Microgaming’s Cyberstud Poker: How the House Edge is Calculated
August 9th, 2010 | Published in Inrodution
Although there are no rule changes, Caribbean Stud is known as Cyberstud at all Microgaming online casinos. When selecting an online casino to participate in different games, experienced players tend to compare house edges. As a result those gaming providers with lower edges are selected. House edge is the percent wagered by the player that the casino expects as a return over the long run.
The Microgaming Calculation
As with all casinos, Microgaming maintains a specific calculation for its house edge in Cyberstud. The calculation assumes the player is placing bets based on textbook game play. There are three specific sets of outcomes with this calculation.
The First Outcome
Based on computer simulation, it has been determined that a player will fold 47.77% of the time and raise 52.23%. Therefore if the ante is $1, the player will raise to $2 52.23% of all competitions. Therefore the average wager is $2.04. The first effect of this calculation is the player folding which occurs 47.77% of hands resulting in a loss of the $1 ante. This indicates an expected return on investment of -$0.4777.
The Second Outcome
The second result scrutinizes a raise by the player to $2 without reaching the payout chart. Within this set are an additional three possible outcomes. First, the dealer doesn’t qualify for the hand which is a probability of 22.74% resulting in a gain of $1 and an expected return of $0.2274. Second, the dealer wins which is a probability of 13.68% resulting in a loss of the $1 ante bet and a return of -$0.4104.
Finally, the player ties the dealer which is a probability of 0.0016% with a return of $0 since it’s a push. The overall return for the second outcome is -$0.1830. This is a poor return for simply tying.
The Third Outcome
The final set of outcomes is the player raising and winning. As a result the ante is paid even money and the raise is based on the Microgaming pay out chart. The best possible payout is 999 to 1 on a royal flush which equates to $1,998 plus the ante for a total of $1,999. The probability is 0.000084% resulting in an expected return of $0.0017.
The lowest outcome is based on a pair or less which pays even money. Therefore the ante of $1 pays $1 and the raise of $2 pays $2 for a total win of $3 with an 11.76% probability of winning and an expected return of $0.3527 totaling $0.6107 for the set.
The total expected return of all three outcomes is -$0.4477-$0.1830+$0.6107 totaling -$0.0500 resulting in a house of 2.45%. This is less than many other games including European Roulette therefore making Cyberstud a viable option for many online gaming patrons.
