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Advice Home | Feature Cryptologic Casino:
InterCasino
* This summer (2004) 11 new fully featured video bonus slot games
have been added to Cryptologic's award winning software suite
- Details
about Cryptologic Video Bonus Slots
Cryptologic is a Toronto-based company providing downloadable online
casino software. The company was founded in 1995, went live with
their first casino in 1996, and was the first to provide multi-player
games in 1998. Depending on the casino, the player may earn monthly
deposit bonuses, random prizes, or cash back incentives.
After opening an account a letter will be sent in the postal mail containing
a PIN and account number. You will need the PIN to cash out and the
account number for customer support, so donít lose this information.
Based on my experience Cryptologic casinos are very professional and
offer fast and efficient customer service. The playing experience strives
to be realistic, offering sound effects and voice narration. On the
negative side I have always had problems with dropped connections and
error message pop up boxes with Cryptologic. Multi-player and single
player games are offered. The Cryptologic game rules are often modeled
after those found in Atlantic City.
Cryptologic casinos offer a free "safe cracker" game in which the player
enters a 9-digit combination into a safe. In the very unlikely event
it is exactly right the player wins $100,000. Only one guess per day
is allowed.
Cash back is awarded automatically at Cryptologic casinos according
to money bet and the game played. Following are the cash back percentages
by game.
| Game |
Pays |
| Baccarat |
0.1% |
| Blackjack |
0.1% |
| Caribbean Poker |
0.2% |
| Craps |
0.2% |
| Paigow Poker |
0.1% |
| Red Dog |
0.2% |
| Roulette |
0.3% |
| Slots |
0.3% |
| Video Keno |
0.2% |
| Video Poker |
0.1% |
| Video Slots |
0.3% |
| Let It Ride Poker |
0.1% |
|
The following are Cryptologic rules, house edges, and strategy tips
for Cryptologic version 4 games. The game rules are usually the
same between version 3 and 4. Some differences include red dog went
from 8 decks in version 3 to 1 deck in version 4, craps version
4 allows betting extra dollars on odds bets so that winnings will
round evenly, and two video poker games were added to version 4:
double bonus and Super Jackpot.
Following are my comments about the games that Cryptologic version 4 has to offer.
Baccarat
In version 3 8 decks were used in baccarat. I assume this to be
true of version 4 but can't confirm it. Assuming 8 decks the house
edge on the banker bet is 1.06%, on the player bet is 1.24%, and
on the tie bet is 14.36%.
Blackjack
With the exception that splitting after splitting is not allowed Cryptologic blackjack rules are the same as the standard in Atlantic City. The complete rules are as follows:
- 8 decks
- Dealer stands on soft 17
- Player may double on any first two cards
- Player may double after splitting
- Player may split only once
- No surrender
- Dealer checks hole card for blackjack
The following table shows the correct basic strategy according to these rules. It may also be correctly used in Atlantic City and with Boss Mediaís multi-player software.
S Stand
H Hit
D Double
P Split
This table does not display some obvious hands. For example always hit on a hard 8 or less and always stand on a hard 17 or more. Following this basic strategy the house edge is 0.49%. This is 0.05% higher than in Atlantic City where resplitting is allowed.
Craps
Cryptologicís craps game offers rules that are close to those found in physical casinos. All place and proposition bets pay according to standard rules. Buy and lay bets are not offered. The player may bet up to two times any line bet on the odds. The double odds are always relative to the bet made. This departs from conventional rules in which laying odds after a donít pass or donít come bet is relative to the amount the player can win. Finally, winning bets get rounded down to the nearest dollar so be sure to bet in correct increments. To avoid getting rounded down the player may bet as many extra dollars on top of their double odds bets as needed so that winnings will be an evenly divisible by $1. A pop up box will also alert the player if they stand to get rounded down, something very nice and unique to Cryptologic.
Caribbean Poker
Caribbean Poker, otherwise known as Caribbean Stud Poker, takes one small deviation from the normal rules. This deviation is on a royal flush, which pays 200:1 rather than 100:1. Assuming optimal strategy this lowers the house edge from 5.22% to 5.21%.
New to version 4 is a progressive side bet. The side bet pays $50 for a flush, $100 for a full house, $500 for a four of a kind, and the usual 10% and 100% of the meter for a straight and royal flush respectively. For the player to break even on the side bet the meter would have to reach $218,047.37.
