US20070238502A1

US20070238502A1 - System and method for automatically analyzing specific cheating practice in play of baccarat

Info

Publication number: US20070238502A1
Application number: US11/394,055
Authority: US
Inventors: David Pokorny; Oliver Schubert
Original assignee: SHFL Enterteiment Inc
Current assignee: SHFL Enterteiment Inc
Priority date: 2006-03-29
Filing date: 2006-03-29
Publication date: 2007-10-11
Also published as: WO2007126581B1; WO2007126581A3; WO2007126581A2

Abstract

A system, method and apparatus to collect data from a casino table game of baccarat for wagering pattern analysis. The data includes at least player identification (e.g., player position and/or individual player complete identification), game event history (e.g., Dealer and Player hand statistics and wins on each hand; and hand values; and first card dealt values), and wagering history associated with the identified player (e.g., how much was wagered on each hand). The data is at least temporarily stored and an analysis of the betting patterns is made based on whether the patterns may indicate wagering variance based upon apparent knowledge or correlating to coincidence of valued first cards dealt from the baccarat shoe.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of casino gaming, casino table card gaming, baccarat and specifically methods and systems for automatically detecting a specific form or cheating at baccarat in which a player adjusts the size of wagers based upon a degree of foreknowledge of a value for at least the first card dealt from a dealer's shoe to either the player's hand or the dealer's hand. The invention also relates to the ability of casinos to detect cheating in real time, rather than subsequent analysis of only collective data after wagering events have ceased.
2. Background of the Art
Wagering security within a casino is focused upon a number of different areas of concern. Those areas include at least counterfeiting of currency or tokens, counterfeiting of gaming implements (cards or dice), artificial manipulation of gaming implements (rigging slots, marking cards, weighting dice, weighting roulette wheels or balls, etc.), altering bet amounts or bet types during play, switching cards between players, dealer conspiracy with players, and wagering based upon a degree of intelligence of foreknowledge of cards in play. Each of these different issues requires distinct attention and different implementation of security to be able to control crimes being committed against the casino. The use of totally mechanical or totally electronic gaming systems tends to eliminate the majority of these potential issues, but game players tend to play as much for the social interaction of live games with live players and dealers as they do for the enjoyment of game play. It is therefore necessary for systems, methods and apparatus to be developed that can assist in reducing the potential for these criminal actions being taken at casinos without destroying the live ambiance of a casino table game.
Among the various techniques and systems that have been disclosed for maintaining elements of security at casino tables include at least the following.
WO04062754A1 (Shigeta) Card Game Cheat Detector, discloses a cheat detector (10) that is provided to a table (1) so as to detect a cheat in a card game played on the table (1). The cheat detector (10) acquires come-on card information for specifying a come-on card coming on in the game. The come-on card information is stored during each game. The cheat detector (10) also acquires receding card information for specifying a card receding from the game. By collating the come-on card information with the receding card information, it is judged whether or not the come-on card agrees with the receding card. The result of the collation is outputted to an indicator. Any cheat of a card game can be detected on the spot.
Manual or visually observed First Card Advantage systems are known in the art, as described in “The Effects of ‘Marked Cards’ in a Baccarat Game,” Joseph, George D. Baccarat Study, Copyright 1986 N.P.C.C., which is the analysis of a computer study executed and authored by Mr. Joseph. The analysis considered percentages of Bank wins, percentage of Player wins and ties over a total of millions of hands played. The analysis on pages 39-44 emphasizes the effects of marked cards and a basis of inferring that cards are marked. The study states that the “distinct pattern [of wagering that] will show itself if marked cards are being used or some sort of peek is employed is the relationship of the betting patterns and the first card out of the shoe.” It is emphasized that the pattern usually applies when a group of players are making the same bet, making the integrity of the first card out of the shoe suspect.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,964,612; and 6,857,961 and Published U.S. Patent Application 20050137005 (Soltys) disclose a system that reads an identifier from a hand of cards to identify the cards. For example, the system can read an identifier from a pair of cards forming the initial hand in blackjack, one card is face up and the other card is face down. The system determines the value of a hand of cards from the read identifiers. For example, the system can determine a value of an initial hand of two cards in blackjack, when only one card is face up. The system can inform a dealer of the value, or status based on value, of the hand. The system can determine whether cards forming a hand of cards are authentic by validating the cards based on the read identifier. The system can determine if the cards forming the hand of cards are in an expected sequence based on knowledge of the initial sequence of cards in a deck.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,446,864 (Kim) discloses a gaming table managing system and method thereof for determining the performance of dealers and also estimating the revenue for each gaming table. The system employs a wireless communications network and includes: an identification card; a table module having a plurality of service call buttons, a chip sensing mechanism and a card reader, for generating service call data, dealer-associated data and chip-associated data; a host computer for receiving the dealer-associated data and the chip-associated data and determining the performance of the dealer and estimating the revenue of the gaming facility, using received data; and a service call processing unit for receiving the service call data and displaying the same on a screen.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,069 (Sines et al.) describes systems and methods for playing live casino-type card games, in particular blackjack. The systems include a presentation unit which has video displays which portray virtual playing cards and other information at gaming tables attended by live participants. Shuffling, cutting, dealing and return of playing cards are accomplished using data processing functions within an electronic game processor or processors which enable these functions to be performed quickly and without manual manipulation of playing cards. The invention allows casinos to speed play and reduce the risk of cheating while maintaining the attractive ambiance of a live table game.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,090 (Mothwurf) discloses a method and apparatus for determining the win or loss of individual participants in a game of chance, such as for example Black Jack, Poker or the like, wherein the bet and the winnings are represented by chips. A central chip depository is provided for receiving the game inventory and the latter has means for determining its momentary content. At least one chip deposit area is provided per participant and has in each case at least one sensor for the detection of chips lying on the deposit area. The means for determining the momentary chip content and also the sensors have their outputs connected to the inputs of a data processing system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,831,527 (Jones II, et al.) describes a system of sensors to prevent cheating at a casino gaming table, where the sensors are strategically positioned about a casino gaming table to monitor the movement about certain established areas on the gaming table during certain established times during the play of the game. The tripping of a sensor in response to the detection of unauthorized movement about a certain area of the table sends a signal to a monitoring system which in turn alerts the casino so that the casino may respond to the unauthorized movement accordingly. The system of sensors can be used with a wide variety of card-based or chip-based casino gaming tables.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,518,249 (Sines et al.) describes a playing card deck for playing blackjack or casino twenty-one. The cards preferably have diagonally opposing primary and secondary corners. All cards in the deck have indicia or markings at the primary corners which indicate the nature of the card (suit and card type). The deck has two groupings of cards. The secondary corners of the first group do not indicate the specific nature or count of the card. The secondary corners of the second group, such as aces, have secondary indicia. This allows a dealer to selectively peek at the secondary corner of his face-down card to determine whether a blackjack hand exists. If blackjack does not exist, then the dealer does not know the rank of the face-down card and cheating or unintentional disclosure is prevented.