Pragmatic Play Floating Dragon Hold and Spin online slot review.
Pragmatic Play, one of the online gambling industry’s hottest digital slot machine platforms, is putting out a lot of new games lately. Part of the credit goes to there independent partner studios, like Reel Kingdom, who’s been churning out, on average, one new game every month. Among them is a unique Hold & Spin Slots series; the Hold & Spin referring to a special feature functioning within these games. To date, there are three of them, including the latest and greatest release of “Floating Dragon”.
This latest addition to the Pragmatic Play portfolio is an interesting new arrival, carrying with it a theme that’s proved incredibly popular among slots fans all over the world. I’m talking, of course, about Ancient Chinese culture, exhausted for its mystical charm and sibylline ability to bring good fortune to beholders. Whether you believe in prophetic lore or not, the game’s 96.71% RTP ensures a high chance of profitability.
Floating Dragon Hold and Spin Online Slot Review
Floating Dragon is the third edition in Reel Kingdom’s Hold & Spin series, following the release of 777 Ultra Hold & Spin in late August 2020, and Hot to Burn Hold & Spin in February of this year. The only difference between this latest version and its predecessors (aside from not being a ‘fruit machine’) is that the first were second-comings of an original online slot. 777 Ultra H&S is the sequel to the Ultra Burn Slot, while Hot to Burn H&S follows the original slot of the same name.
Floating Dragon H&S revolves around the culture’s vibrant Chinese dragon and the lovely Geisha Princess. It’s packed with exciting features, including re-triggers, free spins, multipliers and, of course, the Mystery Hold & Spin. We’ll talk more about these in a moment…
The game is a 5×3 reel affair with just 10 betways. It offers a wide betting range of $0.10 to $250. Its high volatility is best suited to veteran slots fans with a large enough bankroll to outlast potentially long swings without a strike. On the plus side, most of those wins will be worth waiting for, especially when the game’s features kick in.
Symbols, Bonus Games & Features
Floating Dragon’s high paying symbols are kites, imaginatively designed to resemble colorful objects and creatures, like butterflies, peacocks, and koi fish. The Geisha is the wild, substituting for all standard symbols. The Chinese dragon is the scatter. When 3, 4 or 5 of these appear anywhere in a single spin, it triggers 10, 15 or 20 free spins, respectively.
Generally, free spins are a game’s most beloved feature, and while it can be very valuable, triggering Floating Dragon’s Hold & Spin feature can be far more exciting. It happens when the golden Coin symbol, which only appears on the middle reel, occupies all three of its positions. Those golden coins hold in place as all other reels fade to blank. You get three ReSpins to land another gold coin. Each time one or more coins lands, you re-spin meter resets to 3. In addition to gold coins, diamonds can also appear during this feature. When a diamond lands, it will display a multiplier on it, ranging anywhere from 100x to 4993x the triggering bet. Once no additional gold coins or diamonds appear in three consecutive spins, all current values are collected and paid out, and the bonus ends. You’re guaranteed to win a minimum of 20x your stake each time the Floating Dragon Hold & Spin online slot feature triggers.
Loony Blox Slot – Crazy high limit slot machine by Habanero.
Habanero Systems is known for creating some wild and wacky online slots. Its graphics department is especially fond of creatingt the cartoon-style games. One of their latest releases, Loony Blox Online Slot, takes that concept to the max. Loony Blox features three anthropomorphic characters – a skateboarding rabbit, roller skating elephant, and a wolf with a real flare for fashion. The game’s features center around these characters as they traverse a desert map in search of delicious fruits and big wins. To top it off, Habanero’s Loony Blox is one of the highest limit online slot machines to launch in 2020.
Review of Loony Blox Slot from Habanero Systems
Released in February 2020, Loony Blox has a lot to offer in the way of entertainment, features, and profitability. It’s got amish-mash theme with cartoon style graphics and tropical music in an arid desert. Not the likeliest of combinations, but I suppose that’s what makes it so enjoyably whimsical. The game takes place on 5×3 reels with 243 ways to win and an RTP of 96.71%.
All of the characters – elephant, wolf and rabbit – are special symbols. They have standard payouts, like the others, but are also capable of triggering free spins. More on that in a moment…
The Wild cactus is, of course, the wild. High paying symbols include diamonds, the regular cactus, bars and bells. Low-end symbols are the various fruits – cherries, lemons, plums and watermelon.
