Method and apparatus for the identification and position measurement of chips on a gaming surface

A method for determining a position of each of a plurality of gaming chips on a gaming surface, each of the plurality of gaming chips including an inductively coupled radio frequency identification (RFID) tag disposed therein, the gaming surface including a first area and at least one second area disposed adjacent to the first area, the method comprising:

• transmitting a near-field inductively coupled interrogation signal to the plurality of gaming chips;
• receiving a near-field inductively coupled response signal from at least a portion of the plurality of gaming chips;
• performing a position resolution action in either the step of transmitting or the step of receiving, wherein the position resolution action is performed by at least two position resolution elements, further wherein the at least two position resolution elements include at least one of an active auxiliary coil or a specifically shaped ferrite solenoid for restricting an interrogation area;
• and
• associating each of the plurality of gaming chips with either the first area or the at least one second area in accordance with the step of performing a position resolution action.