61.0.3
2024-03-19
This release is focused on some requested enhancement, library upgrades related to the pesky ads that pay the bills, and some bug fixes.
1. Roulette bug: the space for a split 24/27 wager was not properly recorded so if that wager was made and a 24 or 27 was spun, the wager didn't get paid. Many thanks to Danny (not me!) for using "Send Feedback" to reach out and alert me to the issue. With 280+ spaces to wager on that board, Roulette can be a bit gnarly!
2. Red Dog Bonus bug: another user reached out using "Send Feedback" to let me know that the "Win Achievements" did not appear to be getting tracked correctly. They were absolutely correct and I have fixed the issue in this release. So, if you're a Red Dog (a.k.a. "Acey-Deucey" Player), you have some additional achievement chips that you can still earn!
3. Craps enhancement: Several folks have reached out to request a feature that would show how much gets won (or lost) in Craps while a Shooter is rolling. I've added that as an enhancement in this release. Now, Craps will track the impact to the Player's bankroll while the Player is rolling the dice. The net impact will be reported any time the Shooter "make his point" or rolls a 7. Keep in mind when you're verifying the message that it's possible for some chips to remain on the board after a roll is paid; especially if you are using the "Dealer Assist" features that can be found in Preferences. So, you will have to take the bankroll amount into account with whatever is reported as "In Play".
As to Craps: I feel like I am getting extremely close to isolating the issue associated with the final dice images not matching the roll results. I have still not reproduced the issue but I am getting fewer and fewer reports of this issue. Of course, that could also be an indication that folks are ignoring the problem and creating a false sense of accomplishment on my part. If you experience the issue, please reach out with screenshots. The roll result message is the correct number and it should match what shows in the "Roll History" that is available from the game's menu.
More enhancements are coming; and some more games! Please keep sending me your suggestions and requests. Everything gets added to the backlog and I re-prioritize after each release.
Thank you for your continued support and please stay safe!
~Danny
60.2.8
2023-11-16
A bit of an "emergency fix"; at least so far as I am concerned. There is an outage with one of the service providers that is used for logging errors. As a result of the errors that they are generating, the logs are overflowing with false alerts. Unfortunately, I never added a mechanism to turn that logging off. Now I have. There's no change to any of the games. Just getting better control of the error reporting so that real errors don't get lost in the "noise".
In all likelihood the issue will be addressed before this release hits the App Store, but, regardless, it will be there the next time it's needed!
~Danny
60.2.6
2023-11-13
This is a quick "hot fix"/maintenance release. There have been some issues related to ads that popped up after the last release in which I updated some foundational libraries. I haven't been able to isolate the root cause of the issues, but I did rollback some of those libraries for the time-being. Hopefully this will fix them. I hate the thought of having another series of "rapid-fire updates".
~Danny
60.2.2
2023-10-31
This release has been a bit delayed because I was distracted by other pressing issues. It is a maintenance release that addresses bugs in a couple of games:
1. Pai Gow/Face Up Pai Gow: Many thanks to "Eagle Eye Karen" who, during her 1000s of hands of Pai Gow has become an expert at identifying edge cases in which the House Way is not properly optimizing the Low Hand. In this release, some issues associated with 7-card Straights have been addressed. Thanks so much for your support, Karen, and for the screenshot examples that always help me to identify the root cause of the issues!
2. Lunar Poker: As I was reviewing logs, I noticed that there were increasing crashes in Lunar Poker. It turns out that the game was allowing the Player to continuously draw 2-5 cards until the deck was depleted. Once there were no more cards, the game crashed the app. It turns out that a handful of folks were aware of the issue and used it to their advantage to rack up a substantial bankroll. While I don't understand how that can be any fun and do find it a little disappointing that they would take advantage of me and the game, "it is what it is". RBG is a labor of love and the goal is to provide everyone with a robust, simulated experience in which to learn new games and to fine tune their strategies. In a casino, the chips would be forfeit after a visit from the Pit Boss. Here, I just say "Congrats!"
3. Bonus 6 Stud Poker: While doing some testing, I noticed that the sequence of the wager buttons was a bit off so I re-arranged them to be more intuitive.
4. Ads: I noticed while playing that some of the ads are not muted when they start playing. I made some changes that I hope will address this. Those pesky advertisers are a pain in the backside, but they help to pay the bills.