During the base game, one of the three main characters will stand next to the reels. At random (but for no more than 250 spins each), the current character will exit and another will take its place. Whichever character is visible will determine which special character feature that is active.
Elephant Character Feature
When the elephant is standing by, any wild cactus that appears in a winning combination will expand to cover its entire rel, potentially creating more winning combinations before win lines are paid.
Wolf Character Feature
When the wolf character is standing by, all win lines will pay left to right, and right to left. This effectively doubles the win lines from 243 to 486. Suffice it to say, the game is twice as rewarding when the wolf is out.
Rabbit Character Feature
When the rabbit is standing by, his special feature can trigger randomly, linking 2-5 reels with the same symbols on each.
Map Feature
The Map Feature will trigger anytime one of the character symbols appears in a winning combination in the base game. The map screen will load, and that character’s car will move one dot on the map for each instance that character appeared in the triggering win. If two characters appeared, both of their cars will move on the map. When any character car lands on a green dot, it triggers 12 free games.
Loony Blox High Limit Slot Value
I mentioned above that Habanero’s Loony Blox Slot is one of the highest limit games released in the last year. Just how high and valuable is it? Well, for starters, a high roller can drop as much as 5k in a single spin. The game is equipped with a minimum/maximum bet range of 0.25 to 5,000, and a max payout of 4,864x. Do the math [5,000 * 4,864 = 24,320,000] and we find the profit potential here is over $24k in a single spin. Not too shabby, if you have that kind of cash to throw around.
How to play Fast Poker online (even though you shouldn’t.)
New casino games are, well… nothing new. They come along all the time. Game inventors are constantly looking for the next big thing. Most games never even make it to the casino floor. Of those that do earn a trial run, most of them fail. Some new games skip the land-based option altogether, earning their stripes in the digital realm. Such is the potential fate of Fast Poker, a new online card game from SmartSoft Gaming.
How to Play Fast Poker Online
The first thing you need to know is that Fast Poker is a house-banked casino game, not a player-versus-player poker game. You won’t be competing against the dealer, either. In fact, Fast Poker is more like a video poker game, where players win for achieving a high enough hand rank. The difference is that you get to choose which cards to place in your hand, rather than being randomly dealt cards from the top of a shuffled deck.
Here’s what you need to know…
The game is dealt from a 20-card deck, consisting of four of each 10, J, Q, K and Ace. This set up increases the chances of being dealt high ranking hands – especially the highest paying a Royal Flush. All 20 cards are dealt face down at the top of the screen. The object of the game is to achieve a hand rank worth of a payout (see Fast Poker Pay Table below)
Fast Poker Rules & Game Play
The game begins when you choose a bet size (0.5, 1, 2, 5, 10, or 20) and press the Play button.
From the 20 face down cards, you will select five cards to build you hand. Your chosen cards will turn face up and move to the bottom section of the screen, labeled Your Cards.
Once all five cards are selected, they will automatically settle in the highest ranking hand position. If the hand ranks high enough for a payout, you win the corresponding amount displayed on the pay table. If not, you lose your bet.
How to Win – Fast Poker Pay Table
There are only five winning hands in Fast Poker, with payouts ranging from 2x to 100x the bet. Winning hands, values, and the probability you’ll receive them, are as follows:
5-Card Hand Rank
Payout
Probability
Royal Flush
100:1
0.026%
4 of a Kind
20:1
0.516%
Full House
10:1
3.096%
Straight
3:1
6.579%
3 of a Kind
2:1
12.38%
Anything Else
Lose
77.40%
House Edge = 11.64%
The Good – The Bad – The Ugly
What’s good about this game is the overall entertainment value. I think allowing players to choose their own cards gives them a sense of control, increasing the overall enjoyment. It doesn’t change the odds in any way, mind you, but it does make players feel better. A happy player is a repeat player.
What’s bad about this game is the probability of actually winning. As you can see from the pay table above, odds are that 77.4% of your hands will be losers. That’s more than 3/4 of all games that will end in either a pair or two pair, both of which are losing hands. Only 12.6% will result in a 3 of a kind or anything better, worthy of a win.
Last but not least, the ugly part – the house edge of 11.64%. Players can only expect to win back 89.36% of their wagers. That’s as bad as most Las Vegas slot machines, and the reason we say you probably shouldn’t play Fast Poker online at all.
