Set of shuffled cards for game

Abstract

To provide a table game system that provides a table game and makes it not complicated to enable provision of a chance of betting odds of higher price payment and a chance of additional betting in a play.SOLUTION: Sets of shuffled playing card group 1s have different card arrangements caused by shuffling. Therefor, each of the sets is only one. Therefore, an ID code in a bar code 5 or QR (quick response) code form of is used for identifying each set. A set of shuffled playing card group 1s has a special card 1a packed in one package with other normal cards 1 of the shuffled playing card group 1s in a factory (refer to Fig. 1(b)). The Fig. 1(b) shows a state in which a packaging box 4 is partially exposed and the special card 1a is included.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a table gaming system and method for playing a game of Baccarat in which a bettor places a bet on whether the Banker's hand or the Player's hand will win. [Background technology]

[0002] Baccarat is one of many live table games played in casinos or gaming establishments. Baccarat uses a standard deck of 52 playing cards, usually dealt from a shoe with multiple decks that are shuffled together before play begins.

[0003] Standard decks of 52 playing cards are used, typically shuffled together in groups of eight or six in preparation and placed in a shoe from which the cards are dealt during game play. Before the deal, each bettor can bet on one of three things: 1) the bank hand will win, 2) the player hand will win, or 3) the bank hand and the player hand will become the die. The betting areas are set out in the baccarat table layout. Whichever bank hand or player hand is closest to a total of nine is the winner.

[0004] The common way to play traditional baccarat is to a) Dealing two cards that make up the Bank's hand and two cards that make up the Player's hand. b) Dealing additional cards to the Player's hand and additional cards to the Bank's hand when required by the rules of Baccarat. The rules of Baccarat require a "card for the Player" when a third card is needed for the Player's hand. After the Player's hand is completed, the Banker's hand is completed in the same manner. c) Determining winning and losing cards according to the traditional playing rules of Baccarat. d) paying a specified amount to the bettor if he or she has bet on a winning card and collecting the amount bet on a losing card.

[0005] Winning bank hand bets are paid at 1 to 1 odds and the house charges a 5% commission on the amount the bettor wins. Winning player hand bets are paid at 1 to 1 odds and the bettor does not charge a commission on his winnings or the amount of his bet. Winning bets on tie bets are paid at 9 to 1 or 8 to 1 odds (depending on the gaming establishment) and the bettor does not charge a commission on his winnings or the amount of his bet.

[0006] After all bets are made, cards are dealt from the shoe of the card shooter device by the dealer to the bank and player positions on the table layout according to the baccarat game rules. The card shooter device is placed on the game table and has a card reading function for reading the number of cards from the code printed on each card. The card shooter device has a processing function for determining whether the winning card is the banker or the player according to the baccarat game rules based on the information of the number of cards sequentially read by the card reading unit. These card shooter devices are disclosed in Patent Document 1 (U.S. Patent No. 7,762,889 (column 8, lines 25-53, Figs. 1 and 12)). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent No. 7,762,889 (column 8, lines 25-53, Fig. 1, 12) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] In a traditional baccarat game, there are no odds greater than the winning bet of 9 to 1 against a tie. There is a need for better betting odds with higher payouts or the opportunity to place additional bets while playing.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to provide a table game system that can provide an opportunity to bet on higher payout odds and an opportunity to place additional bets during play without complex rules.

[0010] Traditionally, the player who placed the largest bet has the honor of turning over a card. The present invention also provides a table game system to prevent cheating, such as exchanging cards when turning over in a card game. [Means for solving the problem]

