Appeal 2007-2064
Application 10/116,562
The claimed invention is a single-deck Blackjack game which pays off 6:5
instead of the standard 3:2 when a player’s hand is a winning Blackjack
hand. Specification, p. 2, para. [0004]. Since card-counters reduce the
house advantage when 3:2 one-deck Blackjack is played, casinos have offered the
Blackjack game with multiple decks. Specification, p. 3, paras. [0005]-[0006].
However, players enjoy playing single-deck Blackjack over multiple-deck
Blackjack. Specification, p. 3, para. [0005]. By lowering the payout from 3:2 to
6:5, the inventors have found a way to provide players single-deck Blackjack while
increasing the house advantage for single-deck Blackjack. Specification, p. 7, para.
[0017].
The Examiner has finally rejected claims 1 and 3-9 under 35 U.S.C. § 103(a)
as being unpatentable over Webb (U.S. Patent 6,305,689 B1).
The Brief1 (Br. 7-15) argues the claims as a group. Pursuant to the rules, the
Board selects representative claim 1 to decide the appeal with respect to this
ground of rejection. 37 C.F.R. § 41.37(c)(1)(vii) (2006).
1. A method of at least one player playing a game of Blackjack with a dealer
comprising the steps of:
a) a player placing a wager to be eligible to play the game;
b) the dealer dealing two cards to the player and two cards to the
dealer from a single deck of 52 cards;
c) the dealer dealing none, one or more additional cards to the player
from said deck based upon an indication from the player, defining the
player's hand;
1 Our decision will make reference to Appellants’ Appeal Brief (“Br.,” filed 13
July 2006), the Examiner's Answer (“Answer,” mailed 30 August 2006), and the
Reply Brief (“Reply Br.,” filed 2 October 2006).
2
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