harris
harris
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January 5th, 2026 at 7:50:44 PM permalink
Happy 2026 everyone!

I have an idea for a project, which I want to share with this forum. I think it would be very useful for players and inventors if there was a database showing every side bet and table game (including unique rules) at every casino. This will let people see what new games are out and see what pay tables are most popular, among other information.



Would anyone be interested in contributing information to my document?
Right now it is all kept in a Google Doc which only I can edit (so some troll doesn't vandalize or delete everything), but I am open to other suggestions.

Please let me know what you think. I know that a similar project exists solely within Vegas, but I would like to cover at least the Anglosphere or maybe the entire world one day.

Thanks for reading and have a great day!
smoothgrh
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January 6th, 2026 at 10:48:14 PM permalink
If I happen to swing by the San Jose card rooms, I’d be happy to take notes for you!
harris
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January 6th, 2026 at 11:07:10 PM permalink
Thanks - I was just there but I did not get the chance to see every side bet they had, and I might have forgotten a couple games.
harris
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January 6th, 2026 at 11:07:11 PM permalink
Thanks - I was just there but I did not get the chance to see every side bet they had, and I might have forgotten a couple games.
AutomaticMonkey
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January 7th, 2026 at 3:15:25 AM permalink
It's an ambitious project, but my opinion of it is you took too big a bite. This will be impossible to compile and maintain in a way that will be useful to readers.

Here's an alternative plan for you to consider:

1. Regular website, with a page for each casino.

2. You have an editor for each casino, someone who is local to the place. (An editor can have more than one casino page.) He has editing privileges for his pages and his job is to document everything available in that casino: table games, bets and limits available, slots, restaurants, entertainment, how much alcohol is in the drinks and how easy is it to get laid at the bar. This will be in a format that you choose.

3. Your first job- to create a searchable index of all games and bets. So I can be anywhere on the site and search for, say "Double Down Madness" and it will give me a list of all the pages for casinos where that is offered.

4. Your second job- put ads on all the pages. You and the editor for that page split the revenue. You'll also need a way for readers to report inaccurate information, in case you get as a casino editor some guy who puts BS just to get clicks.

Finding editors might be difficult. Any AP could be one, because we know what we are looking at in a casino, but I'm not sure that many other kinds of casino patrons would be diligent and accurate enough to report effectively.
aceside
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January 7th, 2026 at 4:00:20 AM permalink
I agree with monkey and am able to serve as an editor of the east. However, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’d rather see a picture of the table payout than any wordy description of it.
harris
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January 7th, 2026 at 4:06:34 AM permalink
Quote: aceside

I agree with monkey and am able to serve as an editor of the east. However, a picture is worth a thousand words, so I’d rather see a picture of the table payout than any wordy description of it.
link to original post



I have found that often, casinos will not let you photograph the tables, even if nobody is playing.
aceside
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January 7th, 2026 at 4:09:20 AM permalink
Casinos will not destroy your iPhone if they found out you just took a picture of the table payout or a jackpot amount.
harris
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January 7th, 2026 at 4:12:10 AM permalink
Replying to AutomaticMonkey:

I'm not creating an entire site where people can edit their specific pages. It's a good idea but so not worth the time/accounting that would require.

I know that using Google Docs is not ideal, but you can just use ⌘F to search whatever game or casino you want already.

It might be easier to just have a form where anyone can submit new information. Even the average person is smart enough to be able to recognize what games and side bets are in a casino just by looking.
billryan
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January 7th, 2026 at 7:40:43 AM permalink
Quote: harris

Replying to AutomaticMonkey:

I'm not creating an entire site where people can edit their specific pages. It's a good idea but so not worth the time/accounting that would require.

I know that using Google Docs is not ideal, but you can just use ⌘F to search whatever game or casino you want already.

It might be easier to just have a form where anyone can submit new information. Even the average person is smart enough to be able to recognize what games and side bets are in a casino just by looking.
link to original post



What would stop a casino employee from posting that the casino has better games than they do, figuring that once a person travels to their casino, few will leave because the game is missing? Your site's reputation depends on accurate, verified information
On the flip side, if a casino has a great opportunity, many APs won't advertise it.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
harris
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January 7th, 2026 at 8:23:08 AM permalink
Good point. I think it would usually be quickly apparent if someone was trying to fabricate information for the database, as the disappointed gambler could inform the site.