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,422 (Storch) describes coding systems utilizing machine-readable coding. The coding systems are extremely simple to use and preferred embodiments of the machine-readable coding require no external reference or reference code or starting point or orientation for reading or decoding. The number of usable codes for any given number of code elements (bits or digits) is maximized, or, conversely, a minimum number of code elements are required for a given application, thus allowing each code element to be of maximum size for a given coding area. Also, methods and apparatus for encoding objects, and for reading, decoding, processing and using the information obtained from such encoded objects are disclosed. The coding may be applied to objects such as casino chips, currency, automated production line components, consumer products, household items, zip coded objects, etc. The coding system and systems using the coding can be employed for enabling positive real-time detection of counterfeits (rather than mere counterfeit deterrence), cash monitoring, information gathering, object identification, etc., at minimum cost with maximum reliability and real-time speed. Preferred embodiments of systems concern round casino chips and paper money. Signals and data may be encoded independently of physical objects while obviating the need for any reference or synchronization in the coding.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,755,941 (Bacchi) discloses a monitoring system arranged to monitor and record each transaction taking place on a gaming table. The system includes a tray for receiving gaming chips and sensors for sensing the chips held by the tray. A cash box is provided for the deposit of cash received in return for chips dispensed from the tray. A keyboard is provided to record each deposit of cash into the cash box. A central processing unit is responsive to a timer, the keyboard and the sensors to record each transaction which takes place on the gaming table into data storage means. A warning light lights up in the event that money which has been deposited in the cash box is not entered into the keyboard. The system enables management to conduct a complete analysis of the transactions taking place on the gaming table, to provide not only figures giving the profitability of the table but also an indication of the competence and integrity of the croupier.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,808 (Strisower) discloses a device utilized in casino gaming environment that will count the number of hands of a given card game played per given period of time. The information is used by a database system within the casino to determine theoretical win/loss based upon historical and theoretical outcome data related to probability of winning/losing any given hand and then factoring in the number of hands played. Preferably this device is polled by a database system to collect this information. In a preferred embodiment, the device could be utilized with an automatic tracking and information management system.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,936 (Bennett et al.) describes an automated gaming table tracking system for a gaming table, such as blackjack. A sensor located in the dealer's card playing area senses the start and end of each game. A unique player identity card is given to each player that contains information on the player. When a player arrives at a player position on the table, the player inserts his player identity card into a player station control at the player position. A central distribution control is connected to each player station control for determining the start and the end of each game and beginning and termination of play by each player at each position. A host computer is then interconnected to the central distribution control for storing the player identity information and the player position for each player station control, the start and end of each of the games, and the beginning and termination of play at each player position from the central distribution control. The host computer prints a player tracking card. The floor supervisor observes the player during the game and fills out the in-session gaming information. Once the player leaves the table, the player tracking card with the in-session gaming information filled out is then placed in an automatic reader so that the read in-session gaming information is stored in a data base corresponding to the identity of the player.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,735,742 (French) describes a fully automated accounting system that automatically monitors and records all gaming chip transactions in a casino. The system employs a gaming chip having a transponder embedded therein and has an ongoing and “on-command” ability to provide an instantaneous inventory of all of the gaming chips in the casino, including those in storage in the vault as well as the chips in the cashier's cage and at each gaming table on the casino floor. The system is capable of reporting the total value of the gaming chips at any location, as well as the value of any particular transaction at any gaming table or at the cashier's cage. Optionally, the transaction history of each chip may be maintained in a data base embedded in the chip (or alternatively in a central computer), and read each time the gaming chip is scanned by a special antenna. If the chip is not where it is supposed to be according to its recorded transactional history (for example, a vault chip shows up on a gaming table without having passed through the cashiers cage), it will be identified and may be invalidated by nullifying a special casino security code.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,314,700 (Dylag) describes apparatus for preventing card-counting in blackjack games. The apparatus includes one or more shields on a playing table which obstruct each player's view of at least one other player's cards, without obstructing each player's view of the dealer's cards or the dealer's view of any of the cards. One or more shields may be used. They may be fixed to the table, or they may be portable so that the dealer may move them during the game if he or she wishes. Portable shields may be supported by legs, or may be inserted in grooves in the table. Each shield is a thin sheet of opaque material which stands generally vertical with respect to the table. The plane defined by the shield generally passes through the dealer's line of sight so that the dealer's view of the players' cards, and each player's view of the dealer's cards, is not obstructed. However, each player's view of at least one other player's cards is obstructed so that none of the players may count cards. A checker vantage point is provided over the table from which a checker may view the dealer's card and each of the player's cards.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,112,181 (Shear et al.) describes a process of analysis that can be used, among other things, for designing optimal strategies for blackjack, including a method for narrowcasting selected digital information involving a plurality of first appliances and a second appliance, the plurality of first appliances each being located remotely from the second appliance, the second appliance and at least one of the first appliances including a secure node used to process rights management information, including: (a) at the second appliance, securely receiving from plural of the first appliances user rights management information associated with plural users and processing the received user rights management information in the second appliance's secure node; (b) using the received user rights management information in a process of creating a user class hierarchy; (c) assigning a user to a user class defined by the user class hierarchy, the assignment based at least in part on the received user rights management information; (d) associating digital rights management information with digital information; (e) defining a digital information class hierarchy at least in part based on the digital rights management information; (f) assigning the digital information to a digital information class defined by the digital information class hierarchy, the assignment based at least in part on the digital rights management information; (g) matching the digital information class with the user class, the matching based at least in part on rights management information; (h) selecting the digital information; (i) selecting the user; and (j) sending the digital information and associated rights management information to the user.