Microgaming and its partner studios introduce a staggering 11 new
online slots games in April 2020.
More and more
people are looking for ways to pass the time these days. The digital
creators at Microgaming and each of its partner labs sure found a
way, and they’re passing it on to the fans of their online slots
games. When the month is out just a few days from now, they will have
launched nearly one dozen new titles onto the menus of hundreds of
Microgaming online casinos.
Microgaming’s New Online Slots Games for April
2020
Nine new titles
have already been released in April 2020, with two more set for
publication before the month is out. Their names, development studios
and release dates are as follows:
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1X2gaming, 1 April)
Cheeky Fruits 5 (Gamevy, 2 April)
Arabian Spins (Booming Games, 2 April)
Anderthals (JFTW, April 7)
Hot Cross Bunnies Game Changer (Realistic Games, 9 April)
Diamond Force (Crazy Tooth Studio, April 14)
Arena of Gold (All41 Studios, April 21)
Spinosaurus (Booming Games, 23 April)
La Mina de Oro Plus (MGA, 27 April)
The Vault (Snowborn Games, April 28)
Psycho Candies (Gamevy, 30 April)
Cavemen, Gladiators, and Superheroes – Oh My!
Microgaming
believes this month’s new releases are sure to be ‘reel’ crowd
pleasers as they boast a wide array of themes, characters and
features. From the charming cave-dwellers of Anderthals, to the proud
gladiators of Arena of Gold; from the epic superheroes donning the
reels of Diamond Force, to the enigmatic jewel thieves infiltrating
The Vault; Microgaming’s online slots fans are experiencing a
windfall of new games.
“April will
see Microgaming strengthen its content portfolio with a variety of
dynamic games from its network of independent studios and content
partners,” says Microgaming Director of Global Operations, James
Buchanan. “Rich in rewarding features, stunning visuals, a range of
volatility levels, and diverse characters and styles, including
striking gladiator and caveman themes, there is plenty of choice
available for our customers this month.”
Psycho Candies Online Slot Coming Friday
The real treat –
if you don’t mind the pun – will be the upcoming April 30th
release from Gluck Games; one of Microgaming’s newest and most
intriguing partners to date. They’re publishing what can only be
described as a schizophrenic variant of the unforgettable Candy Crush
saga. This emotive masterpiece of marsh-melodrama, appropriately
titled Psycho Candies, is sure to draw a lot of interest come this
weekend.
It’s a 6×6
reel game with cluster pays, where a cluster of 7 or more matching
symbols in any consecutively adjacent positions triggers a payout.
Features abound as the colorful candies fill the reels. As with all
cluster-pay games, cascading reels occur whenever a win results. The
winning symbols explode, making room for others to fall into place
and potentially create more wins. Each consecutive cascading win
increases the payout multiplier by 1x.
There is also a
Jelly Pick’Em bonus game that awards instant credits, and a Cluster
Bomb that explodes all positions around the winning symbols to make a
lot more space for new ones to drop in. Four or more clustered Free
Spins symbols will award between 12 and 22 free games. These work
like cascading wins with a 1x multiplier increase per win, except
that the multiplier doesn’t reset after a losing spin.
Four new online slots from Play’N Go in April 2020.
Not everyone is sitting home bored these days. The creative minds
behind Play’N Go slot machines are busier than ever. We’ve
already seen two new games from the creator in April, and you can
expect to see two more before the month is out. These new slots and
their respective release dates are as follows:
That’s Rich Slot – April 9, 2020
Ring of Odin Slot – April 16, 2020
Annihilator Slot – April 23, 2020
Rally 4 Riches Slot – April 27, 2020
Four New Online Slots from Play’N Go in April
Let’s take a brief look at the new games currently or soon-to-be
gracing the slots menus of Play’N Go-powered online and mobile
casinos.
That’s Rich Online Slot
That’s Rich is a game that embodies all things affluent, from
extravagant mansions to luxurious yachts, and stacks of cash to
pricey accessories. These and more spin the circumference of the
reels as palm leaves sway and gentles waves crash upon the shore of a
tropical background. It all takes place on a 5×3 reel, 10 line video
slot with a high variance and a 94.3% RTP.
