Stos (faro variant)

I know I've bombarded the forum with threads on new online games, and this is another one. However, this game is not just another variant of keno or number prediction game. In fact, it is pretty much faro, but they introduce betting on suits. The name of the game is Stos.

Despite the simplicity of the game, it was pretty hard to explain. Please let me know if my explanation wasn't clear. As always, I welcome all other comments, suggestion, and especially corrections.



The question for the poll is would you play Stos?

The explanation was good enough for me to understand it.

If it were in a brick and mortar casino and I was with my wife then we would probably play, since it has a low house edge and little strategy is involved.

I understood your explanation of the game. Although, it would be tough on a dealer in a real casino to explain and it would be easy for mistakes to occur. The game has a low house edge and it seems like you could play it for a long time without losing a lot of money. I guess my only concern would be how fast the game is dealt. If it is dealt fast like blackjack, then I might be hesitant to play for too long.

I voted no simply because I don't bet on any game unless I am crystal clear on the rules.
Its kind of confusing
My suggestion is a link to a free play game so players dip their toe in the water to try it out.
If I considered playing this game, I would want to play for free just so I can become crystal clear on the rules and pace.

This comment makes me a bit uncomfortable "The way this game is actually played is that if nothing happens, then the player has about one second to click the "pause" button, otherwise the next set of two cards will be dealt"
Sounds fast. maybe too fast.

There doesn't seem to be any strategy to improve odds

The big attraction to this game seems to be the 17 bets
That's a lot of choices.
Not for me considering that when I play craps, I ignore all the possible bets and simply play the dark side not laying odds.

Quote: terapined

My suggestion is a link to a free play game so players dip their toe in the water to try it out.

I played it for fun at Bet Voyager. We don't like to link to Internet casinos unless we're getting compensated for the traffic. I think my boss can work something out with them as they seem like a good operation.

Quote:

This comment makes me a bit uncomfortable "The way this game is actually played is that if nothing happens, then the player has about one second to click the "pause" button, otherwise the next set of two cards will be dealt"
Sounds fast. maybe too fast.

I think the player can speed up or slow down the pace. It just defaults to about one second per round.

It's not clear from the description if the player must place both a rank bet and a suit bet. Can a player place a rank bet only? (It would seem that a suit bet without a rank bet would never get taken or paid - can you confirm that just a suit bet is not accepted?)

I noticed two places that need editing.

The suits bet rule 3 should specify that the odd color match loses half. I originally thought rules 2 & 3 were redundant until I read the explanation and realized there was that error.

Also, in the rank bet analysis paytables, you talk about the first and second cards rather than the odd and even cards. Frankly, I think first and second card is better terminology, but if the game calls them odd and even, your page should use odd and even consistently as well.

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Would I play? No.

Live play I think there would be too many mistakes. Or at least too much confusion and too many pauses to explain (or correct!) the outcome.

Online the game probably progresses too quickly. I like to know WHY I win or lose on each hand. That's a problem with a lot of online games (your own craps simulator comes to mind). Too often the chips move too fast to see what happened. Sometimes even too fast to know how much was won or lost.

Quote: Dieter

It's not clear from the description if the player must place both a rank bet and a suit bet. Can a player place a rank bet only? (It would seem that a suit bet without a rank bet would never get taken or paid - can you confirm that just a suit bet is not accepted?)

The player must bet the rank and the odds bet is optional. It is like the pass and odds bet in craps. A suit bet without a rank bet would never get resolved, since the rank bet must match the Odd or Even card for the suit bet to be adjudicated.

Thanks DJ for your comments.

I went over to bet voyager and played a little Stos.
It was interesting but to me just another card game.
In a way cards are so last century.
I played a few minutes and moved on checking out the casino.
Looking for something different and I found it.
They have pachinko at Bet Voyager:-)
How about a online pachinko review?
Why cant this game make it in Vegas. Its huge in Japan.
I checked out the Bet Voyager version of pachinko, a bit disappointed.
Too much like slots. Hit a button and a bunch of balls shoot out one after another.
No control over the strength of the ball shot which is a huge fun part of the game.
My suggestion to improve the online version is give a player control over the strength of the shot with a system similar to video game golf.
I would love to see Pachinko in Vegas, are you listening ahigh :-)