Numerous patents provide physical systems, cards and the like, for training players to play with skill, as in U.S. Pat. No. 5,895,048. This Patent provides combination cards for learning and practicing blackjack and blackjack strategy systems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,326 describes the use of flash cards for teaching and practicing blackjack. The systems only marginally monitor optimal strategy by informing a player when they are correctly exercising optimal strategy. They do not maintain records and compare a level of optimal strategy for any goal other then teaching.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,619,662 (Miller) describes a wager sensor which is employed on the underside of a gaming table surface. The sensor identifies when a wager has been placed on the top surface above the sensor and communicates a signal of this occurrence to a controlling computer which monitors the flow of the game. Ideally a number of tables are equipped with the sensors and a single controlling computer is then able to monitor the operation of the entire assembly.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,517 (Beavers) describes a table game position monitoring system. The system includes a position sensing system that generates position data, such as the positions of one or more players and the value of cards, dice, roulette wheels, or other game implements. A wager system generates wager data, such as the wager placed by each player at each position. A payout system receives the position data and the wager data and generates payout data, such as by using the position data to determine the outcome of the table game and the wager data to determine the payout data based on the outcome of the table game.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,896,614; 6,805,628; 6,217,447; and U.S. Patent Application No. 20040082372; (Romero) variously disclose a gaming assembly to play a variation of the game of baccarat. The gaming assembly includes a computer processor assembly, a display assembly and a user actuatable selector assembly. The computer processor assembly generates a player's hand and a banker's hand in accordance with rules of baccarat, one of those hands being designated the user's hand, and subsequently determines a winning hand in accordance with the rules of baccarat, designating the user as a winner if the user's hand is also the wining hand. Additionally, the computer processor assembly monitors consecutive ones of the user's hands and indicates a bonus payout to the user in the event that consecutive ones of the user's hands have a final number count equal to a natural nine, and during game play may allow one of the initial cards that comprise the player's hand or the banker's hand to be discarded in exchange for a new card to complete the initial hand.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,217,447 (Lofink) describes a method and system for generating displays related to the play of Baccarat. Cards dealt to each of the Banker's and Player's hands are identified as by scanning and data signals are generated. The card identification data signals are processed to determine the outcome of the hand. Displays in various formats to be used by bettors are created from the processed identification signals including the cards of the hand played, historical records of outcomes and the like. The display can also show bettors expected outcomes and historical bests. Bettors can refer to the display in making betting decisions.
Published U.S. Patent Application 20030069054 (D'Aurora et al.) discloses a gaming simulation program providing for user selection of gaming and betting strategies. Games which may be simulated by the disclosed invention include war, blackjack, poker, keno, baccarat, etc. The program includes a gaming module and a simulation module. The gaming module allows the user to input a gaming strategy, a betting strategy, a playing mode, a number of iterations of the simulation and a speed of the simulations. The playing modes include single hand mode, automatic mode and session mode. The simulation module executes the simulation of the number of game iterations provided by the user to the gaming module. The gaming program may also include a statistics module which compiles and displays statistics of a game during and at the conclusion of a simulation.
Published U.S. Patent Application 20050062227 (Grauzer et al.) describes 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 cards 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. The specification also states that: “The central database merely organizes the data in a manner that allows for easy access by external computers or another application program residing on the same computer as the database. The data may be analyzed and used to make decisions about whether there is cheating and or dealer collusion, awarding redeemable points and free rooms to players, etc., scheduling pit labor, promoting pit personnel, closing and opening tables, determining optimal betting limits for given periods of time and other important managerial functions.”
Published U.S. Patent Application 20050164761 (Tain) describes a method for managing a card game supported by a poker dealing device, a central management unit, and a computerized-information-processing center. The method includes the following steps: (a) Read the playing card that is being dispensed from the poker dealing device to generate a card signal representing a card value of the playing card in such a manner that the other playing cards, which have not been dispensed from the poker dealing device, remain in secret. (b) Send the card signal to the central management unit by means of remote communication. (c) Receive the card signal with a signal receiving link of the central management unit. (d) Process the card signal to record the card values of the playing cards that have been dispensed from the poker dealing device with the central management unit, such that the central management unit is capable of tracking the card values of each hand for a card game, thereby reducing a risking of cheating with reference to the recorded card values.
Each of the Applications and Patents described herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety to assist in providing technology, apparatus and systems that may be used within the description of technology elsewhere provided herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system, method and apparatus to collect data from a casino table game of baccarat for wagering pattern analysis is described. The data includes at least player identification (e.g., player position and time in and out, and/or individual player complete identification and time in and out), game event history (e.g., Dealer and Player hand statistics and wins on each hand; hand values; first card dealt values), and wagering history associated with the identified player (e.g., how much was wagered on each hand; whether a Player bet, Bank bet or Tie bet was wagered; and which player or players made the bets). The data is at least temporarily stored and an analysis of the betting patterns is made based on whether the patterns indicate wagering variance based upon apparent knowledge or correlating to coincidence of valued first cards dealt from the baccarat shoe.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a table system according to the present technology.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The basic play of the casino table card game of Baccarat is relatively simple and relatively inflexible. The player may feel comfortable relying solely upon the luck of the draw or his/her own luck in playing the game, as opposed to feeling that, as in some other casino games, there is a level of skill needed that is intimidating to the player. Those rules are summarized below. Even with little variation in the rules being tolerated, these are merely general rules are not limiting in the scope of the technology practiced according to the disclosure provided herein.
Baccarat or “Punto Banco” is usually played in a separate casino area. The playing table is about the size of a craps table with three casino dealers and up to 12 or 14 players. There are just two principal bets to make: banker or player—Banco or Punto (the Bank or dealer and the Player), plus the rarely placed Tie bet. Some casinos let the players deal the cards in turn and others have a casino dealer deal the cards. In online Baccarat, the cards are dealt automatically by a virtual dealer.
Each player, including the player dealing, may bet on either Punto or Banco but it is customary for the player dealing the game to bet on Banco. Players may opt not to deal, passing the ‘Shoe’ to the next player. The shoe remains with one player as long as the Bank wins. If Punto wins, the shoe passes on to the next player.
Two hands are dealt and you bet which one will win, or that they will tie. The bets are made before any one of the cards in either hand is displayed. It is just like betting on Black or Red at roulette, and the payoff is even money, 1:1 (except for the Tie, which pays 8-1 or 9-1). The only difference between the Banco and Punto bet is a win on Banco will cost the player a 5% commission or tax levied by the casino—the built-in advantage.
Each hand consists of a minimum of two and a maximum of three cards. The person dealing will put two cards, face down, tucked under the shoe, and give the player with the largest bet on Punto the other two cards, face down.
The Punto player then looks at the cards and gives them back to the player who is dealing. Then the player who is dealing will turn over the cards of both hands while one of the casino dealers will announce the results and the winner.
If either hand has a total of 8 or 9 (nine is the highest), then it is called a ‘Natural’ and no more cards are dealt. If it is not a natural, then depending on the value of each hand the casino dealer may instruct the card dealer to deal a third card. The decision of when to deal a third card follows precise set rules used by all casinos.
