Method, apparatus and article for verifying card games, such as blackjack

A method of reading an initial hand of at least two playing cards, comprising:

• illuminating the initial hand of at least two playing cards;
• directing an image of an optically encoded identification bearing portion of a first one of the playing cards along an optical path to an imager;
• simultaneously directing an image of an optically encoded identification bearing portion of a second one of the playing cards along an optical path to the imager;
• and
• electronically capturing the image of the identification bearing portions of the first and the second ones of the playing cards.

A method of identifying playing cards, comprising:

• simultaneously electronically capturing an optical image of an optically encoded identifier bearing portion of each of at least two playing cards;
• resolving the captured image of at least a portion of each of the at least two playing cards into respective machine-readable symbols;
• decoding the respective machine-readable symbols into respective serial numbers for each of the at least two playing cards;
• and
• determining a respective card rank corresponding to each of the serial numbers.

A computer-readable media carrying instructions for causing an imager to read an initial hand of playing cards, by:

• causing the imager to simultaneously electronically capture in a single image an optically encoded identifier portion of at least a first and second card in the initial hand of playing cards;
• resolving said single image into respective machine-readable symbols for each of the first and the second playing cards;
• converting the machine readable symbols into respective serial numbers corresponding to each of the first and the second playing cards;
• and
• converting the serial numbers into respective ranks corresponding to each of the first and the second playing cards.