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Playtech offers downloadable online
casino software. The graphics are very good and the interface
is easy to understand. Both multi-player and single player are
supported. Separate accounts are available for both real and play
money. The multi-player feature is available in fun money mode.
There is a comp point system equivalent to 0.1% cash back.
Following are the games available with specific rules and comments.
Baccarat
The standard rules are followed. I do not know the number of decks.
Blackjack
The blackjack rules are as follows:
- 6 decks
- Dealer stands on soft 17
- Player may double on any first two cards
- Player may double after splitting
- Player may only split once
- There is a mixture of U.S. and European rules on what happens
if the dealer gets a blackjack. Here is what happens if the
dealer gets a blackjack according to the situation.
- Dealer has ace up, player doubles and/or splits: entire
bet lost
- Dealer has 10 up, player splits: entire bet lost.
- Dealer has 10 up, player doubles: only original bet lost.
- Dealer has 10 up, player splits and doubles: additional
bets from splitting lost but doubling returned. .
- No surrender
- Otherwise standard rules
The house edge under these rules is 0.52%. Following is the correct
basic strategy under these rules.
Blackjack Switch
House edge is only 0.05%!
Caribbean Poker
The standard rules and pay table are used for a house edge of 5.22%.
When I checked on May 12, 2002 at Casino Mapau, the progressive
meter for the side bet was at $10,286 for a house edge of 60.75%.
For the side bet to have no house edge the meter would need to reach
$218,047.37. For any given meter the house edge on the side bet
is 63.76% less 2.92% for each $10,000 in the meter.
Casino
War
The correct rules are followed with six decks. The player should
always go to war, as opposed to surrender. The house edge is 2.88%.
Craps
The player may take 3 times odds on the pass and come bets. The
multiple allowed on the don't pass and don't come is also 3 times
and relative to the amount bet, not the amount the player can win.
The combined house edge is 0.47% on the pass and come and 0.46%
on the don't pass and don't come. Buy and lay bets are allowed and
the 5% commission is charged on the winnings. The house edge on
the buy and lay bets are as follows.
| House
edge on buy and lay bets |
| Point |
Buy |
Lay |
| 4,10 |
3.33% |
1.67% |
| 5,9 |
3.00% |
2.00% |
| 6,8 |
2.73% |
2.27% |
|
Keno
The following table shows the expected return and hit frequency
according to the number of picks. The highest return is the pick-8
at 92.75%.
| Keno |
| Pick |
Expected Return |
Hit Frequency |
| 2 |
92.09% |
43.99% |
| 3 |
92.96% |
15.26% |
| 4 |
92.03% |
25.89% |
| 5 |
92.58% |
9.67% |
| 6 |
92.67% |
16.16% |
| 7 |
92.44% |
23.66% |
| 8 |
92.75% |
10.23% |
| 9 |
92.00% |
15.31% |
| 10 |
92.55% |
6.47% |
|
Let Them Ride
The same thing as Let it Ride. The conventional rules are followed.
The side bet follows the same pay table as the Lady Luck in downtown
Las Vegas. I've seen lots of pay tables for the side bet in Let
it Ride and this one has the lowest house edge at 13.77%.
Pai Gow Poker
The dealer is always the banker, resulting in a house edge of 2.85%.
There is a house way button but if the player clicks it the hand
will immediately be scored, not giving the player the option to
accept or reject the house way.
Poker Three
This is the same thing as Three Card Poker. Full pay rules are followed.
I believe Playtech is the only software brand to feature the original
and most generous pay table. The house edge is 2.32% on the Pairplus
bet and 3.37% on the Ante bet.
Red Dog
The conventional rules are followed. I do not know the number of
decks
Roulette
The wheel is single zero for a house edge of 2.70% on all bets.
Sic Bo
Sic Bo payoffs are better than some and worse than others. Of special
note is that the single number bet pays 12-1 on a 3 of a kind, better
than the usual 3-1 payoff. The following table shows the payoff
and house edge for all bets.
| Playtech
Sic Bo |
| Bet |
Pays |
Prob. Win |
House Edge |
| Small, Big |
1-1 |
48.61% |
2.78% |
| 4, 17 |
60-1 |
1.39% |
15.28% |
| 5, 16 |
30-1 |
2.78% |
13.89% |
| 6, 15 |
17-1 |
4.63% |
16.67% |
| 7, 14 |
12-1 |
6.94% |
9.72% |
| 8, 13
| 8-1 |
9.72% |
12.5% |
| 9, 12 |
6-1 |
11.57% |
18.98% |
| 10, 11
| 6-1 |
12.5% |
12.5% |
| Triple |
180-1 |
0.46% |
16.2% |
| Any triple |
30-1 |
2.78% |
13.89% |
| Double |
10-1 |
7.41% |
18.52% |
| Two die combination |
5-1 |
13.89% |
16.67% |
| Any number |
(1/2/3)-1 |
42.13% |
7.87% |
|
The lowest house edge bets are on big and small bets at 2.78%.
Slot machines
There is a wide variety of slot machines to choose from.
Video poker
Playtech offers several different video poker games to choose from.