[0011] In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention provides a card game system for playing a baccarat game, the system comprising: a deck of cards, which is randomly shuffled in preparation, each of which has a code printed on it, invisible under normal conditions, representing the number (rank) of the card; a card shooter device that is placed on the game table and has a card reading function for reading the number of the card from the code; The card shooter device is a card reading unit for reading a code representing the number of the card from the card; a control unit having a processing function for determining a win or loss of the card game based on information about the number of cards read in sequence by the card reading unit; a special card is packaged and sealed in a package at a factory with the shuffled deck of playing cards, the special card being different from other normal cards in the deck and having a special invisible code different from the codes of the other cards, the code indicating that the card is a special card in the shuffled deck of playing cards; the control unit has processing functionality for determining that each card will be received by the banker or by the player, storing the number of cards read for the player or banker, and determining whether a winning hand of the banker or player includes a special card; The method comprises the further steps of: a) The bettor bets that either the Bank hand or the Player hand will win, and also makes a side bet on whether the winning hand will contain a special card; b) Determining whether a winning card in the Banker or Player hand contains a special card and whether the bettor has made a side bet on the winning card; c) When a winning card in the Banker or Player hand contains a special card and the bettor has placed a side bet on the winning card, the bet may be treated as a special win. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0012] [Figure 1] FIG. 1(a) is a perspective view showing a package of shuffled playing cards, and FIG. 1(b) is a perspective view showing a package of shuffled playing cards that has been partially torn to reveal a portion of the cards. [Diagram 2] 2(a) shows an example of a normal card 1, FIG. 2(b) shows another example of a special card 1a as a special ace, FIG. 2(c) shows another example of a special card different from any of the other normal cards, and FIG. 2(d) shows another example of a special card as a cut card 1c according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 3]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which shuffled playing cards are housed in a card shoe device. [Figure 4] FIG. 13 is a side view showing a state in which a cut card is inserted into a shuffled deck of cards. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a table used in one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a card shoe device of a card game system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 7] 2 is a plan view of a major portion of a card guide of a card shoe device, with the card guide partially cut away; FIG. [Figure 8] 2 is a partially cutaway side view of a major portion of a card guide of a card shoe device. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the relationship between an output wave from a sensor and a mark on a card shoe device. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 illustrates a shuffling machine for creating and shuffling shuffled playing cards of the card game system according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0013] The embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiment 1 of the present invention provides a card game system for playing a baccarat game. In FIG. 1, a shuffled deck of playing cards 1s is randomly shuffled in preparation in a factory. The shuffled deck of playing cards 1s is composed of a predetermined number of decks, for example, 416 cards in the case of 8 decks of playing cards 1s. The shuffled deck of playing cards 1s is shuffled in advance by a card shuffling device (shown later) to arrange them in a random order, contain them in one package 2 that encases the shuffled deck of playing cards 1s, seal them with a sealing material or shrink packaging material, and then supply them to a casino.

[0014] FIG. 1(a) shows a state in which a packaging box 4 contains shuffled decks 1s, each of which has a barcode 5 attached thereto, and each barcode 5 has a different ID code (identification code). The set of shuffled decks 1s has a different card arrangement due to shuffling, and therefore each set is unique. Therefore, an ID code in the form of a barcode 5 or a QR (quick response) code is used to identify each set. The set of shuffled decks 1s has a special card 1a that is packaged in one package at a factory together with other normal cards 1 of the shuffled decks 1s (see FIG. 1(b)). FIG. 1(b) shows a state in which the packaging box 4 is partially exposed and contains the special card 1a.

[0015] FIG. 2(a) shows an example of a normal card 1, FIG. 2(b) shows another example of a special card 1a as a special ace, FIG. 2(c) shows another example of a special card different from any of the other normal cards, and FIG. 2(d) shows another example of a special card as a cut card 1c according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the example of FIG. 2(a), a code 6 that is invisible under normal conditions is printed on each card 1 to represent the number (rank) of the card 1. A mark M is positioned, such as by printing, for example using an ultraviolet-reactive ink, so as not to be visible to the naked eye. The marks M are aligned on both edges of the card 1, and the code 6 is printed on the card 1 as shown in FIG. The special card 1a is composed of marks M appropriately arranged in an area where no picture or suit mark 101 is arranged, as shown in FIG. 1. The special card 1a is different from other normal cards 1 in the deck, and has a special code 6s (arrangement of invisible marks M (or marks)) different from the codes 6 of the other cards 1. As described above, in this embodiment, the marks M or the special code 6s are appropriately arranged on each edge of the card 1 or card 1a.

[0016] As for the association of the code 6 (mark arrangement) with the number of the card, the combination of two rows of the mark M can be associated with the number of the card (ranks 1 to 9 and 0) or with each special invisible code 6s. Furthermore, one of the rows can be associated with the number of the card and the other row can be associated with the suit of the card. Furthermore, FIG. 2(a) is merely exemplary, and the number of the mark rows is not limited to 2, and the number of rows can be 1, 3 or more. However, the actual marks are printed using UV ink and are usually invisible.

