New Bovada review

...erm?

1: Why is there nothing about the downloadable casino (other than "it exists")?
2: Why are the Jackpot Poker games (including the "Wizard's favorite") now listed as having unknown edges?

/I've been meaning top post this for a while, but the payouts are just wrong. The Wiz really needs to look at the changes they've made since he put those up.

For example, only single line JoB is 9/6, the rest are 8/5.

He has the six deck BJ as not allowing surrender, It lets me surrender.

Thanks for the comments and I will make the appropriate corrections when I get the chance.

Quote: 24Bingo

1: Why is there nothing about the downloadable casino (other than "it exists")?
2: Why are the Jackpot Poker games (including the "Wizard's favorite") now listed as having unknown edges?

1. It was quite a bit of work to just review the Flash casino. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the download has mostly the same games.
2. Because they are progressive and depend on jackpot size.

Quote: Wizard

Thanks for the comments and I will make the appropriate corrections when I get the chance.



1. It was quite a bit of work to just review the Flash casino. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the download has mostly the same games.
2. Because they are progressive and depend on jackpot size.

Yes the flash has most all of the the same games including progressives. There are a few of the OLDER slots that it does not include.

You can play the full flash casino (not just the mobile games) on just about any I phone, tablet, android phone. However you need a special browser to do so.

The blackjack rules need to be looked at again.

can someone maybe post the house edge when you split aces but dont draw another card and play with just the one ace on the second hand

rimshot please.

After further review of the tongue-firmly-planted-in-cheek remark I feel compelled to add "Split Aces recieve one card" has apparently a second meaning. Its that missing word that would remove "each" and "every" doubt.

Quote: Wizard

1. It was quite a bit of work to just review the Flash casino. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the download has mostly the same games.

Fair enough. For the record:

3-reel slots (there are 14 unique to the downloadable):
-777 Inferno. Bar payouts (as well as 3 blanks) are the same (i.e., not scaled) regardless of whether you bet 1 credit or 3; 7's and fire pay nothing at one credit, fixed amounts at 2, and double those amounts (plus a progressive for triple fire) at 3.
-It's Good to be Bad. Perfectly scaled, except that playing for 3 credits opens up a side game that keeps track of consecutive losing spins; after 4, you can "cash in" for some number of guaranteed winning spins. I don't know what these are, except 1 after 4, 2 after 6, 4 after 7. 29 losing spins in a row, if you don't cash them in, earn a progressive jackpot. (If you haven't guessed this game is stuffed with cherries, you must be new here.)
-Lucky Lightnin. Very little to say.
-Lightspeed. Top prize only 100-200-400. A particular symbol (which never pays) coming up on the payline on a 3-credit increases a multiplier, which goes up to 7 and resets on any win. Top prize x7 wins a progressive. Fixed at 25¢.
-The Big Heist. There's a minigame played with 3 credits where a certain symbol either coming up 50 times, or coming up triple, wins a bonus. I have no idea how much this bonus might be.
-Bank on It. Three blanks "deposits" your bet into a "bank," which starts at 150 and is won by getting 3 of a particular symbol.
-Diamond Mine. (Not to be confused with Super Diamond Mine.) Pretty standard.
-Diamond Mine Deluxe. Again, pretty standard; it's basically the same game with a few wilds thrown in.
-Crazy Dragon. "One" symbol is the head, midsection, and tail of a dragon, each on its own reel. It doesn't pay, but you get 2 free spins for the head, 5 for the head and midsection, and 20 for the whole thing. If you manage to rack up 100 free spins on one pull, you get a progressive. Otherwise perfectly scaled.
-Bonkers. Two or three cherries get respins on which a win is guaranteed. No extra respins can be earned.
-Frozen Assets. No game, just Stephen Fry at a typewriter. I think this may be a rather recent addition. No game, just a crazed, singing ice witch illustrating the absurdity of hereditary monarchy. A particular symbol increases a counter; another decreases it, but increases the attached bonus, which starts at 500. Neither pays. I think the latter is less common. Reach 200 (!) for the bonus.
-Operation MYOW (...!). You get to pick between a collection of pay tables.
-Pharaoh's Gold. Rather than 3 coins on 1 line, each coin goes to a separate line. Hitting the top prize (normally only 50 credits) on the third line nets a progressive.
-High Rollers. Same deal, only 5 lines rather than 3. (Top prize only 48.)

Other slots:
-"Mid-Life Crisis" replaces "Shopping Spree." It looks like a palette swap, with a shared progressive, although the alternative to the progressive is a $100k sports car rather than a $100k shopping spree... not that it matters much with the progressive at nearly $2M.
-The "Real-Series" is greatly expanded. These are all basically palette swaps of "Dirty Martini."
-A game called "IRIS 3000," five reels, single line, 1-3 credits, played on 5 of seven "doors," with a scanny thing on 2 credits, or two scanny things on the max of 3, opening doors if they land on one of the two closed ones. You need five symbols to win however many doors are open. If both doors open, you get a multiplier.
-There are apparently eight I've missed, but... screw it.

Table games:
-"Face Up 21" - H17, player wins blackjack tie, DAS, 9-11 double, split unlike tens.
-War! What is it good for? No surrender - or rather, it's allowed, but you have to forfeit your entire bet. Not sure what double war does.
-"Match Play 21" - H17, surrender any number of cards, "Match Play" (Super Sevens) pay 40:1.
-Perfect Pairs - pay table A.
-Pontoon.
-Red Dog.
-Super 21.
-Caribbean Draw Poker - I don't know if this has an analogue on the main site.

Also "specialty games":
-Sic Bo - Aussie rules.
-Bonus Bingo - 44 numbers drawn, fixed payouts for each of a few combinations.

And of course, the VP:
-Aces & Eights - 25-7-5
-All-American Poker - 35-8
-Sevens Wild - Top table.
-Pick 'Em Poker - The late great. Straights now pay only 10.
-7 Stud.
-Mystery Bonus Poker - JoB, default pay table 800-40-20-8-5-4-3-2-1, with a random hand bumped up by 50% (rounded down, but at least 1) before each draw.

Quote: Wizard

2. Because they are progressive and depend on jackpot size.

...er... are they...?

The "Jackpot Video Poker" games are not based progressive jackpots. A little while ago I estimated them using the apps available on WoO, and figred that Jackpot poker had around 99.6% return, but it's not programmed into the app so I had to do some rough calculations.

Anyway, there are no progressive video poker games on Bovada. I really wish they had at least one, though.

The "Double Jackpot" and "Double Double Jackpot" games found in RTG software can be analyzed by selecting Double Double Aces and Faces as the game in the video poker calculator or strategy generator (just be sure to modify the paytable accordingly).

8/5 Double Jackpot returns 99.6274%, and 9/6/5 Double Double Jackpot (with the clipped AWAK payout) returns 99.3359%.

I totally missed that there was a DDAF game in the app. I was really close anyway :-)

Apropos of nothing, I think I've worked out a return of 95.85% on the initial wager for 7 Stud with perfect strategy.

Quote: teddys

The blackjack rules need to be looked at again.

Thanks again for bringing this to my attention. I just completely redid the entire blackjack table and mentioned the house edge is higher for multi-play Jacks or Better. House edge figures are now based on total-dependent basic strategy and a shuffle after every hand.

I welcome all comments and corrections.