Once dealing is completed, the hand with the highest count (9 being the highest possible count, with first digits in two-digit totals being dropped, such as an 18 becoming a count of 8) wins. The casino's dealer will collect the losing bets first and then pay the winning ones. The player who actually deals the cards is not responsible for the payouts. He is just like any other player, playing against the casino.
RULES Baccarat is played from a six-deck or an eight-deck shoe. All face cards and 10's have no value. Cards less than 10 are counted at face value, Aces are worth 1. Suits don't matter. Only single digit values are valid. Any count that reaches a double digit drops the left digit. 15 are counted as 5 and 25 is also counted as 5.
To start, the players bet either on Banco or Punto or Tie. The card dealer gives two cards each; first to the player and then the banker. The object of the game is to bet on the hand that you think will have the highest total value.
A third card may be dealt to either or both the player (Punto) and the bank (Banco) based on the following three-card-rules. It is not necessary to learn these rules to play, they are compulsory decisions and therefore automatic. The rules for third-card drawing are:
Player's Third-Card-Rule
If either the player or the bank have a total of 8 or 9 on the first two cards no further cards are drawn. The resulting hand is called a natural and the hand is over.
If the player's total is less than or equal to 5 the player's hand draws a third card.
If the player does not draw a third card, then the bank's hand stands on 6 or more and takes a third card on a total of 5 or less.
If the player does take a third card then the Bank's third-card-rule below will determine if the bank takes a third card.
Bank's Third-Card-Rule
If the bank's total is 2 or less then bank draws a card, regardless of what the player's third card is.
If the banks total is 3 then the bank draws a third card unless the players third card was an 8.
If the banks total is 4 then the bank draws a third card unless the players third card was a 0, 1, 8, or 9.
If the banks total is 5 then the bank draws a third card if the players third card was 4, 5, 6, or 7.
If the banks total is 6 then the bank draws a third card if the players third card was a 6 or 7.
If the banks total is 7 then the bank stands.
House Advantage (6 Decks)
Banker (Banco) 1.17%
Player (Punto) 1.36%
Tie (Tie) 14.12% at 8:1 payout
House Advantage (8 Decks)
Banker (Banco) 1.06%
Player (Punto) 1.24%
Tie (Tie) 14.36% at 8:1 payout
The play of baccarat has been evaluated extensively, and the statistical and/or probabilistic likelihood of outcome has been thoroughly and repeatedly investigated and published (e.g., “The Effects of ‘Marked Cards’ in a Baccarat Game,” supra). The implication of this analysis is that with knowledge of only the first card out of a shoe, a player will have pre-knowledge of the statistical events (winning or losing) for the hand that the known first card will be used in, usually the player's hand. In effect, with knowledge of the first card out of the shoe, the player will know the exact statistical advantage of the dealer's hand, the player's hand and tie events. Based on this information, the player can adjust wagers in advance of the first card being dealt and exposed (which is the way wagers are placed in baccarat), thus maximizing the likelihood of a winning session at baccarat.
It is important to note that knowledge of the first card out of the shoe is important, not only when the first card out of a shoe is a potential natural card (e.g., 8 or 9), with a 0 value card with it but for any value of card. The actual statistical advantage will be higher (wagering on the player hand) with such natural cards and with a 7 as the first card, but conversely, the knowledge of a 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 also provides the player with useful information as to whether to place a large wager on the Bank hand or Ties with higher frequency (when a 0 value card is first out of the shoe) or to reduce or minimize the amount of the wager based upon expectation of a narrower or smaller knowledge of the probability of a specific hand winning.
Analysis of the correspondence of single player wagers and/or multiple player wagers and their relationship to the absolute number of wagers placed “accurately” on a hand (dependent of the first card out of the shoe and/or a weighted analysis of that correspondence based on the size of wagers “accurately” placed on a hand on the basis of the first card out of the shoe) may be used to indicate or imply knowledge of the first card out of the shoe.
The analysis is performed by a computerized system that collects the necessary information (e.g., at least the rank of the first card out of the shoe and the location of the bet placement for a particular player and/or group of players; and preferably also the size of the wager made by each individual player and/or group of players) and analyzes the collected information to determine any significant statistical deviation from a random placement of bets according to the statistical benefit of knowing the value of the first card.
The devices and methods of the present invention can be used to detect a variety of tactics used by players who use first card pre-knowledge.
Some players only bet on hands that are likely to win, and pass on betting on hands that are less likely to produce a winning outcome. Statistical detection of players who only place bets when the first card out is a 0, 1 (betting on the banker) or 8,9 (betting on the player) are the easiest to detect.
Other players will increase a bet when the first card is favorable to a hand (i.e. 0, 1, 8, 9), but bets much less on other hands.
More covert methods include a player playing only one hand (i.e., the player hand), and betting larger amounts on hands that favor the player hand and minimal amounts when the first card favors the banker hand.
The statistical deviation analysis may be based upon an analysis of wagering statistics based on all first cards out of the shoe or for groups or sets of ranks of first cards coming out of the shoe. For example, if a cheater were attempting to mask knowledge of the first card out of the shoe, this could be most effectively done against a system wherein all wagers (without consideration of the amount of the wagers) on all card ranks are considered in the following manner. If the analysis were to detect deviation from the random numbers of wagers placed on a dealer's hand and player's hand based on the overall statistical advantage of the first card out of the shoe (overall also considering any fee paid for the wager on the Bank hand) and does not consider the amounts of wagers being placed, a masking technique could be constructed as follows. Players seeing or knowing ranks of first cards out of the shoe with the highest statistical indicating value of an advantage to one hand or the other (e.g., a player's first card of a 0, 1 or 2 having a high statistical advantage for a Bank win, and a 7, 8 or 9 having a high statistical advantage for a player win) would bet relatively high amounts on the statistically advantaged hand when the probability of an advantage is highest. Players would then mask the overall “accuracy” of the placement of the wagers by placing smaller wagers on the hands with the lower probability of being winning hands. Those hands will be winning hands at a statistically higher rate than wagers placed against hands with higher probabilities of being winners. In this way, the deviation from random placement of wagers on hands with knowledge of first card advantages will be minimized, yet the amount won will in the long run will still exceed winning of wagers on hands that were truly placed randomly and by guessing winners.
For the above reasons, there may be a need for more than a single type of advantage detection technique to be used, either at specific tables or at the same time. The cost of the software would also be a consideration, as the analyses are more complex when the amount of the wager, the absolute statistical wagering probability, and the wagering activity on specific groups of first cards are to be considered in the analysis performed with the various software.
Thus, multiple types of software can be provided to effect different levels of analysis of the wagering statistics to provide evidence of cheating in baccarat, especially First Card Advantage (FCA) cheating. This is desirable as each type of software offers at least some type of advantage to the casino, while others may provide greater advantage. Additionally, some software (if not all of the software) may be used for real time cheat detection. The real time attribute is rationally limited, for example, in that no software can provide definitive evidence of FCA cheating with a single wager. It is only when a series of wagers is indicative of a statistical deviation from random wagering that the evidence also becomes significant. Consider the situation where an individual starts play at a baccarat table and has a means of obtaining First Card Advantage knowledge, with each wager being analyzed and recorded. 1) Based on this knowledge, the player's first wager is accurately placed. This event would occur approximately 50% of the time, so this first event is statistically insignificant. 2) Based on this knowledge, the player's second wager is accurately placed. This event would occur approximately 25% of the time, so this first and second event is still statistically insignificant, even though it has a higher probative value of FCA.