[0017] Next, a method for storing the shuffled deck of playing cards 1s in a card shooter device 15 to be used in a casino or the like will be described with reference to Fig. 3. When storing the shuffled deck of playing cards 1s in a card shooter device 15 to be used in a casino or the like, the packaging box 4 is partially removed, and then the shuffled deck of playing cards 1s is held and lifted, and then stored in a card storage portion 15h of the card shooter device 15 as shown in Fig. 3, and then the remaining portion 4r of the packaging box 4 is removed, and the shuffled deck of playing cards 1s is used for a new card game.

[0018] In most casinos, the card cutting step of inserting a cut card 1c into the shuffled deck 1s may be used in most casinos to stop using the currently used shuffled deck 1s at any time during the game, as shown by FIG. 4. A customer of the casino is requested to insert the cut card 1c into the shuffled deck 1s. When inserting the cut card 1c, if the index 102 of the shuffled deck 1s is visible at the insertion point, there may be an opportunity for cheating. It is important that the casino operator must show the back side of the shuffled deck 1s so that the index 102 of the card is not visible. In another case, the cut card 1c may be packaged in advance in a packaging box 4 as a package 2 together with the shuffled deck 1s at a factory.

[0019] Next, referring to FIG. 5, a new baccarat game using our new table game system of the present invention will be described. A shuffled deck 1s with special cards 1a (special cards 0 to 8 are inserted into the shuffled deck 1s) is shown in FIG. 2(b) and FIG. 2(c). A card shoe device 15 is used on a table 7 in a casino to hand out each card 1 on the table 7. Standard decks of playing cards (52 cards per deck) are used, typically 8 or 6 decks are pre-shuffled together and placed in the card shoe device 15 from which the cards are dealt during game play. Before dealing, each bettor can bet on one of three things: 1) the bank hand will win at position B, 2) the player hand will win at position P, or 3) the bank hand and the player hand will die at position T. Places to place bets are provided on a baccarat table layout 16. The winner is either the bank's 17 cards or the player's 18 cards, whichever total is closest to 9.

[0020] The game rules for the present invention have the following further step: a bettor bets on the Banker's hand or the Player's hand to win, along with a side bet at the betting spot 19 on whether the winning or tie hand contains the special card 1a. The control device of the present invention uses a program (program) for determining whether the winning card of the Banker's or Player's hand contains the special card 1a. The game rules for the present invention have further rules for treating a winning card as a special win when the winning card in the Banker's or Player's hand contains a special card and a bettor has placed a side bet on the winning card. When the winning card in the Banker's or Player's hand contains a special card, a bettor who has placed a side bet on the winning card will be paid at odds of 1:50.

[0021] An embodiment of the table game system of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with Figure 6. Figure 6 is a block diagram showing a card shoe device, generally designated by reference numeral 15, for use in a table game system according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. The card shoe device 15 includes a card guide unit 307 for guiding cards 1 that are manually drawn one by one from a card housing unit 305 onto a game table 306, a code reading unit 308 for reading codes 6, 6s indicating the figures (numbers, ranks) of the cards 1 or special cards when the cards 1 are manually drawn from the card housing unit 305 by a casino dealer or the like, a winning or losing determination unit 310 for determining the outcome of a card game based on the number of cards 1 sequentially read by the code reading unit 308, and an output means 311 for outputting the results of the determination made by the winning or losing determination unit 310.

[0022] Next, the code reading unit 308 that reads the codes 6, 6s indicating the figures (number, rank) of the card 1 from the card 1 when the card 1 is manually pulled out from the card housing unit 305 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5. The code reading unit 308 is provided in a card guide unit 307 that guides the cards 1 that are manually taken out one by one onto the game table 306 through an opening 313, which is provided in the front part of the card housing unit 305. The card guide unit 307 includes an inclined surface and a card guide 314 attached to each edge on both sides of the inclined surface, and the card guide 314 also serves as a sensor cover. The card guide 314 is configured to be replaceably attachable / detachable with a screw or the like (not shown). When the card guide 314 is removed, the sensor group 315 of the card reading part 308 is exposed. The sensor group 315 is made up of four sensors, including two ultraviolet responsive sensors (UV sensors) 320 and 321 and object detection sensors 322 and 323.

