GameMaster Rating: 87 points (of 100)

General Comments: This casino is a relative newcomer to the scene (Sept., 1998) and is an advertiser on this site. It is owned by Global Intertainment (yep, that's how they spell it) Corp. which is headquartered in Vancouver, B.C. Their stock is traded on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol GGNC. Cyberbetz also offers a sports book, but that's outside the scope of this article and has not been included in the review. All of my play at this casino was for fun, no 'real' $$$ were involved at any time. This is a 'complete' casino, in that it offers virtually all games one would expect. As of the date of this review, bonuses were being offered to players who sign up for a 'real' $$$ account; a $25 bonus for opening with $100, a $100 bonus to those opening with $1000 and a $1500 bonus to those opening a $10,000 account. The site does not list any requirements for this bonus, other than the amount of the initial deposit, but most bonuses like this require some minimum amount of play before cashing out. There is no slot club, but evidently various player contests are held, since the winners of the "May-June Contest" are listed. I should also mention that Cyberbetz offers versions in several languages, besides English. A little bit of hype creeps in with the statement, "The best odds on the net", but there is no certification of this statement by any accounting firm.

Games Analysis (All this information was correct on the date listed above)

Blackjack: Single-deck which is shuffled after every hand. Double only 'hard' 9,10,11; no double after split; dealer stands on A-6; dealer does not take a hole card, so all doubled bets against a 10 or Ace are lost if dealer gets a Blackjack; insurance available. Only 'like' cards may be split. (You can't split J,K for example.) This version has excellent graphics and is very, very fast. The casino's edge is approximately 0.2%.

Blackjack playing tips: While it's a pretty good game, you need to remember that both bets are lost if you double or split pairs against a dealer's 10 or Ace and he (she, it?) gets a 'natural'. This requires a change in basic strategy. For some odd reason, the casino has 'spreads' set up for betting 2 to 20; 10 to 100 and 20 to 200. Why not make it 2 to 200? There's no gain from counting cards and, if you are at, say $20, you just need to choose the next higher spread if you want to bet more on the next hand. Never take insurance.

* The theoretical return is the long-term payback a player who is using the correct strategy may expect. The return is lower for 1-coin play because the Royal Flush pays less when fewer than 5 coins are played.

Video Poker Playing Tips: All the Cyberbetz Casino VP games offer an 'auto-hold' feature that will hold any 'made' hand, like a pair of Jacks or better on the Jacks game, trips on the Deuces game, etc. I recommend you use this option, but bear in mind that some hands which are held may not be the proper play. Auto-hold will not hold 'recommended' hands like four to a flush, however. The 10,000 coin payoff for 5 wild cards on the Deuces/Joker game applies only to 5-coin play. That's why there's such a large difference between the 5-coin and 1-coin returns. The Double Up option is also available.

Slot Machines:
Ten different are available and one of those has a progressive jackpot.

Craps:
This is a 'typical' game with single free odds. The Field bet pays double on 2 and 12, so the edge there is 5.26%. For some reason, your bet on the 'pass' line is moved to the point box when a point is made, so don't freak out; it only moved. You may then add odds on it up there. The graphics on this game are very nicely done.

Craps playing Tips: Be sure to read all the menu items at the top of the screen; this game leaves most bets 'on' during the come-out and you may not want that. Also, you may take back your odds bets by right-clicking on them at any time before the next roll.

Roulette:
This is a 'European' wheel with a single zero, so the casino has a 2.7% edge. The 'en prison' rule does not apply.

Baccarat:
They do not publish their rules for play, but I checked a few hands and it appears that they use 'standard' rules, though mine was a small sample. The 'commission' on a winning Banker bet is 5%. Ties pay 8 to 1. The casino's edge is 1.06% on a Banker bet and 1.23% on a Player bet. The edge on a Tie bet is a whopping 14.05%!!

Cyber-Stud Poker:
This is a version of Caribbean Stud with a slightly different pay out schedule. The problem here is that they have lowered the pay on two-pair from 2 to 1 to 1 to 1, but have increased the pay schedule for 'bigger' hands. The net result is that this game has a casino edge of 2.94% versus an edge of 2.70% for a game with a 'regular' schedule. There is no $1 side bet for a progressive jackpot.

Cyber-Stud Playing Tip: Call only if your hand is A,K,J,8,3 or better.

Pai-Gow Poker:
The casino is always the Banker in this game and the 'commission' on a winning bet is 5%, so when combined with the natural edge of the Banker, the net effect is a casino edge of about 3% against a skillful player. The casino seems to set the dealer's hand by a predetermined formula, but it is somewhat disconcerting to have to 'set' the Player hand before the Banker hand is even dealt.

Bingo:
Yes, there is such a thing as casino Bingo. It works by offering twenty cards for each game and the player may take up to 8 and the 'house takes whatever is remaining. The casino takes a 10% rake on each game, so that's basically the house edge against which you're competing. It's all automatic, so it's almost like playing Keno. Fun for a few games, whether or not you belong to a Catholic church.

Keno:
In the Cyberbetz Casino version, you may pick from 1 to 15 spots and the pay schedule varies accordingly. Unlike many other Keno games, this pays for some of the lower 'hits', so it reduces the 'variance' (bankroll swings), but they've shaved quite a bit off the higher end, so the net effect may be to lower the overall pay back of the game. When I get a chance, I'll do an analysis.

Sic-Bo:
This is an Asian dice game which I have never played before. The 'Help' menu at the game says that it's an 'ancient Chinese game of chance and strategy', but I don't see where the strategy comes in. Basically you're betting on various combinations which can be made by the three dice that are thrown. For example, if you bet that all 3 will show 'snake-eyes' (1-1-1), it pays 180 to 1. The only snag here is that the probability is 215 to 1. Any 'triple' pays 31 to 1, but the probability is 35 to 1. There are some pretty hefty house percentages here, so if you've got a craving for Chinese, you'll be better off ordering out.

Scratch Card:
This is an electronic version of the 'scratch cards' which state lotteries are wont to offer. Since there is no way to determine what the minimum payout on such a game may be, I cannot recommend that anyone play it.

Summary and Rating of the Cyberbetz Internet Casino: The Cyberbetz Casino's software is from Microgaming (same as The River Belle), so it's attractive, fast and similar to that operation. But there is no slot club, they do not offer "Playcheck" which is a complete record of all your play and, while they are licensed and owned by a public company, no affiliation with a recognized accounting firm is mentioned and no certification of the claimed odds are offered. Still, I enjoyed my visit and I think the discriminating player can find a good deal here, so I'm happy to give Cyberbetz Casino an 87-point rating.