Bonus hand blackjack

Abstract

A wagering card game is played in a first stage with reference to a bonus hand and in a second stage according to the rules of conventional Blackjack. Each player posts a main bet to compete against the dealer during the second stage of play and optionally may post a side bet to be eligible for the first stage bonus payout. Two cards are dealt face-up to each player and two cards are dealt to the dealer, one face down and the other face-up. Any player who posted a side bet and is dealt a Blackjack combination on the first two cards is eligible to participate in the play of the bonus hand. The dealer's hand, or optionally two freshly dealt cards, define the bonus hand. In either embodiment, the dealer announces the bonus hand value which may range from a “No Blackjack” hand of 20 points or lower, any non-suited Blackjack hand or any suited Blackjack hand. The dealer then refers to a matrix table of bonus payout values and pays according to the payout value that is indexed by the player hand possible Blackjack combinations and the possible bonus hand combinations. After side bets are resolved, regular play of Blackjack commences, based on the two cards originally dealt to the players and to the dealer.

1 . A method of playing a wagering card game between a dealer and one or more players comprising the steps: 
 each player posting a main bet to participate in the card game;    each player optionally posting a side bet to become eligible to participate in a bonus payout;    dealing two cards from a deck of cards to each player and the dealer, respectively;    providing a bonus payout schedule comprising a set of bonus payout values, the bonus payout values being cross-referenced by possible Blackjack card combinations of a player hand and possible card combinations of a bonus hand; and    resolving each player side bet according to the bonus payout value in the bonus payout schedule that is cross-referenced by the card combination dealt to the player and the card combination of the bonus hand.    
     
     
         2 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the step: 
 adopting the dealer's hand as the bonus hand for side bet resolving purposes.    
     
     
         3 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the steps: 
 dealing two cards from the deck of cards into a bonus hand that is separate from any player hand and separate from the dealer hand; and    using the card combination of the separate bonus hand for side bet resolving purposes.    
     
     
         4 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the step: 
 playing a round of the conventional game of Blackjack using the two-card hands previously dealt to each player and the dealer.    
     
     
         5 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the step: 
 declaring a player's hand to be eligible to participate in a bonus payout if the player's hand contains a Blackjack card combination.    
     
     
         6 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the step: 
 each player exercising or declining the option to post a side bet to become eligible to participate in a bonus payout.    
     
     
         7 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the step: 
 selecting the possible Blackjack card combinations of the player's hand from the card combination set {Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination, and Ace-King of any suit combination}.    
     
     
         8 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the step: 
 selecting the possible card combinations of the bonus hand from the card combination set {any two cards that total 20 or less, Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination, and Ace-King of any suit combination}.    
     
     
         9 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the steps: 
 each player exercising or declining the option to post a side bet for the right to participate in a bonus payout, and upon posting a side bet becoming a bonus-eligible player; and    declaring a bonus-eligible player to be qualified to participate in a bonus payout if the player's hand contains a Blackjack card combination.    
     
     
         10 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the steps: 
 arranging the bonus payout values in a matrix array, the payout values being indexed by cross-reference to the possible Blackjack card combinations of the player hands and the possible card combinations of the bonus hand.    
     
     
         11 . A method of playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 1 , including the steps: 
 selecting the possible player hands from the card combination set {Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination, and Ace-King of any suit combination}; and    selecting the possible bonus hands from the card combination set {any two cards that total 20 or less, Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination and Ace-King of any suit combination}.    
     
     
         12 . A method of playing a card game as set forth in  claim 1 , wherein the bonus payout schedule includes a matrix of bonus payout values disposed in a rectilinear array bounded by a first coordinate axis and by a second coordinate axis, including the steps: 
 arranging the possible Blackjack card combinations of the player hands along the first coordinate axis; and    arranging the possible card combinations of the bonus hand along the second coordinate axis.    
     
     
         13 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game between a dealer and one or more players comprising, in combination: 
 a deck of playing cards;    a hand of first and second playing cards dealable from the deck forming a player hand;    a hand of first and second playing cards dealable from the deck forming the dealer's hand;    a playing surface;    one or more player stations disposed on the playing surface, each player station including a first betting box for receiving a main bet and each player station including a second betting box for receiving an optional side bet; and    a bonus payout schedule including a set of bonus payout values, each payout value corresponding to a player hand card combination and a bonus hand card combination.    
     
     
         14 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 13 , wherein the hand of playing cards dealt to the dealer forms the bonus hand.  
     
     
         15 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 13 , further comprising: 
 a hand of first and second playing cards dealable from the deck to a bonus hand that is separate from all other hands.    
     
     
         16 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 13 , wherein 
 the bonus payout values are indexed by cross-reference to possible Blackjack card combinations of the player hand and possible card combinations of the bonus hand; and    the bonus payout schedule including possible player hand Blackjack combinations arranged in a row or column, the possible player hand Blackjack combinations being selected from the card combination set {Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination and Ace-King of any suit combination}; and    the bonus payout schedule including possible bonus hand combinations are arranged in a column or row, the possible bonus hand combinations being selected from the card combination set {any two cards that total 20 or less, Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination and Ace-King of any suit combination}.    
     
     
         17 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game between a dealer and one or more players comprising, in combination: 
 a deck of playing cards;    a hand of playing cards dealable from the deck to each player;    a hand of playing cards dealable from the deck to the dealer;    a hand of playing cards dealable from the deck forming a bonus hand; and    a bonus payout schedule including a set of bonus payout values, each payout value corresponding to the play of a particular player hand and a particular bonus hand.    
     
     
         18 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 17 , wherein the hand of playing cards dealt to the dealer forms the bonus hand.  
     
     
         19 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 17 , wherein the hand of playing cards forming the bonus hand are separate from the dealer's hand and from any particular player's hand.  
     
     
         20 . Apparatus for playing a wagering card game as set forth in  claim 17 , wherein: 
 the possible bonus hand card combinations comprising the card combination set {any two cards that total 20 or less, Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination, and Ace-King of any suit combination}; and    the possible player hand Blackjack card combinations comprising the card combination set {Ace-10 of any suit combination, Ace-Jack of any suit combination, Ace-Queen of any suit combination and Ace-King of any suit combination}.    
     
     
         21 . A Blackjack card game comprising, in combination: 
 a deck of playing cards;    a playing surface;    a dealer station disposed on the playing surface for receiving and displaying a hand of cards dealt from the deck;    a player station disposed on the playing surface for receiving and displaying a hand of cards dealt from the deck;    a bonus hand card dock disposed on the playing surface for receiving and displaying a hand of cards dealt from the deck; and    a bonus payout schedule including a set of bonus payout values, each payout value being indexed in the schedule by cross-reference to a Blackjack card combination dealt to a player hand and the card combination dealt to the bonus hand.