[0023] The object detection sensors 322, 323 are optical fiber sensors that detect the presence of the card 1 and can detect the movement of the card 1. The object detection sensor 322 is disposed upstream of the card guide unit 307 with respect to the moving direction of the card 1 (indicated by the arrow S in FIG. 6), and the object detection sensor 323 is disposed downstream of the card guide unit 307 with respect to the moving direction of the card 1. As shown in FIG. 6, the object detection sensors 322, 323 are provided upstream and downstream of the UV sensors 320, 321, respectively. The UV sensors 320, 321 each include an LED that emits ultraviolet light (UV LED) and a detector. The mark M is printed on the card 1 with UV luminescent ink that emits light when UV light is applied. The card 1 is illuminated with UV light (black light), or UR light (infrared light) may be used, and the detector detects the light reflected by the mark M of the code 6, 6s of the card 1. The UV sensors 320, 321 are connected via cables to the control device 312 of the code reading unit 308. In the code reading unit 308, the arrangement pattern of the marks M is determined based on the output signals from the detectors of the UV sensors 320, 321, and as a result, the numbers (ranks) corresponding to the codes 6, 6s are determined.

[0024] In the code reading unit 308, the start and end of reading performed by the UV sensors 320 and 321 are controlled by the control device 312 based on detection signals from the object detection sensors 322 and 323. Based on the detection signal from the UV sensor 320, the code reading unit 308 determines whether the card 1 has passed through the card guide unit 307 normally. As shown in FIG. 2(a), rectangular marks M are arranged in a framework of four columns and two rows on each of the upper and lower edges of the card 1, and such arrangement of marks indicates the rank (number) and suit (heart, spade, etc.) of the card. According to an exemplary embodiment, for each card, the mark M or the code 6s may or may not be present at each of the predetermined locations in the framework of rows and columns depending on the specific mark and suit to be encoded. When the UV sensor 320 and / or 321 detects the buried mark M, such UV sensor outputs an ON signal, and when the UV sensor 320 and / or 321 does not detect the mark M, no ON signal is generated. In this way, the code reading unit 308 identifies the code 6 or the code 6s based on the relative difference between the two marks M detected by the two UV sensors 320, 321, etc., thereby identifying the number (rank) and type (suit) of the corresponding card 1 or special card 1a, 1c.

[0025] According to an exemplary embodiment, for each card, the mark M may or may not be present in each of the predetermined locations in the framework of rows and columns depending on the particular mark and suit to be encoded. The relationship between the code 302 and the output of the ON signal from the two UV sensors 320, 321 is shown in FIG. 9. It is possible to identify a predetermined arrangement pattern of the mark M based on the comparison result of the relative change of the output of the ON signal from the UV sensors 320, 321. As a result, in two rows (upper row and lower row), four types of arrangement patterns of the mark M are possible, and since the patterns are printed in four columns, it is possible to form 256 types of codes (4×4×4×4). The 52 playing cards and the special cards 1a, 1c are each assigned to one of the 256 codes, and such arrangement relationships are stored in the memory 12M as an association table.

[0026] The special card 1a is different from other normal cards 1 in the deck and has a special code 6s (arrangement of invisible marks M) different from the codes 6 of the other cards 1. As described above, in this embodiment, the special code 6s is selected from 256 types of codes, but is different from the codes of the normal cards, and the relationship of such arrangement of the special cards is also stored in the memory 12M as an association table for the special cards 1a, 1c.

[0027] Also, the special code 6s is appropriately arranged on each edge of the card 1a, so that the card reading unit 308 can identify the card as a special card based on its predetermined association table (not shown) by identifying the code 6s. It should be noted that the assignment of a specific code from the 256 codes to each playing card or special card 1a does not need to be fixed, and in other exemplary embodiments of the present invention, each of the 52 cards and several special cards can be freely associated with a code from the 256 codes and stored in the association table. Therefore, it is possible to change the association of the 256 codes with the 52 cards and the special cards depending on the situation or place where they are used. The code is preferably printed with a coating material that becomes visible when irradiated with UV light, and is placed at a position that does not overlap with the indication of the card type or index 102.

[0028] The association table may be prepared from 256 codes at will, or multiple different association tables may be pre-prepared (e.g., from one to ten or more tables). If the code 6, 6s does not match a code defined in the applicable association table, an error is detected and it is determined that cheating may have occurred.

