How does Satoshi Mines work?

So I've spent some of time over the last few days looking at some of the bitcoin gambling sites.   Wow there is a lot to talk about in this subject.   Anyways I found myself playing a fun little game called Satoshi Mines, it's kinda like Minesweeper.

It's Bitcoin only so if you want to gamble, you will need a bitcoin wallet (a subject for another day) or    you can play in a practise mode.   I was playing in practise mode and recommend you do the same because I'll prove in my next post, that you can't really win.

How does the game work?

You start with a square (default is 25 squares) with a hidden number of bombs (default is 3).  You can change the number of bombs if you want (and i recommend you do).   Here is a screenshot.

You bet an initial stake (let's say 100 bits) and everytime you click on a square and miss a bomb, you win some bits.   You can either cash out your bits or risk those bits you just won against the chance of wining some more bits.  Obviously if you hit a bomb, you lose all the bits won (and your original stake).

What's the payouts?

I played the game for a little bit and captured the following payouts for a 25 square game with 3 bombs

As you can see the more squares you uncover as empty, your cumulative odds get better and you can win a good multiplier of your original stake.  As you can see above, the best I did was to manage 16 squares where i could win 23 times my stakes (if I won and cashed out).

So in the above example.

• My initial stake was 100 bits
• If i hit a mine, i lose all 100 bits.
• If I've guessed 10 times (i.e. picked 10 squares that don't have bombs in them), i'll have 466 bits (366 bits won plus my original 100 bits)
• If i want to guess another square (11th guess), i'll either win another 111 bits, making a total of 577 bits or i'll lose everything including my initial 100 bits stake.   Or I can cash out and take my 466 bits as winnings.

Okay, looks fun, can I win?   In the short term, sure.  In the long term, no.  Why?   Probability!   And that's what i'll explain in my next post

However the game does have some pretty low house edges (as i'll explain in my next post)

Warning:  This is a not a casino, not licensed and you're playing with Bitcoins.  I really do recommend you only play in practise mode.

Hope this helps