...although I can't, and probably will never be able to prove it definitively, I have pretty damn good circumstantial evidence to show that that is so.
Over the course of about 4 days this week, I made some $22,000 playing blackjack on SIRBET, (mixed with a smattering of sports betting, but the majority of the money was won through BJ.) I didn't count cards (the site claims to "shuffle" between every hand), nor did I win every hand -- I merely played with perfect basic strategy and won a lot more hands than I lost. With a maximum of only $250 per hand, you can imagine that it took quite a while to build up such a bankroll. I would generally play however many hands it took to make a few hundred dollars -- whether that was two or three hands or several dozen more -- quit, and then come back a few hours later and try again.
Needless to say, I was anxious to withdraw this money as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Sirbet only permits you to withdraw $2500 at a time to Neteller. Withdrawals generally take several hours, during which time no other withdrawal requests can be made. That ensures that your money stays in the account -- available for the playing for perhaps longer than the undisciplined gambler would like.
Wednesday evening I put in my request for my third withdrawal of $2500, which was received in my Neteller account on Thursday morning. I proceeded to play a little more blackjack...and suddenly discovered that my luck had changed drastically. Whereas before, quitting at the right time would ensure that I could end a sequence of hands one or two hands up -- now, suddenly, I was 25 hands under .500 in a sequence of 75 hands. For five or six sequences I lost an inordinate number of hands while playing with the exact same basic strategy that had ensured modest, but consistent gains over the past several days.
Can I absolutely prove beyond a doubt that they were tinkering with the hands? No. Is it possible that the law of averages finally caught up with me? Absolutely. But it strikes me as _EXTREMELY_ unlikely that one could go through, say, a dozen sequences in which wins and losses vascillated (but during each of which there was SOME point at which I was over .500) to suddenly losing two-thirds of my hands in every sequence on one particular day. Couple that with the fact that that one particular day came after I started withdrawing large sums of money, and the fact that that day was NFL opening day, a day on which they probably shore up their records and prepare for big NFL action, and I think you have ample reason for suspicion.
Am I an idiot for continuing to play after making $22,000? Of course I am -- especially after I noticed that the loss rate had jumped exponentially on Thursday. As soon as I lost a couple thousand dollars I should have taken the money and run. But I'm a gambler, I'm addicted, they know that and they take advantage of that. So I lost some $15,000 in a few hundred hands. Let my experience be a lesson to you to never, ever trust an online casino.
There is absolutely no way for any of us to know what is going on with these people and their software in some remote corner of Curacao, or Netherlands Antilles, or whatever country with nebulous gambling laws these shady folk set up shop in. Even if their software is found to be random, who's to say that the operators don't have an escape clause that allows them to manipulate hands for players who win too much? I'll never be able to prove my claim, but it seems apparent that when a system that provides generally random results over an extended period of thousands of hands -- with even a bit of an edge to the player -- suddenly has you going on insane losing streaks you never experienced in the thousands of hands prior, there's definitely reason for suspicion.
Who IS monitoring these guys anyway?
Questions? Comments? I don't know if The Rx's mediation efforts extend to 'post-game analysis' of the integrity of casino software, but I'd be curious to see if anything conclusive can be determined.
Over the course of about 4 days this week, I made some $22,000 playing blackjack on SIRBET, (mixed with a smattering of sports betting, but the majority of the money was won through BJ.) I didn't count cards (the site claims to "shuffle" between every hand), nor did I win every hand -- I merely played with perfect basic strategy and won a lot more hands than I lost. With a maximum of only $250 per hand, you can imagine that it took quite a while to build up such a bankroll. I would generally play however many hands it took to make a few hundred dollars -- whether that was two or three hands or several dozen more -- quit, and then come back a few hours later and try again.
Needless to say, I was anxious to withdraw this money as soon as possible. Unfortunately, Sirbet only permits you to withdraw $2500 at a time to Neteller. Withdrawals generally take several hours, during which time no other withdrawal requests can be made. That ensures that your money stays in the account -- available for the playing for perhaps longer than the undisciplined gambler would like.
Wednesday evening I put in my request for my third withdrawal of $2500, which was received in my Neteller account on Thursday morning. I proceeded to play a little more blackjack...and suddenly discovered that my luck had changed drastically. Whereas before, quitting at the right time would ensure that I could end a sequence of hands one or two hands up -- now, suddenly, I was 25 hands under .500 in a sequence of 75 hands. For five or six sequences I lost an inordinate number of hands while playing with the exact same basic strategy that had ensured modest, but consistent gains over the past several days.
Can I absolutely prove beyond a doubt that they were tinkering with the hands? No. Is it possible that the law of averages finally caught up with me? Absolutely. But it strikes me as _EXTREMELY_ unlikely that one could go through, say, a dozen sequences in which wins and losses vascillated (but during each of which there was SOME point at which I was over .500) to suddenly losing two-thirds of my hands in every sequence on one particular day. Couple that with the fact that that one particular day came after I started withdrawing large sums of money, and the fact that that day was NFL opening day, a day on which they probably shore up their records and prepare for big NFL action, and I think you have ample reason for suspicion.
Am I an idiot for continuing to play after making $22,000? Of course I am -- especially after I noticed that the loss rate had jumped exponentially on Thursday. As soon as I lost a couple thousand dollars I should have taken the money and run. But I'm a gambler, I'm addicted, they know that and they take advantage of that. So I lost some $15,000 in a few hundred hands. Let my experience be a lesson to you to never, ever trust an online casino.
There is absolutely no way for any of us to know what is going on with these people and their software in some remote corner of Curacao, or Netherlands Antilles, or whatever country with nebulous gambling laws these shady folk set up shop in. Even if their software is found to be random, who's to say that the operators don't have an escape clause that allows them to manipulate hands for players who win too much? I'll never be able to prove my claim, but it seems apparent that when a system that provides generally random results over an extended period of thousands of hands -- with even a bit of an edge to the player -- suddenly has you going on insane losing streaks you never experienced in the thousands of hands prior, there's definitely reason for suspicion.
Who IS monitoring these guys anyway?
Questions? Comments? I don't know if The Rx's mediation efforts extend to 'post-game analysis' of the integrity of casino software, but I'd be curious to see if anything conclusive can be determined.