[0029] Next, the configuration of the control device 312 will be described. Control device 312, code reading unit 308, the winning / losing determination unit 310, etc. are realized by a computer device, in particular a computer device including at least a memory, at least a processor, and at least a non-transitory computer-readable medium on which instructions read by at least one processor to implement algorithms according to various exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be stored. The numbers of cards that are sequentially dispensed onto the game table 306 are obtained using UV sensors 320, 321 in the code reading unit 308, and the numbers of cards so obtained are sequentially stored in the memory. The numbers of each card can be read using conventional recognition technology that can read the numbers of cards directly from the surface of the cards.

[0030] At this point, information about which cards 1 are dealt to which players is also stored (in the bank hand 17 or the player hand 18). The number of each card is stored (in the bank hand 17 or the player hand 18) in association with the player to whom it was dealt. In baccarat, there are players and bankers. The rank (number) of the dealt card is stored in memory in association with the bank hand or the player hand to which it was dealt, and the rank (number) of the dealt card is added for each player (bank hand and player hand). The dealing of each card and additional cards to the player hand, and additional cards to the bank hand, is determined according to the baccarat rules stored in the control device 312. The baccarat rules call for a "hand for player" when a third card is needed for the player hand. After the player hand is completed, the banker's hand is completed in the same way. The winner is then determined based on the predetermined rules. A "tie" is also determined. The winning / losing determination unit 310 determines the winning / losing of the card game based on the number of cards 1 sequentially read by the code reading unit 308 and whether the game of this round is over.

[0031] When the game of this round is over, the operator or dealer is required to press the result key 360 on the side of the card shoe device 304 to cause the output means 311 to output the results, i.e., the win or loss of each card game. The operator or dealer pays a predetermined amount to the bettor if the bettor bet on a winning card, and collects the amount bet on the losing card.

[0032] The game rules for the present invention have further rules for the further step of a bettor betting that the Bank hand or the Player hand will win along with a side bet that the winning hand will include a special card. The controller 312 has further programs for determining whether the winning hand of the Banker or the Player hand includes a special card and that the bettor has placed a side bet on the winning hand. The game rules for the present invention have further rules for treating the winning hand as a special win when the winning hand of the Banker or the Player hand includes a special card and the bettor has placed a side bet on the winning hand. When the winning card in either the Banker or Player hand contains a special card, bettors who have placed side bets on the winning card will be paid at odds of 1 to 50.

[0033] The control device 312 has a processing function for determining whether a card game is won or lost based on information about the number of cards read sequentially by the card reading unit, and further has a processing function for determining which hand, i.e., banker or player, each card is received by and storing the number of cards read for that player and that banker. Furthermore, the control device 312 determines whether the winning card of the banker or player hand includes a special card.

[0034] The shuffled deck of playing cards 1s is shuffled in a random order by a card shuffling device (as a manufacturing line) shown in FIG. 10. One or more special cards 1a, 1c are also packaged together with the deck of playing cards shuffled by the card shuffling device (as a manufacturing line) shown in FIG. 10. The number of special cards 1a, 1c to be inserted into the deck of shuffled playing cards 1s is determined by a special card exchange machine system 500 (such as a certain type of operating robot) according to a random number from 0 to 10 or more. The special card exchange machine system 500 is controlled by a computer program and determines the number of special cards 1a, 1c to be inserted into each shuffled deck of playing cards 1s, from 0 to 10 or more. The number of special cards 1a, 1c to be inserted varies from 0 to 10 for each shuffled deck 1s randomly by a randomization program, and according to the program, the special card exchange system 500 draws a certain number of regular cards (e.g., the ace of spades) and inserts the same number or more of special cards (which may be, for example, the ace of spades of the same suit and rank but different color, or may simply be additional special cards) 1a, 1c in a predetermined number, from 0 to 10 or more, according to the random sequence program.

