Gambling Log

[franklin]

Check out the advantage vs. rules table at http://wizardofodds.com/blackjack . Highest is Blackjacks pay 2 to 1, which is listed as a 2.27% player advantage. I already mentioned that -0.5% was common. The highest value in the Casino Verite DB is +0.44% for Casino Estoril in Portugal. If you use a basic card counting system, you can get well above 2% under certain conditions.

I misunderstood you, I had assumed we were discussing basic strategy. Certainly if you include card counting then a 2% player edge under certain situations is readily attainable.

Exactly what rules does Casino Estoril offer?

[aka23]

The Wizard says that there are three Boss Media casinos that offer the single-deck game. He calculates the player advantage at 0.11%. That's assuming perfect play - easier said than done. You can add another 0.04% by adding composition dependent exceptions to BS.

I've never tried any of the three myself, but at hundredpercentgambling.com, caruso says he's tested the single-deck game at Pharaoh's, and believes it fair. He says you'd have an expectation of $15/hr, assuming perfect play, and betting the max on each hand.

Not a great rate, especially considering the bankroll you'd need. But if you're going to be playing anyway, that'd definitely be the place to do it.

You can get a lot more than $15/hr, if you choose casinos with bonuses... for example a 15% bonus for preferred deposit method or a 100% match bonus on the first deposit each month.

[aka23]

Exactly what rules does Casino Estoril offer?

The casino is listed as 6 decks, Double down after Splits, Soft Double Down, Early Surrender, and Resplit pairs. Using a BJ odds calculator, I get +0.45% with these rules + double down on any number of cards.

[franklin]

The casino is listed as 6 decks, Double down after Splits, Soft Double Down, Early Surrender, and Resplit pairs. Using a BJ odds calculator, I get +0.45% with these rules + double down on any number of cards.

With perfect composition dependent basic strategy and assuming dealer stands on soft 17, and European no hole card, I'm getting a 0.1190% player edge without double on any number of cards and 0.3304% with.

Quite a game.

[aka23]

With perfect composition dependent basic strategy and assuming dealer stands on soft 17, and European no hole card, I'm getting a 0.1190% player edge without double on any number of cards and 0.3304% with.

Quite a game.

Using the calcualtor at http://www.qfit.com/calc.htm...

Default for 6 decks = -0.435%
+Soft Double Down = -0.34%
+Early Surrender = +0.288%
+Double on any number of cards = +0.452%

[franklin]

Using the calcualtor at http://www.qfit.com/calc.htm...

Default for 6 decks = -0.435%
+Soft Double Down = -0.34%
+Early Surrender = +0.288%
+Double on any number of cards = +0.452%

1. In order to calculate post split expected value the qfit numbers extrapolate pre-split expected value. In other words qfit is assuming that after splitting X's, the expected value of Xa would be the same as the expected value of Xa without a split. This is a common simplifying assumption in a lot of BJ software but not completely correct.
2. qfit's resplits boolean actually refers to two resplits (splitting to a total of 4 hands). Your description implied only a single resplit
3. Yoiu negelected to include European no hole card.

Taking all this in to account, the player edge on the game is 0.3304%.

[MissDevil]

I am going to post a journal describing my exeperiences with online casinos. This includes unusual events, casino impressions, and gambling results.

I am new to online gambling. After winning a $750 jackpot on the final spin before leaving during a memorial day trip to Vegas with my girlfriend, she joked about us becoming pro gamblers. After looking into this more, I became into online gaming. I started at online casinos about 10 days ago. A short results summary during that period is below:

6/7 -- Casino.net -- I first learned of Internet casinos through my BJ simulator program. They listed boss media casinos as having a 0.11% player advantage, so I started at one that had a solid sounding name. $800 deposit + $200 bonus. I gained ~$1300 (including bonus) playing blackjack and slots (much more bj than slots) prior to meeting wagering requirement. I still have only been able to withdraw $1000 since I haven't received my security code in the mail.

6/9 -- Bet365 -- I found this one on a bonus table. $200 deposit + $200 bonus. I gained ~$220 (including bonus) primariy playing bj prior to... The paid in about a week, not the instant payment some have mentioned.

6/10 -- Vegas Palms -- $50 deposit + $200 bonus. This flash animations make this casino slow. Bad odds. It sucks. I busted. I thought I succesffully withdrew my $50, but it was later reversed. I wish I knew about this before going to LNR and losing $250. I still didn't understand that you can't withdraw the deposit until reaching wagering requirement. I thought you could only not withdraw the bonus.

