Method, apparatus, and computer readable storage for implementing a wagering game with baccarat attributes

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer readable storage to implement a casino wagering game related to Baccarat. Each player's hand and the dealer' (or banker's) hand is scored by adding up a point total of the respective cards modulo 10. The scoring also counts all pairs as a point total of 0. The player's hand is compared to the dealer's hand and the higher hand will win, subject to this scoring system. Numerous side bets can also be offered, such as a zero side bet wherein after the player is dealt two cards which total zero, the player is betting that a third dealt card (to form the player's three card hand) is also zero.

1 . A method to implement a wagering game, the method comprising:
 providing a physical deck(s) of cards and a physical gaming table;   dealing from the physical deck(s) of cards a player's initial hand and a dealer's initial hand;   receiving a choice of action from the player to raise or check, wherein if the player raises then the player places a play wager;   dealing from the physical deck(s) of cards additional card(s) to the player and additional card(s) to the dealer to form a final player hand and a final dealer hand;   determining a player score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final player hand modulo  10  counting pairs as zero, and determining a dealer score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final dealer hand modulo  10  counting pairs as zero; and   resolving the play wager based on a relationship between the player score and the dealer score.   
     
     
         2 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein if the dealer score is higher than the player score than the player loses the ante wager and if the player score is higher than the dealer score then the player wins a payout on the ante wager. 
     
     
         3 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein before the dealing the initial hands, receiving an ante wager from the player. 
     
     
         4 . The method as recited in  claim 3 , wherein the ante wager is paid based on the final player hand. 
     
     
         5 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , wherein if the player score equals the dealer score then dealing an additional card to the player and determining a new player score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final player hand modulo  10  counting pairs as zero, and resolving the play wager based on a relationship between the new player score and the dealer score. 
     
     
         6 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising after receiving the choice of action from the player, determining if a point total of the player's initial hand is zero and if so, then receiving from the player an optional zero raise bet from the player, wherein the zero raise bet wins a payout for the player if the player score is zero and loses for the player if the player score is not zero. 
     
     
         7 . The method as recited in  claim 6 , wherein the point total of the player's initial hand is computed using modulo  10  and counting all pairs as zero. 
     
     
         8 . The method as recited in  claim 1 , further comprising after receiving the choice of action from the player, receiving an optional tie raise wager from the player, wherein if the player score equals the dealer score than the tie raise wager wins a payout otherwise the player loses the tie raise wager. 
     
     
         9 . A method to implement a wagering game, the method comprising:
 providing a physical deck(s) of cards and a physical gaming table;   dealing from the physical deck(s) of cards a player's initial hand and a dealer's initial hand;   receiving a choice of action from the player to fold, place a low wager, or place a high wager;   dealing from the physical deck(s) of cards additional card(s) to the player and additional card(s) to the dealer to form a final player hand and a final dealer hand;   determining a player score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final player hand modulo  10  counting pairs as zero, and determining a dealer score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final dealer hand modulo  10  counting pairs as zero; and   if the player placed the low wager, paying a payout to the player on the low wager if the player score is lower than the dealer score and taking the low wager from the player if the player score is higher than the dealer score,   if the player placed the high wager, paying a payout to the player on the high wager if the player score is higher than the dealer score and taking the high wager from the player if the player score is lower than the dealer score.   
     
     
         10 . An electronic gaming apparatus to implement a wagering game, the apparatus comprising:
 an input device;   an output device;   a processing unit configured to operate with the input device and the output device, and executing instructions to perform:   dealing a player's initial hand and a dealer's initial hand;   receiving a choice of action from the player to raise or check, wherein if the player raises then the player places a play wager;   dealing from the physical deck(s) of cards additional card(s) to the player and additional card(s) to the dealer to form a final player hand and a final dealer hand;   determining a player score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final player hand modulo 10 counting pairs as zero, and determining a dealer score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final dealer hand modulo  10  counting pairs as zero; and   resolving the play wager based on a relationship between the player score and the dealer score.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 10 , wherein if the dealer score is higher than the player score than the player loses the ante wager and if the player score is higher than the dealer score then the player wins a payout on the ante wager. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 10 , wherein before the dealing the initial hands, receiving an ante wager from the player. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 12 , wherein the ante wager is paid based on the final player hand. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 10 , wherein if the player score equals the dealer score then dealing an additional card to the player and determining a new player score by computing a numerical total of all cards in the final player hand modulo  10  counting pairs as zero, and resolving the play wager based on a relationship between the new player score and the dealer score. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 10 , further comprising after receiving the choice of action from the player, determining if a point total of the player's initial hand is zero and if so, then receiving from the player an optional zero raise bet from the player, wherein the zero raise bet wins a payout for the player if the player score is zero and loses for the player if the player score is not zero. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 15 , wherein the point total of the player's initial hand is computed using modulo  10  and counting all pairs as zero. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus as recited in  claim 10 , further comprising after receiving the choice of action from the player, receiving an optional tie raise wager from the player, wherein if the player score equals the dealer score than the tie raise wager wins a payout otherwise the player loses the tie raise wager.