Gambling Log

[aka23]

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

 

[aka23]

I had a very different experience at Omni Casino than I did at Intercasino. The two casinos looked very similar, as they both use Cryptologic. I had more SW flukes with Omni Casino than Inter. At one point I was forced to log out and log back in due to a comm error. I selected the download all games options when installing it, yet most of the cames were not available, so I had to install the games I wanted to play on the fly. I didn't see a jackpot listing on the home page, like I do with Intercasino.

I deposited $100 and received a $100 sign on bonus. I went through the $200 very quickly at BJ, losing (not pushing) 13 hands in a row. I am starting to question doubling on Ace when the dealer shows 10 since you lose the advantage of a second hit. I plan to work the odds by hand and see how much of a difference there is.

Gain/Loss at Omni Casino: -$100
Net Gain/Loss: +$3685

 

[Linus]

aka - thanks for sharing your experiences.

FWIW, I've seen the reference to +ev BJ at casino.net before (maybe by you?), and I'm not sure where you're getting it from. Their rules say:

The Blackjack game at Casino.Net uses six decks of cards, which are shuffled after each round. The game follows standard "Las Vegas Strip" rules with the following exceptions:

* The player may not split a split hand.
* The player may double after splitting.

According to the Wizard's calculator

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that's a .49% house edge - assuming I'm using it right. (And in my case, a 100% HA )

And yeah, Starluck does kind of suck. They sent me a VP ad, and I go to check them out, only to find out the only VP's they offer are some wacked-out single-line machines, that look and play exactly like slots. (Their only two regular VP machines were "disabled.")

 

[aka23]

aka - thanks for sharing your experiences.

FWIW, I've seen the reference to +ev BJ at casino.net before (maybe by you?), and I'm not sure where you're getting it from. Their rules say:



According to the Wizard's calculator

You do not have permission to view link Log in or register now.

that's a .49% house edge - assuming I'm using it right. (And in my case, a 100% HA )

The article at Link Removed ( Old/Invalid) lists 1 deck for private games with Boss Media software, but six decks for public games. I have seen this figure elsewhere as well, usually tied to wizard of odds info. It is possible that the rules have changed since he updated his site and now all the games use six decks. Perhaps I'll contact support and ask.

And yeah, Starluck does kind of suck. They sent me a VP ad, and I go to check them out, only to find out the only VP's they offer are some wacked-out single-line machines, that look and play exactly like slots. (Their only two regular VP machines were "disabled.")

Starluck absolutely sucks! I just checked out the awards on this site. Starluck/Planet Luck SW won the "Head in the Sand Award."

Head in the Sand Award 2005

High fives all around to iGlobalMedia which has gone nearly a full year without addressing serious software issues.
Last December in Casinomeister's forum, eric5148 posted a few screenshots of some really funky results in from "Casino Country's" Video Poker.
Yesterday I was playing Deuces Wild (download version) at Casino County, which uses IGlobalMedia software.

In a span of 76 hands I was dealt the exact same hand twice in a row three different times. The first time it happened, I didn't really notice, I thought the hands were just similar, but not identical. The second time I was sure they were identical, but I just assumed it was a fluke. The third time, I was in disbelief that this could happen twice in such short period of time, so I went back to the game logs just to make sure my eyes weren't fooling me, and that's when I noticed the first time was actually identical as well.

I'm not shouting "rigged" here, I'm just saying this couldn't be random, and therefore, not would I consider a fair and honest game. If this is a software glitch, it obviously needs to be fixed

I'm not great at math, so if anyone can figure out the probability of this happening, that would be much appreciated.

I sent an email to Casino County yesterday at about 9 pm CT. They haven't responded yet.

Here are some screenshots of the game logs:
iGlobalMedia Video Poker Software Glitch
The entire thread can be viewed here.

It turns out nearly the same thing happened to another player here where he reported the same hand being dealt twice.

