by way of one example of many to serve as background in understanding the present invention , fig1 a and 1b show a flow chart of how the game as set forth in the present invention is to be played . the game begins by having at least one player place a wager on a traditional blackjack game with the option of placing a second wager on the total value of the player &# 39 ; s hand as it is being dealt . in another form of the game , the second wager could be mandatory . for the purpose of this description it will be assumed that the player has chosen to make a second wager . the total value of the hand is determined by the table as shown in fig2 and 3 . the total value of the hand is a function of both the number of cards that may be dealt to a player and the face value of the cards . this will be discussed in more detail below . the dealer deals each player participating in the game two cards face up and two cards to the dealer ; one face up and the other face down . the dealer checks to see if it has blackjack on the deal . if the dealer has blackjack , the game is over and all money wagered , including any second wagers , are collected by the dealer . if the dealer has no blackjack , then the game continues . the player farthest to the dealer &# 39 ; s left side checks his or her cards to determine the value of the hand . if the first player has blackjack then that player is a winner and will collect his or her winnings based on the first wager . if a player has blackjack , then normally he would forfeit his second wager . however , in an alternative embodiment of the present invention , a player could forego his blackjack hand and try to obtain a better hand in an effort to win based upon the second wager hand as long as the hand does not exceed 21 in value so that the game continues within the confines of the rules of blackjack . this is highly unlikely considering that a player with blackjack has no less than a hand with a value of 11 . the dealer will have the option of determining whether an opening deal of blackjack will terminate the game for a given player or whether the game can continue despite the player receiving a blackjack . assuming that a player does not have blackjack with the first two cards dealt , the first player must decide whether to “ hit ” and take additional cards or “ stay ” and not receive any additional cards from the dealer . normally in blackjack , if a player receives two cards with the same face value , the player has the option of “ splitting ” the identical cards and playing two separate hands . a second hand from a split requires an additional wager on the second hand . if a player receives a pair of 2s from the initial deal and the player decides to split the 2s , the player also has the option of making an optional bonus wager on the total value of the second hand . again , the dealer would have the option of making the bonus wager on the total value of the second hand mandatory . if there is no split of the player &# 39 ; s hand , the player may request additional cards until the player either obtains a hand that either “ busts ” by going over 21 , receiving a total of 21 , or choosing to “ stay ” on a hand that totals less than 21 . if a player has a second hand from a split , the player repeats the process for the second hand . after the player has “ busted ”, obtained 21 , or “ stayed ” on a value of less than 21 , the next player in succession repeats the process . the novel addition to the traditional form of blackjack described in the present invention requires a player to consider additional strategy as the player receives cards from the dealer . during the initial draw from the dealer , a player may receive a 2 and a 3 . assuming the player decides to receive additional cards , the player only needs to receive a 4 from the dealer to win on the second wager . at that point , the player must decide whether it is worth taking an additional card to try and win the next highest hand value as shown in fig2 and 3 . when a player starts by receiving a 2 , 3 , and 4 , this is normally not a difficult decision to make . however , if a player received a king and 2 on the initial deal , and then received a 3 and 4 for a total of 19 , the player must then decide whether to risk receiving a card that will bust the blackjack hand with the hope of receiving a 5 , or losing both the blackjack and the poker hand . if the game is played with the option that allows the player to win with a 2 , 3 , and 4 regardless whether the hand busts on a card other than a 5 , the player is more likely to take the risk of taking an additional card to get the 5 . however , if the game is played with the option that a bust on a card other than a 5 busts the blackjack hand and forfeits the opportunity to win based upon the second wager , a player is more likely to take the safe bet and stay on 19 . the safe strategy would be to keep - the winnings . however , with the added incentive of possibly winning significantly more money , a player may decide to forego the basic blackjack strategy and try to obtain a more lucrative poker hand . at the conclusion of the player receiving all cards for a given hand , the dealer moves on to the next player to the dealer &# 39 ; s right and repeats the process . in the version of the game where the dealer does not participate , the dealing of cards concludes . however , in the game where the dealer participates , when all players have been dealt cards , the dealer deals out its hand under the normal restrictions placed on a dealer , i . e . staying on 16 or 17 and hitting on any value of blackjack below 16 or 17 . once the dealer &# 39 ; s hand reached 17 or greater , or exceeded 21 , the game is over and the dealer and player hands can be evaluated to determine if winners exist for both blackjack and the “ poker ” hand obtained during the game . a player is eligible for winning the “ poker ” hand only if it has 3 or more cards . at this point , all players who have blackjack hands whose value exceeds the value of the dealer &# 39 ; s hand are paid according to the odds associated with blackjack . in the case of the players &# 39 ; poker hands , each player &# 39 ; s hand that has 3 or more cards is compared to the table in fig3 . if any player has cards that match the cards required under the rules in fig3 , the player is paid out according to the odds as shown . after all hands have been evaluated , the game ends and the next hand is dealt . in other embodiments of the game , the odds of winning on the second wager could significantly be increased by restricting a player from winning on the second wager only if the qualifying cards ( 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , and 7 ) are received in any order without interruption from other cards . under this scenario , the game could be played either by allowing the cards to be received at any time during the deal in sequence or by requiring the player to receive any two of the qualifying cards on the opening deal to make the player eligible to win based upon the second wager . this would also allow the dealer to choose whether a player could continue to take cards even after he or she acquires 21 , or preclude a player from hitting so that the value of his or her hand exceeds 21 . while the inventive method of playing blackjack , as described and claimed herein shown and disclosed in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated , it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiment of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the detail of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims . although the invention has been described in detail with reference to one or more particular preferred embodiments , persons possessing ordinary skill in the art to which this invention pertains will appreciate that various modifications and enhancements may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the claims that follow .
the present invention relates generally to card games and specifically , card games played for monetary gain in casinos . the game is an improvement over the traditional method of playing blackjack or “ 21 ” in that it adds an incentive for a player to make a supplemental wager that also effects the betting strategy of the player . the supplemental wager will pay bonus money based on the value of the cards received from the dealer at the conclusion of the game .