Wizard
Administrator
Wizard
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March 27th, 2014 at 3:09:33 PM permalink
I'm excited to launch version 6.0 of my Odds site! This update has been about six months in the making and hundreds of hours of work have gone into it. The site is huge, with over 1,600 pages, many with formatting errors that the previous version was more forgiving on.

As I write this, there are obviously issues with the graphics, but I expect that to be temporary. The "mirror" site before launch looked quite good. Nevertheless, I'm sure there are still hundreds of bugs to work through. Allow a few days for just the dust to settle and then feel free to report any bugs you find.

Thank you.
"For with much wisdom comes much sorrow." -- Ecclesiastes 1:18 (NIV)
beachbumbabs
beachbumbabs
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March 27th, 2014 at 3:18:29 PM permalink
Wow. That's graphically a quantum leap. Beautiful work, Wiz, and I assume, JB.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
SkittleCar1
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March 27th, 2014 at 3:31:57 PM permalink
Even mobile friendly!
DealerSix
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March 27th, 2014 at 3:47:30 PM permalink
Great job!
socks
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March 27th, 2014 at 3:50:31 PM permalink
I'm assuming this site rework was, in part, to drum up new advertising revenue? Other than a small "Bodog" casino ad on the front page, the ads are gone.
edit: my mistake, a small Bodog ad on every page. Still, it appears to be a downgrade for them.
DrEntropy
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March 27th, 2014 at 3:58:26 PM permalink
Looks good graphically, but as of 357 Pacific time the individual strategy pages don't load. I get:
Error: Undefined variable: oConnection File: /home/wizardofodds/wizardofodds.com/common/template.inc.php Line: 1745
"Mathematical expectation has nothing to do with results." (Sklansky, Theory of Poker).
sodawater
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:01:46 PM permalink
Literally none of the site works for me right now.
slyther
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:02:03 PM permalink
When clicking "Ask the Wizard" link I get this:

Error: Undefined variable: oConnection File: /home/wizardofodds/wizardofodds.com/common/template.inc.php Line: 1747
DrEntropy
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:07:48 PM permalink
And now the site is back ! Yeah ! Withdrawal symptoms subsiding... *wink*
"Mathematical expectation has nothing to do with results." (Sklansky, Theory of Poker).
RaleighCraps
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:08:32 PM permalink
I don't think Wiz wants error reports right now. He stated they are aware of issues, and should be cleared up in a couple of days.
Let's wait so as not to flood them with useless error reports.
Always borrow money from a pessimist; They don't expect to get paid back ! Be yourself and speak your thoughts. Those who matter won't mind, and those that mind, don't matter!
DrEntropy
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:10:31 PM permalink
Quote: RaleighCraps

I don't think Wiz wants error reports right now. He stated they are aware of issues, and should be cleared up in a couple of days.
Let's wait so as not to flood them with useless error reports.


Well sure, but when I posted NONE of the links worked. But its better now. But point taken, I will stop posting about it. Except for this post here of course. *wink*
"Mathematical expectation has nothing to do with results." (Sklansky, Theory of Poker).
beachbumbabs
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:11:26 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I'm excited... Allow a few days for just the dust to settle and then feel free to report any bugs you find.

Thank you.



I think the Wiz wanted to share the site while it's still going thru offline testing because it's such a dramatic change: kind of sharing it with his friends. Not that you can't note the bugs as you see them, but he asked for a few days before picking it apart, so maybe it would be worth holding off errata so there's not a lot of stuff already fixed by the time he's ready to address what you find right now.

EDIT: posted same time as above; excuse the duplicate thought.
If the House lost every hand, they wouldn't deal the game.
RaleighCraps
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:13:12 PM permalink
Quote: beachbumbabs

Quote: Wizard

I'm excited... Allow a few days for just the dust to settle and then feel free to report any bugs you find.

Thank you.



I think the Wiz wanted to share the site while it's still going thru offline testing because it's such a dramatic change: kind of sharing it with his friends. Not that you can't note the bugs as you see them, but he asked for a few days before picking it apart, so maybe it would be worth holding off errata so there's not a lot of stuff already fixed by the time he's ready to address what you find right now.

EDIT: posted same time as above; excuse the duplicate thought.



Aww.... I was just getting ready to bust you for ignoring little ol me. darn it
Always borrow money from a pessimist; They don't expect to get paid back ! Be yourself and speak your thoughts. Those who matter won't mind, and those that mind, don't matter!
endermike
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:16:55 PM permalink
Wiz, congrats. It looks slick and attractive. Was there any particular motivation for the change (better look, new functionality, new content, better search engine ranking)?
Mission146
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:46:38 PM permalink
That is slick!!!
https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/off-topic/gripes/11182-pet-peeves/120/#post815219
RaleighCraps
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March 27th, 2014 at 4:51:36 PM permalink
Craps is displayed on the main banner box, just below Black Jack. Whoda thunk it ?
Always borrow money from a pessimist; They don't expect to get paid back ! Be yourself and speak your thoughts. Those who matter won't mind, and those that mind, don't matter!
DrEntropy
DrEntropy
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March 27th, 2014 at 5:50:35 PM permalink
Quote: RaleighCraps

Craps is displayed on the main banner box, just below Black Jack. Whoda thunk it ?



