English Harbour The Center Of A Major Furore

Published: Wednesday, May 03, 2006 Online-Casinos.com

DOUBLING FEATURE AT ENGLISH HARBOUR ONLINE CASINO THE CENTRE OF A MAJOR FURORE

Probability of winning as low as hitting the lotto with a single ticket 5 weeks in a row.

A doubling feature in the English Harbour Online Casino's video poker game is at the centre of a major online furore this week, with several odds and statistical probability experts producing what appears to be damning evidence that the odds on the feature are nowhere near 50/50.

A number of experienced players entered the fray with carefully recorded results from their play, indicating the proportion of losses to wins on the doubling feature was hopelessly outside statistical probability.

Ignoring the ties (which push and therefore have no effect), there should be an equal number of wins and losses on the doubling game, but not this one where, as one math head put it: "The probability of winning 522 or fewer out of 1537 trials is 4.9*10^-37. It is the same order of magnitude as winning the lottery with a single ticket 5 weeks in a row!"

Powered by Odds On - Vegas Technology software, English Harbour was taken over by the Leisure and Gaming group recently, and a spokesman for the company said that the issue was being investigated.

"In theory, the number of wins versus the number of losses (excluding ties) will converge to 50 percent over a sample set that is large enough," a spokesman said. "Should small sample sets be used to measure this metric, then results will vary as seems to be the case tracing through this thread."

Not much comfort to gamblers using the doubling function in the expectation that they had a fifty-fifty chance of doubling their money or losing it all.

Expert statistical and gaming analyst Mike Shackleford, perhaps better known as The Wizard of Odds is apparently investigating the issue, commissioned by English Harbour and his independent assessment will be keenly awaited by hundreds of players following the dispute.