Front and Back Side Playing card Games

Abstract

Variations of a playing card wagering game are provided in which the outcome of the game and/or the payoff scale for the game are determined based on the front sides of the playing cards and at least one distinguishable card back design. The game deck may comprise one or more standard or modified standard 52-card decks of playing cards with multiple different designs, for example, different colors, on the backs of the different cards. The wagering game may comprise, for example, a standard casino game with a tiebreaker that depends on the backs of the cards in the players' and dealer's hands, or a side bet or payoff multiplier based on the card backs in the players' hands. Multiple different card back designs and configurations are provided, along with multiple different techniques for incorporating card back determinations into the outcome and payoff scale of the wagering card game.

1 . A method of providing a wagering card game for one or more players comprising:
 providing a game deck of cards comprising one or more decks of playing cards, wherein the front sides of the cards for each of the decks comprises a standard or modified standard 52-card deck of playing cards, and wherein the back sides of the cards in the game deck comprise a plurality of card back designs, such that at least one card in the game deck has a different card back design than at least one other card in the game deck;   providing a published set of game rules and a predetermined game pay scale;   commencing a game hand by accepting an initial wager from one or more players;   dealing one or more player hands each comprising one or more cards from the game deck, wherein each of the players is associated with at least one of the player hands or a dealer hand;   determining whether a first player wins the game hand according to the game rules, wherein the determining is based on at least one of the card back designs of the cards in the first player's hand; and   paying each of the winning players in accordance with the game pay scale.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wagering card game corresponds to a casino game in which the front sides of the cards in a player's hand are compared to the front sides of the cards in a dealer hand to determine whether the player wins the game hand, and wherein the determining comprises using the card back designs of the cards in the first player's hand as a tiebreaker between the dealer hand and the first player's hand. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the wagering card game is blackjack and wherein the card back designs of the cards in the first player's hand are used to determine if the first player wins or loses the blackjack hand when the first player's hand and dealer hand push. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wagering card game is a casino poker game and the determining comprises comparing a poker hand corresponding to the first player's hand to a poker hand corresponding to a dealer hand. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the wagering card game is a casino baccarat game, and wherein the initial wager of the first player corresponds to a player bet associated with a player hand, a banker bet associated with the dealer hand, or a tie bet associated with the player hand and the dealer hand. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game rules comprise rules for a first wagering game that depends only on the front sides of the cards and rules for a second side bet wager that depends only on the card back designs of the cards in the game hand. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the rules for the second side bet wager comprise comparing card back designs of one or more cards in a player's hand to card back designs of one or more cards in a dealer hand. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the rules for the second side bet wager comprise comparing card back designs of all of the cards in a player's hand to a predetermined side bet wager pay scale based on probabilities of different combinations of card back designs in the players' hands. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the outcome of the second side bet wager is determined prior to the outcome of the first wagering game. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game rules comprise rules for a first wagering game that depends only on the front sides of the cards to determine whether or not the one or more players win the game, and wherein the amount paid to each of winning players is based on the game pay scale and a separate payoff multiplier that depends on the card back designs of the cards in each winning player's hand. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of card back designs in the game deck corresponds to different colors of card backs. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game deck comprises a plurality of standard or modified standard 52-card decks of playing cards, wherein each of the decks individually has a single card back design, and wherein the card back designs of each of the plurality of decks is different. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 commencing a second game hand by accepting a second set of one or more initial wagers and dealing one or more additional player hands, wherein the game deck is not shuffled in between the first game hand and the second game hand.   
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the game rules comprise rules for a first wagering game in which an initial determination of whether a player wins the game hand is based entirely on the front sides of the cards in the game hand, and wherein a second determination of whether the player wins the game hand is performed if a card back design in the player's hand corresponds to a wildcard affecting the outcome of the initial determination. 
   