Well of course in my humble opinion Craps should be on top !

BTW, I didn't post my error report in response to observing an offline testing site. I went direct to the www.wizardofodds.com to remind myself of something about baccarat, and found that the site was changed and I could not (at that time) get to any of the links, which I thought was important enough to report. It was resolved so quickly that I wish I had simply waited 15 minutes before posting, so sorry for the extra noise!

But back to the main point, the site really looks cool, and I like that the theme matches now with WizardOfVegas. Wizard of Odds is the only reliable source of information on casino gambling on the web as far as I am concerned!
"Mathematical expectation has nothing to do with results." (Sklansky, Theory of Poker).
Tomspur
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March 27th, 2014 at 6:19:42 PM permalink
For what it's worth, I like it!!

I especially liked your personal bio and semi mission statement in the "about us" section!

Keep it going Mike!!!
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” - Winston Churchill
RaleighCraps
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March 27th, 2014 at 6:25:10 PM permalink
I didn't mean to call you out specifically, DrEntropy, on the bug report. There were quite a few responses that had started.

And I agree. The new site looks terrific. In the craps section there are a few grammatical errors that I suspect may not get caught until pointed out later, but the site layout looks good. And the about us/Mike section was very good.
Always borrow money from a pessimist; They don't expect to get paid back ! Be yourself and speak your thoughts. Those who matter won't mind, and those that mind, don't matter!
AxelWolf
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March 27th, 2014 at 6:40:26 PM permalink
I noticed that it has the same exact skin as Bovada. Was this intentional did you use the same site editor?
♪♪Now you swear and kick and beg us That you're not a gamblin' man Then you find you're back in Vegas With a handle in your hand♪♪ Your black cards can make you money So you hide them when you're able In the land of casinos and money You must put them on the table♪♪ You go back Jack do it again roulette wheels turinin' 'round and 'round♪♪ You go back Jack do it again♪♪
DJTeddyBear
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March 27th, 2014 at 7:06:06 PM permalink
I won't point out any broken links or typos, etc - because I didn't find any!

Nice job!



HOWEVER . . .

The very first image I saw gave me a great reason to pause - it was a velvet rope. A velvet rope is a barrier. It says, "You don't belong here." In fact, the term "velvet rope" is used to indicate a method of keeping out the riff-raff.

If you like the velvet rope concept, get a photo where an usher is holding the rope open.

Then I looked at the other three images.

The Bovada image I assume comes from Bovada, and I saw no issues with it.

The BlaxkJack image has the players using home-game chips. That's fine. For the record, I've seen some big name casinos using stock photos on their literature and website. In fact, not only have I seen the same group of people that I have on the home page of my Poker For Roulette site, but the same photo itself has been on some casino's marketing.

So I give you a pass on the home game chips on the blackjack table photo.

But rounded edge dice for your craps image? FOUL!



I also poked around the site. It looks good. REAL good.

And thanks for keeping the site map the same. There are a lot of deep links to your site. Changing the look of pages is fine. Changing the urls would have been a disaster.
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
Tomspur
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March 27th, 2014 at 7:20:10 PM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear

If you like the velvet rope concept, get a photo where an usher is holding the rope open.



That is some top quality advice right there.......
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” - Winston Churchill
EvenBob
EvenBob
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March 27th, 2014 at 7:22:34 PM permalink
Shouldn't the Bovada banner be right at the top
of the page? You have to scroll down to find it.
In the old radio show days, coffee and cigarettes
sponsored the shows and the name of the product
was right there in the title. Old Gold brings you
the Jack Benny show. Sponsors want top billing.
"It's not called gambling if the math is on your side."
sodawater
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March 27th, 2014 at 7:35:19 PM permalink
Quote: EvenBob

Shouldn't the Bovada banner be right at the top
of the page? You have to scroll down to find it.
In the old radio show days, coffee and cigarettes
sponsored the shows and the name of the product
was right there in the title. Old Gold brings you
the Jack Benny show. Sponsors want top billing.



the new bovada ad is integrated with content, where it's much more likely to be noticed (well, at least until i blocked it with ABP). banner ads at the top of the page are obsolete in 2014.
TerribleTom
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March 27th, 2014 at 7:38:14 PM permalink
The "Rolls to Seven Ratio ” segment has some weirdness with the acronyms.
https://wizardofodds.com/games/craps/appendix/4/

Quite the upgrade. Site looks great!
endermike
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March 27th, 2014 at 7:40:39 PM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear

The very first image I saw gave me a great reason to pause - it was a velvet rope. A velvet rope is a barrier. It says, "You don't belong here." In fact, the term "velvet rope" is used to indicate a method of keeping out the riff-raff.