Thanks to everyone who supports me with their suggestions, referrals, feedback, and bug reports. I cannot do this without you. I will keep working to improve the app so long as you keep playing it and keep telling your friends about it. There are several game requests and enhancements in the backlog that I will be getting to in the very near future.
Stay Safe!
~Danny
60.2.1
2023-10-08
As I indicated in the last release notes, I upgraded my development environment to support iOS 17 and performed extensive testing to ensure nothing was broken. Unfortunately, I do not have the means to regression test as far back as iOS 12 which is the minimum version on the OS that RBG will support. Well, it turns out there was a bit of an issue with that release as it applied to iOS 12.
The issue manifested in that RBG was crashing as soon as it was launched on an iOS12 iPad. The crash was immediate and was not providing me with any data in the form of “crash reports”. When Jim texted me using “Send Feedback”, I immediately started to diagnose the issue.
Luckily, I was able to uncover some chatter in the Apple Developer Forums that appeared to explain the issue and, following guidance, I was able to make some adjustments in this release. My fingers are crossed that it works. I have tested pretty extensively to ensure nothing breaks on IOS 17, but if you run into issues, please reach out to me.
Many thanks to Jim, a long time supporter, for reaching out and letting me know about the problem. As I told him when he apologized for "causing me trouble", I'm grateful that the issue happened to him (first?) because not everyone would have taken the time to let me know and give me the opportunity to address the issue.
There is another fix in this release: Josh also reached out to me using "Send Feedback" to alert me to the fact that the "bubbles" on the Blackjack games started displaying with with a black, square background behind the gold circle that contains the point count as cards get dealt. In his words, he didn't want me to get lambasted by OCD reviews. Little did Josh know how OCD I happen to be - he knows now! Thanks for letting me know, Josh. I've rectified that issue in this release and, unlike Jim's issue, I was able to definitively test that fix.
Lastly, Karen also reached out to me about a couple of edge cases in Pai Gow where the House Way was not properly optimizing the Low Hand when Straights & Flushes were played in the High Hand. Thanks so much for the text and the screenshots, Karen! They were extremely helpful in identifying the problems and making some minor adjustments.
If it's not been made clear from previous release notes, I sincerely appreciate the support, feedback, & collaboration with the RBG Player Community. I’m just one guy! A decently skilled developer who created an app so he could play Mississippi Stud on an iPhone. Little did I know that my app would grow to 60+ casino games based on Player requests. I cannot do what I do by myself. I am indebted to all of you who take the time to report a bug or let me know when an image is skewed or request a new feature or a change to the app. Though I may not be able to make every change immediately, they all end up in my product backlog and will eventually be addressed.
While it would be cool to be as successful as one of the "big box software companies” that have teams of programmers, designers, testers, marketers, and customer support people, I bet those companies don't have as much fun as I have when I get to respond to your texts and emails and interact with all of you - my virtual friends. Please keep your messages coming!
If you haven’t already, please encourage a friend or casino buddy to check out Riverboat Gambler. Also, a review in the App Store letting folks know about your experience with the app is always appreciated!
Please Stay Safe!
~Danny
60.1.0
2023-09-27
I’m not gonna lie: I’m a bit nervous about this release because it contains a lot of code changes. I have done my best to test everything, but there’s always risk that something was missed.
I’ve been working overtime on implementing some changes that are required to support some regulatory requirements that come due in January 2024. The changes are related to displaying ads in the EU. While most of that code is currently in the app and was being tested, none of that code is active in this release. I was planning to submit it to Apple for review and approval to ensure everything is done correctly, but then I started to get some alerts about devices for which I did not have adequate screen support.
So, I did a quick pivot to work on supporting those devices. Given that there are 64 games in RBG and that many games support Left-Handed and Right-Handed variants as well as Portrait & Landscape on iPads, “new screens” are a tremendous amount of work; literally 100s of hours.
It turns out that some of the newer, larger iPads now allow a user to change the display resolution of their device to make it finer (“use more space”). Unfortunately, the only 12.9” iPad I own isn’t new enough to have that feature. Mine only supports “Larger Text” which basically makes the resolution identical to a 9.7” iPad for which RBG has always had screen definitions.
From what I can determine with my simulators, this “new” feature applies to iPads that are 11” and 12.9”. Again, given the number of games and the orientation variations, that means that I need to define layouts for about 256 game screens and then a handful of other screens.
