Side bets in casino wagering "war" game

Abstract

A casino game is played with playing cards in a live or electronic virtual format. A player places at least an ante wager. The ante wager for each player is resolved on the basis of the relative rank of a first playing card dealt to the player and a first playing card dealt to the dealer. The player wins on the ante wager if the player's first card relative rank is higher than the dealer's first card rank, the player loses the ante wager if the player's first card relative rank is lower than the dealer's first card rank, and the player enters a tie hand competition event if the player's first card rank and the dealer's first card rank are the same. The player has the ability to place at least one side bet wager before seeing both the dealer's first card and the player's first card on an event in which: a) the total point count for the player's first card and the dealer's first card are within a player selected range of at least three total point count ranges from which the player may select; and b) that the point spread between the dealer's first card and the player's first card will exceed a minimum difference.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS DATA [0001] This application is a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10 / 764,827; 10 / 624,994; and 10 / 624,995, all filed on Jan. 26, 2004.BACKGROUND OF THE ART [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The present invention relates generally to a wagering card game and more particularly to a wagering “war” type game in which ties are possible and the ties result in further wagering. The present invention also relates to video gaming systems that support play of the wagering card game. [0004] 2. Background of the Art [0005] The card game “war” is a well known parlor game. Players divide a standard deck of cards in two and play head-to-head, one card at a time; until the players run out of cards. This form of the game is not suitable as a casino game since the outcome is generally not determined until completion of a set of cards or until one competitor has possession of all the cards. Further, the game is not suited for use as a casino type gam...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0008] In accordance with the present technology and game rules described herein, a method of playing a wagering game based broadly on the “war” card game is provided. The game is efficiently provided on a stand-alone video gaming format, multi-player bank of terminals, on the internet in a live game format and in other electronic formats. The wagering game is played between a player or a group of respective players and a dealer, with the outcome determined by randomly generated playing cards having various values (i.e., a standard deck or a plurality of decks of playing cards with ranks of 2 through Ace). In the method, an ante bet is first made by each of one or more players and a card is then dealt to each individual player and to the dealer by the dealer (or by an electronic virtual card system making random selections from a virtual deck of cards). It is then determined whether the card of the dealer has a greater value (rank), a lesser value (rank) or an equal value (rank) to that of each player. The ante bet is then immediately paid off to (a) each player if the value (rank) of the card of the player is greater than the value (rank) of the card of the dealer, or (b) the dealer if the value (rank) of the card of the dealer is greater than or equal to the value (rank) of the card of each player. Additional side bets are provided, and additional tie events games are provided that may allow for additional wagers.

Problems solved by technology

This form of the game is not suitable as a casino game since the outcome is generally not determined until completion of a set of cards or until one competitor has possession of all the cards.

Further, the game is not suited for use as a casino type game which requires a house advantage and which also generally requires fast-paced action and frequent betting.

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