[0035] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a shuffling machine 400 used to shuffle playing cards 1 together with special cards 1a and 1c in the manufacturing process of a shuffled deck of playing cards 1s according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the shuffling machine 400 includes a card stack holder 401, a card feeder 402, a sliding rail 403, a feeder moving roller 404, a card delivery roller 405, a camera 406 (or a card sensor 409 described later), and an image processing unit 408. The card stack holder 401 has a plurality of pockets 401a to 401g. Note that the card stack holder 401 has seven pockets, but the card stack holder 401 can have any number of pockets. Movable partition plates 407a to 407f are installed between the pockets. The card feeder 402 is designed so that when playing cards (including several special cards 1a) to be shuffled are placed on the card feeder 402, the lower card delivery roller 405 rotates to send the cards 1 from the bottom of the card feeder 102 toward the card stack holder 401 through a card delivery port provided on the lower side of the card feeder 402. The card feeder 402 is also configured to be movable in the vertical (up and down) direction along the sliding rail 403 by the feeder moving roller 404 driven by a driving means such as a motor (not shown).

[0036] In the above-mentioned configuration, the shuffling machine 400 alternately slides the card feeder 402 to a position facing one of the pockets 401a to 401g, and sends the card 1 from the card feeder 402 to the pocket. The shuffling machine 400 randomly determines the position to which the card feeder 402 is moved, that is, the position facing one of the pockets 401a to 401g, using a random number generating program or the like. Therefore, the cards (including several special cards 1a1a, 1c) loaded in the card feeder 402 are sent out one by one in random order to the pockets 401a to 401g of the card stack holder 401. When all the cards loaded in the card feeder 402 have been sent out to the card stack holder 401, the partition plates 407a-407f retract from the inside of the card stack holder 401, so that the cards sorted into the pockets 401a-401g of the card stack holder 401 are removed from the shuffling machine 400 as a single stack. When the one or more special cards 1s, 1c are shuffled, they are packaged together with the shuffled deck of playing cards by the shuffling machine 400 and a packaging machine (not shown) in a manufacturing factory (see FIG. 1). In this way, the special cards 1s, 1c, which are different from the other 52 regular cards in the card deck 1s, are packaged together with the other regular cards in the factory. The set 1s are shuffled to a random position within the set 1s.

[0037] The retreat of the pockets 401a-401g is not absolutely necessary, and any alternative means can be used. For example, the cards may be taken out of the pockets 401a-401g using a robot arm or the like. The manufacturing line includes a plurality of shuffling machines 400 configured as described above and arranged in sequence. In the case of two shuffling machines 400 shown as an example in FIG. 10, a set of playing cards (including several special cards 1a, 1c) loaded in the card feeder 402 is shuffled after passing through a shuffling process. If the card feeder 402 is controlled to slide very randomly, the set of playing cards 1 loaded in the card feeder 402 can be shuffled sufficiently randomly after the shuffling machine 400 performs the shuffling process twice. As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of shuffling machines 400 performing such a shuffling process are used to perform the shuffling process in sequence, and the shuffled playing cards are shuffled and ordered more randomly.

[0038] The playing cards are loaded face down (towards the camera 406) into the card feeder 402. Each time a card 1 is fed from the card feeder 402 to the card stack holder 401, the camera 406 takes an image of the card 1. The resulting image is sent to an image processing unit 408. The capabilities of the camera 406 and the image processing unit 408 vary between shuffling machines 400 depending on the position of the shuffling machines 400 on the production line.

[0039] Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a part of a production line for shuffled decks of playing cards 1s according to this embodiment. The number of shuffling machines 400 is not limited thereto and may be three or more. The shuffling machine 400 is configured as shown in Fig. 10, and the machine 400 includes a card sensor 409 instead of the camera 406. The card sensor 409 has a function of counting the number of cards passing over the sensor.

[0040] The image of the card surface taken by the camera 106 on the shuffling machine 400 is subjected to an image analysis process by the image processing unit 408 of the process control system that manages the manufacturing line including the shuffling machine 400, and as a result, the suit and rank on the card sent from the card feeder 402 to the card stack holder 401 are detected. That is, on the shuffling machine 400, every time a card is sent from the card feeder 402 to the card stack holder 401, the suit and rank on the card are detected, and when the entire set of cards (including several special cards 1a, 1c) loaded in the card feeder 402 is sent to the card stack holder 401, it is checked whether there is an excess or deficiency in the combination of rank and suit (including several special cards 1a, 1c) included in the set of cards (including several special cards). For example, a set of cards consisting of six pairs (including several special cards) should include six identical cards and special cards, each represented by a combination of rank and suit. If there is a shortage or overage of rank and suit combinations or some special cards, the set of cards will be discarded as defective. In addition to checking the rank and suit, the image processing unit 408 will inspect each card for blemishes, check the back design patterns, etc., check whether the cards are properly shuffled, and whether each card meets a predefined standard or predefined special cards. Any set of cards containing defects will be discarded.

