Games of three card black jack and baccarat

Abstract

Methods of playing card games similar to Blackjack and Baccarat are described. The methods include dealing initial hands of two cards. The hands must draw a third card if the first two cards have a value of 16 or less, and must stand if the first two cards have a value of 17 or more. Copy hands are a tie. Players are allowed to place bonus bets on the hands, such as three of a kind in the same suit, three of a kind, three low cards, three card straight, and first two cards are a pair.

1 . A method of playing a card game using a shoe of one or more standard playing decks, wherein cards 2-10 are valued at face, Jack-King are valued at 10, and Aces are valued as 1 or 11, the game involving a number of players and a dealer, comprising the steps of:
 requiring an ante bet from each player to begin a round of the game;   dealing from the shoe:
 two face-up cards to each of the number of players; and 
 a face-up card and a face-down card to the dealer; 
   for each player, determining whether the player must draw a third and final card as follows:
 requiring the player to stand on the two cards if both of the player's cards are aces or if neither of the player's cards is an ace and the two cards total 17 or more; 
 requiring the player to draw a third and final card if neither of the player's cards is an ace and the two cards total 16 or less; 
 if both of the player's cards are aces, then requiring the player to stand on the two cards; 
 if only one of the player's cards is an ace, then valuing the ace as an eleven, and then:
 requiring the player to stand if the two cards total 17 or more; or 
 requiring the player to draw a third and final card if the two cards total 16 or less; 
 
   for each player, determining if the player's cards have a value greater than 21, and, if so, collecting the player's ante bet and ending the round for that player;   proceeding to the dealer, turning up the dealer's face-down card and determining whether the dealer must draw a third and final card as follows:
 requiring the dealer to stand on the two cards if both of the dealer's cards are aces or if neither of the dealer's cards is an ace and the two cards total 17 or more; 
 requiring the dealer to draw a third card if neither of the dealer's cards is an ace and the two cards total 16 or less; 
 if only one of the dealer's cards is an ace, then valuing the ace as an eleven, and then:
 requiring the dealer to stand if the two cards total 17 or more; or 
 requiring the dealer to draw a third card if the two cards total 16 or less; 
 
   determining if the dealer's cards have a value greater than 21, and,
 if so, for each of the remaining players, paying the player according to predetermined winning odds, and ending the round; 
 if not, determining the winner between each of the remaining players and the dealer as follows:
 the highest value hand is a pair of aces; 
 the second highest value hand is a two-card 21; 
 the third highest value hand is the hand closest or equal to 21; and 
 in the event of hands of equal value, declaring a tie between the player and dealer, 
 
   returning the ante bet to each player that has a tie hand with the dealer;   playing each player that is determined to be a winner according to predetermined winning odds;   collecting the ante bet from each player if the dealer is determined to be the winner.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the predetermined winning odds for paying each player that is determined to be a winner are:
 for a pair of aces, 2:1;   for a two-card 21, 3:2;   for all other winning hands: 1:1.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further including, prior to determining whether each player must draw a third and final card, allowing each player to place an insurance bet at a predetermined cost that the dealer will be the winner between the player and the dealer; and, following determining the winner between the player and the dealer, for each player that purchased insurance:
 if the dealer is determined to be the winner, then paying the player according to predetermined insurance odds; and   if the player is determined to be the winner, then collecting the player's insurance bet.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the predetermined insurance odds are 2:1. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further including, prior to determining whether each player must draw a third and final card, allowing each player to surrender their hand and recover the player's ante bet for a predetermined surrender cost. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5  wherein the predetermined surrender cost is ½ the player's ante bet. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising allowing each player to place a bonus bet prior to the beginning of the round as follows:
 that the player's cards will be three of a kind in the same suit;   that the player's cards will be three of a kind;   that the player's cards will be three low cards from 2 through 6;   that the player's cards will be a three card straight; or   that the player's first two cards will be a pair.   
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising, for each player:
 if the player cards are three of a kind in the same suit and the player made a bonus bet that the player cards would be three of a kind in the same suit, paying the player at predetermined bonus odds;   if the player cards are three of a kind and the player made a bonus bet that the player cards would be three of a kind, paying the player at predetermined bonus odds;   if the player cards are three low cards from 2 through 6 and the player made a bonus bet that the player cards would be three low cards from 2 through 6, paying the player at predetermined bonus odds;   if the player cards are a three card straight and the player made a bonus bet that the player cards would be three card straight, paying the player at predetermined bonus odds;   if the first two player cards are a pair and the player made a bonus bet that the first two player cards would be a pair, paying the player at predetermined bonus odds; and   if the player made a bonus bet but did not receive cards as bet, collecting the player's bonus bet.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the predetermined bonus odds are:
 three of a kind in the same suit, 100:1;   three of a kind, 30:1;   three low cards from 2 through 6, 15:1;   three card straight, 6:1;   first two cards a pair, 11:1.   
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising, prior to determining whether each player must draw a third and final card, allowing each player to double the player's ante bet. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising allowing each player to split the player's first card and second card into two separate hands if the first card and the second card are a pair and if the player makes an additional ante bet for the new hand. 
     
     
         12 . A method for playing a modified card game wherein the value of each hand is determined by the sum of the values of the cards in the hand, wherein Aces count 1 and 11, face cards count 10, and all other cards count their values, said method comprising:
 initially dealing two cards only to one or more player hands and to a house hand;   after the initial two cards are dealt, the one or more player hands and the house hand are limited to a single hit; and   dealing a single final card only to the house hand and the one or more player hands for hands with counts of 16 and below and not dealing any further cards for such hands with counts of 16 and below, and terminating the deal without dealing a final card for all hands with counts of 17 and above including requiring the house hand and the one or more player hands to hit on soft hands of 16 and below, and to stand on soft hands of 17 and above so that the number of cards dealt to the house hand and the one or more player hands is automatically determined,   and providing that a pair of Aces is the highest possible hand, that an Ace and a card valued at 10 is the next highest possible hand, and that 21 is the next highest hand, and further providing that if both a house hand and a player hand are over 21, the lower hand wins.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the house hand is a dealer hand and the card game is a modified game of Blackjack, further comprising initially dealing the one or more player hands two cards up and initially dealing the dealer hand a first card up and a second card down. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the house hand is a “banker” hand. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , wherein a player may bet on at least one of his player hand, the “banker” hand, or another player hand that is not the “banker” hand. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising allowing each player to place a bonus bet prior to the beginning of the round that the player's first two cards will be a pair; and
 playing each player hand to completion prior to playing the house hand.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising allowing each player to place a bonus bet prior to the beginning of the round that any of the player's cards will be a three card straight; and
 playing each player hand to completion prior to playing the dealer hand.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising allowing each player to place a bonus bet prior to the beginning of the round that the player's cards will be three low cards from 2 through 6; and
 playing each player hand to completion prior to playing the house hand.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising allowing each player to place a bonus bet prior to the beginning of the round that the player's cards will be any three of a kind; and
 playing each player hand to completion prior to playing the house hand.   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 12 , further comprising allowing each player to place a bonus bet prior to the beginning of the round that the player's cards will be three of a kind in the same suit; and
 playing each player hand to completion prior to playing the house hand.