The following tables show player advantages based on Baccarat First Card Data available from a variety of identified sources.



1^stCard	Player Results	Bank Results	P Advantage	B Advantage

0	−0.024608	0.016989	−8.00%*	5.52%*
1	−0.006024	0.004125	−7.83%	5.36%
2	−0.005665	0.003777	−7.36%	4.91%
3	−0.005166	0.003293	−6.72%	4.28%
4	−0.004326	0.002482	−5.62%	3.23%
5	−0.002671	0.000871	−3.47%	1.13%
6	0.000582	−0.002284	0.76%	−2.97%
7	0.005665	−0.00724	7.36%	−9.41%
8	0.013303	−0.014708	17.29%	−19.12%
9	0.01656	−0.017884	21.53%	−23.25%

*Reported in the literature as occurring 4× more often but figures are normalized because there are 4× as many 10 value cards in the deck.

In Version 2.1 of the BFC Rules Program, 2006 (e.g., referred to below as the Leslie Advantage) and as reported by two other researchers, Kilby (1996) and Whiting (1997), the statistical dealer advantages were shown and are compared below with the statistical advantage determined by Joseph with First Card Advantage knowledge.

FIRST CARD ADVANTAGE COMPARISON

1^stCard	Leslie Adv.	Kilby Adv.	Whiting Adv.	Joseph Adv.

0	5.52%	5.52%	5.59%	10.77%
1	5.36%	5.36%	5.29%	9.63%
2	4.91%	4.91%	4.80%	8.68%
3	4.28%	4.289	4.14%	7.61%
4	3.23%	3.23%	2.87%	5.50%
5	1.13%	1.13%	1.20%	3.28%
6	0.76%	0.76%	0.68%	2.24%
7	7.36%	7.37%	7.22%	10.12%
8	17.29%	17.29%	17.21%	22.87%
9	21.53%	21.53%	21.49%	27.16%

As can be readily seen from these comparisons, First Card Advantage knowledge can significantly shift player advantage by appropriately placing wagers on the more advantaged position (Player versus Banker).

