Intelligent baccarat shoe

Abstract

A playing card delivery shoe is used in the play of the casino table card game of baccarat. The shoe may comprise a) an area for receiving a first set of playing cards useful in the play of the casino table card game of baccarat; b) first card mover that moves playing cards from the first set to a playing card staging area wherein at least one playing card is staged in an order by which playing cards are removed from the first set of and moved to the playing card staging area; c) second playing card mover that moves playing cards from the playing card staging area to a delivery area wherein playing cards removed from the staging area to the delivery shoe are moved in the same order by which playing cards were removed from the first set of playing cards and moved to the playing card staging area; and d) playing card reading sensors that read at least one playing card value of each playing card separately after each playing card has been removed from the area for receiving the first set of playing cards and before removal from the playing card delivery area. There is a communication link between the playing card reading sensors and a processor, and the processor analyzes said data according to rules of play of the game of baccarat and determines results of play for a round of play of baccarat based upon said data, the processor transmitting displayable information from the processor to a display device.

1 - 26 . (canceled) 
     
     
         27 . A casino table card game playing system comprising a communal player display screen, at least one processor and a playing card delivery shoe for use in the play of the casino table card game of baccarat from which cards may be dealt, the delivery shoe comprising:
 an area for receiving a first set of playing cards useful in the play of the casino table card game of baccarat;   a first card mover that moves playing cards from the first set to a playing card staging area wherein at least one playing card is staged in an order by which playing cards are removed from the first set of playing cards and moved to the playing card staging area;   a second playing card mover that moves playing cards from the playing card staging area to a delivery area wherein playing cards removed from the staging area to a delivery end are moved in the same order by which playing cards were removed from the first set of playing cards and moved to the playing card staging area; and   at least one playing card reading sensor that reads at least one playing card value of each playing card separately after each playing card has been removed from the area for receiving the first set of playing cards and before removal from the delivery end;   wherein there is a communication link between the at least one playing card reading sensor and the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor   analyzes data from the at least one sensor according to rules of play of the game of baccarat and determines results including cumulative rank, modulo 10, of each player's hand and dealer's hand and dealer hand wins, player hand wins and tie hands for play for a round of play of baccarat based upon data from the at least one sensor, the processor being communicatively linked to the display screen to provide image information to be displayed on the display screen.   
     
     
         28 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information comprises a historical display of player hand wins, dealer hand wins and tie hands. 
     
     
         29 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the at least one processor comprises an external processor, and wherein the processor is programmed to detect an electronic cut card. 
     
     
         30 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information comprises at least one of a play log and a play record. 
     
     
         31 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information is presented after a time delay. 
     
     
         32 . The system of  claim 31 , and further comprising a game outcome button, wherein the time delayed information is displayed after the game outcome button is manually activated. 
     
     
         33 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information comprises ongoing streaks of hand wins. 
     
     
         34 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information comprises dealer action to be taken. 
     
     
         35 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information comprises a written description of an event. 
     
     
         36 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the display is a changeable display. 
     
     
         37 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information comprises a bonus event display. 
     
     
         38 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the image information comprises an area displaying streaming video. 
     
     
         39 . The system of  claim 38 , wherein the streaming video comprises an advertisement. 
     
     
         40 . The system of  claim 27 , wherein the at least one processor comprises a first processor internal to the shoe and a second processor external to the shoe, wherein the external processor controls the display, and baccarat game rules are programmed into memory of at least one of the first processor and the second processor. 
     
     
         41 . A system for monitoring the game of baccarat, comprising:
 a baccarat monitoring and display system, comprising:   a communal electronic display for displaying game information;   a processor for receiving game information from a mechanized shoe processor and for controlling the display; and   a mechanized shoe for providing a supply of imaged cards to a game of baccarat, the shoe comprising:
 a card input area for receiving and storing a group of cards, the cards arranged in a random order; 
 a first card mover for moving cards individually in the same random order from the card input area to a card imaging area; 
 a card imaging area, the card imaging area comprising a card imager for imaging cards and determining at least the rank of the imaged card; 
 a second card mover for moving cards from the card imaging area to a card delivery area; 
 a card delivery area with an output end for manually removing cards individually; and 
   an internal processor for controlling operation of the shoe.   
     
     
         42 . The system of  claim 41 , wherein the internal processor has associated memory and the memory contains the game rules of baccarat. 
     
     
         43 . The system of  claim 41 , wherein the external processor has associated memory and the memory contains the game rules of baccarat. 
     
     
         44 . The system of  claim 41 , wherein the electronic communal display displays game information selected from the group consisting of: modulo 10 game outcome, banker, player and tie outcomes, banker, player and tie trends, log information, record information, error information, streaks, dealer action required, written description of events, changeable display, bonus event display, streaming video, and advertisements.