US20080211181A1

US20080211181A1 - Decision-making device and method

Info

Publication number: US20080211181A1
Application number: US12/077,776
Authority: US
Inventors: Joseph Thomas Fedison
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2006-09-23
Filing date: 2008-03-21
Publication date: 2008-09-04

Abstract

A decision-making device includes: a container having an opening, an object with indicia, the object having at least two sides and movably located inside the container, and a cover attached to the container to close the opening. The indicia include commands corresponding to at least two of the following actions in poker: all-in, bet, call, check, fold, and raise.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/525,557, filed Sep. 23, 2006, entitled, “Poker Player Options Die”, as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/975,797, filed Oct. 22, 2007, entitled, “Enclosed Poker Card Cover”, which itself claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/853,686, filed Oct. 23, 2006, entitled, “Enclosed Poker Card Cover”, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

There are many games of chance where a player, at some point, has to make a choice as to what their next move will be. These choices can be whether or not to take another card during blackjack, to fold a hand during poker, to bet on red while playing roulette or any other options while playing a game of chance. The description, “Game of Chance”, inherently states that at some point the player has to make a choice that gives them a chance to win or lose, even if that choice is to simply take part in the “Game of Chance”.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The Decision-Making Device and Method described herein (where the device may also be called “Enclosed Chamber of Chance”) offers players of these games options for making their next move. The problem solved by the Enclosed Chamber of Chance is that during any “Game of Chance” a player has a chance to win or lose; that chance is based on how the player uses their available options in the game. In a “Game of Chance” skill and knowledge will not guarantee a winning result and players resolve to good luck and bad luck when analyzing the outcome of their chosen option. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance will decide that option for them, right or wrong.
According to one embodiment, the Decision-Making Device and Method described herein provides poker players options as to what move to make while playing the game; it may be a standalone, single die with indicia representing the words BET, FOLD, ALL IN, CALL, CHECK and RAISE.
According to one embodiment, the Decision-Making Device described herein includes an enclosure that is placed on top of a poker player's cards while they are in a hand. The device has an enclosed chamber, wherein small objects, i.e. coins, dice (die), small figurines, etc. could be permanently placed.
The Decision-Making Device and Method described herein allow for a plurality of outcomes based on games of chance. In one design of the present invention, the Enclosed Chamber of Chance comprises an embodiment that has an object enclosed inside and a translucent or transparent cover.
A preferred application of the Enclosed Chamber of Chance is to employ it in a game of poker. During the regular play of a poker game (i.e. Texas Hold'em, Stud, Omaha), standard playing cards are dealt to all of the players and then each player takes a turn deciding what their next move will be with the cards they received. When it is their turn the player will be faced with several options. These options include at least one or more of these indicia: BET, FOLD, ALL IN, CALL, CHECK and RAISE. When the dealer is ready for the player's turn, the player acts with one of these or other options. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance, in this case, would have a 6-sided die that would have indicia representing the above-mentioned options on it. The player would shake the preferred Enclosed Chamber of Chance and look inside to see what the die revealed.
Other applications are to employ the Enclosed Chamber of Chance in a game of Blackjack (also known as 21), wherein the preferred enclosed object may have one or more of these and other indicia: HIT, STAY, DOUBLE DOWN, SURRENDER and SPLIT. Not all hands rely on a decision by the player to take a chance, but for the hands that the player is unsure of the move the Enclosed Chamber of Chance can be employed. The above detailed methods of using the Enclosed Chamber of Chance can be employed in any “Game of Chance” where the enclosed object's indicia represent the available options to the player of that particular game.
While playing poker a player is dealt cards. During each round of play it is the player's obligation to protect his cards from being removed by the dealer, this is known as having your cards “mucked”. The most common way to protect a poker hand is to place a casino chip on top of the cards after they are placed back down on the table. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance can also be employed as a “card protector”, wherein the player of a card game places the invention on their cards to keep the dealer or other players from taking the cards before the player has finished playing their hand.
As a form of entertainment, the player can use the Enclosed Chamber of Chance and either follows what the object inside reveals or makes his or her own choice as to what their next move is. There are no rules as to how, when or where to use the Enclosed Chamber of Chance. It is designed as a novelty item for entertainment and no assertions are made as to the value of the “chance” outcome in relationship to the game that is being played. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance offers options in a “Game of Chance” wherein there is a chance to win and chance to lose. The player may play the way they want and might not rely on the outcome from the Enclosed Chamber of Chance.
The Enclosed Chamber of Chance can be used in board games where an element of chance exists. In this case, or any other similar application, the object (e.g., die) does not need to be enclosed within an embodiment. An example of this would be a game where the preferred object is a die (or dice), which are rolled to present the player which options that are applicable to the game that is being played.
According to an embodiment, a decision-making device comprises: a container having an opening; an object with indicia, the object having at least two sides and movably located inside the container; and a cover attached to the container to close the opening, wherein the indicia includes commands corresponding to at least two of the following actions in poker: all-in, bet, call check, fold, and raise.
The container may be substantially transparent. The container may be substantially opaque and the cover may be substantially transparent. The container may be cylindrical in shape. Both ends of the cylindrical container may comprise substantially transparent covers. In one aspect, exactly one end of the cylindrical container comprises a substantially transparent cover. The cover may be removably attached to the container. The object may be permanently enclosed inside the container.
A method of making a decision comprises: providing the decision-making device as described herein; shaking the device; and causing the object to move within the container. The method may include covering playing cards with the device.
According to any embodiment, a decision-making device comprises: a container having an opening; an object with indicia, the object having at least two sides and movably located inside the container, and a cover attached to the container to close the opening, wherein the indicia includes commands corresponding to at least two of the following actions in blackjack and roulette: hit, stand, double-down, split, red, black, odd, and even.
The container may be substantially transparent. The container may be substantially opaque and the cover may be substantially transparent. The container may be cylindrical in shape. Both ends of the cylindrical container may comprise substantially transparent covers. In one aspect, exactly one end of the cylindrical container comprises a substantially transparent cover. The cover may be removably attached to the container. The object may be permanently enclosed inside the container.
Since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation illustrated and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a container.

