Recharacterization of bets at table games

Abstract

Table games are made more exciting with greater opportunities to risk and win money by introducing the concept of bet re-characterizations. The player places an initial wager on an event within the game, and, after learning information about an intermediate outcome of the game, the player is afforded the opportunity to change the initial wager in some manner. This change may be denoted with a token that sits on top of the initial wager. The odds on the re-characterized wager may be more or less favorable for the player.

1 . A method comprising:
 receiving an initial wager from a player relating to a card game at a table;   dealing a plurality of cards to form a player hand and a banker hand;   determining adjusted odds for a re-characterization wager based at least in part on one or more cards within the player hand or the banker hand and a player rating;   offering the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager;   recognizing re-characterization of the initial wager by the player;   resolving game play for the player hand and the banker hand; and   providing a benefit based on the adjusted odds if the player wins the re-characterization wager.   
   
   
       2 . The method of  claim 1  wherein detecting re-characterization of the initial wager comprises detecting placement of a token on top of a chip stack associated with the player. 
   
   
       3 . The method of  claim 1  wherein detecting placement of the token comprises detecting placement of a token having no cash value. 
   
   
       4 . The method of  claim 1  wherein offering the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager comprises offering the player the opportunity to supersede the initial wager with a new wager. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1  wherein offering the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager comprises offering the player the opportunity to split the initial wager into a first wager and a second wager. 
   
   
       6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the first wager is based on an event within the card game identical to that on which the wager was based. 
   
   
       7 . The method of  claim 6  wherein the second wager is based on a second event different from that on which the initial wager was based such that there are multiple opportunities for risk by the player. 
   
   
       8 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining adjusted odds comprises determining an expected value and a house advantage. 
   
   
       9 . The method of  claim 8  wherein determining an expected value comprises determining a probability that the re-characterization will result in a win. 
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 8  wherein determining adjusted odds comprises subtracting the house advantage from the expected value. 
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 1  wherein determining adjusted odds comprises using a lookup table. 
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 1  wherein offering the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager comprises publishing adjusted odds on a display viewable by the player. 
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 12  wherein publishing adjusted odds comprises expression in at least one of the following forms: net payout considering the initial wager, gross payout considering the initial wager, an amount paid per a standard unit bet, a ratio correlating payout amount to bet amount, and an amount that must be bet to win a certain amount. 
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 1  wherein resolving game play comprises providing an additional card to one of the first hand or the second hand. 
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 1  wherein resolving game play comprises providing a first additional card to the first hand and a second additional card to the second hand. 
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 1  wherein the card game is baccarat. 
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 1  wherein offering the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager comprises offering the player the opportunity to subsume the initial wager with a new wager. 
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 17  further comprising determining that the player has subsumed the initial wager with the new wager by, at least in part, detecting the player placing additional value with the initial wager. 
   
   
       19 . The method of  claim 18  wherein detecting the player placing additional value with the wager comprises detecting the player placing additional cash value chips with the wager. 
   
   
       20 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising assigning the player rating to the player. 
   
   
       21 . The method of  claim 20  wherein assigning the player rating to the player comprises assigning the player rating based on historical play of the player. 
   
   
       22 . The method of  claim 20  wherein assigning the player rating to the player comprises assigning the player rating based on a size of the initial wager. 
   
   
       23 . A system comprising:
 a table comprising a surface adapted to conduct a card game;   a card deck from which a dealer deals a player hand and a banker hand on the surface;   a control system associated with the table and adapted to:
 receive an initial wager from a player relating to a card game at a table; 
 determine adjusted odds for a re-characterization wager based at least in part on one or more cards within the player hand or the banker hand and a player rating; 
 offer the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager; and 
 recognize re-characterization of the initial wager by the player. 
   
   
   
       24 . A computer readable medium comprising software with instructions to:
 receive an initial wager from a player relating to a card game at a table;   recognize dealing of a plurality of cards to form a first hand and a second hand;   determine adjusted odds for a re-characterization wager based at least in part on one or more cards within the first hand and a player rating;   offer the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager;   detect re-characterization of the initial wager by the player;   resolve game play for the first hand and the second hand; and   provide a benefit based on the adjusted odds if the player wins the re-characterization wager.   
   
   
       25 . A method comprising:
 receiving a wager from a player relating to a card game at a table;   dealing a plurality of cards including at least a first card to a player and a second card to a banker;   determining adjusted odds for a re-characterization wager based at least in part on either the first card or the second card;   offering the player an opportunity to place the re-characterization wager; and   detecting re-characterization of the wager by the player.   
   
   
       26 . A method comprising:
 receiving a first wager from a player on an instance of baccarat at a table;   dealing a player hand and a banker hand for the instance of baccarat;   allowing the player to re-characterize the first wager into a second wager by placing a token on the wager;   resolving the instance of baccarat;   determining if the second wager is a winning wager; and   providing a benefit to the player if the second wager is a winning wager.   
   
   
       27 . A method comprising:
 receiving an initial wager from a player relating to a card game at a table;   dealing a plurality of cards to form a first hand and a second hand;   determining adjusted odds for a re-characterization wager based at least in part on one or more cards within the first hand;   recognizing re-characterization of the initial wager by the player;   resolving game play; and   providing a benefit based on the payout odds if the player wins the re-characterization wager.