I usually enjoy writing my columns each month, but I have to admit that I wish I didn't have to write this one. I'm a firm believer in the viability of Internet casinos and the right of all free people to participate in Internet gambling, but I would like to see the industry "grow up" and become as accepted as most brick-and-mortar casinos. Now, it's obvious that this site is supported by Internet casino advertising, but I would feel this way even if that wasn't the case. I'm in favor of anything which gives the consumer the most powerful weapon of all, choice, and the Internet does that very well. Competition is crucial in the casino industry because it keeps casino operators from letting greed creep into their business plans. Think that's a silly notion? Well, right here in Missouri, we have a perfect example of it. In the St. Louis metropolitan area, there are 6 different casinos and, according to the Missouri and Illinois state reports for January, 2000, the overall payouts on slots varies from a low of 93.6% up to 95.3%. However, in Caruthersville, which is way south of St. Louis, the overall slot payout for the only casino in the area is 90.7%. An amazing difference, isn't it?

The competition offered by Internet casinos means that someone who lives near Caruthersville, Missouri can gamble at a facility offering much better payoffs without incurring the expense of travel. That is, of course, if it's legal for them to do so and if the alternative casino is honest in their dealings with players. I won't go into all the legal ramifications of this argument, but I will take a moment to blast some of these greedy Internet casino operators who are offering games which, as you'll see, are apparently set up in such a way as to 'trick' the player. I'm not against a casino making a profit, nor do I feel that they should set their odds by my criteria, but they ought to at least be up-front with the fact that they're offering games with lower payouts. For example, many players (especially our readers) know that a Jacks or Better game with an "8/5" pay schedule isn't a very good deal, but there are still many to be found at brick-and-mortar casinos as well as at the Internet casinos. That's fine; the player can choose to put his or her $$$ at risk and the unknowing will suffer the consequences, but at least they have the opportunity to find out that an 8/5 game offers only a 97.3% long term return by visiting sites like this or by reading the wealth of information that's available in books or magazines.

The problem I have is that a lot of potential players may feel that a game with a "9/6" pay schedule is a good deal and that's pretty much the way it's been at brick-and-mortar casinos. But that's certainly not the case with some Internet casinos. Trading upon the "general rule" that 9/6 equates to a good game (see Part 1 of this series), far too many Internet casinos are leaving the 9 and 6 parts intact and changing other payouts to cut the return. The most egregious examples of this are all the CryptoLogic-powered casinos such as Intercasino, William Hill Casino, Sands of the Caribbean and others. What they've done is to drop the payout on Four of a Kind to 100 (from 125) and cut the payout on the Straight Flush to 200, instead of the usual 250. Now, why did they do it that way? Was it to trick the unwary? Well, I'm not a gambler, but I'd bet big $$$ that it was!

Here's a comparison, based on a 5-coin bet, so you'll know which game is good and which isn't:

Sadly, they didn't stop there. The very same Cryptologic took what may be a trade-marked name, "All American Poker" and changed that as well. The characteristic identifying mark of an All American game is, for most people, the uniform 40-coin payout on the Straight, Flush and Full House. That remains the same on the Cryptologic game, but the Straight Flush was cut to 450 (from 1000) and the payout on the Four-of-a-kind was cut to 175 from 200. The net result is to slash the return from 100.7% down to 98.1%. Here is a comparison of payouts:

Now, it may seem like I'm picking on Cryptologic and I guess I am, but they're not alone. Please understand that I'm not accusing these casinos of cheating, since I have no evidence that they are. But, I'm certainly disappointed that they've chosen to do business in the way they have. Here's another example. One casino that I've reviewed, Downtown Casino, has "screen shots" of the games they supposedly offer on their web site and they look pretty good. For example, they show a 9/6 Jacks or Better game, but when you download their software (a 30-minute project), the game is actually in a 6/5 format with a 5000-coin Royal Flush so the long-term payout is reduced to 95.5%. To me, that's just plain deceptive and any operation like this doesn't warrant anyone's business. The score I gave them in their review expresses that.

I'm currently writing a column for Chance Magazine where I review good games that are to be found at Internet casinos. One of my recommendations for the May/June, 2000 issue was a good Double-Joker game at GalaxiWorld Casino. This was in a 9/6 format that returned 100.35% for perfect play, but when I revisited GalaxiWorld a few weeks after the magazine came out, they had changed the game to a 7/5 format which returns only 96.8%. Unbelievable!

Or, maybe not so unbelievable at all. The Internet gambling business is still in its infancy and there are undoubtedly going to be a certain number of hucksters and shysters attracted to it until they're weeded out. Please do your part and don't play at places which offer poor games, be they brick-and-mortar or cyber-casinos. As always, if you're unsure about the return of any Video Poker game, e-mail the pay schedule to me and I'll get back to you with an evaluation as quickly as possible.

See you here next time.

©copyright, 2000 The GameMaster Online, Inc.