Blackjack playing card system

Abstract

A playing card system for use in the game of Blackjack is provided. A set of playing cards having the standard suit and rank arrangement is modified such that both surfaces of each card are marked with that card's particular suit and rank. Thus, the rank and suit of all cards in play remain exposed, which effectively eliminates many types of cheating. It is particularly effective against card marking, flashing and switching. The set of cards is further modified so that ace and “10” value cards are marked with identifying indicia such that an early determination that the dealer has “21” can be made. A masking member is provided for placement over the dealer's hole card so that its rank and suit can remain concealed while the determination of early “21” is made. The invention further comprises a card shoe which is modified so that the determination of early “21” can be made before the hole card is dealt from the shoe.

What is claimed is:  
     
         1 . A set of playing cards for the game of Blackjack, said set of playing cards being of the type comprising a standard suit and rank combination, wherein each individual card has its particular suit and rank placed on both surfaces of said card, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of ace bearing a first identifying indicia at a primary location along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of a value of ten bearing a second identifying indicia along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces at a different secondary location relative to said primary location of said first identifying indicia of said ace cards, said cards of said set which have a rank in the range of two through nine having no rank-identifying indicia on either of its surfaces at any location similar to that of either of said primary or secondary locations.  
     
     
         2 . The set of playing cards of  claim 1  in which said identifying first and second indicia comprise discrete, localized marks.  
     
     
         3 . The set of playing cards of  claim 2  in which said indicia comprise a rank symbol of said card.  
     
     
         4 . The set of playing cards of  claim 2  in which an additional first identifying indicia is provided on each surface of said ace cards at a location similar to said primary location from a perspective of a viewer when said cards are rotated 180 degrees within their plane, and an additional second identifying indicia is provided on each surface of said ten value cards at a location similar to said secondary location from a perspective of a viewer when said card is rotated 180 degrees within their plane.  
     
     
         5 . The set of playing cards of  claim 1  in which said first and second identifying indicia each comprise an elongated marking, said elongated marking of said first indicia being disposed lengthwise along an upper margin at a top edge of said card or along a lower margin at a bottom edge of said card, but not extending to an edge of either of said sides of said card, said elongated marking of said second indicia being disposed lengthwise along an outer margin at both side edges of said card, but not extending to said top and bottom edges of said card.  
     
     
         6 . The set of playing cards of  claim 1  in which said first and second identifying indicia each comprise an elongated marking, said elongated marking of said second indicia being disposed lengthwise along an upper margin at a top edge of said card or along a lower margin at a bottom edge of said card, but not extending to an edge of either of said sides of said card, said elongated marking of said first indicia being disposed lengthwise along an outer margin at both side edges of said card, but not extending to said top and bottom edges of said card.  
     
     
         7 . A set of playing cards for the game of Blackjack, said set of playing cards being of the type comprising a standard suit and rank combination, wherein each individual card has its particular suit and rank placed on both surfaces of said card, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of ace bearing a first identifying indicia at a primary location along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of a value of ten bearing a second identifying indicia along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces at a different secondary location relative to said primary location of said first identifying indicia of said ace cards, said cards of said set which have a rank in the range of two through nine having no rank-identifying indicia on either of its surfaces at any location similar to that of either of said primary or secondary locations, said set of playing cards further including a masking member, said masking member being adapted to be placed over an individual one of said cards to mask said card from view, said masking member being adapted for selective manipulation to enable either of said first or second identifying indicia to be revealed while a remainder of said card remains masked from view.  
     
     
         8 . The set of playing cards of  claim 7  in which said identifying first and second indicia comprise discrete, localized marks.  
     
     
         9 . The set of playing cards of  claim 8  in which a first viewing window is disposed in said masking member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said primary location of said first identifying indicia when said masking member is placed over said individual one of said cards, and a second viewing window is disposed in said masking member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said secondary location of said second identifying indicia when said masking member is placed over said individual one of said cards, each of said first and second viewing windows being adapted to be selectively opened and closed, and adapted to be independently manipulated to reveal a presence of an identifying indicia under said respective viewing windows.  
     
     
         10 . The set of playing cards of  claim 9  in which an additional first indicia is provided on each surface of said ace cards at a location similar to said primary location from a perspective of a viewer when said cards are rotated 180 degrees, and an additional second indicia is provided on each surface of said ten value cards at a location similar to said secondary location from a perspective of a viewer when said card is rotated 180 degrees, whereby said respective indicia will always align with its respective viewing window when said masking member is properly aligned and placed over said card.  
     
     
         11 . The set of playing cards of  claim 9  in which said indicia comprise a rank symbol of said card.  
     
     
         12 . The set of playing cards of  claim 7  in which said first and second identifying indicia each comprise an elongated marking, said elongated marking of said first indicia being disposed lengthwise along an upper margin at a top edge of said card or along a lower margin at a bottom edge of said card, but not extending to an edge of either of said sides of said card, said elongated marking of said second indicia being disposed lengthwise along an outer margin at both side edges of said card, but not extending to said top and bottom edges of said card, whereby each of said indicia are viewable by receding movement of said masking member relative to said top, bottom and said side edges of said cards.  
     
