Can Playtech software be manipulated??

[nittany]

I played blackjack at a Playtech casino using perfect basic strategy. I lost 14 straight hands. Many of these losses were quite amazing, including the dealer pulling four 21's versus my 20's.

Assuming that the casino's odds of winning any given hand is 50.2%, the probability of losing 14 straight is 0.0065%!!!

I will not name the casino just yet, because it is one that Bryan currently recommends, but I am concerned that the results here are not random. Anyone know if the casino can manipulate the results on Playtech software??

[thesmacker]

I think a lot of people who play Playtech software get that sour taste in their mouth after a blackjack session. I can't remember a time when I have played Playtech blackjack and not lost at least 10 hands in a row at least twice in a session of about 4-5 hundred hands. It definitely makes you question the randomness of it all but my overall results are not that bad, about a house advantage of 0.6.

[bbchang21]

You *expect* to have 9 or 10 losses in a row in 500 hands. Just calculate the probability.

Losing 14 hands in a row sucks, but it is not exceptional. My personal record is 19 losses and pushes in a row.

0.0065% is not such a small probability. Hitting the royal flush in video poker has a chance of about 1 in 40000 or 0.0025%. People play slot machines and lotteries in the hope of hitting a jackpot which has a probability of less than 1 in a million. Occasionally some of them even win and they don't complain about a 1 in a million event happening to them.

I assume there are several million people who have played blackjack online. If this is correct, then there are almost certainly some who won the first 20 hands they ever played. Similarly, there are some who lost the first 20 hands or would have lost but went bust or stopped playing. These people are now bitching on various forums how online casinos are all rigged.

Billy

[jpm]

Try Microgaming BJ and you'll have the same experience. I don't know what it is about online BJ, but it rarely seems to play fair in my opinion.

I wonder how much of an influence the fact that the decks are reshuffled before every hand has on the expected odds of a multideck BJ game. I'm sure it must skew the odds in favor of the house, beyond just defeating card counting.

[vgyhnji]

Excellent post bbchang21!!!

Excellent.

[linda7]

The only game in online gambling that cannot be manipulated is online poker, not video poker, live poker. There was never a better time to actually start learning to play poker since there are many amateurs joining the poker circuit. The first game you should start with is 7 card stud. Get yourself a poker book and learn the different strategies, and how to really play. 7 card stud will teach you how to read hands of your opponents. This is very important. It is easier to learn in Stud than it is in Holdem. Once you have mastered Stud, then you can move on to other games. Or, if you are earning some serious money in Stud...you may decide to stay with this game. Stud is my favorite and what I am best at. I can play Holdem, have won tournaments at this game, but I feel much more comfortable with Stud. It will take a while to master the game but trust me, this is the only casino online game that cannot be rigged. Naturally, the chance of "collusion" always exists, but since you can check your "hand history", you can always look and see what your opponents were raising with and then you can spot collusion easily. At this point, just leave the game, contact the floorperson, and the players who were involved in the collusion (playing together and raising for each other) will find themselves banned from the site. Live Poker is by far the safest game for your money. No one can take your money from you, you basically have to risk it only if you choose to play the hand. As opposed to putting your money up in BJ, slots, etc. where you are betting prior to seeing what you have to work with. Happy Gaming.

**hugs***
Linda

[cipher]

Hi Linda, well thought out post. You and Barry and the family have a good one.

Cipher

[linda7]

Dear Cipher:

Thank you for your kind words, they mean alot to me. Please let me know when you will be in NY, Barry and I are looking forward to meeting you.

***hugs***
Linda

[greyhound]

Linda, this is unfortunately not the case, poker can also be manipulated, albeit in a different way than other casino games. Since the casino itself knows what are the cards in players' hands, it can very well have one player at the table who sees all the cards and plays accordingly. And it can look as a different player each day. This is one reason I wouldn't play poker online.

Greyhound

[bethug]

playtec is fixed. plan and simple.

i have had so many 10 to 14 in a row it not funny.
dont play at playtec casinos.

i play online daily , the only real fair software is rtg , but u might have problem collecting your money , but playtec has been seen doing the same thing.

simple test take 500 put it in playtec , place 500 in rtg do it three times. then come back with your details. and u will see.