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of a container with a translucent or transparent cover.

FIG. 3 shows an inside view of an embodiment of a container.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an object with indicia.

FIG. 5 shows another perspective view of an object with indicia.

FIG. 6 shows examples of indicia.

FIG. 7 shows examples of indicia.

FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of the Enclosed Chamber of Chance including the container, object with indicia, and translucent or transparent cover.

FIG. 9 shows the Enclosed Chamber of Chance including a translucent or transparent container, object with indicia, and translucent or transparent cover.

FIG. 10 shows the Enclosed Chamber of Chance with playing cards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, the use of “a”, “an” or “the” can refer to the plural. All examples given are for clarification only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.
Referring to FIG. 1, a container 1 is shown. The container 1 may be cylindrical as shown, but may take on any other shape, including shapes having a circular, rectangular, triangular, curved, or other cross section. The container 1 may be closed at one end and open at the other, such as a cup, or may be closed at both ends. The embodiment has no dimensional restraints and can be as large or small as the application requires. In one embodiment, the container 1 is configured, shaped, and sized, to hold a die (that may be, e.g., 1 inch on one side) and to allow that die to move and/or rotate. The container 1 may comprise any solid material, such as card stock, paper, plastic, metal, wood, ceramic, glass, and so forth. The container 1 may be translucent, transparent, or opaque.
Referring to FIG. 2, the container 1 includes a cover 2 that may be translucent or transparent. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, both ends of the container 1 are closed or sealed, thus keeping any objects contained therein secure. The cover 2 may be removable and attachable, such as by screwing it off or on, pulling it off or pushing it on (overcoming friction), and any other method known in the art for removing or attaching a cover. Alternatively, the cover 2 may be permanently sealed to the container 1. The cover 2 is shown flat, but may take a curved shape, such as convex. Further, while both ends of the container 1 (as shown in FIG. 2) are closed, one or both ends of the container 1 may include a transparent or translucent cover 2.
Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, an object with indicia may comprise a common die having six sides, each side having its own indicia corresponding to, e.g., BET 5, FOLD 6, ALL IN 7, CALL 8, CHECK 9 and RAISE 10. Other options are BLUFF and TILT. These are merely examples and the indicia may correspond to any decisions that can be made in the applicable game. Further, there need not be six sides. For example, in the game of blackjack, only four decisions are commonly made (hit, stand, split, and double-down), so a four-sided die may be appropriate. Within the scope of this invention are 4-, 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, 9, and 10-sided dies, or more if necessary. In one embodiment, the object with indicia is a die with indicia representing the options a player of a game of chance would employ during the play of the game.
Referring to FIG. 6, a player playing poker would employ the Enclosed Chamber of Chance with the object with indicia shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 wherein the indicia BET 5, FOLD 6, ALL IN 7, CALL 8, CHECK 9 and RAISE 10 may be the preferred indicia on the object.
Referring to FIG. 7, a player playing Blackjack, also know as “21”, may employ the Enclosed Chamber of Chance with the object shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, except that the indicia have been changed to, e.g., HIT 11, STAY 12, DOUBLE DOWN 13, SPLIT 14, STAND 15 and HIT 16. As another example, for a player playing Roulette, an object with indicia may include indicia such as RED, BLACK, ODD, EVEN, 0, 00, or any other bet possibilities in Roulette, including 1-18, 19-36, first, second, and third columns, specific numbers, and so forth.
Referring to FIG. 8, the preferred Enclosed Chamber of Chance may be employed by a player of games of chance. The game may be played manually (such as a table game at a casino) or electronically (such as at a video poker machine or online gambling), using customary equipment that would be apparent to anyone skilled in the art and at least one player is playing the game. The enclosed object preferably corresponds with the game of chance the player is playing.
Referring to FIG. 9, the container 1 is a translucent or transparent material, wherein the object with indicia can be seen from other views besides the translucent or transparent cover 2.
Referring to FIG. 10, a game of poker is played with cards 17 dealt to a player; it is the player's responsibility to not allow the dealer to take the player's cards 17 until the player's hand is finished. The Enclosed Chamber of Chance, e.g. as shown in FIG. 8, is employed by the player by placing it on top of their cards 17 and therefore keeping the dealer from removing the cards 17 from the player before the player is finished the hand.
Referring to FIG. 10, a game of poker may be played by at least two players wherein the preferred Enclosed Chamber of Chance (e.g., shown in FIG. 8) may be employed when it is a player's turn to act. The player would shake the Enclosed Chamber of Chance (e.g., FIG. 8) and look through the cover 2 to see what the indicia (e.g., FIG. 4) stated on the uppermost surface of the object. The player would then act accordingly, either by making his own decision or following the suggestion/prompt of the object with indicia.
Referring to FIG. 10, a game of poker may be played by at least two players wherein all players would employ the preferred Enclosed Chamber of Chance (e.g., FIG. 8) when it was their turn to act. The game would be played according to customary rules, except that when the player was able to make a choice as to how to play their hand, the player would be required to shake the Enclosed Chamber of Chance (e.g., FIG. 8) and play their hand according to the outcome on the object with indicia.
Referring to FIG. 10, a card player employs the Enclosed Chamber of Chance, wherein the enclosed object is not an object of chance and has no bearing on the outcome of the game, wherein the embodiment 1 is a chamber to enclose any item that fits inside the chamber. For example, the container 1 could be used primarily to hold objects, such as cigarettes or a beverage, and to also place on top of cards to prevent the dealer from taking them.
