Video Slot Machines

The video slot machine is a more recent innovation, with no moving parts at all – instead a graphical representation of one appears on screen. Since the player is essentially playing a computer game, the manufacturers are able to offer more interactive elements, such as advanced bonus games and advanced video graphics.

In addition, because there are no mechanical constraints on the design of video slot machines, most display five reels rather than three. This greatly expands the number of possibilities: a machine can have 50 or more symbols on a reel, giving odds as high as 300 million to 1 against – enough for even the largest jackpot. As there are so many combinations given by five reels, the manufacturers do not need to weight the payout symbols although some may still do so. Instead, higher paying symbols will typically appear only once or twice on each reel, while more common symbols, earning a more frequent payout, will appear many times.

Video slot machines typically encourage the player to play multiple 'lines', so rather than simply taking the middle of the three symbols displayed on each reel, a line could go from top left to bottom right, or any of the other patterns specified by the manufacturer. As each symbol is equally likely, there is no difficulty for the manufacturer in allowing the player to take any or all of the possible lines on offer – the long-term return to player will be the same. The difference for the player is that the more lines he plays the more likely he is to get paid on a given spin – though of course he is betting more in the first place.

To avoid the feeling that the player's money is simply ebbing away whereas a payout of 100 credits on a single line machine would be 100 bets, and the player would feel they had made a substantial win, on a 20 line machine, it would only be 5 bets and would not seem significant, manufacturers commonly offer bonus games, which can return many times their bet. The player is encouraged to keep playing to reach the bonus: even if he is losing, the bonus game could allow him to win back his losses.

Bouillotte

Bouillotte, a vying 18th century French gambling card game of the Revolution, based on Brelan, very popular during the 19th century in France and again in America for some years from 1830. Bouillotte is regarded as one of the games that influenced the open-card stud variation in poker.

A piquet pack is used, from which, in case five play, the sevens are removed. When four the knaves, and when three the queens are omitted. The ace is the highest card in play and in cutting. Counters or chips, as in poker, are used. Before the deal each player antes one counter to the pot, after which each, the age passing, may raise the pot; those not seeing the raise being obliged to drop out.

Three cards are dealt to each player, and a thirteenth, called the retourné, when four play, turned up. Each player must then bet, call, raise or drop out. When a call is made the hands are shown and the best hand wins. The hands rank as follows:

Simple Brélan, three of a kind, ace being high.

Brélan Carré, four of a kind, one being the retourné.

Brélan Favori, three of a kind, one being the retourné.

If more than one player has a brélan, the best is one that matches the rank of the turn up a brélan carré, or squared-up brelan. If none matches, that of highest rank wins. Any player with a brelan receives a side-payment of one chip, two if it is a carré, from each opponent.

If no player holds a brélan, the hand holding the greatest number of pips wins. All hands are turned face up, including those of players who dropped. The face values of all these cards are totalled for each suit, ace counting 11, court cards 10 and numerals their face value. The best suit is the one with the highest visible total, and the player holding the highest card of it wins the pot, provided that he has not previously dropped. If he has, the winner is the player counting the greatest face value of cards in any other suit.

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Duplicate Poker

 

Duplicate poker is a variant of the popular card game poker. Duplicate poker is based on the principles of Duplicate Bridge but also involves some of the rules used for playing pot limit and no limit Texas hold'em.

Duplicate poker is a skill-based game in which there are two or more tables consisting of the same number of players. Each table is dealt with an identically shuffled deck of cards. Every player holds the same hand as the person seated in identical seats at other tables.

All players begin each hand with the ability to bet the same number of playing chips, regardless of prior performance in the previous rounds.

The object of Duplicate poker is to win more chips than your opponents sitting in corresponding seats at other tables. Ultimately, the winner is decided based on the total number of chips accumulated up until the end of the game, as compared with those held by all players in the same seats at the other tables. Conceivably, even a player who loses chips overall can win at the game if that player loses fewer chips than his opponents.

Duplicatepoker.com, the first poker room to use the format, closed down on October 5th 2008, citing the global financial crisis as the reason for the removal of services. It had previously been popular due to the fact that as a skill-based game it was legal in the U.S. While the game is more conducive to an automated online format because of pre-set decks and the need to record accurate scoring, Duplicate poker has also been played in a live format. The first-ever Duplicate poker tournament was held in April 2007 at the Cherokee Casino in Tulsa, Oklahoma.