Hi-Lo is a simple card game where you just have to guess whether the next card drawn will be higher or lower than the current one. This can be found as a stand-alone game online, and is also part Video Poker games – where you can double up after a win. You can now enjoy Hi-Lo for Bitcoin, with the added advantages that you’ll be playing provably fair games and in complete privacy.
This page is your complete guide to BTC Hi-Lo. First of all I have outlined the different Hi-Lo games you can play. After that the key advantages of playing this game for Bitcoin, rather than dollars, are outlined. If you are not sure how to get started with Bitcoin gambling, you’ll find a short overview of the steps required at the end of the page.
We checked out all the available bitcoin sites that offer Hi Lo, and these are the 3 sites that we feel offer the most to the player so we’d push for these.
The basic BTC Hi-Lo game – available at sites such as bitcoin-highlow.net – is a no-frills probability based game. You’ll see a line of 6 cards across the screen, and a choice of bet sizes ranging from 0.001 mBTC through to 10 mBTC. There is also a ‘try’ button which lets you check out the game.
When you hit ‘bet’ the first card is revealed and you’ll see the probability of each choice on 3 arrows below the card. You choose from higher, lower or the same. If you guess wrong then all of the cards become visible and the game ends. If you guess right then your bet increases in proportion to the odds you risked (minus the small house edge) and you continue to the next card.
You’ll see the hashed server string for this game every time you play. This can be combined with the secret string which is displayed after the hand to prove that the deal was 100% chance and not rigged by the casino. What I also liked about this game is that you are in complete control of the odds you take at each decision point – and risking a low probability outcome will make a significant difference to your winnings.
Bitcoin Video Poker fans will be familiar with the ‘Double’ round after a win. If you choose this then you have an even-money (no house edge) chance to double, or you can choose to double half of your win and collect the other half. This works by giving you a random card with 4 choices of face-down cards. If the face-down card is higher than the showing one, you double, if not then you lose. You can usually continue to double as many times as you wish up to the pay-out limit of the game.
With your ability to choose your own odds for each card, and to book potentially big wins when the cards line up in your favour, hi-lo is certainly an entertaining game. If you play it with Bitcoin you’ll enjoy some advantages on top of which dollar-based casinos are not able to offer.
The first is anonymity. The game outlined above does not even require registration. You play via a unique URL, and any uncashed funds are returned to your wallet after 30 minutes of inactivity. This makes it important to use your own wallet for payments and not deposit directly through an exchange.
Most Bitcoin casinos require nothing more than an e-mail address. They do not ask for location information or back-up documents at all. Meaning you can play from anywhere in the world in complete privacy.
Regular casinos have transaction fees for payments – which are not present at BTC casinos. This allows Bitcoin gamblers to enjoy lower house edge games (since the casinos are not passing on their costs to players). You’ll also avoid those irritating fees, for example 5% on US credit card payments to offshore casinos, combined with extra fees for withdrawing your own winnings. This lack of transaction fees means you can deposit and cash out as often as you like with no restrictions.
The final benefit is the provable fairness. If you have ever wondered whether casinos are truly fair then this could be a big factor for you. Even if you are not inclined to check the results of the deals, knowing that you could do still provides that extra peace of mind.
The best known casino offering hi-lo is Bitino. There are only two games here, the hi-lo card game and an over / under dice game. Both of these titles are provably fair and offer instant payments for when you win. This is a fairly new casino, only having started in April 2014; however there are no reports of payment issues on the Bitcoin community forums.
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