In order to ensure there is a decent user experience for folks who have changed their display resolution from Default, I went through and updated each game to use an existing screen definition for a device in a manner that ensures that everything is nicely centered. Next, I will be working on updated definitions that will take better advantage of the extra space by making cards and chips and other elements larger.
IMPORTANT: Craps, Roulette, and Sic-Bo will not be available on these screens until I can create the custom layouts for those games.
While making these changes, I also came across a bug in the animation for Casino War. When the cards were being dealt, I was seeing a “partial ghost” of the cards remaining at the top of the screen; sometimes, they flickered. I have no idea how long that has been happening because I don’t play Casino War. The fact that nobody mentioned it to me could be an indication that nobody else is playing that game or, if they are, those folks are too kind to have “complained”.
Never fear complaining folks. RBG has evolved because of Player support, bug reports, suggestions, requests, and other feedback. I just ask that you reach out to me directly using “Send Feedback” instead of posting a bad review that, for some reason, folks never seem to update AFTER I’ve addressed their issues and concerns - LOL.
One thing I have noticed in the the new changes is that the “Failed To Qualify” windows seem to leave a light “trail” on the screen when they are animated from off-screen. I don’t know why this is happening; I suspect it’s a bug with the underlying animation engine for IOS. However, I have confirmed that when I get the screens updated to use the layout approach I normally use, those trails will disappear. That being the case, I’m going to leave it alone for now.
As always, thank you to everyone for your continued support. After this release, I am going to jump back into finalizing the changes that I must release in the EU before mid-January 2024. Then, I will start updating the screens for these non-default iPad screen sizes.
After all of that, there is another new game and some other great enhancements planned!
~Danny
60.0.2
2023-09-06
This release addresses an issue that exists in the Pai Gow games. Andrew as kind enough to reach out to me using "Send Feedback" to report that the some wild Straight Flushes were being incorrectly classified as 7-Card Straight Flushes for bonus purposes.
This issue has likely existed for a long time and I appreciate that you took the time to report it, Andrew! It's the collaboration with Players like you that continue to help Riverboat Gambler become the best app that it can be!
More games and enhancements are in the works! Thank you to everyone for your continued support and please keep sharing RBG with your friends!
~Danny
60.0.1
2023-08-30
Quick enhancement release to address a problem reported by Matthew, one of RBG's MVPs. If there's an issue, big or small, it will not escape Matthew! I appreciate your help and support so much, Matthew!
Many of the unique achievements for each game in Riverboat Gambler will award some amount of "bonus chips". For example, after your first 10 hands in each game, you should get a $50 bonus. Well, it turns out that "since Moby Dick was a minnow", if you're playing on an iPad in landscape mode, the award amount would be cut off and you wouldn't see the amount that was awarded. This means that many people may have been earning achievements and may not be aware of the fact that those achievements increased their bankrolls! While testing, I identified that there has also been an issue on the Achievements screen when it gets rotated on the iPad.
Thanks for letting me know, Matthew.
RBG continues to evolve and I'm focusing on adding some features like "tournaments". My idea for tournaments would be that, for specific games, folks would accumulate "points" based on their play over a 24 hour period. Then, at the end of that period, the top winners would receive some bonus chips. The challenge I'm facing is how to implement it. One school of thought is to leverage Apple's Game Center and another is to track the standings using some "cloud services". The former would require me to implement a hook into the Apple Game Center services - something that is extremely new to me. The latter would require me to pay for some services that could become more expensive than I can currently afford.
If you like the ideas of "tournaments", please let me know. I'm literally "sitting on the fence". I don't think the feature is crucial to RBG because it's intended to be an app to help you learn new games and work on strategies, but I also think it could add some additional fun to the mix.
As always, thank you for your continued support!
If you haven't already, please take the time to post a review in the App Store. Your reviews are my only marketing. What you say about the app may influence whether someone else downloads it. The more folks who download and play, the more pennies I get from Google from those rare ads. And, since I'm never going to be Candy Crush, I need to rely on economies of scale and a lot more pennies to make RBG profitable.
Stay Safe!
~Danny
60.0.0
2023-08-24
Game 64 has arrived! That's 63 more games that I ever envisioned when I first created RBG to allow me to play Mississippi Stud on my first iPhone!