Without a progressive jackpot, the returns seems awfully low. There
aren’t many features to spice it up, either. The supermodel is an
expanding wild, and three golden trophy scatters unlock the Win Spins
feature (free spins), wherein a winning combo is guaranteed to land
with each spin.
Ring of Odin Online Slot
This new title is sure to attract the masses, both thematically and
aesthetically. The Greek mythology motif is one of the most popular
of all slots themes worldwide, and Play’N Go has done a fantastic
job designing its dark and alluring graphics. It’s all rolled up
into a 5×3 video slot with 20 pay lines and a high-volatility RTP of
94.2%.
Again, we’re seeing a game with a low return, but this time, the features just keep coming. The randomly (and frequently) triggered Odin’s Ring initiates a respin with mirrored symbols that increase win rate and offer a chance to trigger the much more lucrative Draupnir Respins. Triggering Foresight Free Spins awards 4 free games with the Odin’s Ring feature active for each.
Annihilator Online Slot
Canadians especially will enjoy this upcoming title from Play’N Go,
themed around the 1980’s heavy metal thrash band. Featuring the
vocals of John Bates and lead guitarist Jeff Waters, Annihilator is
the highest selling Canadian thrash metal band in history. Now,
they’ve been immortalized on the 5×3 reels of this epic video slot.
While the license-branded theme is sure to appeal to a niche market,
the games features may draw less enthusiasm. Similar to the games
above, the Annihilator Slot comes with 10 pay lines, a high variance,
an RTP of 94.2%, and only two notable features – free spins and
expanding wilds.
Rally 4 Riches Online Slot
This game remains a mystery in almost every way. The only clues we
can gather information from are the name and the teaser graphic, both
of which imply a racing theme. Sources indicate it will come in a
standard 5×3 reel package, but even that hasn’t been officially
confirmed.
It’s coming! Betting on Trivia Crack Video Gambling Machines.
For about half a decade now, Las Vegas-based GameCo has been
doing its part – and then some – to change the way gamers look at
casinos. It all started with the creation of signature video
gambling machines, or VGMs for short; a new wave of skillful
video games designed to appeal to millennial-generation gamers.
As everyone knows by now, there’s not a land-based casino in North
America that’s open for business at the moment. However, when
operations return to normal, a new series of VGMs may be rolling out
across the casino floors, based on the immensely popular mobile app
known as Trivia Crack.
Betting on Trivia Crack Video Gambling Machines
If you own a smartphone, and have ever downloaded a gaming app for
it, odds are you’re among the hundreds of millions of people all
over the planet that have downloaded Trivia Crack, or the
digitally renovated Trivia Crack 2. It’s the number-one
trivia-based gaming app for both Android and iOS, not just here in
Canada and the US, but in over 125 countries worldwide. It is the
crown jewel of Argentina-based development studio, Etermax.
The game has enjoyed such monumental fanfare that GameCo came up with
a unique way to capitalize on its popularity among millennials.
They’ve decided to recreate the platform as one of their trademark
VGMs. The games are just now in the early phase of development, but
if progress goes as planned, these new machines could be lining the
walls of land-based casinos from Buenos Aires to Saskatoon before the
year is out.
The partnership between Etermax and GameCo just made sense for the
two companies. Etermax said that its goal in the progressive
development of Trivia Crack, from day one, was bring the game to
where players are. That began with the original development of the
smartphone app, and continued with integration to new devices, like
smart watches, voice-powered utilities, consumer merchandise, etc.
Assimilating to the video gambling market is nothing more than a
natural progression in their eyes.
GameCo was more than willing to play the role of catalyst in this
endeavor, and why not? Skill-based video gambling is their specialty,
after all. The trick for GameCo’s programmers is, and always has
been, turning a traditionally 100% skill-based game into something
where players are still given a sense of control, without removing
the casino’s ability to control wins and losses (eg the house
edge).
How Will Developers Sustain RTP when Gambling
Trivia Crack?
This is the big question surrounding the partnership between these
two brands. Neither has commented publicly on the matter, but an
article
in VentureBeat confirms, “you will be able to play solo,
head-to-head, or take part in tournaments”, per a statement from
GameCo head of programming Rich Maryyanek.
Anyone familiar with the company’s past installments knows that
GameCo thrives on its unique ability to combine video game style
amusements, where a player’s skill impacts the payouts and
winnings, with the same basic mechanics and economic values of slot
machines.
