Horse racing table game

Abstract

A tabletop casino game styled after horse track racing and uses one deck of poker playing cards each round. At the start of each round, a card dealer shuffles one deck of poker playing cards. The horse, represented by an ace of one suit placed at the start line, proceeds down the track at a relative speed dependent on the number of cards drawn from the deck that correlate to the suit associated with the horse. The game is played on a semi-circular table with a green felt surface, divided into four rows, each representing a suit of playing cards. Each row has thirteen spaces, each space sized to accommodate a playing card. Players can place side bets before the game and after the tenth card is drawn. The game concludes when one suit of cards reaches the end of the row before the other suits.

1 . A tabletop card-based gaming system, comprising:
 a semi-circular table with a playing surface made of green felt, the playing surface having four even rows, each row having thirteen rectangular spaces, each space sized to accommodate a playing card, each row representing a suit of playing cards and being associated with a corresponding icon;   a deck of poker playing cards; and   a card dealer for shuffling the deck, offering a player the opportunity to cut the deck, drawing cards from the deck one at a time, and placing each drawn card in the row corresponding to the suit of the drawn card.   
     
     
         2 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 1  wherein the dealer is a casino worker or a digital representation of a live dealer. 
     
     
         3 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 1  wherein the card game is representative of a horse race wherein each racehorse is represented by the card suit corresponding to a club, diamond, heart or spade and the horse progress based on the suit drawn by the dealer. 
     
     
         4 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein the dealer allows players to place side bets before the commencement of the game. 
     
     
         5 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 4 , wherein the side bets are placed on a specific suit of playing cards reaching the end of the row before the other suits. 
     
     
         6 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein the semi-circular table includes a starting gate label at the beginning of each row and a finish line label at the end of each row. 
     
     
         7 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein each suit of playing cards is associated with a designated name, the name representing a race horse. 
     
     
         8 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 1 , wherein the dealer announces a side bet opportunity after the tenth card is drawn. 
     
     
         9 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 8 , wherein the side bet opportunity allows players to at least double their current bet. 
     
     
         10 . A method of playing a tabletop card-based game, comprising:
 providing a semi-circular table with a playing surface having four even rows, each row having thirteen rectangular spaces, each space sized to accommodate a playing card, each row representing a suit of playing cards and being associated with a corresponding icon;   providing a deck of poker playing cards;   shuffling the deck;   offering a player the opportunity to cut the deck;   drawing cards from the deck one at a time; and   placing each drawn card in the row corresponding to the suit of the drawn card.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , including allowing players to place side bets before the commencement of the game. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the side bets are placed on a specific suit of playing cards reaching the end of the row before the other suits. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , including a step of announcing a side bet opportunity after the tenth card is drawn. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the side bet opportunity allows players to at least double their current bet. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein each suit of playing cards is associated with a designated name, the name representing a race horse. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , including declaring a winner when a suit of playing cards reaches the end of the row before the other suits. 
     
     
         17 . A tabletop card-based gaming system, comprising:
 a semi-circular table with a playing surface, the playing surface having four even rows, each row having thirteen rectangular spaces, each space sized to accommodate a playing card, each row representing a suit of playing cards and being associated with a corresponding icon;   a deck of poker playing cards; and   a dealer configured to shuffle the deck, offer a player the opportunity to cut the deck, draw cards from the deck one at a time, place each drawn card in the row corresponding to the suit of the drawn card, and offer players the opportunity to place side bets after the tenth card is drawn.   
     
     
         18 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 17 , wherein the semi-circular table includes a starting gate label at the beginning of each row and a finish line label at the end of each row. 
     
     
         19 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 17 , wherein each suit of playing cards is associated with a designated name, the name representing a race horse. 
     
     
         20 . The tabletop card-based gaming system of  claim 19 , wherein the dealer allows players to place side bets before the commencement of the game.