This game was suggested by my brother, Tracy, and it's interesting.
Three Card Sabotage is a variant of the classic favorite Three Card Poker. In the game, the Player is trying to form a better three card poker hand than will the Dealer. In this game, though, the Dealer receives four cards while the Player still only receives three.
What?!? How is that fair?
The twist is that the Dealer also deals an additional two "sabotage cards" from the deck. These two cards are dealt face down and, when the hand is ending, these two cards are used to try to sabotage the Dealer's hand: any of the Dealer's four cards that match a "sabotage card" get thrown out before the Dealer makes a hand. This means that the final Dealer hand could contain fewer than three cards!
Another difference from classic 3 Card Poker is that the Dealer ALWAYS qualifies; there's no wimping out when he doesn't have at least a Queen-high hand!
Sabotage is an interesting game, but remember that, if the two sabotage cards don't affect the Dealer's hand, the Dealer effectively has an extra card from which to make his hand!
Bug fixes:
1. Many thanks to Scott for reaching out via email to alert me to an issue with Wild 5 Poker. A bug in that game was not properly reading Straight Flushes. As a result of Scott's help and the screenshots that he provided, I was able to isolate and address the bug in this release! Thank you, Scott!
Additional Changes/Enhancements:
1. I've introduced a 3rd sub menu from the main games menu: "Texas Hold'em Games". All sub menu names are now prefaced with a "blue diamond" to help in quickly locating them while scrolling. Remember, you can still get to an alphabetized list of the games by using the Search icon! Also, if you mark a game from a submenu as a favorite, it will appear at the top on the main game menu.
2. I've also been cleaning up the code some more and just sliced out literally 1000s of lines of redundant code. Always feels good to clean up the code base but is also terrifying that something will get broken and not caught in my testing.
3. I am still working on identifying the cause of some sporadic crashes that appear to be related to the check for the Loyalty Bonuses. If you are impacted, please consider reaching out to me using "Send Feedback" to provide me with any details you may have.
4. I "tweaked" the layout of the Seach Screen because it was a little skewed on some devices.
I have a ton of great ideas for RBG and I have been playing around with some of them. As soon as I figure out the best (and most inexpensive) way to implement these new features, I think you're going to have your socks knocked off!
In the meantime, please keep sending your feedback, suggestions, bug reports, and requests. As many folks have said in their reviews, I do my best to respond immediately. I'm just a "text away" if you use "Send Feedback" from any game's menu.
Also, if you haven't already, please consider leaving a review in the App Store. I know it doesn't sound like a huge thing, but your reviews are my best marketing and I could really use the help letting folks know about my little app.
As always, I appreciate you and I will keep enhancing and maintaining this wonderful, little virtual casino training space as long as you continue to support it!
~Danny
59.2.0
2023-08-21
This release is a bit delayed. I've been distracted with personal/family matters. BUT, at least it's here!
In this release, I've updated the libraries that are used to support the display of the infrequent ads. I've also started to lay the groundwork for "Daily Tournaments" that will ultimately be used to award even more bonus chips. At this point, I'm not sure if the direction I am taking is the right one. So, don't "hold your breath" waiting to see this feature appear. I suspect I really need to develop a better understanding of the Apple Game Center concept in order to deliver what I have in mind. It's all about "baby steps" though. I appreciate your patience while I try different things.
I am also doing my best to abandon Twitter/X as a platform. Honestly, it's become too toxic for me and I'm not convinced it will "survive" much longer. That being the case, I have opened an account on Meta's "Threads". You can find me on Threads at "RiverboatGamblerApp". As with Twitter, I use that account to provide updates on bugs, bug fixes, and pending releases. Please consider following me out there. Soon, I won't be updating Twitter any longer.
Additional changes:
1. Blackjack: In response to a request from LaDawn, I increased the size of the circle and font that is used to display the hand count on the iPhone12. This was done in order to make the numbers easier to read. Many thanks, LaDawn for reaching out via "Send Feedback".
As always, I cannot overstate how much I appreciate your support! It would be great if I had all of the resources that a major tech company has at its disposal, but I don't. It's still "just me" and I'm doing my best to address your requests. RBG started as a single game so I could play Mississippi Stud on my iPhone and now it's 60+ games on two platforms. Who knew?!?
Some more games are coming! Stay tuned!