So how might GameCo sustain predetermined RTPs for players betting on
Trivia Crack video gambling machines? For head-to-head and tournament
games, the answer is easy. Set it up like any other tournament.
Present a buy-in/entry fee for all players. The casino skims a
percentage off the top. But for solo-play, we’ll just have to wait
and see what GameCo comes up with.
The
online gambling industry is unique in many ways, one being that each
internet casino presents limitless borders. An operator can pack in
as many games as it wants and never run out of space. As such,
virtual gaming floors are the
perfect forum for testing out new game ideas.
In
the last two decades, we’ve seen a lot of new games rise to
ultimate glory. Microgaming’s 243 ways to win slots were a smashing
success! Lottery-style
sit-n-goes,
first
introduced by French operator Winamax in 2013,
revolutionized internet poker. Live
dealer casinos, debuted in 2003 by Playtech and perfected by
Evolution Gaming in 2006, solved the lack of realism in RNG-based
gambling.
Worst Online Casino Game Ideas that Bombed
Not
every game created is an instant success. In fact, just like
land-based table game inventions, the majority of them die on the
virtual gaming floor – some faster than others.
7-Card
Stud video poker was a perfect example. It
made the games
more complicated than they needed to be.
Similarly, 7-reel slot machines failed to attract players, who
found them to confusing to keep up with.
Duplicate
Poker turned players off by elimination the luck factor entirely.
Yes, poker players love the skill element, but without the marginal
influence of the luck of the draw, no one wanted to play anymore.
Those
games were historically bad ideas, but none more so than the three
games I’m about to tell you about. These titles died so quickly,
today’s players may have completely missed their short-lived
appearance.
#1 Showtime Hold’em Poker
Showtime
Poker was an online poker variant introduced by PokerStars in May
2018. It was conceived under the premise that players believed it was
“about time poker players show their folded cards”. At the end of
a hand, all mucked cards would be revealed.
PokerStars
wanted this game to take off like a rocket! They were so enthused
about it that they contracted some of their most
famous pros
to build hype by streaming Showtime Poker tables on their live Twitch
feeds.
There
were two major problems with this format. Pro players hated it,
because it forced them to give away their game play secrets. Amateurs
hated it because they don’t give a crap about seeing mucked cards.
End result – everyone hated it!
#2 Live Casino Slot Machines
In
2011,
the creative minds at Evolution Gaming believed they’d had an
epiphany. Live casinos are a perfect playground for table games, but
they
were
unable to accommodate players of the most popular casino games on the
planet – slot machines. Enter stage right, live dealer slots.
This
bold introduction was
meant to revolutionize
the live casino industry. Evolution
put a lot of thought and detail into its debut, going so far as to
replace virtual reels with actual spinning wheels. A dealer would
host the game, offering commentary and providing live chat
interaction with players.
What
went wrong? Well, slots players enjoy traditional
slot games
for a reason. They like the singularity. They like controlling the
pace of the games. Turning slot machines into a social affair was
unnecessary, uninvited, and unwelcome.
Of
worthy mention, live
dealer slot machines
are attempting a comeback this year, although I don’t expect the
results to be any different.
#3 Virtual Reality (VR) Gambling
This
is one concept most of you will remember. It wasn’t
long ago,
around 2015-16, that the virtual reality movement made
its push.
The
concept was spot on. Throw on a headset and enter a virtual casino
world, where your real-life actions transfer into the virtual realm
in the most realistic digital casino games ever imagined exist!
Yes,
it was quite a concept, but it did not catch on, and for one very
simple reason. The technology necessary, and availability of that
technology, has not yet reached mainstream households. That’s not
to say that VR gambling doesn’t still have a chance in years to
come.
Microgaming
was making mobile games back in 2003, but it wasn’t until 2007 that
the first smartphones appeared. Who wanted to play slots on a flip
phone? No one. Another five years would pass before the mobile
gambling revolution actually gained a foothold, and now, it’s the
number one way to play over the internet, and enjoy all the new
online casino game ideas that developers are constantly spitting out
– the good and the bad.
All new Pickering Casino Resort to open in GTA next month.
A huge
celebration will take place just four weeks from now. Great
Canadian Gaming (GCG) has announced it will host the long-awaited
grand opening of its newest casino next month. Situated just east of
Toronto, the all new Pickering Casino is sure to attract a lot
of attention from both locals and tourists.