6/10 -- Luck N Roll -- I was lured in by the 400% bonus. I deposited $250 and received a $1000. I figured I could play VP and stay ahead. I was wrong. I never played VP before and did not know they had a $5 limit. I can't meet a $44,000 wagering requirement with $5 hands. BJ is not permited. The game selection and SW are week. I played let it ride instead and got down to $250 after wagering about $26000. I tried to withdraw the $250 deposit. It was not permited prior to meeting the wagering requriement. Mistake #2... I won't make these mistakes again. I later learned that casino bonus pages blacklisted this casino due to reports of cheating SW.

6/10 -- Golden Palace -- $100 deposit + $350 bonus. I was given an extra $50 bonus by a sales rep after my credit card deposit was rejected. I learned to stop depositing with credit cards. I gained $480 (including bonus)... I only cashed out $100 at first to avoid being labeled as a bonus whore since I just played at another Playtech casino. I had to fax in a bunch of stuff before first payment. I eventually was paid.

6/11 -- Windows Casino -- This was before I had ever visited the Casinomeister website. I deposited $150, then did not get my bonus. A user agent said they would give me the bonus but listed different and far worse terms than listed in the T&C. I then asked for my money back. They said they cannot cancel my deposit. Instead I have to wait for the deposit to go through, then wait for them to sent it back. No $$$ back yet.

6/11 -- Starluck -- $100 deposit + $100 bonus. I busted quickly winning only ~10% of BJ hands. Several VP games were not functional. The ones that were had a bad payment scheme. The software very unimpressive. This casino sucks.

6/12 -- 888.com -- $200 deposit + $220 bonus. I gained ~$825 (including bonus). I had to fax in a bunch of stuff prior to payement. The rejected my fax, saying they had trouble reading my credit card numbers. I sent another and am waiting to hear back.

6/13 -- Casino.net #2. I deposited $100 and got a a $35 bonus. I still had $1300 in my account from last time. I played $25 BJ hands and quickly met the betting requirement. I also played VP. I gained ~$300 (including bonus). I nearly lost big. I lost a $25 bet, then bet $50 to go out with the same total befor cashing out. I lost again and bet $100... doubled, then lost $200!. I bet $200, and finally won. I was lucky this time, and will never do this again.

6/14 -- Planet Luck -- $100 deposit + $100 bonus. After my Starluck experience, I was wary of trying another casino with this group. Comments on this forum convinced me to try again. My deposit was stuck in their ezcash system. I spent more than an hour talking with support trying to get it out. Eventually their were able to. I couldn't determine when I met the betting requirement due the bad SW. I may have played more than needed. I was at $105 at one point when over the 8x requirement, but I busted, due to stupidly wanting to go out on a winning hand and losing 10x without a win in between.

6/14 -- Intercasino -- $100 deposit + $100 bonus. As mentioned elsewhere I was quite impressed with this casino. I gained ~$440 (including bonus) playing BJ an Millionaire's Club (final $37.50 gain from Millionaire's). The paid me in just 24 hours. I plan to visit this casino regularly.

6/16 -- Magic Oasis -- I received an email thanking me for joing Magic Oasis. I did not join here, but I checked it out and tried a $50 deposit + $77 bonus offer. I lost in quickly. I was not impressed with the casino.

I signed up for Omni Casino earlier today and will play this evening.

Net Gain/Loss (includes Vegas trip): +$3785

enough info to start an affiliate site

[aka23]

1. In order to calculate post split expected value the qfit numbers extrapolate pre-split expected value. In other words qfit is assuming that after splitting X's, the expected value of Xa would be the same as the expected value of Xa without a split. This is a common simplifying assumption in a lot of BJ software but not completely correct.
2. qfit's resplits boolean actually refers to two resplits (splitting to a total of 4 hands). Your description implied only a single resplit
3. Yoiu negelected to include European no hole card.

Taking all this in to account, the player edge on the game is 0.3304%.

The Qfit calculator is made by the same group the printed the Casino DB listing the 0.44% odds, so I'd expect them to use the same repsplit method for both. The casino DB lists yes/no for a handful of optional rules. There are other optional rules not listed in the table columns that may influence the result. I've attached a copy of the table.

[aka23]

enough info to start an affiliate site

I've seriously thought of doing that. There are plenty of sites with casino & bonus information, but I've been disappointed by the sites skewing infomation in favor of casinos with the largest affiliate payouts. I'd like to make a site that does it right. I have a good amount of experience with web design and used to own a site with a forum more popular than this one (sold in 2003).

[franklin]

The Qfit calculator is made by the same group the printed the Casino DB listing the 0.44% odds, so I'd expect them to use the same repsplit method for both. The casino DB lists yes/no for a handful of optional rules. There are other optional rules not listed in the table columns that may influence the result. I've attached a copy of the table.

They do use the same resplit method for both. It's just incorrect. That's not so big a deal, however. The net effect is small.

Whether Estoril permits 1 or 2 resplits is another question. Again, either way the net effect is small.

To be sure, I'd verify whether Estoril uses European no-hole card which would account for nearly all the difference.