The object with indicia is not limited to a die. It may include any device that, after shaken inside container 1, provides information or a decision/choice to a user. It may comprise any material, such as a hard material such as wood, metal, plastic, ceramic, glass, paper, etc. The object may include flat surfaces on which the indicia are printed, and may include sides that are parallel to each other. Thus, if the object lands on a flat surface (such as the closed end of the container 1), a corresponding surface on the opposite side of the object faces up and includes indicia that a user may utilize in his decision-making process. The object preferably has at least two such sides.
In one embodiment, a user may be provided with a container 1, a removable transparent cover 2, and several objects, each object containing different indicia corresponding to different games of chance. Thus if she wanted to play poker, she would place the poker object with indicia into the container 1, and then attach the cover 2. When it came time for her to make a decision, she could shake the container 1 and then stabilize it, allowing the object or die to settle. She could then read the upward-facing instruction or indicia and make her decision based on that. She could also use the container to cover her cards to prevent the dealer from taking them.
When she decided to change to another game, such as blackjack, she could remove the cover 2, remove the poker object, add the blackjack object (e.g., with indicia shown in FIG. 7), and re-attach the cover 2. She could then shake the container 1 whenever it was time to make a decision, look at the object inside, and make her decision at least in part on the corresponding indicia facing her. She could have dies for poker, blackjack, roulette, and any other game of chance that are replaceable within the container 1.
In one embodiment, the indicia showing by the object are viewable only by the player, and in another embodiment they are viewable by all players. For example, the container 1 may be cylindrical in shape, and may have a height greater than its diameter (such as greater than 1.5 or 2 times its diameter), and may comprise an opaque material. Thus, it will be difficult for another person to view the object from an angle, allowing the user to view the object by looking straight down through the transparent cover 2.
In another embodiment, one of the indicia may, e.g., be a decision that is not directly related to the game, such as HUNCH. When these indicia come up, the player may just play whatever decision he or she feels in a hunch. Other indicia unrelated to the game may be included, such as for humor or entertainment purposes, such as SING. If these indicia come up, then the player may launch into a song, for the merriment of all listening. This is one of thousands of possible examples—the point being that one or more of the indicia need not be directly related to the game to which the object (bearing the indicia) applies.
In another embodiment, a container 1 may include two or more objects, such as two dice, each having indicia. Some people may prefer to make their own decisions most of the time, and only play by the chance of dice if the dice are in agreement. For example, HIT and STAY are the most common decisions in blackjack. A single container 1 could contain three six-sided dice. Each die could include three sides printed with HIT and three sides printed with STAY, so that the chances of HIT or STAY coming up are about ½ each. When the user shakes the container 1 and the dice settle, he may only follow the instructions of indicia if they are all in agreement. For example, if he has an option to hit or stay, he may shake the container 1 and wait for the dice to settle. If they all read HIT he may hit; if they all read STAY he may stay; if they differ, he may simply make his own decision. Since these particular dice will agree about ¼ of the time, he makes his own decision ¾ of the time. Of course, it could include any number of dice (e.g., 2, 3, 4, or more), and each die could have any number of decisions/indicia.
Alternatively or in addition, the different dice could have different indicia that are complementary. For example, in playing poker, one die could look like that shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, while a second die could be printed with the numbers 1-6. If the word BET appears on one die and 4 appears on the other, the user could then bet four units (e.g., four chips of a certain denomination). If the word RAISE appears on one die and 5 appears on the other, the user could then raise five units, and so forth. In other words, two or more dice or objects could be used within container 1 that may not be identical but could complement each other, depending on the game.
Any of the embodiments and variations described herein may be “mixed and matched” to the extent possible. All such variations are within the scope of the present invention.
In the present invention, the indicia on the object may include commands corresponding to at least two of the following: all-in, bet, call, check, fold, and raise. That does not mean that these exact words must be used. For example, in blackjack, the words “stay” and “stand” are synonymous. Thus, synonyms or synonymous phrases may be used. Also, translations into foreign languages may be used.
In other variations:
An enclosed chamber of chance comprises: an embodiment with at least one chamber; a translucent or transparent cover; and at least one object with a minimum of two sides enclosed inside the embodiment.
The chamber of chance may be used as an item to place on top of cards while playing card games. The object may comprise: at least a three-sided die, wherein the die moves freely while enclosed inside the chamber. The chamber or container may be made of a translucent or transparent material.
The object may comprise indicia on the die representing words used while involved in a game of poker, which include, but aren't limited to: all-in, bet, bluff, call, check, fold, raise and tilt. The object may comprise indicia on the die representing words used while involved in a game of blackjack (also known as 21), which include, but aren't limited to: hit, stand, stay, double-down and split. The object may comprise indicia on the die representing words used while involved in a casino game of chance, which include, but aren't limited to: blackjack, poker, baccarat, craps and roulette. The object may comprise indicia on the die that is at least one of the numbers zero through thirty-six, the number double-zero and betting options available for roulette.
A method of playing poker may comprise: the object as claimed; and the chamber as claimed, wherein the player of any poker game uses the invention as described to play their hand when it is their turn to play. The invention may include a geometrical object used in a game of chance that offers the options players would normally make on their own.

