I hope this thread fits to this topic.
I recently played with a Joker Poker game in a pub. I put in ~10 USD, and took a look on the below pay table (was only available after putting in some money into the machine).
Jacks or Better: 1
Two pair: 3
3 of a kind: 5
Straight: 6
Flush: 8
Full: 12
4 of a kind: 25
Straight Flush: 100
5 of a Kind: ??? not in the pay table
Royal Flush: Jackpot
I immediately realized that this could not be a fair game with the above pay table. And indeed, I played ~nickels, and I got 4 3 of a kind in a raw, then nothing for 12 hands, and so on.
So I would like to ask you to share with me your experience, just like a survey:
A) Where are you from, or what country are you referring to (if not described in your profile)? If you wouldn't like to answer this, please skip.
B) Are such machines allowed in your country?
C) How machines which representing card games are regulated in your country (if there's any such regulation)?
D) Anything else you would like to add.
Thanks in advance.
Background story. In my country, gambling mostly means pub fruit machines and regular slots, state lottery, and such games. The majority of fruit machines and regular slots are so called "category 1", which means that they have a variable payout percentage, and the machine gives back the set percentage of the money that was previously put in, in the long run. (There's a counter, and if 100 went in, and 80 out, and the payout rate is 90%, then you will have a better chance to win, than if 80 went in, and 100 went out, so the game is not random.) Unfortunately these games seem to be somehow adjustable by the machine owner, and sometimes they set the payout to ridiculously low, just like 40-50 percent or less. When they hear rumors about a likely control, they set the percentage back to the minimum acceptable (90%). Especially in the countryside, these machines take a huge amount of money from poor, uneducated people, and the market is owned by at least shaky firms, sometimes criminals.
In brick&mortar and major electronic casinos there are mostly "category 2" machines, which should not use the "counter" technique, and they have to be completely random.
But - as the above video poker example shows - sometimes there are machines, which are "category 1" in practice, although their representation suggests that they are "category 2". I started to fight against those machines (and also against category 1 overall), and I contacted the local gambling control authority several times, but reached no advance yet. So I would need examples from around the world, to strengthen my position.
Thanks again.
I recently played with a Joker Poker game in a pub. I put in ~10 USD, and took a look on the below pay table (was only available after putting in some money into the machine).
Jacks or Better: 1
Two pair: 3
3 of a kind: 5
Straight: 6
Flush: 8
Full: 12
4 of a kind: 25
Straight Flush: 100
5 of a Kind: ??? not in the pay table
Royal Flush: Jackpot
I immediately realized that this could not be a fair game with the above pay table. And indeed, I played ~nickels, and I got 4 3 of a kind in a raw, then nothing for 12 hands, and so on.
So I would like to ask you to share with me your experience, just like a survey:
A) Where are you from, or what country are you referring to (if not described in your profile)? If you wouldn't like to answer this, please skip.
B) Are such machines allowed in your country?
C) How machines which representing card games are regulated in your country (if there's any such regulation)?
D) Anything else you would like to add.
Thanks in advance.
Background story. In my country, gambling mostly means pub fruit machines and regular slots, state lottery, and such games. The majority of fruit machines and regular slots are so called "category 1", which means that they have a variable payout percentage, and the machine gives back the set percentage of the money that was previously put in, in the long run. (There's a counter, and if 100 went in, and 80 out, and the payout rate is 90%, then you will have a better chance to win, than if 80 went in, and 100 went out, so the game is not random.) Unfortunately these games seem to be somehow adjustable by the machine owner, and sometimes they set the payout to ridiculously low, just like 40-50 percent or less. When they hear rumors about a likely control, they set the percentage back to the minimum acceptable (90%). Especially in the countryside, these machines take a huge amount of money from poor, uneducated people, and the market is owned by at least shaky firms, sometimes criminals.
In brick&mortar and major electronic casinos there are mostly "category 2" machines, which should not use the "counter" technique, and they have to be completely random.
But - as the above video poker example shows - sometimes there are machines, which are "category 1" in practice, although their representation suggests that they are "category 2". I started to fight against those machines (and also against category 1 overall), and I contacted the local gambling control authority several times, but reached no advance yet. So I would need examples from around the world, to strengthen my position.
Thanks again.