Electronic card game and method of playing an electronic card game

Abstract

An electronic blackjack variation card game playable in a gaming machine having a display includes an electronic shoe of cards having a deck of cards. The electronic card game includes a playing area and five card receiving zones. The electronic card game has rules which include allowing the player to place a wager; turning over a top card on the shoe, so that the top card is face-up; selecting the face-up card from the shoe and directing it to one of the five zones; adding up the face value of the cards in each of the five card receiving zones to form individual card receiving zone totals; adding the values of all of the individual zone totals that are twenty-one or less to form a total score; and paying out a multiple of the wager when the total score is equal to or greater than a winning amount.

1 . An electronic blackjack variation card game playable in an gaming machine having a display, the electronic card game comprising: 
 (a) an electronic deck of cards having a plurality of individual playing cards, each of the individual playing cards having an associated face value displayed on a face-up side of each of the individual playing cards;    (b) a playing area within the display;    (c) five card receiving zones disposed on the playing area;    (d) a shoe of cards configured to dispense cards of the electronic deck of cards for selection by a player, the shoe being disposed proximate to or within the playing area; and    (e) a set of rules dictating scoring of the electronic blackjack variation card game, the rules including: 
 (i) allowing the player to place a wager;  
 (ii) beginning a round of play by turning over a top card on the shoe of cards, so that the top card is face-up, for selection by the player;  
 (iii) selecting the face-up card from the shoe and selectively directing the face-up card to one of the five card receiving zones;  
 (iv) adding up the face value of the cards in each of the five card receiving zones to form individual card receiving zone totals;  
 (v) adding the values of all of the individual card receiving zone totals that are individually twenty-one or less to form a total score; and  
 (iv) paying out a multiple of the wager when the total score is equal to or greater than a predetermined winning amount.  
   
   
   
       2 . The electronic blackjack variation card game system of  claim 1 , wherein the cards have conventional face values including Ace, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, Jack, Queen and King.  
   
   
       3 . The electronic blackjack variation card game of  claim 2 , wherein the cards further include denominations including hearts, diamonds, clubs and spades.  
   
   
       4 . The electronic blackjack variation card game of  claim 1 , further comprising: 
 (f) a total score indicator being disposed proximate to or within the playing area, the total score being incremented or decremented based upon the total face value of cards in all of the five card receiving zones that each have total face values of twenty-one or less.    
   
   
       5 . The electronic blackjack variation card game of  claim 4 , wherein the total score is also a function of the amount of time the player takes to select the next playable card.