Construction
crews are still on site, working at full speed to complete the final
stages of the build. GCG is confident that the project will be
completed by the second week of April; so confident they’ve set an
official date for the grand opening. It’s a launch several years in
the making, and one that comes with additional phases in the months
ahead.
Pickering Casino Resort Grand Opening April 8,
2020
GCG has
scheduled a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Wednesday, April 8, 2020.
The mid-week party date was intentional, no doubt, as these events
tend to come with door prizes for the first however-many guests.
Hosting the celebration on a Wednesday should cut down on the number
of tourists, making it more convenient for locals to enjoy the
festivities.
The grand
opening celebration is expected to draw a decent amount of attention
as the city’s residents have been hearing about this project for
the last few years. No doubt thousands of locals will be eager to
explore the property and see what GCG has spent so much time, money
and effort putting together.
It was initially
believed that the opening of Pickering Casino would spell the end of
Ajax Casino at Ajax Down. After all, the new Pickering site is
only a 10-12 minute drive from the Ajax gambling destination, also
managed by GCG. However, the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp
(OLG) decided to keep the Slots at Ajax Downs, thereby preserving
racing venue, as well as the jobs of many of that location’s
employees. The attraction to Pickering’s new casino will be a) its
proximity to Toronto, and b) the availability of live dealer table
games.
According to the
official website, the Phase
One launch will include “over 2,000 Slot Machines, 100 Live
Table Games, and 167 Live Dealer Stadium Gaming terminals.”
Restaurant menus are said to offer fine dining, pub fare, an “upscale
buffet”, and more.
Opposition Still Wary of Market Saturation
The Grater
Toronto Area (GTA) is already home to several gambling facilities.
Many did – and still do – argue over the need for new gambling
property in the Durham region. GCG may have dibs on most of the
area’s gambling revenue, but the owners of Casino Rama
aren’t so pleased with the situation.
Casino Rama,
located 115km north of Toronto, was opened in 1996 by the Chippewa of
Rama First Nation. For more than two decades, it was the area’s
largest and most visited casino; among the most famous in all of
Ontario, outside of the Niagara Falls region. Now, its owners fear
the property will eventually be unable to sustain operations as they
lose patrons from Ajax, Markham and Pickering. Additional expansions
at GCG’s Casino Woodbine and Great Blue Heron Casino
in western GTA don’t bode well for them, either. And no doubt it’s
going to get worse before it gets better.
Hotel and Arena to Open by End of 2020
Before the year
is out, construction on Phase Two of the
Pickering Casino Resort should be complete as well. When it is, the
property will be welcoming the first guests to its 275-room luxury
hotel tower. Adjacent to that will be a 2,500 seat arena, promising
to host year-round concerts, theatre performances, and other live
events.
How It’s Played: A detailed
review of Evolution Gaming’s new and lightning-quick Live Dealer
Speed Blackjack games.
Evolution Gaming
is universally recognized as the most innovative pioneer of the live
casino gaming industry. It
is more decorated than any
other live studio supplier, by-far, and has
published a host of the industry’s most beloved live dealer games;
falling into the categories of both class-style
table games (Blackjack,
Roulette, Baccarat, etc), as well as some
more unique, game
show-style varieties (Dream Catcher, Lightning Dice, Monopoly Live,
etc.)
A few weeks ago, the company
announced the launch of a brand new game they call Speed
Blackjack Live. It
is, for all intents and purposes, the fastest live dealer blackjack
game on the world wide web to date. In
order to ensure the quickest game speed, this new title breaks the
most traditional rules of etiquette. It’s not the seating
arrangement, but rather speed that determines who’s hand is played
first.
How It’s
Played: Live
Dealer Speed Blackjack
For the most part, this is your
standard variety blackjack game. The usual rules of classic blackjack
are employed, including the following:
Up to 7 players
8 decks of cards
Dealer stands on all 17s
Double on any first two cards
Split up to two hands
No double after split
No drawing to split aces
Dealer peeks for blackjack
Blackjack pays 3:2
What sets this game apart from
all the others are these more unique rules, designed specifically to
promote faster game play.
Faster Timer:
Once all hands have received their first two cards, a
single timer starts with 7
seconds fewer than Evolution’s standard tables.