Please keep your feedback, suggestions, and requests coming. It is our collaboration that continues to make this a great app!
~Danny
59.1.2
2023-07-24
Some more maintenance items as I work to whittle away at the backlog of clean-up tasks. I've updated the diagnostic logging in an attempt to track down some sporadic crashes.
Once I've taken care of the maintenance items, I'll get back to enhancing RBG. Please keep your suggestions and requests coming!
~Danny
59.1.1
2023-07-17
Simple maintenance release. I've updated some of the libraries that are used to serve ads and updated images.
I am working on additional games and enhancements, though! Please keep your ideas and requests coming. Everything gets evaluated and added to the backlog for consideration.
As always, thank you to everyone for your continued support. I truly appreciate you!
~Danny
59.1.0
2023-07-13
In response to a request from Mike who messaged me via text using "Send Feedback", I've modified the screens to allow you to quickly access the Casino Wallet by tapping on the bankroll. The option still exists on the menu, but this shortcut was a great idea. Thanks, Mike! Please keep the ideas coming!
Additionally, I've updated some of the 3rd party libraries that are used to present some of the ads.
I have more changes planned and am continuing to refine the code base to correct some of the "rookie mistakes" I made when I first started RBG. I truly appreciate your support and feedback. Please continue providing your input. As anyone who has reached out should be able to attest, I take all input seriously and will do my best to implement all suggestions that are made.
Please keep telling your friends about RBG and, if you haven't already, please consider leaving a review in the App Store. Your reviews are pretty much my entire marketing strategy and can have an impact on folks who find the app and are considering taking it for a test drive.
The local Seminole casinos in Florida are close to offering Craps & Roulette, so I'm excited to try out some of the strategies I've been developing while playing RBG!
Please stay safe!
~Danny
59.0.1
2023-06-27
This release contains a bug fix to Joker Poker (Video Poker) in which the Sequential Royal Flush (the ultimate monster hand) wasn't being read correctly. Thankfully, I caught this issue in my testing and nobody was bitten by it!
Additionally, I've modified the app to track Game Stats for the Video Poker games. I highly encourage anyone who uses this feature to reset the current stats as some have been recorded, but not correctly.
More changes coming! My mom made it back to Michigan safely and I am going to be spending a lot more time working on the backlog and some enhancements that I have planned. Please keep your ideas, requests, and suggestions coming!
~Danny
59.0.0
2023-06-09
To be candid, I'm finding myself pretty addicted to video poker; my favorites are Deuces Wild and Double Double Bonus. Mom and I dropped into the local casino last week and I sat at a machine for about 2 hours and doubled my money. Granted, the payouts are not as extreme as a nice hand of quads on Mississippi Stud, but it's still fun to leave the casino "ahead"! My only complaint with the machines are that the "Bet Max" and "Deal/Draw" buttons are too close together. On at least one occasion, I hit the wrong button and it proved to be expensive! For that reason, there will never be that type of button in RBG. In RBG, you still have to pick your increment and tap the wager space up to five times to make your bet.
In this release, I have added a sixth video poker game that I noticed on the machine I was playing: Triple Bonus Poker. It's very similar to Double Double Bonus, but, like most video poker games, there are some minor differences on the pay table. In this game, the differences apply to how quads are paid out.
Additionally, in response to a suggestion from Kyle, I've updated the VP games to change the "Deal button" to a "Draw button" after the initial cards get dealt. Definitely an idea that needed to be implemented. Thanks, Kyle!
I've not been getting any additional feedback about the dice images for Craps not matching the final roll. I STILL have not seen the issue myself. I'm hoping the lack of feedback means that the changes I made in the previous releases crushed the bug. If you experience a situation where the final dice images do match the roll outcome, please reach out to me using "Send Feedback". For now, I'm going to consider the issue resolved.
More changes and enhancements are coming. I am about to take a couple of weeks of "down time" to hang out with my mom and get her relocated back to Michigan for the summer months. She has all but recovered 100% from the health issues that she's had to deal with for the past 2+ years and, now, it's time to start enjoying her "Golden Years". Many thanks to those of you who have reached out to ask about her and for all of the prayers.