So what was iGlobalmedia's response? A very very slow one. Oddly enough, they were members of the forum, but they just didn't feel compelled to get to the bottom of this. I sent a few emails to their affiliate director - Satyaswaroop Mahapatra, and he told me he was having someone look into this problem. Then in January 2005, I met with the him and two other iGlobal personnel for over an hour and presented this issue, along with the problem that their Video Poker was in fact a slot game and not video poker. They said they would look into it. Finally in June, he emailed me stating that the video poker slot machine problem had been taken care of in February - but he didn't mention anything at all about the screen shots.

For reference, here are the iGlobalMedia screen shots.

So when do you think they will pull their head out of the sand?

 

[aka23]

I played at Brandy Casino tonight. They have an interesting bonus. You deposit $250, after playing through it 5x ($1250 wager), they pay for 100% of your losses. You can do this 4x, for a total of $1000. So my plan was to meet the wagering requirement, then try to double my money at BJ. If I win, I double my money and get a nice cash out. If I lose, I can try again 4x. They also offer a 30-40% bonus on "all deposits" in the month of June. They refused to give me this bonus, saying that it is not valid on a first deposit.

BJ doesn't meet the wagerig requirement, so I played via video poker. I got 4 of a kind after a couple dozen hands and cashed out. Statistically it would have been better to keep playing, then go for double, but I'd rather just take my $125 gain and not risk losing it.

Gain/Loss at Brandy Casino: +$125
Net Gain/Loss: +$3810

 

[KasinoKing]

Starluck absolutely sucks! I just checked out the awards on this site. Starluck/Planet Luck SW won the "Head in the Sand Award."

That was my experience with them too - I thought it was just me!

Thanks very much for sharing your experiences - very much appreciated!

Please keep this log going - it's great reading!

 

[Slotster!]

Please keep this log going - it's great reading!

Ditto!

 

[vinylweatherman]

Agree

Keep going, don't be put off if you receive "bad vibes" from some posters. This insight into the experiences of someone new to internet gambling should also be top of the reading list for casino operators, after all, new players are what they are after.

You might see others post "surely you didn't deposit there did you?!", you may well end up regretting depositing at some places, however searching here for comment should help.

I don't log details, but I keep a record of all casino accounts I have ever had, as this prevents making the mistake of opening multiple accounts at one casino. I also keep a lifetime log for all accounts of net deposits and withdrawals so I know how much I have spent, and with which group. I can also compare different softwares if I want to.

 

[ballysdb]

I also kept a log of casino account numbers and passwords. It was a good thing I did becaquse my computer needed to be cleaned out and I lost all the information. I have tried to keep a log of deposits and withdrawls, which is an excellent idea, but it was too depressing to see how much of an addiction I had.

 

[aka23]

I've still been gambling, but have been too busy to post on forums. On June 18th I joined William Hill Casino. They have a $80 match sign up bonus. Signing up was more of a pain than at other casinos. I dislike how names and passwords have to be 6 to 8 letters. My usual passwords are 5 and 9 letters, so I had to select new ones that I may not remember. Gambling went well. I gained ~$185 (including bonus) primarily playing Blackjack. I was impressed with how quickly they paid me.

Gain/Loss at William Hill Casino: +$185
Net Gain/Loss: +$3995

 

[aka23]

Brandy Casino sent me an email saying they'd give me a bonus for voting for them in various online surveys. No wonder they are ranked so highly in the surveys on these sites.

"Now you can get LC 5 Charts Vote Bonus for voting for Brandy Casino at Online-Gambling-Charts.
....

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Vote bonus conditions and limitations can be found here.
Vote for our Partners. Get LC 20!

You can get LC 10 Vote Bonus for voting for one of our media partners: Online�Gambling�Charts or 888wow.com in Best Miscellaneous Gambling Site category at Gambling.com. Plus to it, you can get LC 10 Additional Vote Bonus for voting for one of our media partners: Online Gambling Press or Online Gambling Forums in Best Newsgroup & Forum category.

Vote bonus conditions and limitations can be found here."

 

[carramrod]

Brandy casino, which I found myself, was a excellent casino. I was playing video poker, and hit a pat four-of-a-kind (eights). Feeling lucky, I gambled my $250 win a few times, and ended up with $4000

I have a screenshot of my win, but I dont know how to post those

 

[pacers31]

Wow, Aka, it must be fantastic to win just about everywhere you play!! Certainly bucks the realistic trend that everyone else experiences. What's your secret, do you play one or two big hands at each and if you win call it a day?? Hard to believe you could have such good luck everywhere (with few exceptions anyway).

