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Microgaming Software Review

Last update: August 30, 2002

Disclaimer: Let it be known that in July 2002 my wife and I accepted a luxury vacation to Monte Carlo from Microgaming. While this review was originally written before the trip I do update it from time to time. While I feel comfortable there is no conflict of interest I think it is appropriate to disclose that I have a friendly relationship with Microgaming.

The following information is based on an older, downlod-only version of Microgaming software. You are on your own for the Flash games but I believe the rules are mostly the same. I also have a review of the newer version of the software.

Baccarat

Single deck. House edge on banker is 1.012% and on player is 1.286%.

Blackjack

The rules are as follows:

One deck
Dealer stands on soft 17
Double on 9 to 11 only
No doubling after splitting
No resplitting
Player may draw to split aces
No surrender
Full no peek (player loses total amout bet against dealer blackjack)
Insurance not resolved until end of hand

Following is the correct basic strategy for these rules.

The house edge under these rules is 0.13%.

There is also a multi-hand game in which the player may play up to five hands. This has the same rules as above, except for five decks instead of one. The house edge in this game is 0.57%.

A third option is "Triple Sevens Blackjack", which is the five-deck game with a $1 mandatory side bet. Following is the side bet return table, based on a meter of $41,227 (the amount on August 31, 2002).

Microgaming Triple Sevens Side Bet
Hand	Permutations	Probability	Pays	Return
1 seven	1238400	0.07128	5 for 1	0.3564
2 unsuited 7's	72000	0.004144	25 for 1	0.103605
2 suited 7's	19200	0.001105	50 for 1	0.055256
3 unsuited 7's	6600	0.00038	250 for 1	0.094971
3 suited 7's	180	0.00001	1000 for 1	0.01036
3 diamond 7's	60	0.000003	41227 for 1	0.142377
Non-paying hand	16037280	0.923077	0	0
Total	17373720	1		0.76297

If the player splits two sevens the connectivity is lost and the player begins each hand with one seven for purposes of the side bet. The player should never split sevens in this game at low bet levels ($40 or less). The house edge on the side bet is 37.94%, less 3.45% for every $10,000 in the meter. When I checked at the Golden Tiger casino on August 31, 2002, the meter was at $41,227, for a return of 76.30%, or a house edge of 23.70%. For the side bet to have no house edge the meter would need to reach $109,862. This does not consider the 0.0057% cost of deviating from basic strategy by not splitting two sevens. Assuming the player is betting $2 on the blackjack hand (the minimum) the meter would need to reach $113,196 for the combined game to have no house edge.

Craps

Microgaming craps players may not bet more than their original wager either buying or laying the odds. The combined house edge on the pass side is 0.85% and on the don't pass side is 0.82%. Winnings always get rounded down to the next dollar so be sure to bet in correct increments.

A Place bet to win is called a "win bet" and a place bet to lose is called a "lose bet." The payoffs are the same on win bets as conventional place bets. The "lose bets" pay 2-5 on the 4 and 10, 4-7 on the 5 and 9, and 4-5 on the 6 and 8. The house edge on the "lose bets" are 6.67% on the 4 and 10, 5.71% on the 5 and 9, and 1.82% on the 6 and 8.

The proposition bets have the same high house edge as in conventional craps. The field bet pays 2:1 on both 2 and 12. Overall Microgaming's craps game is rather stingy.

Cyberstud Poker

This is what Microgaming calls Caribbean Stud Poker. The pay table is the most generous I have seen online, paying as follows.

Hand	Pays
Royal flush	999:1
Straight flush	199:1
Four of a kind	99:1
Full house	14:1
Flush	9:1
Straight	5:1
Three of a kind	3:1
Two pair	1:1
Pair	1:1
Ace/king	1:1

The strategy is still the same as for the conventional pay table game. The house edge under these rules is 5.01%.

Keno

Microgaming offers a pay table to compete with any other game of keno, whether on land or the Internet. The only game that comes close to Microgaming is Unified Gaming. Overall the best keno bet on the Internet, among all software brands reviewed, is Microgaming's pick 13. Following is the expected return according to the number of picks.

Pick	Return
1	75.00%
2	92.09%
3	93.04%
4	93.79%
5	93.87%
6	93.79%
7	96.35%
8	92.90%
9	92.86%
10	94.54%
11	93.10%
12	94.22%
13	96.54%
14	95.42%
15	95.19%

Pai Gow

Microgaming has the only pai gow game I have seen online. For those unfamiliar with the game it is an ancient Chinese game played with dominos. This is not to be confused witn pai gow poker which is played with playing cards. Not all Microgaming casinos offer this game but I have seen it at the English Harbour, Caribbean Gold, and Silver Dollar. The dealer is always the banker, which results in a hosue edge of about 2.39%. A button is available to set your hand according to the house way.

Pai Gow Poker

Unlike the standard rules in Microgaming's game of pai gow poker the joker may not be used as a singleton ace. It still may be combined with other aces or used to complete a straight, flush, or straight flush, otherwise it is counted as a one. The dealer is always the banker results in a house edge of about 2.86%. No advice feature is available.

Roulette

A single zero wheel is used. The house edge is 2.70%.

Roulette Royale

Roulette Royale is the same thing as regular roulette with a mandatory $1 side bet. The side bet pays $15 if the same number occurs two times consecutively, $200 for 3 times, $3000 for 4 times, and a progressive jackpot for 5 times. The sequence starts when the side bet is made. Winnings are cummulative as long as the player keeps making the bet on every spin.

For the casino to have no advantage the meter would need to reach $781,626.03. When I checked on July 3, 2002, the meter was at $84,205, for a house edge of 36.21%. In general the house edge is 40.58% less 0.52% for every $10,000 in the meter.