Claims

1. A decision-making device, comprising:

a container having an opening;

an object with indicia, the object having at least two sides and movably located inside the container; and

a cover attached to the container to close the opening,

wherein the indicia includes commands corresponding to at least two of the following actions in poker: all-in, bet, call, check, fold, and raise.

2. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container is substantially transparent.

3. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container is substantially opaque and the cover is substantially transparent.

4. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the container is cylindrical in shape.

5. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 5, wherein both ends of the cylindrical container comprise substantially transparent covers.

6. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 4, wherein exactly one end of the cylindrical container comprises a substantially transparent cover.

7. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover is removably attached to the container.

8. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the object is permanently enclosed inside the container.

9. A method of making a decision, comprising:

providing the decision-making device as claimed in claim 1;

shaking the device; and

causing the object to move within the container.

10. The method as claimed in claim 9, comprising covering playing cards with the device.

11. A decision-making device, comprising:

a container having an opening;

a cover attached to the container to close the opening,

wherein the indicia includes commands corresponding to at least two of the following actions in blackjack and roulette: hit, stand, double-down, split, red, black, odd, and even.

12. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the container is substantially transparent.

13. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the container is substantially opaque and the cover is substantially transparent.

14. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the container is cylindrical in shape.

15. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 14, wherein both ends of the cylindrical container comprise substantially transparent covers.

16. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 14, wherein exactly one end of the cylindrical container comprises a substantially transparent cover.

17. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the cover is removably attached to the container.

18. The decision-making device as claimed in claim 11, wherein the object is permanently enclosed inside the container.

19. A method of making a decision, comprising:

providing the decision-making device as claimed in claim 11,

shaking the device; and

causing the object to move within the container.

20. The method as claimed in claim 19, comprising covering playing cards with the device.