Digital poker table makes dealers obsolete

(Credit: HardGaming)

If inventors of high-tech gaming tables would only apply their formidable skills in other areas, the world would surely be a better place. Recently there have been some ingenious creations to automate parlor games, whether they deal cards or shuffle mahjong tiles.

Now there's a fully digital poker table that makes the deck of cards (as well as their dealers) obsolete. The "X10 Ten Player Automated Table" can accommodate up to 10 players in the tournament staple of Texas Hold 'Em, each with his or her own 12-inch touch screen and a 27-inch LCD in the center where the flops, turns, and rivers will show as community cards alongside the chip totals. The hands are kept private, BornRich explains, because players can "peel" the corners of their cards to take a peek.

It's a much broader version of the two-person "Heads-Up Challenge" we cited a few weeks back, combined with the concept of other multiple-player systems except they're all at the same table. If you're hosting the game, however, you'd better win some monster hands because you'll need them to pay the $29,950 price.