bet is lost at box 48. If the answer at box 42 is yes, then at box 43 the bet is paid as 10X plus the original bet 10, and this is communicated to the credit system.

It will be appreciated that the present invention can be implemented in various ways, and with various additions and alternatives, within the general spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

1. A casino baccarat game, of the type wherein the house percentage of winnings is determined by taking a percentage of winning wagers on the banker's hand only when the banker's cards meet predefined criteria in addition to being a winning hand, characterised in that said game further includes means for a participant to make a wager on said predefined criteria being met.

2. A baccarat game according to claim 1 , wherein the predefined criteria are a total of the points value of the banker's winning hand.

3. A baccarat game according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the means for a participant to make a wager is a designated area on a gaming table layout, into which gambling chips may be placed..

4. A baccarat game according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the means for a participant to make a wager is an indicia on an electronic gaming device or screen, which is able to be selected by a participant.

5. An improved baccarat game in a commercial gaming establishment, of the type in which a gaming surface is provided with marked spaces for placement of wagers on the banker or player, and subject to the cards dealt to the banker and player, the wagers placed in said marked spaces are paid in accordance with predetermined rules by paying player bets to the banker or vice versa, characterised in that said gaming surface further includes further marked spaces for the placement of wagers on defined outcomes other than the result of play between the banker or player, said wagers being placed with the commercial gaming establishment.

6. A game according to claim 5, wherein the house percentage of winnings is determined by taking a percentage of winning wagers on the banker's hand only when the banker's cards meet predefined criteria in addition to being a winning hand, and the defined outcomes are either those criteria or a subset thereof.

7. An improved method of playing baccarat, wherein in addition to normal game play, the game includes the steps of: allowing for an optional wager by a player as to a predefined total of a banker's winning hand; paying or collecting such a wager in addition to any other wagers at the conclusive of each hand.

8. A game according to any one of claims 4 wherein wagers are placed and paid electronically.

9. A game according to claim 8, wherein the game is conducted via the Internet or a computer network.