[0041] The card sensor 409 is installed in the shuffling machine 400 that performs the shuffling process for the second time, and counts the number of cards that pass over the card sensor 409. In this way, shuffling machine 400 checks the number of cards and some special cards in the set of cards to be shuffled, thereby inspecting the final product for excess or shortage of cards. In shuffling machine 400 which first performs the shuffling process, both sides of the cards are preferably inspected simultaneously by placing a mirror (not shown in FIG. 10) so that the back (patterned side) of the card faces camera 406, or by placing a separate camera (not shown) that will photograph the back of the card.

[0042] When the shuffling machine 400 performing the final shuffling process finishes shuffling, the shuffling machine 400 outputs a shuffle completion signal. Upon detecting the shuffle completion signal, the process control system 408 generates a shuffled card ID (5) to be assigned to the shuffled set 1s of playing cards that has been completed through the final shuffling process. The shuffled card ID is generated as a unique ID for each shuffled deck 1s of playing cards. The process control system associates the generated shuffled card ID with predetermined information from the production information stored in the database of the process control system 408. Any type and volume of such information can be used, but information identifying the production line or shuffling machine involved in the shuffling process is particularly important.

[0043] Upon generating the shuffled card ID, the process control system 408 registers the generated shuffled card ID in a database by associating the shuffled card ID with the production line ID of the production line that was involved in the production of the shuffled playing cards. However, the ID is not limited to such a production line related ID. Alternatively, a shuffling machine ID can be pre-associated with each shuffling machine, and the shuffled card ID may be registered in the database by associating it with all the shuffling machine IDs that were involved in the shuffling process. Note that the database may be provided within or outside the process control system.

[0044] The generated shuffled card ID is printed as a barcode on an adhesive label by a printer, and the barcode 5 of the shuffled card ID is attached to the packaging box 4 as shown in Fig. 1(a). Up to this point, the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and those skilled in the art can modify the above-mentioned embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

[0045] The special cards 1a, 1c are shuffled together with other regular cards 1 in a random position in the shuffled deck of playing cards in the factory, and the number and denomination or type of the special cards 1a or 1c to be included in the shuffled deck of playing cards 1 is determined by the control system 600 of the shuffling machine 400. The number and denomination or type of the special cards 1a or 1c to be included in the shuffled deck of playing cards 1 is determined by the control system 600 as a random number from 0 to 10. The special cards 1a or 1c may be shuffled together with other regular cards 1 in a random position in the factory.

[0046] Other special card exchange machine systems 700 (such as some type of operating robot) may be used, and the positions of the special cards to be included in the shuffled deck of playing cards are determined by the special card exchange machine system 700 and randomly inserted into the shuffled deck of playing cards after the shuffling process in the factory (after the shuffling machine 400 has performed the shuffling process twice, or after multiple shuffling machines 400).

[0047] The positions of the special cards 1a, 1c to be included in the shuffled deck of playing cards may be inserted at the last position or the first position of other normal cards in the factory by the other special card exchange machine system 700. The special card as the cut card 1c may be inserted at a random position between the last position and the last few cards to 50 cards, but randomly, by the other special card exchange machine system 500.

[0048] Appendix 1: 1. A card game system for playing a game of baccarat in which a bettor places a bet on whether a banker's hand or a player's hand will win, comprising: a deck of cards, which is randomly shuffled in preparation, each of which has a code printed on it, invisible under normal conditions, representing the number (rank) of the card; a card shooter device that is placed on a game table and has a card reading function for reading the number of the card from the code; The card shooter device includes: a card reading unit for reading the code representing the number of the card; a control unit having a processing function for determining whether a winning card is the banker or the player according to a baccarat game rule based on the information of the number of cards read sequentially by the card reading unit; a special card is packed and sealed in a package together with the shuffled deck at a factory, the special card being different from other normal cards in the deck and having a special invisible code different from the codes of other cards, the code identifying the card as the special card; the card reading unit has a reading function for reading the code of the special card; the control unit having processing functionality for determining each card to be received by the banker or by the player, storing the number of cards read for the player or the banker, and determining whether a winning hand is a special win that includes the special card in the winning hand; The card shooter device has a special win output means for outputting the winning card of the banker or the player and the special win of the victory.

