The “cheat-proof” playing cards are described as per this excerpt from the patent specification:
[A barcode] scanner 6902 is used in conjunction with a card 7001 upon which appears a barcode 7000 but no other indicia of the face value or other information of the card 7001. In this way, a user can look visually at another person’s hand of cards and still be unable to tell what is in that person’s hand. Meanwhile, a user uses the scanner 6902 on his own cards to tell their value. Thus, a game can be played in which users only reveal the value of their cards, e.g., their poker hand, at the end of the game through the use of a scanner. Such cheat-proof cards can be cards used for playing a game described herein or cards from a conventional deck of cards.
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Biographer 