The system, method and apparatus described herein is intended for detecting a particular type of cheating in Baccarat termed “First Card Advantage (FCA).” If the player has the knowledge of the rank of the first card, and knowing this first card always goes into the player hand, the cheating player can bet on the player hand when the card value favors the player winning, or can bet on the banker hand if the first card is unfavorable to the player hand. The system uses a card rank reader, a position detector at each player station, a processor and software that correlates player hand selection and betting amounts with the rank of the first card dealt. The player position information may be correlated with player I.D. information either collected from a player tracking system, for example.
The basic content of the cheating method revolves around the fact that knowledge of the actual rank (suit is unimportant) of a first card out of a shoe and its intended location (banker/dealer hand or player hand) can assist players in predicting likely outcomes of the hand, or at least provide knowledge that is valuable in statistically assessing potential outcomes in that hand of baccarat.
With knowledge or pre-knowledge of first cards out of the shoe, the knowledgeable player would be likely make a Player wager of an increased amount on hands with a decided Player bet advantage, such as by way of a non-limiting example when the initial card is an 8 or 9. The knowledgeable player may make a Banker wager of an increased amount on hands with a decided banker bet advantage, such as when an initial card out of the shoe is a low ranking card, such as a 0, 1 or 2. Similarly, initial cards out of the shoe being a value of 7, 6, 5, 4 or 3 are wagered upon more moderately by a player.
The system of the invention therefore collects data and evaluates player wagering history, along with subsequent knowledge of the initial cards to determine if a pattern of betting indicates that a player was wagering with a high degree of knowledge of the count of a first card out of the dealer's shoe. This system would therefore be implemented as follows.
Card Reader
A component or system must be provided that can read at least the numerical count or value of a first card out of a dealer's shoe in the play of a round of the game of baccarat. The count (i.e. the numerical value of the card) may be taken in a wide variety of ways. For example, sensors or cameras may be placed in the shoe or shuffling device providing cards to the game. A card reading sensor may be positioned in the table and/or may be read by an overhead or field of view camera at the table. Such a reading may be done at various times. For example, cards may be read before the card is delivered. A shuffler that reads cards or a card reading shoe would read cards internally before cards are delivered. Cards may be read as the cards are removed from the shuffler or shoe, for example, by a reading element in the delivery end of the shoe, at the tip of the shoe, or adjacent the delivery end of the shoe. Cards may be read as they are moved away from the shoe or when a first card out of the shoe is placed face down in the appropriate first card out of the shoe position. Cards may be read on the table, for example at a player position when the card is face down, or when the card is revealed during play at the first card out of the shoe position.
The reading may be done by any format of information gathering that is known, such as symbol reading, cameras, code reading (with codes on cards that are read by any method), dealer or observer input (e.g., the dealer visually reading a card and inputting data) and the like. The component is needed to provide information that is transmitted to at least a data storage base or other memory storage for real time or later time evaluation and analysis. The import of the data is to associate a specific count for a first card out of the shoe with a particular round of play for that first card out of the shoe. It is likely that the data of the first card count will be associated with or identified with a round of play identifier that may include at least some information such as Casino name, table number, date, time, hand number, dealer ID, and player ID. The first card count is also associated with a hand assignment such as the player hand or the banker hand.
Once the first card out of the shoe (for a particular round of play) has been identified and associated with a round of play and table and/or particular hand and/or player, that information must be transmitted at least to temporary storage, either by hardwired transmission or wireless transmission to the memory storage element. This transmission may be in real time, in packets for each round of play, or sent as a set of date at intervals from the table or from the pit. The transmission may be raw signals, translated signals, raw data or final data, as long as it is able to be stored with a content sufficient for the purposes of the practice of this technology. In this regard, proprietary technology of the assignee as described in Published US Patent Applications 20050288083; 20050012270; 20050026682; 20050051955; 20050062227; 20050073102; 20050082750; 20050282622; 20050288083; and 20050288085 are incorporated herein by reference to support the technical practice of the technology described herein.
The bets may also be sensed, valued, measured and information, data and signals there from, forwarded to the data storage, memory or active processor. The initial signals or data may be generated by any of the known sensing or measuring systems that have been contemplated by the gaming industry, much of which is disclosed in the applications and patents identified herein and which have been incorporated by reference. Among the systems that can be used are image capture systems, edge reading systems, magnetic strip reading systems, RFID chip reading systems, weighing of chips, code reading on chips (especially edge coding), color discrimination of chips, IR responsive reading of chips, and any other system that can provide data about the value of a wager at a specific position. Systems have been proposed and described that can actively follow the location of individual chips and associate those individual chips uniquely with individual players. Any such system can be used in the practice of the present technology. Even visual observation of wagering amounts and manual input by observers can be used in this feature of the technology, although automated wager reading systems are preferred.
FIG. 1 shows a casino table 2 with the system implemented thereon. A shuffler 4 is shown, along with a player hand position 6, 8 a dealer hand position 10 and 12, with the first card dealt being to position 6, a dealing shoe 3, and three player wagering positions 20, 22 and 24 with two wagering positions at each player wagering position, for wagers on the player's hand 6, 8 or the dealer's hand 10 and 12. The sensors, readers, cameras, etc. associated with the generation of signals and creation of data or information are shown sending signals to database 30 and from database 30 to main processor 32. The database 30 and main processor 32 may be local or accessible via a network connection (not shown). It is to be remembered that this is only one of a number of embodiments described and enabled herein and the FIG. 1 should not be interpreted as limiting the generic scope of the technology described and enabled herein.
The identification of individual player positions, and associating wagers and amounts of wagers with player positions is also disclosed within the technology incorporated herein and known to the industry. This can be assisted by biometric information taken from the player, player ID cards, player ID's associated with purchased and identifiable/traceable chips, surveillance input from cameras or live personnel in the casino pits or any other method of providing the information so that it is associated with the identity of the players making the wagers, or at least the location/position of players making the wagers, which information may be later enhanced for specific and more complete player identification at a later time.
The information should be evaluated with at least some of the following sets of data as a basis for analysis of “first card knowledge” cheating:

- Player Position (PP), Round identification for Baccarat (RI), Wager Amount (WA), Hand Wagered on (HW), count of first card (CF), and location in hand of first card (LH).
  This information set of PP-RI-WA-HW-CF-LH is a composite or collective piece of data (CPD) that may be used for the analysis necessary for identification of a wagering pattern indicative of undesirable or even criminal activity. When this information is stored in the database, its content can be used for the comparison. Either a general and continuing review of the data by a processor 32 may be used to identify the existence of a problem, or triggering events based on partial analysis may be used to initiate a review of a specific table or specific player.

For example, if a player at a table shows erratic variations in wagering patterns, such as 1×, 3× and 10× at other times, the variations may be sufficient to trigger a review. If the first card dealt was a card of significant count (e.g., 0 or 1, with the player wagering on the Bank hand, or 8 and 9 and the player wagering on the Player hand), more detailed screening and review of the wagering at that position may be undertaken. More likely, a continual review of all wagering events at each player position may be investigated. Team playing analysis, later described may also be undertaken.
The basis of the analysis is as follows. Successful use of first-card out advantage (FCA) is most successful when the selection of the wager type (Player versus Bank) is based upon that knowledge. This can be tracked in a number of different ways. It is first understood that the system provides data in the form of the value of the first card out in each hand. Analysis may be based only upon sets of count cards in the first card, that is a set may be 9 only, 0 only, 8 and 9, 9 and 0, 8, 9 and 0, 9, 0 and 1, 8, 9, 0 and 1, and the like. A processor accessing this information may analyze the information associated with data relating to only wagers within the selected set. The analysis will operate on the basis of the following type of operation of software:

Look at Round #

Is first card within set?

Ignore if not in set

Proceed to next step if in set

Was wager placed on strategic hand?