First Come, First Serve:
additional cards are dealt to players on a first-to-act basis. For
example, the first player to press the Hit, Double or Split button
will be dealt cards accordingly. The next fastest to act will get the
next card, and so on, until all player hands have been completed
(Stand or Bust).
Auto-Hit:
Any player who fails to act before the timer runs out with
a hand total of 11 or less, will automatically take a Hit.
Auto-Stand:
Any player who fails to act before the timer runs out with
a hand total of 12 or more, will automatically stand on the current
total.
Overall Game Speed:
Evolution attests – and typical game play confirms – the overall
speed of Live Speed Blackjack is approximately 30% faster than a
standard, 7-seat live dealer game.
Experience Review and Recommendations
As a long-time blackjack player
and stead-fast strategist, I found this game quite interesting, but
not necessarily my cup of tea.
The speed of the game is only a
plus if you’re a good strategy player looking to increase your rate
of hands-per-hour; or, if you play for entertainment purposes only
and like the heart-pounding challenge of trying to beat your fellow
players to the punch.
Personally, I like a slower paced
game with a higher RTP. The house edge here, according to its
creators, is 0.71% (RTP 99.29%). There are far better paying games,
both online and on land. As for the entertainment factor, I find that
making rushed decisions can easily result in strategic mistakes. So
again, unless you’re an extremely experienced strategist, or a
recreational, gut-instinct type of player who loves an adrenaline
rush, Evolution’s new Live Dealer Speed Blackjack may not be the game
for you.
Genesis Slots – Immersive games that go beyond status quo.
I’ve talked about a lot of big-brand online slots creators over the years. Anyone who gambles online knows of Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech. These are the leaders in the market, developing the largest portfolios with the most famous titles on the market. But there are other companies out there that deserve recognition.
One
such company is Genesis
Gaming.
Please do not confuse
Genesis Gaming
with Genesis
Gaming Solutions,
as so many do.
Genesis Gaming Solutions
(www.genesisgaming.com)
is a physical
table games manufacturer
with offices in Spring, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada. Genesis Gaming
(www.genesis-games.com)
is a software company specializing in
some of the industry’s
most immersive online slot
machines. It is
headquartered in Taipei, Taiwan, with additional offices in Las
Vegas, Nevada and Burnaby, British
Columbia, Canada.
What’s So Great about Genesis Slots?
Since
2008, Genesis has been developing creative games for the online
casino community. In all those years, their primary goal has been to
develop outside the box. They aren’t looking to copy the most
popular themes or features. They aren’t trying
to mimic their rivals by drawing the same customers with the mirrored
content. They’re goal is to go “beyond status quo”; to build
something more unique, more interesting, and more rewarding for
players.
By
more rewarding, I don’t meant more people win on their games. Slot
machines cannot possibly pay at or above 100% RTP. What casino would
employ
them? No, Genesis online slots pay an RTP on par with the industry
standard. But games can be more rewarding in other ways. In
particular, these are
known for being wildly entertaining.
Take, for instance, one of Genesis Games’ fan-favorites, the Machine Gun Unicorn Slot. Now that’s a wild game if I ever saw one. I’m not entirely sure how best to describe it. Imagine if Quinton Tarantino made slot machines, without all the droll dialogue of his usual films.
Machine
Gun Unicorn is a game about a fairytale place,
where a majestic unicorn
rules over a land of My
Little Pony-looking horses. Then one day, all Hell breaks loose when
their pony paradise is terrorized by zombie dragons.
The fearless leader brandishes a machine gun in place of his unicorn
horn and takes on the zombie hoarde, alongside
his myriad-maned friends.
The theme was so outrageously refreshing, Machine Gun Unicorn was
named among the annual ICE expo’s top Games
to Watch in 2015.
Not all of their games are so radical, of course, but it shows the approach Genesis Gaming’s designers take when building a new title. They look for something out of the ordinary, and make it extraordinary, whether it’s a new game’s theme, layout, or features, there’s always something exciting going on.
In
the last few years, they’ve picked up the pace in fabrication, too.
Since 2015, their portfolio has nearly doubled. There are now more
than 200 games on the menu, with new titles coming to market once per
month, on average. To
close out 2019, they
brought us Emperor’s
Diamonds and
Dragon Blast.
Two days from now, on January 15, their latest addition – Year
of the Rat – is
slated for release at all Genesis Gaming powered online casinos.