     
         13 . The set of playing cards of  claim 7  in which said first and second identifying indicia each comprise an elongated marking, said elongated marking of said second indicia being disposed lengthwise along an upper margin at a top edge of said card or along a lower margin at a bottom edge of said card, but not extending to an edge of either of said sides of said card, said elongated marking of said first indicia being disposed lengthwise along an outer margin at both side edges of said card, but not extending to said top and bottom edges of said card, whereby each of said indicia are viewable by receding movement of said masking member relative to said top, bottom and said side edges of said cards.  
     
     
         14 . A combination set of playing cards and card shoe for dispensing said cards, said set of playing cards being of the type comprising a standard suit and rank combination, wherein each individual card has its particular suit and rank placed on both surfaces of said card, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of ace bearing a first identifying indicia at a primary location along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces, an additional first identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ace cards at a location similar to said primary location from a perspective of a viewer when said cards are rotated 180 degrees within their plane, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of a value of ten bearing a second identifying indicia along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces at a different secondary location relative to said primary location of said first identifying indicia of said ace cards, an additional second identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ten value cards at a location similar to said secondary location from a perspective of a viewer when said card is rotated 180 degrees within their plane, said cards of said set which have a rank in the range of two through nine having no rank-identifying indicia on either of its surfaces at any location similar to that of either of said primary or secondary locations, said card shoe being adapted to receive, store and dispense said set of playing cards, said card shoe having a concealing member disposed in its card dispensing end, said concealing member being adapted to conceal cards to be dispensed from said card shoe from view, said concealing member being adapted for selective manipulation to enable either of said first or second identifying indicia to be revealed while a remainder of said card remains concealed from view.  
     
     
         15 . The set of playing cards of  claim 14  in which said identifying first and second indicia comprise discrete, localized marks.  
     
     
         16 . The set of playing cards of  claim 15  in which a first viewing window is disposed in said concealing member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said primary location of said first identifying indicia when said concealing member is placed over said individual one of said cards, and a second viewing window is disposed in said concealing member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said secondary location of said second identifying indicia when said concealing member is placed over said individual one of said cards, each of said first and second viewing windows being adapted to be selectively opened and closed, and adapted to be independently manipulated to reveal a presence of an identifying indicia under said respective viewing windows.  
     
     
         17 . A combination set of playing cards and card shoe for dispensing said cards, said set of playing cards being of the type comprising a standard suit and rank combination, wherein each individual card has its particular suit and rank placed on both surfaces of said card, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of ace bearing a first identifying indicia at a primary location along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces, an additional first identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ace cards at a location similar to said primary location from a perspective of a viewer when said cards are rotated 180 degrees within their plane, each of said cards of said set which has a rank of a value of ten bearing a second identifying indicia along a margin on an edge on both of its surfaces at a different secondary location relative to said primary location of said first identifying indicia of said ace cards, an additional second identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ten value cards at a location similar to said secondary location from a perspective of a viewer when said card is rotated 180 degrees within their plane, said cards of said set which have a rank in the range of two through nine having no rank-identifying indicia on either of its surfaces at any location similar to that of either of said primary or secondary locations, said card shoe being adapted to receive, store and dispense said set of playing cards, said card shoe having a concealing member disposed in its card dispensing end, said concealing member being adapted to conceal cards to be dispensed from said card shoe from view, said concealing member being adapted to enable either of said first or second identifying indicia to be revealed while a remainder of said card remains concealed from view.  
     
     
         18 . The set of playing cards of  claim 17  in which said identifying first and second indicia comprise discrete, localized marks.  
     
     
         19 . The set of playing cards of  claim 18  in which a first viewing window is disposed in said concealing member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said primary location of said first identifying indicia when said concealing member is placed over said individual one of said cards, and a second viewing window is disposed in said concealing member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said secondary location of said second identifying indicia when said concealing member is placed over said individual one of said cards, each of said first and second viewing windows being adapted to be selectively opened and closed, and adapted to be independently manipulated to reveal a presence of an identifying indicia under said respective viewing windows.  
     
     
         20 . A card shoe of the type for dispensing playing cards for the game of Blackjack, said card shoe being adapted to receive and store a plurality of sets of said playing cards, the improvement comprising said card shoe having a concealing member disposed in its card dispensing end, said concealing member being adapted to conceal cards to be dispensed from said card shoe from view, said concealing member being adapted to enable either of a first or second location on a concealed card to be independently revealed while a remainder of said card remains concealed from view within said shoe, said first and second locations being disposed on said card at positions remote from each other, said concealing member having indicia for instructing a user to reveal the concealed card at said first or second location.  
     
     
         21 . The card shoe of  claim 20  in which windows are disposed in said concealing member, said windows being moveable between open and closed positions.  
     