Sic Bo

Microgaming offers the best Sic Bo odds online. See my Sic Bo online section for a comparison to other software brands. Of special note is that the single number bet pays 12-1 on a 3 of a kind, better than the usual 3-1 payoff, and the 6-1 payoff on a two number combination, better than the usual 5-1. Microgaming offers equal or better odds on every bet except the 5 and 16 (Microgaming pays 31-1, Playtech pays 32-1). The following table shows the payoff and house edge for all bets.

Microgaming Sic Bo
Bet	Pays	Prob. Win	House Edge
Small, Big	1-1	48.61%	2.78%
4, 17	62-1	1.39%	12.5%
5, 16	31-1	2.78%	11.11%
6, 15	18-1	4.63%	12.04%
7, 14	12-1	6.94%	9.72%
8, 13	8-1	9.72%	12.5%
9, 12	7-1	11.57%	7.41%
10, 11	6-1	12.5%	12.5%
Triple	180-1	0.46%	16.2%
Any triple	31-1	2.78%	11.11%
Double	11-1	7.41%	11.11%
Two die combination	6-1	13.89%	2.78%
Any number	(1/2/12)-1	42.13%	3.70%

The lowest house edge bets are on big, small, and any two number combination bets, all at 2.78%.

Slots

No information available.

Video Poker

Four out of six Microgaming video poker games have a return of at least 99%, however none are over 100%. The following tables shows the return of all six gams available assuming optimal strategy. New versions of Microgaming also offer five-play video poker.

Microgaming Video Poker - Expected Return
Game	Return
Jacks or better	0.995440
Aces and faces	0.992556
Tens or better	0.991388
Deuces and joker wild	0.990677
Joker poker	0.985987
Deuces wild	0.967650

The following tables display the pertinent statistics for Microgaming's video poker games.

Jacks or Better - Microgaming
Hand	Payoff	Number	Probability	Return
Royal flush	800	493512264	0.000025	0.019807
Straight flush	50	2178883296	0.000109	0.005465
4 of a kind	25	47093167764	0.002363	0.059064
Full house	9	229475482596	0.011512	0.103610
Flush	6	219554786160	0.011015	0.066087
Straight	4	223837565784	0.011229	0.044917
3 of a kind	3	1484003070324	0.074449	0.223346
Two pair	2	2576946164148	0.129279	0.258558
Jacks or better	1	4277372890968	0.214585	0.214585
Nothing	0	10872274993896	0.545435	0.000000
Total		19933230517200	1.000000	0.995439

Deuces Wild - Microgaming

Hand Payoff Number Probability Return

Natural royal flush 800 452009940 0.000023 0.018141

4 deuces 200 3570521856 0.000179 0.035825

Wild royal flush 25 36624375216 0.001837 0.045934

5 of a kind 16 62398218024 0.003130 0.050086

Straight flush 13 114654402804 0.005752 0.074775

4 of a kind 4 1242075806484 0.062312 0.249247

Full house 3 418137265908 0.020977 0.062931

Flush 2 352258762272 0.017672 0.035344

Straight 2 1154033170176 0.057895 0.115790

3 of a kind 1 5572718074608 0.279569 0.279569

Nothing 0 10976307909912 0.550654 0.000000

Total 19933230517200 1.000000 0.967641

Joker Wild - Microgaming

Hand Payoff Probability Return

Natural Royal Flush 1000 0.000026 0.026063

5 of a kind 200 0.000093 0.018572

Wild Royal Flush 100 0.000107 0.010733

Straight Flush 50 0.000594 0.029694

4 of a Kind 17 0.008497 0.144445

Full House 7 0.015604 0.109228

Flush 5 0.015975 0.079873

Straight 3 0.016877 0.050630

3 of a Kind 2 0.133124 0.266249

2 Pair 1 0.110483 0.110483

Kings or Better 1 0.140017 0.140017

Nothing 0 0.558604 0.000000

Total Return 1.000000 0.985987

Deuces & Joker Wild - Microgaming

Hand Pays Probability Return

Five Wilds 2000 0.000008 0.015458

Natural Royal Flush 800 0.00002 0.015832

Four Deuces 25 0.000149 0.003728

Straight Flush 12 0.002801 0.033607

Five of a Kind 9 0.005508 0.049568

Straight 6 0.00743 0.044578

Four of a Kind 3 0.081337 0.24401

Flush/Full House 3 0.055635 0.166904

Straight 2 0.066109 0.132218

Three of a Kind 1 0.284773 0.284773

Nothing 0 0.496232 0

Total 1 0.990677

Aces & Faces - Microgaming

Hand Pays Probability Return

Royal Flush 800 0.000025 0.019876

Straight Flush 50 0.000106 0.0053

Four aces 80 0.000196 0.015668

Four Jack-King 40 0.000587 0.023479

Four 2-10 25 0.00158 0.039507

Full House 8 0.011515 0.09212

Flush 5 0.01086 0.054301

Straight 4 0.011212 0.044847

Three of a Kind 3 0.074474 0.223422

Two Pair 2 0.129318 0.258637

Jacks or Better 1 0.215399 0.215399

Nothing 0 0.544728 0

Total 1 0.992555

Tens or Better - Microgaming

Hand Payoff Probability Return

Royal flush 800 0.000026 0.020546

Straight flush 50 0.000103 0.005141

Four of a Kind 25 0.002358 0.058958

Full house 6 0.011497 0.068984

Flush 5 0.010654 0.053270

Straight 4 0.012357 0.049429

Three of a Kind 3 0.074265 0.222795

Two Pair 2 0.129007 0.258013

Tens or Better 1 0.254251 0.254251

Nothing 0 0.505482 0.000000

Total 1.000000 0.991388

See my casino index for a list of sites that use Microgaming software. Here is Microgaming's website.

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