Blackjack tournaments with rules encouraging card counting and broadcasts thereof

Abstract

Blackjack tournaments are described which provide for rules and practices that facilitate counting of cards by players, such as dealing from a single deck of 52 cards down to the last card in the deck. The proprietor of the tournament limits its exposure to losses by forming a pool of prize money from entrance fees paid by players, sponsorship fees, a limited contribution to the pool of prize money, or combinations thereof. Players play with chips provided by the proprietor of the tournament. The tournament may be captured with one or more video cameras and broadcast over an entertainment network. The broadcast may feature card counting reports, commentary by experts, and a display of the sequence of cards to be dealt to the players and the dealer.

1 . Blackjack tournament apparatus comprising, in combination:
 a facility hosting a tournament of blackjack, the facility including one or more tables where blackjack may be played;   one or more video cameras for capturing play at at least one of the one or more tables for broadcast to an audience remote from the facility;   wherein the tournament is characterized in that a pool of prize money is formed for paying out to one or more winners of the tournament;   a set of rules is provided for play at the tournament for playing rounds of blackjack at the tournament wherein the set of rules include one or more rules favorable to counting of cards in a systematic method for playing blackjack; and   rounds of play of blackjack are conducted at the tables using the set of rules wherein during the rounds of play the players make wagers and receive winnings with chips provided by the proprietor of the tournament to the players.   
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the broadcast includes an identification of the sequence of one or more cards remaining in a deck of cards used at one of the tables; and a current card counting report. 
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the broadcast includes commentary by one or more experts in the game of blackjack. 
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the set of rules include a first rule of playing blackjack at each of the tables used in the tournament using a single deck of cards and a second rule of dealing the cards from the deck down to the last card in the deck. 
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the apparatus further comprises a card sequence identifying apparatus for determining the sequence of cards to be dealt by a dealer to players at one of the tables. 
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the card sequence identifying apparatus comprises a machine readable code applied to the cards to be dealt by a dealer and a reader for the code. 
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a machine readable memory storing broadcast data for transmission over an entertainment network, the broadcast data comprising data representing video of play at a blackjack tournament obtained from the one or more video cameras, a current card counting report for play at one or more of the tables and commentary by one or more experts in the game of blackjack.   
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the broadcast data further comprises a sequence of one or more cards remaining in a deck of cards used at the tournament. 
   
   
       9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tournament is further characterized by a rule of play in which cards of players that bust are revealed to all the other players at a table, and a rule in which the players have the option to purchase a current card counting report during play using their chips. 
   
   
       10 . The apparatus of  claim 9 , wherein the card counting report is in the form of an index or score resulting from a systematic method of counting cards exposed to the players during a round of play of blackjack.