Starnet - Software Review in association with thewizardofodds.com

Starnet software is very fast and easy to use. You can play many hundreds of blackjack hands in an hour if you wish. If you desire the X rated version they all seem to have one. Every Starnet casino I have seen offers at least a 10% bonus for first time deposits. Sometimes Starnet casinos will offer deposit bonuses to their existing players. Note that although their software says the maximum deposit is $500 most of them will take up to $1000 just as easily. The table game betting limits are $5 to $200, slots and video poker take coinages from 25 cents to $5.

Be warned that in general I have found communication with Starnet casinos to be poor. Trying to get through on their 800 number is very tough. Starnet serves as both a phone and e-mail buffer between players and the casino. This extra layer has been known to mishandle e-mail regarding bonus promotions and is almost impossible to argue with. The vast majority of the time with Starnet casinos everything goes fine but when there is a problem it is hard to get anybody to do anything about it.

Following is a listing of the games available at Starnet casinos, their rules, and some strategy tips.

Baccarat

The usual rules are followed. Tie pays 8 to 1. One deck of cards.

Battle Royale

This is another name for the game of Casino War. Unlike the usual rules a tie after a tie pays 3 to 1 on the full amount bet. One deck of cards are used. The house edge is only 0.66% by going to war on ties and 2.77% by surrendering on ties.

Bingo

Online casinos using Starnet software have four different simple bingo games to choose from. In all games the player puchases a 3 by 3 card marked with 9 numbers ranging from 1 to 30. There is no free square. Then 11 numbers will be chosen. The player wins if the matches on the card cover every square of certain winning formations. For example an X formation pays 10 on all games.

The following table shows the number of combinations out of a possible 54,627,300 and the probability that a card will cover a specific formation of a given number of marks. For example an X shape has 5 marks so the probability of covering a X shape is 0.003242. Note that more than just the required numbers may be marked. For example if all nine numbers were marked then all combinations would pay.

Once a player makes a bet in this bingo game the money is never returned. The following table shows the return of the four bingo games available. Note that these games may have different names in the adult version.

Blackjack

Starnet blackjack rules are as follows:

• Six decks
• Dealer stands on soft 17
• Double on any first two cards
• Double after a split
• No resplitting
• European hole card rule with 10 showing
• Player may not draw to split aces

The house edge under these rules is 0.56%.

The following table displays the basic strategy for Starnet casinos. To use the basic strategy look up your hand along the left vertical edge and the dealer's up card along the top. In both cases an A stands for ace. From top to bottom are the hard totals, soft totals, and splittable hands. In the body of the chart are color coded cells that indicate the best play: H=hit, S=stand, D=double, P=split.

Finally, there is a seldom seen glitch in Starnet's blackjack game. Non-busted hands consisting of seven or more cards are often incorrectly scored as a busted hand. This bug can cut both ways.

Craps

As of December 12, 2000 Craps was offline, at least at the Paris Casino.

Caribbean Poker

This is the same game as Caribbean Stud Poker. The rules and the pay table are as usual.

A $1 progressive side bet is available. The side bet pays $100 for a flush, $150 for a full house, $250 for a four of a kind, 10% of the meter for a straight flush, and 100% of the meter for a royal flush. On December 12, 2000 the meter at the Paris Casino was at $12616. The house edge on the side bet for a meter this small is 49.05%.

Free Ride

This is another name for Let it Ride. The usual rules and pay table are used. A $1 progressive side bet is available. The side bet pays $100 for a flush, $150 for a full house, $250 for a four of a kind, 10% of the meter for a straight flush, and 100% of the meter for a royal flush. On December 12, 2000 the meter at the Paris Casino was at $10091. The house edge on the side bet for a meter this small is 49.78%.

Pai Gow

This is actually pai gow poker. The usual rules are followed except that an A-2-3-4-5 straight is evidently the lowest straight. The dealer is always the banker. Cards are not arranged in order and no advice feature is available.

Pachinko

Starnet offers two pachinko games. I do not know the house edge.

Red Dog

The usual rules are followed. A single deck is used.

Roulette

The usual American double-zero wheel is used. No half back on even money bets if the ball lands in zero.

Sic Bo

Starnet took many of the worst bets in this game and made them even worse. The following table displays the bets available, what it pays, the number of possible winning combinations out of 216, and the house edge.

Slots

I have no information on the theoretical or actual return of Starnet slots.

Video Poker

The followings games are available, with the corresponding statistics tables.

King of the deck is played with five distinct decks of cards. Each position in the hand is dealt from a separate hand. Unfortunatley I do not have the software to do an analysis of this game. I asked somebody with Starnet about it and he said, "Theoretical return is above 94% returned to the player." The pay table appears below.