     
         22 . A method for increasing a speed of play of the game of Blackjack and inhibiting a possibility of cheating due to prematurely exposing a value of a hole card, said method comprising: 
 a) providing a set of playing cards of a type comprising a standard suit and rank combination which have been previously modified to comprise: 
 i) each card of said set having its respective suit and rank placed on both its surfaces,  
 ii) cards of said set, which have a rank of ace, bearing a first identifying indicia placed at a primary location along a margin on an edge on both their surfaces, an additional first identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ace cards at a location similar to said primary location from a perspective of a viewer when said cards are rotated 180 degrees within their plane  
 iii) cards of said set, which have a rank of a value of ten, bearing a second identifying indicia placed along a margin on an edge on both their surfaces at a different secondary location relative to said primary location of said first identifying indicia of said ace cards, an additional second identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ten value cards at a location similar to said secondary location from a perspective of a viewer when said card is rotated 180 degrees within their plane  
   b) providing a concealing member adapted to be placed over an individual one of said cards to conceal said card from view,    c) dealing said cards in a conventional manner for a hand of Blackjack where a hole card and an up card are dealt for said dealer,    d) placing said concealing member over said hole card as said hole card is dealt whereby a value of said hole card is concealed from view while said up card remains exposed to view,    e) determining a value of said exposed up card,    f) manipulating said concealing member over said hole card to determine a presence of either of said identifying indicia, without exposing a face of said hole card, to determine whether said hole card has a value, as signified by said identifying indicia, which will provide a complementary value with said up card to attain a value of 21,    whereby a presence of said attained value of 21 will signify a winning hand by said dealer to terminate said game and obviate a need to deal additional cards.    
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 22  in which said identifying first and second indicia comprise discrete, localized marks.  
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23  in which said indicia comprise a rank symbol of said card.  
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23  in which a first viewing window is disposed in said concealing member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said primary location of said first identifying indicia when said concealing member is placed over said individual one of said cards, and a second viewing window is disposed in said concealing member at a position adapted to be in close proximity to said secondary location of said second identifying indicia when said concealing member is placed over said individual one of said cards, each of said first and second viewing windows being adapted to be selectively opened and closed, and adapted to be independently manipulated to reveal a presence of an identifying indicia.  
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 22  in which said first and second identifying indicia each comprise an elongated marking, said elongated marking of said first indicia being disposed lengthwise along an upper margin at a top edge of said card or along a lower margin at a bottom edge of said card, but not extending to an edge of either of said sides of said card, said elongated marking of said second indicia being disposed lengthwise along an outer margin at both side edges of said card, but not extending to said top and bottom edges of said card.  
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 22  in which said first and second identifying indicia each comprise an elongated marking, said elongated marking of said second indicia being disposed lengthwise along an upper margin at a top edge of said card or along a lower margin at a bottom edge of said card, but not extending to an edge of either of said sides of said card, said elongated marking of said first indicia being disposed lengthwise along an outer margin at both side edges of said card, but not extending to said top and bottom edges of said card.  
     
     
         28 . A method for increasing a speed of play of the game of Blackjack and inhibiting a possibility of cheating due to prematurely exposing a value of a hole card, said method comprising: 
 a) providing a set of playing cards of a type comprising a standard suit and rank combination which have been previously modified to comprise: 
 i) each card of said set having its respective suit and rank placed on both its surfaces,  
 ii) cards of said set, which have a rank of ace, bearing a first identifying indicia placed at a primary location along a margin on an edge on both their surfaces, an additional first identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ace cards at a location similar to said primary location from a perspective of a viewer when said cards are rotated 180 degrees within their plane  
 iii) cards of said set, which have a rank of a value of ten, bearing a second identifying indicia placed along a margin on an edge on both their surfaces at a different secondary location relative to said primary location of said first identifying indicia of said ace cards, an additional second identifying indicia being provided on each surface of said ten value cards at a location similar to said secondary location from a perspective of a viewer when said card is rotated 180 degrees within their plane  
   b) providing a card shoe for dispensing said cards, said shoe being modified to comprise: 
 i) a concealing member disposed in its card dispensing end,  
 ii) said concealing member being adapted to conceal cards to be dispensed from said card shoe from view,  
 iii) said concealing member being adapted to enable either of a first or second location on a concealed card to be independently revealed while a remainder of said card remains concealed from view within said shoe,  
 iv) said concealing member having indicia for instructing a user to reveal the concealed card at said first or second location  
   c) providing a masking member adapted to be placed over an individual one of said cards to mask a dealt dealer's hole card from view,    d) dealing said cards to players in a conventional manner for a hand of Blackjack and dealing an up card to said dealer but temporarily leaving said hole card in said shoe,    e) determining a value of dealer's said exposed up card,    f) manipulating said concealing member of said shoe over said hole card in said shoe to determine a presence of either of said identifying indicia, without exposing a face of said hole card, to determine whether said hole card has a value, as signified by said identifying indicia, which will provide a complementary value with said up card to attain a value of 21, whereby a presence of said attained value of 21 will signify a winning hand by said dealer to terminate said game and obviate a need to deal additional cards,    g) if no such identifying indicia is present, withdrawing said hole card from said shoe, and placing said masking member over said hole card as said hole card is dealt whereby a value of said hole card is concealed from view while said up card remains exposed to view, allowing said game to continue.