Many are offered in single play and 4-play. There is also a double
up, and half double up, feature available. The player may keep redoubling
up to bets of $1000. Doubling also counts towards required play
to earn a bonus. The following table displays the expected return
of each game, assuming optimal player strategy.
| Playtech
Video Poker - Expected Return |
| Game |
Return |
| Jacks or better |
0.995439 |
| Aces and faces |
0.992554 |
| Tens or better |
0.979598 |
| Joker poker |
0.985987 |
| Deuces wild |
0.989130 |
|
Following are the expected return tables for Playtech video poker.
| Jacks
or Better |
| Hand |
Payoff |
Number |
Probability |
Return |
| Royal flush |
800 |
493512264 |
0.000025 |
0.019807 |
| Straight flush |
50 |
2178883296 |
0.000109 |
0.005465 |
| 4 of a kind |
25 |
47093167764 |
0.002363 |
0.059064 |
| Full house |
9 |
229475482596 |
0.011512 |
0.103610 |
| Flush |
6 |
219554786160 |
0.011015 |
0.066087 |
| Straight |
4 |
223837565784 |
0.011229 |
0.044917 |
| 3 of a kind |
3 |
1484003070324 |
0.074449 |
0.223346 |
| Two pair |
2 |
2576946164148 |
0.129279 |
0.258558 |
| Jacks or better |
1 |
4277372890968 |
0.214585 |
0.214585 |
| Nothing |
0 |
10872274993896 |
0.545435 |
0.000000 |
| Total |
|
19933230517200 |
1.000000 |
0.995439 |
|
In addition there is a 25 cent progressive "9/6" video poker game
called Megajacks. On May 12, 2002, the meter at Casino Mapau was
at $592.71. The meter needs to pass $1000 for the progressive game
to be a better bet than the non-progressive jacks or better game.
If the meter passes $1230.30 for the odds to switch to the player's
advantage, assuming optimal 9/6 strategy with no adjustments for
the higher pay on the royal flush (which video poker experts do
make).
| Deuces
Wild |
| Hand |
Payoff |
Number |
Probability |
Return |
| Natural royal flush |
800 |
459064368 |
0.000023 |
0.018424 |
| 4 deuces |
200 |
3727565940 |
0.000187 |
0.037401 |
| Wild royal flush |
25 |
38119473696 |
0.001912 |
0.047809 |
| 5 of a kind |
15 |
62203767960 |
0.003121 |
0.046809 |
| Straight flush |
9 |
98317296840 |
0.004932 |
0.044391 |
| 4 of a kind |
4 |
1222017689652 |
0.061306 |
0.245222 |
| Full house |
4 |
522042221472 |
0.026190 |
0.104758 |
| Flush |
3 |
407440287408 |
0.020440 |
0.061321 |
| Straight |
2 |
1145680543080 |
0.057476 |
0.114952 |
| 3 of a kind |
1 |
5342962086012 |
0.268043 |
0.268043 |
| Nothing |
0 |
11090260520772 |
0.556370 |
0.000000 |
| Total |
|
19933230517200 |
1.000000 |
0.989130 |
|
| 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 |
|
| Aces
and Faces |
| Hand |
Payoff |
Probability |
Return |
| Royal Flush |
4000 |
0.000025 |
0.019876 |
| Straight Flush |
250 |
0.000106 |
0.005300 |
| Four aces |
400 |
0.000196 |
0.015668 |
| Four J-K |
200 |
0.000587 |
0.023479 |
| Four 2-10 |
125 |
0.001580 |
0.039507 |
| Full House |
40 |
0.011515 |
0.092120 |
| Flush |
25 |
0.010860 |
0.054301 |
| Straight |
20 |
0.011212 |
0.044847 |
| 3 of a Kind |
15 |
0.074474 |
0.223422 |
| Two Pair |
10 |
0.129318 |
0.258636 |
| Jacks or Better |
5 |
0.215399 |
0.215399 |
| Nothing |
0 |
0.544728 |
0.000000 |
| Total Return |
|
1.000000 |
0.992554 |
|
| Joker
Poker |
| Hand |
Payoff |
Probability |
Return |
| Natural Royal Flush |
1000 |
0.000026 |
0.026063 |
| 5 of a kind |
200 |
0.000093 |
0.018572 |
| Wild Royal Flush |
100 |
0.000107 |
0.010733 |
| Straight Flush |
50 |
0.000594 |
0.029694 |
| 4 of a Kind |
17 |
0.008497 |
0.144445 |
| Full House |
7 |
0.015604 |
0.109228 |
| Flush |
5 |
0.015975 |
0.079873 |
| Straight |
3 |
0.016877 |
0.050630 |
| 3 of a Kind |
2 |
0.133124 |
0.266249 |
| 2 Pair |
1 |
0.110483 |
0.110483 |
| Kings or Better |
1 |
0.140017 |
0.140017 |
| Nothing |
0 |
0.558604 |
0.000000 |
| Total Return |
|
1.000000 |
0.985987 |
|
If you're looking for Playtech progressive
jackpot tickers and casinos click on the following link:
Playtech
Progressive Casino Jackpot and Live Tickers
Recommended Playtech Casinos:
|