I recently learned of a database of all the blackjack games in America, which shows that such a project is feasible despite the potential interest of casinos and APs in obscuring that information
billryan
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harris
January 7th, 2026 at 8:44:45 AM permalink
It's feasible to make such a site. Monetizing it might not be so easy. Best of luck with it.
The older I get, the better I recall things that never happened
aceside
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January 7th, 2026 at 9:49:37 AM permalink
Quote: harris

I recently learned of a database of all the blackjack games in America, which shows that such a project is feasible despite the potential interest of casinos and APs in obscuring that information
link to original post


I believe I know which database you are talking about, but that information probably was accurate 10 years ago. If you need more updated input, just ask me.
gordonm888
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harris
January 8th, 2026 at 6:51:39 AM permalink
I like the idea of this database. I would be willing to help. You should probably use a system where people send you the info to be entered into the database.

First, is there an existing database of all the casinos? Including poker rooms? Is this only for the U.S.? Northern Canada may have some interesting games. And only the God of Gambling knows about the games and sidebets in Asian casinos. I used to have Asian customers who paid me to provide them spreadsheets for analyzing novel sidebets they were using in their casinos/poker rooms.
So many better men, a few of them friends, are dead. And a thousand thousand slimy things live on, and so do I.
harris
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January 8th, 2026 at 7:41:44 AM permalink
This website already seems to have information regarding all the casinos and cardroom in the United States. They also show what games are at each casino, though I think the information is outdated and they don't really include the specific rules or paytables nor side bets.
itsmejeff
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harris
January 8th, 2026 at 9:23:04 AM permalink
I am putting together something similar, but in a more structured sql-y way.

Getting information is not easy though. I wanted to include slot machines to make a master database all of gambles ever, but I could not even get a single response from slot machine companies. jerks.

My schema is fairly normalized. property table has location, operator is who runs it, casino is the actual operation itself with type, started, ended; games are broken into families, rules/variants are own table, and then games are linked to properties with their own first_seen and last_seen fields. but i am not a datascienceman and only barely know sql. i am sure you lot would have way more NFs than I do.

as currently designed, it could describe a game, link it to other games in same family (so blackjack, pontoon, and spanish 21 all appear under twenty-one-type games), show specific rules associated with a property, and when it started being played by those rules and under what names. when someone looks at a game variant for a specific property, they can answer yes/no/maybe to does the casino still offer this game.

it is not live, but the model is mostly complete. a few issues do exist, like dealing with same name but different game family (which is entirely possible, especially with foreign games). but, you know, so it goes.
harris
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January 8th, 2026 at 9:42:50 AM permalink
That is great Jeff,

I hope that we all can combine our efforts to make a free database for those interested.

Does your database include side bets and pay tables?
BigSlick
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January 8th, 2026 at 6:58:29 PM permalink
Quote: harris

That is great Jeff,

I hope that we all can combine our efforts to make a free database for those interested.

Does your database include side bets and pay tables?
link to original post



Good question and it creates an opportunity for me to clarify an old assumption. I've seen the same game (like Ultimate Hold'em) at various casinos and there are different side bet options and bet limits. Where the side bets differ, the payout tables and bet limits seem to be different, too.

I always just assumed the casinos set the pay tables and limits based on which betting options existed to make sure that side bonus bet wins wouldn't offset the House Edge for the main game.

Does anyone know if this is the case?
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have moisturized more.
harris
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January 8th, 2026 at 7:04:00 PM permalink
95% of the time, side bets have a significantly higher house edge than the main game.
BigSlick
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January 8th, 2026 at 7:05:33 PM permalink
I'm not sure that answers my question: as additional side bets get added, why do the payout odds change?

Might be easier if you just give me a reference for the 95% claim?
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have moisturized more.
harris
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January 8th, 2026 at 7:08:38 PM permalink
The casino picks the table based on how much money they want to make (higher house edge), but the casino also doesn't want it to be too high or people won't play it for long.

Look at any side bet on the Wizard of Odds website other than PairPlus in 3 Card Poker or Big 8 in Dakota Duel Draw, and you will see that the side bet has a much higher house edge than the main game.
BigSlick
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January 8th, 2026 at 7:13:08 PM permalink
Quote: harris

The casino picks the table based on how much money they want to make (higher house edge), but the casino also doesn't want it to be too high or people won't play it for long.

