Silk Road forums

Market => Product offers => Topic started by: PokerLotto on April 21, 2012, 09:50 pm

Title: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 21, 2012, 09:50 pm
I'm come up with a way to kind of play poker on the Silk Road.

For those familiar with Texas Holdem, it's as if there's a table with certain number of players on it, they all have to ante to play, and there are no betting rounds before the full board is shown. All 52 cards are drawn from a virtual deck. So it does take on more the characteristics of a lottery. But the winner is determined according to the rules of Texas Holdem, so it is possible for the pot to be split. The player (or players) with the best hand wins. I have not yet figured out a way to incorporate betting rounds, and I think such a thing may be vulnerable to collusion or scams. If people would like more players to be "in the money" (receive winnings) I can do that too on future games.

I am running this transparently so anyone can verify for themselves that I am running an open and honest game. The winner is not determined by a single number that could be drawn for again and again, but rather, the five cards which represent the board determines who has the best hand. The order of the cards and who gets dealt first is out of my control.

The first game is a stealth listing on Silk Road and I am only letting forum users know about it here. Tickets are only 0.1 BTC and I will be taking no rake for the first game.

Tickets for the first game can be purchased here:
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/item/dd40547e22

The results for the game will be posted in the results thread:
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=19905.0

Good luck to all players!
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 22, 2012, 01:34 am
I'm going offline for a few hours so I'll delist the item for now.
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 23, 2012, 01:21 am
I've made the listing public on the Silk Road.
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/item/dd40547e22

It can now be found in the Tickets category:
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/category/141
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 23, 2012, 10:14 pm
Play for free!

I was hoping the seats would fill up faster than they are.

So I've decided that the next 4 people to finalize will be reimbursed the full ticket price (0.11 BTC) and be able to play for free! Buy a ticket, find your name on the waiting list, finalize, and I will send 0.11 BTC back to you.

I have already reimbursed the first player to finalize.
http://dkn255hz262ypmii.onion/index.php?topic=19905.msg203452#msg203452

There are listings for tickets in Services, Digital goods, and Tickets, and they will all work for this game.
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/item/d7b25befa4
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/item/d2d85804af
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/item/dd40547e22

For this first game, people can buy up to 1 ticket per person, but if people would like to buy as many tickets as they want I can do that for future games.
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 23, 2012, 11:00 pm
Another player has been reimbursed! Only 3 reimbursements left!
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 24, 2012, 04:08 am
Another player has finalized and been reimbursed! Only 2 reimbursements left!
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: OpticalInfinity on April 24, 2012, 04:10 am
I'd prefer something more interactive. Didn't they used to have card games with BTC on Tor?
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 24, 2012, 04:16 am
Another player has finalized and been reimbursed! Only 1 reimbursement left!
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 24, 2012, 05:26 am
The last reimbursement has been given out. Congratulations to everyone who was able to enter for free!
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 24, 2012, 10:13 am
I'd prefer something more interactive. Didn't they used to have card games with BTC on Tor?

With more interaction I figure there's a greater chance for cheating to happen. I don't want to cheat anyone and I don't want any player to ever feel like they've been cheated.

My game has no betting rounds because a dishonest operator or dishonest players could pass information to each other during the game, collude with each other. I know for myself I'm not a dishonest operator, but how could players know that for sure? I want to run the game transparently so players can see that it is not rigged. I think transparency is important when the operator and players are anonymous. All cards are revealed at the same time. Because the game has no betting rounds, it really is more like a lottery. But with a limited number of players, so the chances of winning are better. A lottery where I have no way of favoring a winner, since the order of the cards and who gets dealt first is out of my control.

I've noticed 3 .onion sites that offer poker, or blackjack, or casino games. But how does someone know they're legit and not scams? That's where Silk Road feedback comes into play. And many of those sites are down.

I have heard of https://sealswithclubs.eu which supposedly uses the software Poker Mavens by Briggs Softworks, but even that site says opponents might be cheating, and says the only way to ensure it's a fair game is if two people play heads up. I've never tried it, but you might like something like that.

More bitcoin gambling sites are mentioned at the following sites, but I can't vouch for any of them:
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Category:Gambling
http://betwithbtc.com/

There may be other ways to gamble with bitcoin online, but on the Silk Road, the feedback system helps people determine if they can trust a vendor.

My game may not be for everyone, but I think I've come up with a good, fair process for those who would like to play.
Title: Re: Play poker on the Silk Road
Post by: PokerLotto on April 26, 2012, 11:56 am
I noticed there's a new category on Silk Road for lotteries and games :)

I've added a listing for my first game (THL#001) in that category:
http://silkroadvb5piz3r.onion/silkroad/item/347d84ea8b

The details are the same, but that listing does have some additional explanations.

I've delisted the listing in Services, but will leave up the listings in Digital goods and Tickets until all the tickets for this first game have been purchased. After that, all of my lottery listings will be put in the new lotteries section.