Ignore if not made on strategic hand

Proceed to next step if made on strategic hand

What was statistical variance of this wager versus wager on first

cards outside set?

If statistical variation insignificant, ignore

If statistical variation significant, alarm and further

analysis of wagers of this player/position.

This is the evaluation of the wagering play on a single hand after at least a few hands have been played at a table by a single player. The need for data on multiple hands is apparent as a single player may sit at a table and make a single large and fortunate wager, without any FCA knowledge. It is the statistical and collective event situation that the casino is interested in, which could be indicative of illegal and undesirable activity.

For example, look at the following wagering pattern of two players at a single table and statistical pattern implying FCA can be seen at one position. B represents a banker hand wager and P represents a player hand wager. F represents the count of the first card out.



	PLAYER 1		PLAYER 2

Wager				Wager
Amount	Hand Played	F	Hand Played	Amount

$10	B	8 P	P	$100
$10	B	6 P	P	$10
$20	P	0 B	P	$100
$20	B	5 B	B	$10
$10	P	9 P	P	$100
$20	B	7 B	B	$30
$30	P	1 B	P	$100
$30	P	4 P	B	$10
$10	B	8 B	B	$100
$20	B	2 B	P	$20

A review of the betting patterns, by visual observation and objective analysis shows that Player 1 made some good bets and some bad bets, while Player 2 made wagers that were extraordinarily optimal wagers on each hand, with wagers required on each hand. Not only were the wagers optimal on hand selection, but also the variation in the amounts of the wagers was uniformly designed to take advantage of the assumed knowledge of the first card out and the location of that first card. Not only were the wagers generally properly placed, but the variation in the amount of a wager on the proper hands maximized the opportunity for profit. This data pattern for a single player would be readily evaluated by software looking for such statistical patterns of best position wagers coupled with best variation of wagers on hands.

It is to be expected that players, even with foreknowledge of the first card out would vary their wagers to avoid such ready detection, even betting against the favored position, usually with a reduced value wager, to fend off automated analysis of wagering patterns. For example, the analysis software and system may review groups of wagers (e.g., sets of ten wagers) and look at patterns over different ranges, as part of the automated program. The system may evaluate sets of wagers, (i.e., as large as 100 or more) and emphasize only statistically anomalous wagers. For example, if in 100 wagers, 25 wagers were statistically greater than others (the degree being set in the software, such as 3×, 4×, 5×, etc. with regard to the lowest wager or the average wager), and a statistically significant proportion of those wagers (e.g., all 25, at least 24, at least 23, at least 22, at least 21, or at least 20, for example) were optimally wagered, this would again be indicative of FCA knowledge. It is unlikely that wagers on a 50/50 event would be wagered at an optimal rate exceeding 80/20 or more over an extended period of time, especially when there is a multiplied wager amount associated with that optimal wager. The software would identify this anomalous pattern and an alert or flag would result from the data, most likely going to security, to the pit, to record keeping, to the host facility, or the like. The player would be identified and the potential source of the FCA would be sought.
First-card Out Pre-knowledge or advantage (FCA) can occur from a number of different causes. A player may be in collusion with a dealer (who may have access to card identification by control of the shuffling), the player may have marked cards, the dealer may be purposely exposing cards before cards are dealt from the shoe, the cards may be pre-stacked with the order of cards known to the player or dealer in collusion with a player, and the like.
As noted, the analysis may be done on a real time basis, that is, information from hands is immediately fed to a processor and the comparison of wagering variations tied to the count of first cards is made, or the analyses may be made over statistically significant time periods and over statistically meaningful numbers of hands. The analysis may be made by a processor at the table (with the appropriate software or hardware therein), in the pit, in a security area or at a central processor area.
One methodology of practicing the technology described herein is a method of detecting irregular play in the game of baccarat. The method may comprise each player electing to make a wager on one of the player hand, banker hand or a tie hand. The system provides information on and detects each player election. The system collects information on and detects at least a wager presence or preferably a wager presence and wager amount made by a player on one of a Player hand and a Banker hand. The system records the wager amount and associates that wager amount with a specific player or player position. The table ordinarily deals a first card in a round to the Player hand. Alternatively, the first card could be dealt to the Banker hand, without changing the underlying game or the First card Advantage issues discussed herein. The system detects and stores a rank of the first card dealt in the round. The system then compares player hand elections and wager amounts to stored data relating to player hand elections, wager amounts and first card out counts. Based on the stored data, the system determines whether the player may have or appears to have obtained unfair advantage by knowing the rank of the first card dealt and wagering in a manner to optimize that advantage.
The step of detecting each player's election may be accomplished by the detection of a wagering chip, especially one having a known value, on a location on the table that is assigned for receiving a wager or bet on the player hand or the banker hand. The player wagering location and wagering amount may be simultaneously or sequentially detected and transmitted. The player election, the sensing of the count of a first card and/or the wager amount may be effected or detected prior to a card being dealt or prior to a card being exposed. Data is stored to enable a comparison of statistical events, such as the statistical rate of a player wagering on a player hand or banker hand and the relationship of those wagers to the count of the first card out of the dealer's shoe delivered to the player's hand and/or the banker's hand. The stored data should correlate or enable correlation of at least information relating to a player's hand election with a rank of a first card dealt and the location in the player's hand or the dealer's hand of that first card dealt.
The methods may be practiced on apparatus and systems for detecting unfair player advantage in a game of baccarat that may, for example, include: a card count (which may be provided by reading rank) reader; a sensor for sensing at least a presence of a wager and preferably a value for the wager; a player hand election identifier; a player position identifier; and a processor programmed to analyze, compare, evaluate, categorize, and/or correlate player elections and at least one wager made with that election with stored data, wherein the processor performs an analysis to identify player wagering patterns or events that are indicative of prior knowledge of a first card dealt. The card count or rank, as previously noted, may be read at any stage in the play of the game by any device that can provide signals or data that can ultimately be stored as indicative of the card count or rank, in a shuffler, before insertion into a shoe, in the shoe, as it leaves the shoe, after it has left the shoe and before being exposed and after being exposed. Similarly and as previously described, the chip and wager value may be read by any available technology at any appropriate time during the gaming event in any manner that provides a signal or data that can ultimately be stored as identifying the amount of a wager in a gaming event. A preferred wager-reading system would comprise a gaming table with a first RFID antenna embedded in a player wager location and a second RFID antenna embedded in a banker wager location. Optionally, a third RFID antenna could be provided to record wagers on ties.
The location of the various reading, sensing, transmitting, storage, memory, and processing components may vary according to the design and choices of the manufacturer and user. For example, the memory for storing information relating to wager amounts may be in the shuffler, the dealing shoe, the game controller, a local processor or a central processor. The processor and/or memory may be located within a card-reading shoe, within a local computer, within a network computer, within a card-reading shoe, within a local computer, and/or within a network computer, and the memory may be accessible via a network connection, a hard wired line, wireless line, through nodes or any other communication line or link. The information relating to card count or rank, wagers and player hand election may be delivered via a network connection to a network database that can be accessed by a processor.

