Bet the house blackjack

Abstract

A casino style card game, played in accordance with the standard rules of Blackjack, also known as “21,” and including an auxiliary component allowing additional wagering on the outcome of the dealer's hand for each participating player. Participating players are able to wager on the dealer having a non-breaking hand (i.e., a hand having a value less than 21 in accordance with the rules of Blackjack) containing two, three, four, five, six, or seven cards. Wagers may also be made on the dealer having an even or odd count, or an all read or all black hand. A return is paid on wagers in the auxiliary game only if the dealer hand does not “bust” (i.e, exceed a value of 21). The game is also playable in electronic or other automated versions using, for example, terminals and networks, or slot machines.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A method for at least one player and a dealer to play a card game with a plurality of cards, the card game being played in accordance with standard rules of Blackjack and including an auxiliary game portion, the method comprising: 
 receiving a selection to participate in a Blackjack card game from each of the at least one player;    optionally receiving a selection to participate in the auxiliary game portion form each of the at least one player;    playing the Blackjack card game in accordance with rules of Blackjack, the Blackjack round including: 
 sequentially dealing a first card to each player and a first card to the dealer;  
 sequentially dealing a second card to each player and a second card to the dealer;  
 providing an option to receive additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer;  
 dealing additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer selecting to receive additional cards, in accordance with the rules of Blackjack, such that each player has a player Blackjack hand and the dealer has a dealer Blackjack hand; and  
   for each of the at least one player from which is received a selection to play in the auxiliary game portion, determining whether the player wins the auxiliary game portion.    
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein receiving a selection to participate in a Blackjack card game from each of the at least one player includes: 
 receiving a Blackjack wager.    
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein optionally receiving a selection to participate in the auxiliary game portion form each of the at least one player includes: 
 receiving an auxiliary game wager.    
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 comparing the player Blackjack hand for each player to the dealer hand; and    determining whether each player wins the Blackjack card game.    
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein receiving a selection to participate in a Blackjack card game from each of the at least one player includes: 
 receiving a Blackjack wager.    
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising: 
 for each player winning the Blackjack card game, paying a return, wherein the return varied depending on the Blackjack wager.    
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the auxiliary game portion wager is placed for one from a plurality of dealer's hand characteristics by each participating player, and wherein determining whether each participating player wins the auxiliary game portion comprises: 
 determining the dealer's hand characteristics; and    if the determined dealer's hand characteristics match the one from the plurality of dealer's hand characteristics, determining that the participating player wins the auxiliary game portion.    
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of dealer's hand characteristics include at least two selected from a group consisting of all cards in the dealer's hand being red, all cards in the dealer's hand being black, the dealer's hand totaling an even number, the dealer's hand totaling an odd number, the dealer's hand being two cards, the dealer's hand being three cards, the dealer's hand being four cards, the dealer's hand being five cards, the dealer's hand being six cards, and the dealer's hand being seven cards.  
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the card game is played on a gaming table.  
     
     
         10 . A method for a player to play a card game with representations of a deck of cards, the game being played in accordance with standard rules of Blackjack and including an auxiliary game portion, the method comprising: 
 receiving a selection to participate in a Blackjack card game from each of the at least one player;    optionally receiving a selection to participate in the auxiliary game portion form each of the at least one player;    playing the Blackjack card game in accordance with rules of Blackjack, the Blackjack round including: 
 sequentially assigning a first card to each player and a first card to the dealer;  
 sequentially assigning a second card to each player and a second card to the dealer;  
 providing an option to receive additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer;  
 assigning additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer selecting to receive additional cards, in accordance with the rules of Blackjack, such that each player has a player Blackjack hand and the dealer has a dealer Blackjack hand; and  
   for each of the at least one player from which is received a selection to play in the auxiliary game portion, determining whether the player wins the auxiliary game portion.    
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the representations of the cards are displayed on a terminal.  
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the terminal includes a processor.  
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the terminal comprises one selected from a group consisting of a personal computer, a minicomputer, a microcomputer, a main frame computer, and a slot machine.  
     
     
         14 . A gaming table for at least one player and a dealer to play a card game with at least one deck of cards, the game being played in accordance with standard rules of Blackjack and including an auxiliary game portion, the gaming table comprising: 
 a table surface; and    at least one player location indicated on the table surface, each of the at least one player location including: 
 an indicated Blackjack bet location;  
 an indicated auxiliary game portion bet location; wherein the play of the card game includes:  
 receiving a selection to participate in a Blackjack card game from each of the at least one player;  
 optionally receiving a selection to participate in the auxiliary game portion form each of the at least one player;  
 playing the Blackjack card game in accordance with rules of Blackjack, the Blackjack round including: 
 sequentially dealing a first card to each player and a first card to the dealer;  
 sequentially dealing a second card to each player and a second card to the dealer;  
 providing an option to receive additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer;  
 dealing additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer selecting to receive additional cards, in accordance with the rules of Blackjack, such that each player has a player Blackjack hand and the dealer has a dealer Blackjack hand; and  
 
 for each of the at least one player from which is received a selection to play in the auxiliary game portion, determining whether the player wins the auxiliary game portion.  
   
     
     
         15 . A device for a player to play a card game with representations of a deck of cards, the game being played in accordance with standard rules of Blackjack and including an auxiliary game portion, the device comprising: 
 a display for displaying the card game, including the representations of a standard deck of cards; and    a processor for receiving selections from the player for play of the game, for determining progress of play, and for processing and displaying a graphical user interface;    wherein a selection is received to participate in a Blackjack card game from each of the at least one player;    wherein a selection to participate in the auxiliary game portion is optionally received form each of the at least one player;    wherein the Blackjack card game is played in accordance with rules of Blackjack, the Blackjack round including: 
 sequentially dealing a first card to each player and a first card to the dealer;  
 sequentially dealing a second card to each player and a second card to the dealer;  
 providing an option to receive additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer;  
 dealing additional cards to each of the at least one player and the dealer selecting to receive additional cards, in accordance with the rules of Blackjack, such that each player has a player Blackjack hand and the dealer has a dealer Blackjack hand; and  
   for each of the at least one player from which is received a selection to play in the auxiliary game portion, determining whether the player wins the auxiliary game portion.    
     
     
         16 . The device of  claim 15 , wherein the device comprises a terminal.  
     
     
         17 . The device of  claim 16 , wherein the terminal comprises one selected from a group consisting of a personal computer, a minicomputer, a microcomputer, a main frame computer, and a slot machine.  
     
     
         18 . The device of  claim 15 , wherein the display is coupled to a display processor, the display and display processor comprising a display terminal.  
     
     
         19 . The device of  claim 18 , wherein the display terminal is coupled to the processor via a network.  
     
     
         20 . The device of  claim 19 , wherein the network is the Internet.