Posts Tagged ‘video blackjack’
Do The Casinos Cheat At Video Games Part7
The letter writer continues: "A slot mechanic employee told us he sets the payouts on these video-BJ machines the same as any other slot machine…he assured us that the payouts were different for each machine…If it is a so-called 'slot device' with a set payout, this game borders on being illegal, or at least a misrepresentation."
This is disturbing news because, if true, it would mean that the payout schedule on these machines had nothing to do with the actual payback percentages. If several video-blackjack machines of the exact same type are paying different amounts—then the game is misleading—and, sadly, my fellow video-poker, video-blackjack writers have unknowingly misled themselves and others as to the nature of the games being offered in New Jersey (and other states) because no one has bothered to research the regulated states' actual rules governing video-poker, video-blackjack, video-anything machines.
Finally, to fuel my frustration and mounting ire, the September 1993 issue of Blackjack Forum, once again has Allan Pell writing on these slot machines in video-machine clothing. In an article entitled "Rip-Off Robo-Dealers II," Pell goes after the Japanese video-game manufacturers for employing "an electronic variable hold—which in essence are dip switches (toggles) that vary the programming" on their machines. "All sorts of little tricks can be programmed in without your knowledge, like never dealing you an ace when your first card is a ten, etc. Programming tricks can overcome any set of rules with a seemingly positive expectation."
Pell also states that not only is the Japanese company SEGA selling these machines in the Pacific rim casinos but that cruise ships are loaded with them. In addition Pell states that "manufacturers like Sigma, Irem, International Games Technology, and Bally's operate and sell devices outside the regulated jurisdictions," the implication is that even machines that appear to be standard Las Vegas-type machines may actually use variable programming. Pell concludes his piece: "Expect to see new forms of electronic gambling introduced, but be wary. The game may look the same as a unit on the floor in Vegas, but it only takes a different chip inside it to turn it into a bankroll vampire."
So my quandary continues and I must return to the initial question of this chapter: Do Casinos Cheat at Video Poker and Other Video Games? Fact: the variable programming machines are out there, according to Pell and Friedman, on cruise ships and in non-regulated jurisdictions and in foreign casinos. Fact: we know, based on Dr. James Schneider's remarks, how easy it would be to fix machines so that they wouldn't really be random-shuffle machines. Fact: casinos exist for one reason and one reason only—to take your money (albeit in as pleasant a way as possible). Fact: both AP and I, and others, most notably Dan Paymar, have noticed some strange "patterns" on some draw poker machines—in a regulated state. Fact: the anonymous New Jersey letter writer apparently discovered this type of slot-machine-in-video-machine-clothing in Atlantic City casinos—another supposedly regulated venue.
So what do all these facts add up to? A big CAUTION. As Dr. Schneider said, it's hard to believe the casinos would risk the bad publicity inherent in the public finding out that they are less than honorable in executing their games. Still, some casinos do bar card counters at blackjack, or harass people who play the Captain's Supersystem in craps, both certainly less-than-honorable practices. Maybe only certain types of bad publicity would bother them, then?
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Tags: video blackjack, video poker
Do The Casinos Cheat At Video Games Part6
Dr. Schneider: That's it.
Frank: Assuming honesty.
Dr. Schneider: Assuming honesty.
I thought I had laid my qualms to rest about the possibility of casinos and/or manufacturers cheating at video poker, when I was reminded of a series of articles and letters in Blackjack Forum in 1992-93 concerning video blackjack. I quickly went through my back issues.
There was a highly revealing short piece by Joel H. Friedman titled "Beware of SEGA Robo-Dealers" in the December 1992 issue. After discussing the excellent rules and payouts for the SEGA Blackjack Super Magic Vision model, rules and payouts that give the player a better than five percent advantage— if the game were "honest"—Friedman writes: "So how can casinos make money with a game that has such favorable rules? The SEGA handout lists as a feature of their machine, 'Operator selected percentages from 84% to 99% in one percent increments.' It seems that the blackjack rules are fixed, but the house edge is adjustable.'
The SEGA machines did not meet the regulatory requirements of Nevada, since they represented themselves as card games, when in reality they were slot machines. The difference between the two is easy to delineate: randomly shuffled card games manipulate the payout schedule to give the casino and/or player an edge, whereas a slot machine manipulates the results. It's the difference between a dealer shuffling and dealing honestly or a card mechanic who can decide which cards will come up next in order to help the house or player win more. In video-poker parlance, the former is a random shuffle, the latter a non-random shuffle.
The conclusion of Friedman's article stresses that SEGA machines can be found in casinos all over the world—especially on cruise ships, in Asia and in Europe.
In that same issue, Allan Pell writes "that outside of Nevada and New Jersey [or any locality that strictly controls casino practices] no protection exists for the unsuspecting player. In effect, the manufacturers are cheating you—legally that is! Devices may lure players with great rules, but the software can defeat you with everything from peeking and dealing seconds, to programming that prevents you from getting a blackjack in your lifetime. This also applies to other video games—seven out more in craps, etc. The machines can be programmed to defeat you, regardless of the supposed odds of the game."
Okay, after finishing Friedman's and Pell's excellent and informative articles, one would think that the safest course for a video-poker, video-blackjack, video-anything aficionado would be to play in regulated casinos where you were sure of the game you were getting. Remember, you want a game where randomness dictates the fall of the cards, the roll of the dice or whatever; you want a game where the payout schedule can be analyzed to show just what the percentages are and that these percentages reflect what is actually happening vis a vis the game you are playing. Let me repeat—a slot machine does not have to tell you what percentages you face, it's programmed to pay back whatever the casino wants it to give back. According to Mr. Handle (see my book Break the One-Armed Bandits!) slots in his casinos are programmed from 83 to 99 percent and that is generally the range for most reputable casinos in the country.
However, the very next issue of Blackjack Forum (March 1993) had a truly disturbing letter from an anonymous individual in New Jersey discussing the video-blackjack machines in some casinos in Atlantic City—a regulated state. This individual writes: "Upon questioning casino personnel, and the New Jersey Casino Control Commission people, the following comments were made: the casino slot manager says these [video-blackjack] machines were registered as slot machines [italics mine] and meet all the NJCCC regulations pertaining to slot devices. The NJCCC person agreed, noting that the game is a 'randomly' dealt video-poker game with a set payout of anywhere from 83% to 99%, which meets the NJCCC requirements."
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Tags: card games, slot machines, video blackjack