 

[aka23]

Brandy casino, which I found myself, was a excellent casino. I was playing video poker, and hit a pat four-of-a-kind (eights). Feeling lucky, I gambled my $250 win a few times, and ended up with $4000

I have a screenshot of my win, but I dont know how to post those

You can post it by scrolling down to manage attachments. I still haven't had a big win like that. My biggest single win occurred during my trip to Vegas over Memorial Day. We spent the last day looking around the Venetian. I had one dollar cash with me (I use cards.). We decided to use it on a slot spin before leaving. That spin won $750 and inspired me to begin online gambling.

 

[aka23]

Wow, Aka, it must be fantastic to win just about everywhere you play!! Certainly bucks the realistic trend that everyone else experiences. What's your secret, do you play one or two big hands at each and if you win call it a day?? Hard to believe you could have such good luck everywhere (with few exceptions anyway).

My "secret" is to get a big sign on bonus, attempt to break even while meeting the wagering requirement, then keep the bonus. For example Golden Palace had a $350 sign on bonus. If I break even while meeting the wagering requirement, I gain $350. In any case, my next entry is my biggest loss yet. The loss should have been only $100, but was more due to me not reading the fine print.

 

[pacers31]

I see aka, but again, most of us slot junkies never come close to making the wager requirements on a regular basis regardless of where we play. You seem to be even or up the vast majority of the time, which leads me to question the legitimacy of these posts you are making. Sorry, no offense, but when you seem to win everywhere, it really goes against reality.

 

[aka23]

I see aka, but again, most of us slot junkies never come close to making the wager requirements on a regular basis regardless of where we play. You seem to be even or up the vast majority of the time, which leads me to question the legitimacy of these posts you are making. Sorry, no offense, but when you seem to win everywhere, it really goes against reality.

Pacers, I suggest you learn about the expected player return various casino games. You won't meet the wager requirements as a "slot junkie", but you probably will on a game with a high expected return like BJ (assuming you play many hands with a low bet). Depending on rules, BJ can have as high as a 2% player advantage... over time, the player is expected to gain money with perfect strategy. Single deck Boss Media BJ has a a small player advantage over the house as well. It is more typical to have near a 0.5% house advantage. That is still low enough to approximately break even and take advantage of bonuses and promotions. VP can also have a player advantage over the casino. However, there is more expected variation, giving more chance of busting, along with a chance to win big. In contrast, slots are one of the worst games in the casino in terms of expected return.

 

[franklin]

Depending on rules, BJ can have as high as a 2% player advantage

This would be an absurdly player edge and would require some very non-standard rules such as 5-card charlies or blackjack paying 2-1. I am unaware of any online or B&M casino crazy enough to offer such a game. If one did in fact exist, you could bet they'd be out of business faster than you could short their stock.

Assuming "standard" blackjack rules the highest player edge attainable would only be 0.3729% (1 deck, stand soft 17, double on any, 3 splits allowed, double after split, resplit aces, hit split aces, dealer peek, late surrender).

 

[aka23]

This would be an absurdly player edge and would require some very non-standard rules such as 5-card charlies or blackjack paying 2-1. I am unaware of any online or B&M casino crazy enough to offer such a game. If one did in fact exist, you could bet they'd be out of business faster than you could short their stock.

Assuming "standard" blackjack rules the highest player edge attainable would only be 0.3729% (1 deck, stand soft 17, double on any, 3 splits allowed, double after split, resplit aces, hit split aces, dealer peek, late surrender).

I wrote, "Depending on rules, BJ can have as high as a". This does not mean standard rules (like the -0.5% I mentioned later in the post). This means the highest possible advantage to the player. Check out the advantage vs. rules table at

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. Highest is Blackjacks pay 2 to 1, which is listed as a 2.27% player advantage. 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 with more common rules.

 

[Linus]

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.

 

[franklin]

Check out the advantage vs. rules table at

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. 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

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...

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