If you like the velvet rope concept, get a photo where an usher is holding the rope open.

Wow, thanks, I couldn't put my finger on it. I echo these comments. Overall I think the site looks clean and slick but something about a velvet rope on the landing page doesn't welcome. Wiz, you have an excellent site which tries to cater to both novice and expert. Yeah, the top banner with its Oz homage is goofy, but that feels right. This is a math nerd site shining light onto the closed, superstitious world of gambling. Just my feelings...

Edit: after reading the post below me, I think seeing an updated banner would be cool. Nareed is right that the banner is out of place with the new overall look.
rainman
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March 27th, 2014 at 8:07:25 PM permalink
Site looks real good, Modern and visually appealing. However your WoO logo banner looks dated and well kind of like this. http://www.artfuldoodlers.co.uk/files/My-Little-Pony.jpg Perhaps you could do a more realistic version, A real city scape
on the right (Vegas)? Also you could bend the WoO name in the arc of the rainbow and have the colors pass through them.
Be careful with the color though or you will get my little pony again.

I agree with DJ the rounded dice bother me.
98Clubs
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March 27th, 2014 at 9:22:09 PM permalink
I just stopped in at WoO. Very nicely done. I see black is the new black. Links to the "Dice Probability" and "Poker Probability" pages are up front on menu tab. Well Done! I do agree that the velvet rope barrier could usher us in. Some one up for a photo op? Our favorite model maybe?
Some people need to reimagine their thinking.
Tomspur
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March 27th, 2014 at 9:30:25 PM permalink
Quote: 98Clubs

I just stopped in at WoO. Very nicely done. I see black is the new black. Links to the "Dice Probability" and "Poker Probability" pages are up front on menu tab. Well Done! I do agree that the velvet rope barrier could usher us in. Some one up for a photo op? Our favorite model maybe?



You are going to open a can of worms...who is our favorite model?!?!?!?

Have we ever voted? I'm sure there must be an opinion pole somewhere about this? Maybe before my time?
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” - Winston Churchill
tringlomane
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March 27th, 2014 at 10:05:32 PM permalink
You missed it.

https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/questions-and-answers/advice/15532-which-model-would-you-like-to-see-more-of/

I have found at least one gaffe with the new site so far, will try to find more tomorrow if laziness doesn't get the best of me.
Tomspur
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March 27th, 2014 at 10:08:12 PM permalink
Quote: tringlomane

You missed it.

https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/questions-and-answers/advice/15532-which-model-would-you-like-to-see-more-of/



Thanks a bunch. Since we are talking about it here I will give my opinion here.

Mandy by a landslide even though I like brunettes but blondes tend to like me so Lisa should also get a cursory mention.

Still, Mandy hits all the right notes and if she feels she needs to be involved with the velvet rope, I certainly won't be the one to stop her :)
“There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man.” - Winston Churchill
michael99000
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March 27th, 2014 at 10:50:01 PM permalink
Quote: Wizard

I'm excited to launch version 6.0 of my Odds site! This update has been about six months in the making and hundreds of hours of work have gone into it. The site is huge, with over 1,600 pages, many with formatting errors that the previous version was more forgiving on.

As I write this, there are obviously issues with the graphics, but I expect that to be temporary. The "mirror" site before launch looked quite good. Nevertheless, I'm sure there are still hundreds of bugs to work through. Allow a few days for just the dust to settle and then feel free to report any bugs you find.

Thank you.


Awesome looking site Wizard.

And by far the most comprehensive, helpful, and informative site dedicated to casino gambling that exists right now. And from a quality standpoint, your sports betting section is now competitive with sites that are entirely dedicated to just that particular genre.
djatc
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March 28th, 2014 at 2:55:51 AM permalink
You know what the least I could do from the information I got from your site is to click the banners every so often. I encourage others to do the same. Don't worry the Volvo is on the way, just let me hit the Lion's Share and we are good.
"Man Babes" #AxelFabulous
chickenman
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March 28th, 2014 at 3:30:33 AM permalink
Very slick. Near perfect once the velvet rope disappears as others have noted.
MrCasinoGames
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March 28th, 2014 at 6:04:05 AM permalink
Site looks very good.
Stephen Au-Yeung (Legend of New Table Games®) NewTableGames.com
TheBigPaybak
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March 28th, 2014 at 7:40:52 AM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear


But rounded edge dice for your craps image? FOUL!