[0049] Appendix 2: A card game system in which the special card is one of an ace of spades having an ace of a different color or shape than other aces of spades in the deck.A card game system in which the special card is not one of a deck of 52 standard playing cards and does not have the value or number of the card.A card game system in which the package of shuffled playing cards includes from one to eight special cards.

[0050] Appendix 3: 1. An improved method of playing a game of baccarat in which a bettor places a bet on whether a banker's hand will win or a player's hand will win, comprising: a deck of cards, which is randomly shuffled in preparation, each of which has a code printed on it, invisible under normal conditions, representing the number (rank) of the card; a card shooter device that is placed on a game table and has a card reading function for reading the number of the card from the code; reading said code representing the number of said card; and determining whether a winning card is the banker or the player according to a baccarat game rule based on the information of the number of cards read sequentially by the card reading unit; a special card is packed and sealed in a package together with the shuffled deck at a factory, the special card being different from other normal cards in the deck and having a special invisible code different from the codes of other cards, the code identifying the card as the special card; the control unit determines each card to be received by the banker or by the player, stores the number of cards read for a player or bank, and processes to determine whether a winning hand of the banker or player includes the special card; The following further steps: a) the bettor bets that the Bank hand or the Player hand will win, and also makes a side bet as to whether said winning hand will contain said special card; b) determining whether a winning card in the Banker or Player hand contains said special card and that said bettor has placed said side bet on said winning card; c) treating the winning card in a banker or player hand as a special win when the winning card includes the special card and the bettor has placed the side bet on the winning card.

[0051] Appendix 4: A method of playing a game of baccarat, wherein the special card is one of an ace of spades that has a different color or shape than other aces of spades in the deck. A method of playing a game of baccarat, wherein the special card is not one of a deck of 52 standard playing cards and does not have the value or number of the card. A method of playing a game of baccarat, wherein the package of shuffled playing cards includes from one to eight special cards.

Claims

1. A shuffled deck of cards used in a card game, A deck of cards consists of 52 regular cards. The shuffled deck of cards is prepared by randomly shuffling multiple cards. It is made up of a deck of lamps, and on each card of the deck is a code that represents the rank of the card. It is printed and The shuffled deck of cards is One or more special cards are added to the shuffled deck of cards. Including being packaged in a package of The special cards have no rank and are one of the 52 cards that make up the deck of playing cards. The shuffled deck of cards is a different card from the normal cards, and have different special codes, The special card will stop the use of the current deck in the card game. A shuffled deck of playing cards, with a cut card to indicate.

2. The cut card is placed at least on the top or bottom of the shuffled deck of playing cards.

2. The shuffled deck of playing cards of claim 1.

3. The last card of the shuffled deck and 50 cards from the last card 2. The shuffled trump card of claim 1, wherein the cut card is placed between two cards. Pu's group.

4. The special card is randomly shuffled with the other playing cards in the shuffled deck.

2. The shuffle according to claim 1, wherein the shuffle is assembled and packed in one package at the factory. A deck of playing cards.

5. A method for producing a shuffled deck of cards for use in card games, comprising the steps of: A deck of cards consists of 52 regular cards. The shuffled deck of cards is prepared by randomly shuffling multiple cards. It is made up of a deck of lamps, and on each card of the deck is a code that represents the rank of the card. It is printed and The method for producing the shuffled deck of cards includes: One or more special cards are added to the shuffled deck of cards. Including being packaged in a package of The special cards have no rank and are one of the 52 cards that make up the deck of playing cards. The shuffled deck of cards is a different card from the normal cards, and have different special codes, The special card will stop the use of the current deck in the card game. A method for producing a shuffled deck of playing cards, with the cut card to indicate.

6. The cut card is placed at least on the top or bottom of the shuffled deck of playing cards.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising the steps of:

7. The last card of the shuffled deck and 50 cards from the last card 6. The shuffled trump card of claim 5, wherein the cut card is placed between two cards. A method for manufacturing a set of loops.

8. The special card is randomly shuffled with the other playing cards in the shuffled deck.

6. The shuffle according to claim 5, wherein the shuffle is made of a material that is mixed with the material and packed in a single package at the factory. A method for manufacturing a deck of playing cards.

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