Claims

1. A method of providing information from which analysis may infer a mode of play in baccarat comprising:

providing first information on at least the presence of a wager made by a player in the play of a round of baccarat;

providing second information on which of a player hand and a dealer hand are made by the wager in the play of the round of baccarat;

providing third information on a count of a first card delivered in the play of the round of baccarat; and

the first information, second information and third information being provided to a database, and storing the first information, second information and third information in a database.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein fourth information on whether a wager was placed on a tie event is provided.

3. A method of analyzing information from which inference of a mode of play in baccarat may be developed, the method comprising:

providing first information on a wager made by a player in the play of a round of baccarat;

providing third information on a count of a first card delivered in the play of the round of baccarat;

the first information, second information and third information being provided to a database;

storing the first information, second information and third information in the database;

comparing information obtained over multiple hands with respect to wagers placed on hands with or hands without the first card delivered to determine percentage of wagers placed on hands in relationship to the count of the first card delivered.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the comparing information includes a weighted comparison based upon an amount of the wager.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein comparing information comprises weighted analysis based on wagers made on cards having counts of at least one of 0, 1, 8 and 9.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein comparing information comprises weighted analysis based on wagers made on cards having counts of 0, 1, 8 and 9.

7. The method of claim 3 wherein first information, second information and third information from a round of baccarat is compared in real time to stored data for the player from previous hands.

8. The method of claim 3 wherein first information, second information and third information from a round of baccarat is compared periodically to stored data for the player from previous hands.

9. The method of claim 3 wherein fourth information on whether a wager was placed on a tie event is provided.

10. A method of automatically inferring a statistically improbable mode of play in baccarat comprising:

a player electing to make a wager on at least one of the player hand and a banker hand;

detecting the player election;

detecting at least a wager amount made by the player on one of a player hand and a banker hand;

recording the wager amount;

dealing a first card in a round of baccarat;

detecting a count of the first card dealt in the round of baccarat;

comparing player hand elections and wager amounts to stored data of that player's past hand elections and wager amounts made on those hand elections; and

based on the comparing, inferring from the comparing a level of wagering events implying knowledge by the play of the count of the first card dealt.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of detecting the player election is accomplished by detecting a location of a wagering chip on a location assigned for receiving a bet on the player hand or a bet on the banker hand.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the player election and wager amounts are simultaneously detected.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the player election is detected prior to a first card being dealt.

14. The method of claim 10, wherein each wager amount is detected prior to the first card being dealt.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of detecting a count of the first card occurs prior to dealing the first card in a round.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein the stored data contains information relating to the statistical rate of occurrence of a player wagering on a player hand or banker hand according to the count of the first card dealt.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein the stored data associates at least information relating to a player's hand election with a rank of a first card dealt.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the stored data associates at least information relating to the player's hand election and rank of the first card dealt to wager amounts.

19. A system for detecting unfair player advantage in a game of baccarat, including:

a card count reader;

a sensor for sensing at least a presence of a wager;

a player hand election identifier;

a database storing first information on player elections and wager presence for a player;

a processor programmed to correlate player elections and at least wager presence with stored first information,

wherein the processor infers that a player is likely to have prior knowledge of a first card dealt from an analysis of the first information.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the card count reader is incorporated into a dealing shoe.

21. The system of claim 19, wherein the card count reader is incorporated into a card shuffler.

22. The system of claim 19, wherein the sensor senses both the presence and amount of a wager.

23. The system of claim 22, wherein the sensor is an RFID sensor or camera.

24. The system of claim 19, and further comprising a gaming table with at least one RFID antenna embedded in a wager location.

25. The system of claim 20, wherein the dealing shoe includes mechanical components capable of moving cards past the card rank reader.

26. The system of claim 20, wherein the dealing shoe has no card moving mechanics.

27. The system of claim 21, wherein the card count reader comprises a CMOS sensor.

28. The system of claim 21 wherein the card rank reader comprises a CIS line sensor.

29. The system of claim 19 further comprising memory for storing information relating to player elections.

30. The system of claim 19 further comprising memory for storing information relating to wager amounts.

31. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is located within a card-reading shoe.

32. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is located within a local computer.

33. The system of claim 19, wherein the processor is located within a network computer.

34. The system of claim 30, wherein the memory is located within a card-reading shoe.

35. The system of claim 30, wherein the memory is located within a local computer.

36. The system of claim 30, wherein the memory is located within a network computer.

37. The system of claim 30, wherein the memory is accessible via a network connection.

38. The system of claim 19, wherein information relating to card rank, wagers and player hand election is delivered via a network connection to a network database.

39. The system of claim 22, wherein the card count reader comprises a CMOS sensor.

40. The system of claim 22 wherein the card rank reader comprises a CIS line sensor.

41. A method of detecting wagering in the game of baccarat indicative of improper knowledge, comprising:

At least one player electing to make a wager on a player hand or a banker hand;

detecting each player election;

detecting a wager amount made by the at least one player on one of the player hand and the banker hand;

recording the wager amount;

dealing a first card in a round of play of baccarat;

detecting a rank of the first card dealt in the round;

comparing the at least one player hand elections and wager amounts to stored data relating to a set of rounds of play of baccarat for the at least one player; and

based on comparison of the stored data, indicating a likelihood that the at least one player has wagered in a manner implying knowledge of the rank of the first card dealt.