Well, we had to do something to see if people were paying attention... ;)

Thanks to everyone for the kind words on the re-design: absent such, I may have had to find another career path, or a tall building! :)

We still have some clean-up to do, and we weren't able to complete everything we would have wanted, although sometimes you just need to draw the line or the project will go on forever which is never good.

Also feel free to PM me on any issues you may see if you feel that makes more sense than the public forum.

Thanks everyone!
Lack of prior planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.
mds
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March 28th, 2014 at 9:01:50 AM permalink
Really well done despite a few spelling errors. Thank you!
TerribleTom
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March 28th, 2014 at 12:21:52 PM permalink
Wizard, you might want to devote some effort to updating links to your site from Wikipedia. There are more than a few, so it's going to be a project.
MaShuai
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March 28th, 2014 at 6:47:29 PM permalink
The site looks much better, nice work.

One thing I think needs looking at though is the top header, the one with the yellow brick road from the old site. In my opinion, it doesn't mesh well with the black color scheme.
You got to play the hand that's dealt you, that's what the old man always said.
teliot
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March 30th, 2014 at 8:12:41 PM permalink
https://wizardofodds.com/site/rss/feed.xml

Doesn't work.
Climate Casino: https://climatecasino.net/climate-casino/
PBguy
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March 30th, 2014 at 10:45:17 PM permalink
Quote: MaShuai

The site looks much better, nice work.

One thing I think needs looking at though is the top header, the one with the yellow brick road from the old site. In my opinion, it doesn't mesh well with the black color scheme.



That's exactly what I was thinking when I first clicked on the page. The new layout/design is great. Very clean and modern. The old header graphic is dated and cheesy.
TheBigPaybak
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March 31st, 2014 at 5:44:54 AM permalink
Quote: teliot

https://wizardofodds.com/site/rss/feed.xml

Doesn't work.



Should be working now, thanks
Lack of prior planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.
BleedingChipsSlowly
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April 3rd, 2014 at 11:03:22 AM permalink
Nice job! Certainly an improvement when using my iPhone to access the site. However, I thought it strange not to find something mentioned about the upgrade on the What's New at the Wizard of Odds page. I just ran across this thread today. I have submitted a few problem descriptions via the site but have not heard back. If this is a better place to do so, please let me know.
“You don’t bring a bone saw to a negotiation.” - Robert Jordan, former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia
sodawater
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April 4th, 2014 at 1:41:38 PM permalink


The giant velvet rope picture makes it look like the Web site is closed -- "come back later."

What is the rationale behind that design element? It's not even debatable. It is just poor design.
TheBigPaybak
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April 8th, 2014 at 4:21:31 AM permalink
Quote: sodawater


The giant velvet rope picture makes it look like the Web site is closed -- "come back later."

What is the rationale behind that design element? It's not even debatable. It is just poor design.



The homepage banner/panels are designed to be changed, and I expect most if not all of them will be after other items with the site are addressed. I agree that they can be improved, and it was really a matter of not letting "perfect be the enemy of the good" so to speak as other structural changes were made as we needed to set a launch date.

Thank you for your feedback.
Lack of prior planning on your part doesn't constitute an emergency on my part.
DJTeddyBear
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April 8th, 2014 at 8:26:44 PM permalink
Quote: sodawater

The giant velvet rope picture makes it look like the Web site is closed -- "come back later."

That's what I was thinking when I wrote this:
Quote: DJTeddyBear

The very first image I saw gave me a great reason to pause - it was a velvet rope. A velvet rope is a barrier. It says, "You don't belong here." In fact, the term "velvet rope" is used to indicate a method of keeping out the riff-raff.

If you like the velvet rope concept, get a photo where an usher is holding the rope open.


Soda's comments inspired me to look for something better.

This is the best I could come up with for an usher holding the rope. You can't tell if he's opening it or closing it. The picture in my head is of a white gloved usher holding the rope open, but his other hand is doing the "Enter this way" type of thing.

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-10172885-human-hand-unlocking-a-queue-barrier-on-white.php?st=79958f8

Here's something a little different you might like. It kinda plays well with the WoV logo rainbow.

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-9236057-red-carpet-star.php?st=409e195
I invented a few casino games. Info: http://www.DaveMillerGaming.com/ ————————————————————————————————————— Superstitions are silly, childish, irrational rituals, born out of fear of the unknown. But how much does it cost to knock on wood? 😁
sodawater
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April 8th, 2014 at 9:37:27 PM permalink
Quote: DJTeddyBear


Here's something a little different you might like. It kinda plays well with the WoV logo rainbow.

http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-photo-9236057-red-carpet-star.php?st=409e195



I really like this one.
98Clubs
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April 9th, 2014 at 12:02:04 AM permalink
Just replace that star with a Big Stack o' Chips.
Some people need to reimagine their thinking.
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