Disclaimer: Let it be known that I have served as a consultant to Odds On. While this review was originally written before they engaged my services I do update it from time to time. This review attempts to be unbiased and mostly sticks to the game rules, odds, and strategy. While I feel comfortable there is no conflict of interest I think it is appropriate to disclose the relationship.
The following game rules are based on the English Harbour casino. It is likely that the Caribbean Gold and Silver dollar also follow these rules since they are part of the same group of casinos. I do not know what rules may be configurable.
The look of the English Harbour games is quite different from that at the Orion Casino, another OddsON casino. In both cases the game play was a bit slow and mechanical for my preferences. However it was easy to jump in and play in both cases.
The game rules have a strong resemblance to those of Microgaming, which are often exactly the same. Unlike Microgaming the player is not restricted to certain bet amounts but may make any bet subject to the table limits. Overall the game rules are sometimes generous and sometimes stingy. For example the video poker and keno returns are among the best on the Internet but the blackjack and craps rules are comparatively tight.
Baccarat
The usual rules are followed. Eight decks are used. The following WildCasino.ag Review table shows the house edge according to the bet made.
Probabilities in 8-deck Baccarat
Bet Combinations Probability House
Edge
Bank 2,292,252,566,437,888 45.86% 1.06%
Player 2,230,518,282,592,256 44.62% 1.24%
Tie 475,627,426,473,216 9.52% 14.36%
Blackjack
The rules are as follows:
Four decks
Dealer stands on soft 17
Double on 9 to 11 only
No doubling after splitting
No resplitting
Player may not draw to split aces
No surrender
Full no peek (player loses total amount bet against dealer blackjack)
Insurance not resolved until end of hand
Betting limits: $2-$200
Following is the correct basic strategy for these rules.
The house edge under these rules is 0.73%, the highest I have seen on the Internet.
There is also a game called “progressive blackjack” which features a $1 side bet. The following table shows the pay table based on the $13,559 meter on September 27, 2002.
Hand Permutations Probability Pays Return
4 red/black aces 3360 0.000002 13559 0.025056
4 aces 40320 0.000022 1355.9 0.030067
3 suited aces 18432 0.00001 2500 0.025343
3 non-suited aces 626688 0.000345 250 0.086166
2 suited aces 1889280 0.001039 50 0.051953
2 non-suited aces 7557120 0.004156 25 0.103906
1 ace 129730560 0.071349 0 0
no aces 1678389120 0.923077 0 0
Total 1818254880 1 0 0.322492
The lower right cell shows a return of 32.25%, or a house edge of 67.75%! For the meter to have no house edge it would need to reach $180209.81.
Craps
OddsON craps players may not bet more than their original wager either buying or laying the odds. The combined house edge on the pass side is 0.85% and on the don’t pass side is 0.82%. Total winnings always get rounded down to the next dollar so be sure to bet in correct increments.
There are win bets, which work and pay the same way as place bets. To bet against a place number the player can make a “lose bet.” These pay 2-5 on the 4 and 10, 4-7 on the 5 and 9, and 4-5 on the 6 and 8. The house on these bets is 6.67%, 5.71%, and 1.82% respectively.
The proposition bets pay the same bad odds as conventional craps.
Island Progressive Stud Poker
This is the same game as Caribbean Stud Poker. The only difference is that in this game there is a modified pay table as follows.
Hand Pays
Royal flush 1000-1
Straight flush 200-1
Four of a kind 100-1
Full house 15-1
Flush 10-1
Straight 4-1
Three of a kind 3-1
Two pair 1-1
Pair 1-1
Ace/king 1-1
The betting limits on the ante are $1-$200.
The strategy is still the same as for the conventional pay table game. The house edge under these rules is 5.03%. This is better than the 5.22% house edge for the conventional pay table.
In addition there is a progressive side bet. The side bet is always $1 and pays as follows.
Hand Pays
Royal flush 100% of meter
Straight flush 10% of meter
Four of a kind $500
Full house $100
Flush $50
The house edge on the side bet is 63.76% less 2.92% for each $10,000 in the meter. On October 9, 2001, the meter at both the English Harbour and Silver Dollar casinos was at $62,216. For the side bet to have no house edge the meter would need to reach $218,047.37
Keno
OddsON uses the same paytable as Microgaming, which offers very competitive returns. Following is the expected return according to the number of picks. The best bet is the pick 13.
Picks Return
1 75.00%
2 92.09%
3 93.04%
4 93.79%
5 93.87%
6 93.79%
7 96.35%
8 92.90%
9 92.86%
10 94.54%
11 93.10%
12 94.22%
13 96.54%
14 95.42%
15 95.19%
Roulette
A single zero wheel is used. The house edge is 2.70%.