Keno
Cryptologic keno payoffs are about equally as generous as land based casinos, paying between 71% and 75%. The following table shows the expected return according to the number of spots chosen.
| Cryptologic Keno |
| Pick |
Return |
| 1 |
75% |
| 2 |
72.15% |
| 3 |
73.54% |
| 4 |
73.79% |
| 5 |
73.22% |
| 6 |
71.61% |
| 7 |
72.41% |
| 8 |
72.71% |
| 9 |
71.87% |
| 10 |
72.35% |
|
Let it Ride
Cryptologic follows the usual Let it Ride rules. Unlike Atlantic
City, however, Cryptologic features a $1 side bet. The house edge
on Let it Ride is 3.51% and on their side bet is 22.61%.
Pai Gow Poker
Cryptologic follows conventional pai gow poker rules. In their
game the dealer is always the banker giving the house a 2.86%
house edge, assuming both player and dealer play by a standard
house way. The rules say Cryptologic uses the Atlantic City standard
house way, although I know the Claridge uses a different house
way than the Trump Plaza.
Red Dog
Cryptologic's Red Dog rules are conventional, featuring one deck
with a house edge of 3.16%.
Roulette
Atlantic Cityís version of the European imprisonment rule can
also be found in Crypologicís roulette game. Under this rule if
the ball lands in 0 or 00 half the bet is returned on all even
money bets (red, black, 1-18, 19-36, even, and odd). For example
if the player bet $10 on black and the ball landed on 0 then the
player would get $5 of his bet returned. The house edge on the
even money bets is 2.63%, on the five number combo is 7.89%, and
on all other bets is 5.26%.
Slots
The following two casinos list the actual returns for all their
games on their web sites: Sands of the Caribbean and Inter Casino.
The average monthly return at the Sands of the Caribbean for months
between Sep 2000 to August 2001 was 93.17%. The average monthly
return at the Inter Casino for months between January 2001 to
July 2001 was 95.65%.
Bonus Video Slots
Strategy Guide
Video Poker
The following table shows the video poker games available at Cryptologic
and their expected return assuming perfect strategy.
| Game |
Return |
| Double Bonus |
99.94% |
| Jacks or better |
98.25% |
| All American |
98.11% |
| Deuces wild |
97.97% |
| Tens or better |
97.96% |
| Joker poker |
97.95% |
| Super Jackpot |
Progressive |
|
Super Jackpot is a progressive version of jacks or better. Other than the progressive for royal flush the paytable is standard 5/8 (5 for a flush, 8 for a full house), which pays 97.30%. If the player uses 5/8 strategy the expected return is 95.31% plus 0.50% for every 1000 coins in the meter. Under 5/8 strategy the meter would have to reach 9427 coins to break even. With proper strategy adjustments with a meter of this size the actual return would be 100.47%.
The following tables show the specific Cryptologic pay tables as well as expected return tables for all games except Super Jackpot. All tables except Jacks or Better, Deuces Wild, and All American were produced with the help of Bob Dancer's Winpoker 6.0. All tables assume optimal strategy. Remember Cryptologic also pays 0.1% cashback. This pushes the return for double bonus to 100.04%.
| Double Bonus |
| Hand |
Payoff |
Probability |
Return |
| Royal Flush |
840 |
0.000025 |
0.020925 |
| Straight Flush |
50 |
0.000107 |
0.005368 |
| 4 Aces |
150 |
0.000202 |
0.030367 |
| 4 2s, 3s or 4s |
90 |
0.000527 |
0.047465 |
| 4 5-K |
50 |
0.001638 |
0.081919 |
| Full House |
8 |
0.011409 |
0.091269 |
| Flush |
5 |
0.010923 |
0.054613 |
| Straight |
4 |
0.011522 |
0.046086 |
| 3 of a kind |
2 |
0.074533 |
0.149067 |
| Two Pair |
2 |
0.129173 |
0.258346 |