Look at any side bet on the Wizard of Odds website other than PairPlus in 3 Card Poker or Big 8 in Dakota Duel Draw, and you will see that the side bet has a much higher house edge than the main game.
link to original post



My question is more related to the payout odds of side bets and the maximums that are allowed for those bets

It's been my experience that the odds and the limits are different from casino to casino.

I get that the size of the casino can have an impact on max bet limits, but there also seems to be a relationship to the side bets that are offered.
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have moisturized more.
harris
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January 8th, 2026 at 8:02:16 PM permalink
I think the limits are more so in place on side bets that can pay 1,000:1, so that the casino does not go bankrupt. Some side bets like this only allow $1 to be placed on them.
BigSlick
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January 8th, 2026 at 10:35:45 PM permalink
That’s not been my experience. The only $1 caps I’ve seen are for Progressives. But thanks for weighing in…
If I'd known I was going to live this long, I would have moisturized more.
itsmejeff
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January 9th, 2026 at 7:28:34 AM permalink
Quote: harris

That is great Jeff,

I hope that we all can combine our efforts to make a free database for those interested.

Does your database include side bets and pay tables?
link to original post


The model can be adjusted to include anything. Here is basic how it look:

TABLE: property
pid
property_address JSON (not ideal as should be queriable, so mebs not?)
date_open
date_closed

TABLE: casino
cid
casino_name
pid
first_seen
last_seen

TABLE: operator
oid
operator_name
operator_info JSON
first_seen
last_seen

TABLE: casino_operator_history
cid
oid
start_date
end_date

TABLE: game
gid
game_name
game_family_type
game_desc

TABLE: game_family
game_family_type
family_name

TABLE: property_type
type_id
type_name
type_desc

TABLE: property_type_history
pid
type_id
start_date
end_date

TABLE: property_game_xref
pgid
pid
gid
start_date
end_date

TABLE: paytable
paytable_id
pgid
version
start_date
end_date
payout_structure JSON

TABLE: rules
rule_id
pgid
rule_set_name
start_date
end_date
rule_data JSON

TABLE: side_bet
sidebet_id
pgid
sidebet_name
start_date
end_date
payout_structure JSON

TABLE: machine_instance
machine_id
pgid
manufacturer
cabinet_type
serial_number
start_date
end_date

TABLE: notes
note_id
entity_type
entity_id
timestamp
note_text

again though, i am bad at SQL so this schema might be horrific. as it exists though, games can be attached to properties and then rules added. each can have start and end dates. and like there could also be photos attached to pgid's as "evidence" of games or rules existing.
TheProbMatrix
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harris
January 11th, 2026 at 3:31:31 PM permalink
This is a great idea. Finding specific side bets or rule variations across casinos is frustrating right now. You either rely on outdated forum posts or have to call each casino individually.
A centralized database would be incredibly useful for advantage players looking for specific pay tables, casual players wanting to find their favorite side bets nearby, and game inventors tracking where their games are placed.
The challenge will be keeping it updated. Casinos change floor layouts constantly, and side bets come and go without announcement. You'd probably need a community-driven approach where players report what they see, similar to how slot players track machine locations.
Some suggestions if you move forward with this:
Include the pay table details, not just "casino X has Dragon Bonus." The 8-to-1 versus 7-to-1 payout difference matters for anyone calculating edge.
Add date stamps so people know how recent the information is.
Maybe start with one region and expand. Trying to cover every casino globally from day one would be overwhelming.
Would definitely contribute sightings if this becomes a real project. Good luck with it.
Free casino analysis tools for smarter betting →
harris
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January 11th, 2026 at 6:09:52 PM permalink
I don't live near a casino but perhaps we can start by covering Las Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City?

Sadly I cannot contribute as there are no table games in my city of New York City. I know there will be one soon but I cannot gamble there because of work conflicts so I don't really feel like going. It would be like going to a barbecue just to watch other people eat lol. However I can contribute when I go to other places with casinos on my travels.

Does anyone else live in a city with lots of casinos that they go to?
AutomaticMonkey
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harris
January 11th, 2026 at 6:53:37 PM permalink
What you are considering has already been done in the video poker world.

Maybe this site can give you some ideas on how to set it up and manage it.

http://www.vpfree2.com
harris
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January 11th, 2026 at 7:20:24 PM permalink
Yes I really like that site and thought of it when I had the idea for the table games database.

However I do not really feel like setting up and managing another site for free. I already do that with my "Table Games Academy" site :)
I think that this could just be in the form of a long text document with some hyperlinks with an email for submitting new information, to be honest.
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