Slots
There are 15 slot games to choose from. The player may choose from coinages of $0.50, $1.00, $5.00, and $10.00. I have no information about the theoretical or actual return.
Video Poker
OddsOn offers the same video poker games and paytable as Microgaming. The player may choose from coinages of $0.50, $1.00, $5.00, and $10.00. Four out of six games have a return of at least 99%, however none are over 100%. The following tables shows the return of all six gams available assuming optimal strategy.
OddsON Video Poker – Expected Returns
Game Return
Jacks or better 0.995440
Aces and faces 0.992556
Tens or better 0.991388
Deuces and joker wild 0.990677
Joker poker 0.985987
Deuces wild 0.967650
The following tables display the pertinent statistics for OddsON’s video poker games.
Jacks or Better – OddsON
Hand Payoff Number Probability Return
Royal flush 800 493512264 0.000025 0.019807
Straight flush 50 2178883296 0.000109 0.005465
4 of a kind 25 47093167764 0.002363 0.059064
Full house 9 229475482596 0.011512 0.103610
Flush 6 219554786160 0.011015 0.066087
Straight 4 223837565784 0.011229 0.044917
3 of a kind 3 1484003070324 0.074449 0.223346
Two pair 2 2576946164148 0.129279 0.258558
Jacks or better 1 4277372890968 0.214585 0.214585
Nothing 0 10872274993896 0.545435 0.000000
Total 19933230517200 1.000000 0.995439
Deuces Wild – OddsON
Hand Payoff Number Probability Return
Natural royal flush 800 452009940 0.000023 0.018141
4 deuces 200 3570521856 0.000179 0.035825
Wild royal flush 25 36624375216 0.001837 0.045934
5 of a kind 16 62398218024 0.003130 0.050086
Straight flush 13 114654402804 0.005752 0.074775
4 of a kind 4 1242075806484 0.062312 0.249247
Full house 3 418137265908 0.020977 0.062931
Flush 2 352258762272 0.017672 0.035344
Straight 2 1154033170176 0.057895 0.115790
3 of a kind 1 5572718074608 0.279569 0.279569
Nothing 0 10976307909912 0.550654 0.000000
Total 19933230517200 1.000000 0.967641
Joker Wild – OddsON
Hand Payoff Probability Return
Natural Royal Flush 1000 0.000026 0.026063
5 of a kind 200 0.000093 0.018572
Wild Royal Flush 100 0.000107 0.010733
Straight Flush 50 0.000594 0.029694
4 of a Kind 17 0.008497 0.144445
Full House 7 0.015604 0.109228
Flush 5 0.015975 0.079873
Straight 3 0.016877 0.050630
3 of a Kind 2 0.133124 0.266249
2 Pair 1 0.110483 0.110483
Kings or Better 1 0.140017 0.140017
Nothing 0 0.558604 0.000000
Total Return 1.000000 0.985987
Deuces & Joker Wild – OddsON
Hand Pays Probability Return
Five Wilds 2000 0.000008 0.015458
Natural Royal Flush 800 0.00002 0.015832
Four Deuces 25 0.000149 0.003728
Natural Royal Flush 12 0.002801 0.033607
Five of a Kind 9 0.005508 0.049568
Straight 6 0.00743 0.044578
Four of a Kind 3 0.081337 0.24401
Flush/Full House 3 0.055635 0.166904
Straight 2 0.066109 0.132218
Three of a Kind 1 0.284773 0.284773
Nothing 0 0.496232 0
Total 1 0.990677
Aces & Faces – OddsON
Hand Pays Probability Return
Royal Flush 800 0.000025 0.019876
Straight Flush 50 0.000106 0.0053
Four aces 80 0.000196 0.015668
Four Jack-King 40 0.000587 0.023479
Four 2-10 25 0.00158 0.039507
Full House 8 0.011515 0.09212
Flush 5 0.01086 0.054301
Straight 4 0.011212 0.044847
Three of a Kind 3 0.074474 0.223422
Two Pair 2 0.129318 0.258637
Jacks or Better 1 0.215399 0.215399
Nothing 0 0.544728 0
Total 1 0.992555
Tens or Better – OddsON
Hand Payoff Probability Return
Royal flush 800 0.000026 0.020546
Straight flush 50 0.000103 0.005141
Four of a Kind 25 0.002358 0.058958
Full house 6 0.011497 0.068984
Flush 5 0.010654 0.053270
Straight 4 0.012357 0.049429
Three of a Kind 3 0.074265 0.222795
Two Pair 2 0.129007 0.258013
Tens or Better 1 0.254251 0.254251
Nothing 0 0.505482 0.000000
Total 1.000000 0.991388