| Jacks or Better |
1 |
0.213943 |
0.213943 |
| Nothing |
0 |
0.545997 |
0.000000 |
| Total Return |
|
1.000000 |
0.999367 |
|
| Jacks or Better
|
| Hand |
Payoff |
Number |
Probability |
Return |
| Royal flush |
800 |
493546320 |
0.000025 |
0.019808 |
| Straight flush |
40 |
2174382228 |
0.000109 |
0.004363 |
| 4 of a kind |
20 |
47093235876 |
0.002363 |
0.047251 |
| Full house |
9 |
229476095604 |
0.011512 |
0.103610 |
| Flush |
6 |
219476752512 |
0.011011 |
0.066064 |
| Straight |
4 |
223909304748 |
0.011233 |
0.044932 |
| 3 of a kind |
3 |
1483995016080 |
0.074448 |
0.223345 |
| Two pair |
2 |
2576917506024 |
0.129277 |
0.258555 |
| Jacks or better |
1 |
4277798625024 |
0.214606 |
0.214606 |
| Nothing |
0 |
10871896052784 |
0.545416 |
0.000000 |
| Total |
|
19933230517200 |
1.000000 |
0.982534 |
|
| All American
|
| Hand |
Payoff |
Number |
Probability |
Return |
| Royal flush |
800 |
447967224 |
0.000022 |
0.017979 |
| Straight flush |
90 |
2555453292 |
0.000128 |
0.011538 |
| 4 of a kind |
35 |
44879539632 |
0.002251 |
0.078802 |
| Full house |
8 |
218979227088 |
0.010986 |
0.087885 |
| Flush |
8 |
313988688984 |
0.015752 |
0.126016 |
| Straight |
8 |
373997868540 |
0.018763 |
0.150100 |
| 3 of a kind |
3 |
1370909316480 |
0.068775 |
0.206325 |
| Two pair |
1 |
2382250229568 |
0.119511 |
0.119511 |
| Jacks or better |
1 |
3646648353564 |
0.182943 |
0.182943 |
| Nothing |
0 |
11578573872828 |
0.580868 |
0.000000 |
| Total |
|
19933230517200 |
1.000000 |
0.981100 |
|
| Deuces Wild - Cryptologic
|
| Hand |
Payoff |
Number |
Probability |
Return |
| Natural royal flush |
800 |
451963644 |
0.000023 |
0.018139 |
| 4 deuces |
200 |
3745487652 |
0.000188 |
0.037580 |
| Wild royal flush |
20 |
35864159688 |
0.001799 |
0.035984 |
| 5 of a kind |
15 |
62385447048 |
0.003130 |
0.046946 |
| Straight flush |
9 |
99367373148 |
0.004985 |
0.044865 |
| 4 of a kind |
4 |
1225731582828 |
0.061492 |
0.245967 |
| Full house |
4 |
522145872600 |
0.026195 |
0.104779 |
| Flush |
3 |
408462003072 |
0.020492 |
0.061475 |
| Straight |
2 |
1152851681184 |
0.057836 |
0.115671 |
| 3 of a kind |
1 |
5348224877136 |
0.268307 |
0.268307 |
| Nothing |
0 |
11074000069200 |
0.555555 |
0.000000 |
| Total |
|
19933230517200 |
1.000000 |
0.979714 |
|
| Tens or Better |
| Hand |
Payoff |
Probability |
Return |
| Royal flush |
800 |
0.000026 |
0.020530 |
| Straight flush |
50 |
0.000104 |
0.005180 |
| Four of a Kind |
20 |
0.002357 |
0.047145 |
| Full house |
6 |
0.011493 |
0.068955 |
| Flush |
5 |
0.010670 |
0.053350 |
| Straight |
4 |
0.012386 |
0.049544 |
| Three of a Kind |
3 |
0.074218 |
0.222653 |
| Two Pair |
2 |
0.128936 |
0.257872 |
| Tens or Better |
1 |
0.254368 |
0.254368 |
| Nothing |
0 |
0.505443 |
0.000000 |
| Total |
|
1.000000 |
0.979598 |
|
| Joker Wild - Cryptologic |
| Hand |
Pays |
Probability |
Return |
| Natural Royal Flush |
800 |
0.000025 |
0.019774 |
| Five of a Kind |
200 |
0.000093 |
0.018583 |
| Wild Royal Flush |
100 |
0.000104 |
0.010395 |
| Straight Flush |
50 |
0.000596 |
0.029788 |
| Four of Kind |
15 |
0.008505 |
0.12757 |
| Full House |
8 |
0.015625 |
0.125001 |
| Flush |
5 |
0.015852 |
0.079259 |
| Straight |
3 |
0.016871 |
0.050613 |
| Three of a Kind |
2 |
0.133296 |
0.266592 |
| Two Pair |
1 |
0.110667 |
0.110667 |
| Kings or Better |
1 |
0.141228 |
0.141228 |
| Nothing |
0 |
0.557139 |
0 |
| Total |
|
1 |
0.97947 |
If you're looking for Cryptologic progressive
jackpot tickers and casinos click on the following link:
Cryptologic
Progressive Casino Jackpot and Live Tickers
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