Stos

Introduction

Stos is an intriguing game created by Gamesys, designed for select online casinos. It draws inspiration from traditional gaming mechanics. faro .

Rules

General Bets

1. The game utilizes a shoe that contains six decks of cards.
2. Players have access to 17 different betting options — these include each of the 13 card ranks and the four suits. Making a Rank bet is necessary, while the Suit bet is optional.

Rank Bets

Here are the guidelines that govern the Rank bets.

1. Players are allowed to place bets on any quantity and combination of the available Rank bets as they choose.
2. Once players finish placing their bets, the dealer will reveal one card categorized as 'Odd' and another as 'Even.'
3. If the Odd card's rank coincides with any of the player's bets, that specific bet will be considered a loss.
4. Conversely, if the Even card matches the rank of any of the player’s bets, that bet will win, barring the exceptions outlined in rule five.
5. The resolution process starts with the Odd card. Therefore, if both the Odd and Even cards have the same rank, all bets placed on that rank will result in a loss.

Suit Bets

The Suit bet has no house edge associated with it and can be placed simultaneously with a Rank bet. Similar to pass and odds bets in craps, the Rank bet is obligatory while the Suit bet is optional. To clarify, when I mention 'matching in color,' it implies a match of color only, excluding the suit. For example, clubs and spades share a color but are different suits.

1. Players must pick only one suit to place their bets on.
2. If the Odd card matches both in rank with any of the player’s bets and in suit with the player’s Suit bet, they will incur a loss equal to the Suit bet.
3. If the Odd card matches in rank but only in color (not suit) with the player’s Suit bet, the player will also lose an amount equal to the Suit bet.
4. Should the Even card match any rank bet placed by the player and also align in suit with the player’s Suit bet, the player will win an amount equating to the Suit bet.
5. If the Even card aligns with any rank the player bet on and matches in color (but not suit) with the Suit bet, they will win an amount corresponding to half of the Suit bet.
6. In all other scenarios, the outcome will be a push.
7. Players cannot wager more than four times their highest Rank bet on any Suit bet.

Feeling puzzled? I experienced the same confusion when figuring out how the Suit bets function. Let’s look at some examples for clarity.

Examples

• A player places a $5 bet on a jack and $20 on diamonds. The Odd card turns out to be the jack of diamonds, and the Even card is the two of clubs. In this case, the player loses both bets, since the Odd card triggered a loss.
• Another scenario: a player wagers $5 on a jack and $20 on diamonds. The Odd card reveals itself as the two of hearts, while the Even card comes out to be the jack of diamonds. Here, the player wins both bets, as the Even card facilitated the win.
• In a different example, a player bets $5 on a jack and $20 on diamonds. The Odd card shows up as the jack of hearts, with the Even card being the two of clubs. The player will lose the entire $5 on the jack bet because it corresponds with the Odd card, but will lose half, or $10, on the diamond bet since the Odd card matched in color.
• In another case, the player places bets of $5 on a jack and $20 on diamonds. The Odd card is the jack of hearts, and the Even card is the jack of diamonds. The player will lose the complete $5 on the jack bet since it matches the Odd card. The outcome of the Even card matching doesn’t affect the result, as the Odd card is evaluated first for Rank bets. For the Suit bet, the player loses $10 (half) since the Odd card matched in color. However, they'll win the full $20 from the Even card match, resulting in a net gain of $10 on the Suit bet.
• Assume a player makes a $1 bet on a jack, a $2 bet on a queen, and an $8 bet on spades. If the Odd card is the queen of hearts, and the Even card is the jack of clubs, the player loses $2 on the queen bet because it matches the Odd card. However, they win $1 on the jack bet as it aligns with the Even card. There’s no loss from the Suit bet with respect to the Odd card since its color is opposite to the player’s chosen suit (spades). Furthermore, the player wins $4 on the Suit bet because the Even card matched in color with the selected suit.
• Let's say a player makes a $1 bet on a jack, a $2 bet on a queen, and an $8 bet on spades. If the Odd card is revealed as the ace of spades and the Even card is the queen of diamonds, the bet on the jack remains a push since neither card was a jack. The player wins the queen bet because the Even card is a queen. The Suit bet also results in a push because, even though the Odd card is a spade, it doesn’t match any Rank bets, rendering its suit irrelevant; also, while the Odd card matches the player’s queen bet in rank, its suit is of a different color than the spades bet.

You can think of the Suit bet as if it consists of two separate bets. The first revolves around the Odd card and has three potential outcomes: it can either lose, lose half, or push, based on how it matches the Odd card in suit, depending on a qualifying rank match. The second one involves the Even card and can result in winning, winning half, or pushing based on how it aligns with the Even card in suit, also contingent on a matching rank.

I wouldn’t want to be a dealer in a casino trying to make this rule clear to players.

Analysis

Rank Bets

Typically, I describe the house edge as the proportion of expected loss for players compared to their initial wager, including instances of pushes. Below is a return table illustrating the breakdown of the Rank bets in this manner. In the lower right corner, a house edge of 0.57% is displayed.

Nonetheless, this isn't the usual way the house edge is communicated for place, buy, and hard way bets, which often take several rolls to deduce and may be retracted at any moment. With bets generally kept until resolution, pushes are not considered when computing the house edge. The following table illustrates this method, disregarding pushes. The lower right corner shows a house edge of 3.84%. craps The actual gameplay proceeds such that if no event occurs, the player has approximately one second to hit the 'pause' button before the dealer draws the next set of two cards. Regardless of any wins or losses, all bets that remain unresolved will stay on the table; thus, players must actively remove their bets, or they may inadvertently win or lose as time passes.

The odds connected to the Suit bet are influenced by the number of Rank bets the player places. While the expected value consistently equals zero (indicating no house edge), the likelihood of a push fluctuates with the number of Rank bets made. To simplify the calculations, the table below outlines potential outcomes when making a single Rank bet.

Suit Bets

Here’s a more concise table summarizing the probabilities associated with each possible outcome.

Combining a one-unit wager on any rank with a four-unit wager on any suit leads to a total house edge of 0.14% for each bet made (including ties), and 0.77% for each resolved bet (excluding ties).

Additionally, there exists an alternative version of this game with the following adjustments:

Zero House Edge

Should both the Odd and Even cards display the same rank, any bets placed on that rank will be considered a push rather than a loss.

• Players can wager as much as they'd like on the Suit bets.
• In this version, the house edge is technically 0%. However, at a certain casino where I encountered this version, there is a 10% commission on any net winnings acquired during a session. A 'session' is defined as a gameplay period not exceeding 24 hours, with no breaks longer than one hour.

For mathematically sound strategies and insights regarding casino games such as blackjack, craps, roulette, and numerous others.

External Links

• Stos rules at Bet Voyager.

Written by: Michael Shackleford