   
       15 . A computing device, comprising:
 a processor;   a display device;   one or more user input controls;   memory storing instructions for controlling the computing device to perform a method of providing a wagering card game, said method comprising:
 providing a published set of game rules and a predetermined game pay scale; 
 receiving input via the user input controls corresponding to an initial wager from one or more players; 
 displaying on the display device graphical representations of playing cards corresponding to a one or more player hands of cards from a game deck, wherein each of the players is associated with at least one of the player hands or a dealer hand and wherein the game deck is stored in the memory of the computing device and corresponds to one or more decks of playing cards in which the front sides of the cards for each of the decks comprises a standard or modified standard 52-card deck of playing cards and back sides of the cards in the game deck comprise a plurality of card back designs such that at least one card in the game deck has a different card back design than at least one other card in the game deck; 
 determining whether a first player wins the game hand according to the game rules, wherein the determining is based on at least one of the card back designs of the cards in the first player's hand; and 
 paying each of the winning players in accordance with the game pay scale. 
   
   
   
       16 . The computing device of  claim 15 , wherein the wagering card game corresponds to a casino game in which the front sides of the cards in a player's hand are compared to the front sides of the cards in a dealer hand to determine whether the player wins the game hand, and wherein the determining comprises using the card back designs of the cards in the player's hand as a tiebreaker between the dealer hand and the player's hand. 
   
   
       17 . The computing device of  claim 15 , wherein the wagering card game is a casino poker game and the determining comprises comparing a poker hand corresponding to the front sides of the cards in the first player's hand to a poker hand corresponding to a dealer's hand. 
   
   
       18 . The computing device of  claim 15 , and wherein the game rules comprise rules for a first wagering game that depends only on the front sides of the cards and rules for a second side bet wager that depends only on the card back designs of the cards in the game hand. 
   
   
       19 . The computing device of  claim 18 , wherein the rules for the second side bet wager comprise comparing card back designs of one or more cards in a player's hand to card back designs of one or more cards in a dealer hand. 
   
   
       20 . The computing device of  claim 18 , wherein the rules for the second side bet wager comprise comparing card back designs of all of the cards in a player's hand to a predetermined side bet wager pay scale based on probabilities of different combinations of card back designs in the players' hands. 
   
   
       21 . The computing device of  claim 15 , wherein the method further comprises:
 commencing a second game hand by accepting via the user input controls a second set of one or more initial wagers, and dealing via the display device one or more additional player hands and associating each of the players with one of the additional player hands or a dealer hand, wherein the game deck stored in the memory of the computing device is not shuffled or randomized between the first game hand and the second game hand.   
   
   
       22 . One or more computer readable media storing computer-executable instructions which, when executed on a computer system, perform a method comprising:
 providing a published set of game rules for a wagering card game and a predetermined game pay scale;   receiving user input corresponding to an initial wager from one or more players;   displaying on the display device graphical representations of playing cards corresponding to a one or more player hands of cards from a game deck, wherein each of the players is associated with at least one of the player hands or a dealer hand and wherein the game deck is stored in a memory of the computer system and corresponds to one or more decks of playing cards in which the front sides of the cards for each of the decks comprises a standard or modified standard 52-card deck of playing cards and back sides of the cards in the game deck comprise a plurality of card back designs such that at least one card in the game deck has a different card back design than at least one other card in the game deck;   determining whether a first player wins the game hand according to the game rules, wherein the determining is based on at least one of the card back designs of the cards in the first player's hand; and   paying each of the winning players in accordance with the game pay scale.   
   
   
       23 . The computer readable media of  claim 22 , wherein the computer system comprises a video blackjack machine and the wagering card game is blackjack, and wherein determining whether the first player wins the game hand comprises using the card back designs of the cards in the first player's hand as a tiebreaker when the first player's hand and dealer hand push. 
   
   
       24 . The computer readable media of  claim 22 , wherein the wagering card game is a casino poker game and the determining comprises comparing a poker hand corresponding to the front sides of the cards in the first player's hand to a poker hand corresponding to a dealer's hand. 
   
   
       25 . The computer readable media of  claim 22 , wherein the game rules comprise rules for a first wagering game that depends only on the front sides of the cards and rules for a second side bet wager that depends only on a comparison of the card back designs of one or more cards in a player's hand to card back designs of one or more cards in a dealer hand.