~Danny
58.1.5
2023-06-01
I received some feedback that the last set of changes for Craps DID NOT properly address the incorrect images so I've reverted those changes in this release. This reversion activates the previous fixes that can result in the dice "popping" a bit at the end of a roll. While the popping is not desired, this will have to suffice for the present; at least, the final dice images should match the final dice roll. I am dedicated to continuing to pursue this issue. It's a challenge, though, given that I am unable to reproduce the problem in my development environment and on my production devices. It's a mystery. Please keep your feedback and thoughts coming.
~Danny
58.1.3
2023-05-27
This release is solely focused on trying to address an issue with Craps where the final dice images do not match the final roll value. I have been unable to reproduce the issue and I am all but convinced that the issue is not "code/logic" related, but more related to the wrong image files being retrieved.
In the last release, I added some grey dice to use during the animation sequences and asked folks to send in screenshots any time the final dice don't match the roll value. My hope was to isolate which die was not updating properly with the expectation that one or both dice would remain grey after the roll ended.
Kyle reached out to me last night to share a screenshot and some information. In his situation, his first roll after opening Craps was "Midnight" (12 - my favorite number to bet). However, the dice showed 1-3 instead of 6-6. To top it off, the dice images were Red which indicates that the animation properly completed and cleared.
So, in this release, I have included three "Hail Mary" changes in the hopes that they will address an annoying bug that never existed in Craps previous to the iPhone release:
1. I have renamed all of the dice images to ensure they are unique enough to prevent any confusion by the compiler
2. I have reorganized the image catalog to remove reduce some levels of organization that I believe I added while working on the iPhone
3. I have forced the images to update a second time immediately before the results message gets shown. NOTE: if the first two changes don't address the bug, the dice may seem to "pop" after the roll when the images get changed. If that happens, please let me know.
Many thanks to everyone who has reached out on this issue. I'm being told that it's not "frequent", but from my perspective, one time is too many times. I'm very pleased with how Craps has turned out and this little glitch is putting my OCD into overdrive!
Please keep sending your ideas, requests, and feedback and please keep posting reviews and sharing RBG with your friends. My mom's health has dramatically improved and she is about to head back to her home in Michigan for a few months. Both she and I sincerely appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers that have been sent her way. The RBG Player Community has some really awesome people in it!
I have some great ideas for RBG and am hoping to make some progress towards them during the remainder of this year. Woo Hoo!
~Danny
58.1.2
2023-05-23
This release contains a couple more refinements to the Pai Gow games and how the House Way rules are applied. It also fixes the issue that was introduced to the Pai Gow games in the last release that caused Broadway to fail to be properly classified.
More updates coming, but I wanted to get these out before I re-group and start to attack the backlog!
~Danny
58.0.0
2023-05-17
This release contains a new video poker game and a couple of nice enhancements.
1. BUG: Video Poker games: Kyle was kind enough to let me know that on games like "Royal Flush" that have different payouts for 4 of a Kind based on the denomination of the "quads", the engine was not selecting the correct win. Thanks for texting me with "Send Feedback", Kyle. I appreciate you helping to keep the game bug free!
2. ENHANCEMENT: Video Poker games: As I expected, there has been some confusion about how the VP games pay out. The table at the top of each screen represents the number of "units" (chips) that get paid for each hand that wins. They ARE NOT odds. If you bet in $5 increments, a unit is $5; if you bet in $25 increments, a unit is $25. That means that if you hit a hand that pays "25", the payout is 25 x your increment/unit. To help with the confusion, the main wager button will no longer display the total amount wagered when it's tapped; it will show the number of wagers that have been placed and the table at the top of the screen will change to highlight the column that matches the wager count. While I'm sure this will cause additional confusion, it is a little closer to the actual "machine experience". I encourage everyone to take 5 minutes to read the "How to Play". While I am finding Video Poker games to be a great distraction, they are not table games; there are differences of which you should become familiar.
3. NEW GAME: Kyle requested that I prioritize "Video Poker: Double Double Bonus" as a game. Given that most of the work was already done, I did my best to deliver! Here you go, Kyle. Thanks so much for your help! As a side note, I spent about 5 hours in a casino on Mother's Day and all I played was video poker. It's a great game! You don't have to lose much and the upsides were pretty rewarding.
4. ENHANCEMENTS: Gregory, a Pai Gow and Asia Poker Dealer, pointed out some issues in how hands in those games were not being properly optimized by the House Way algorithm; namely as it applied to Straights, Flushes, and Straight Flushes. I’ve made some additional refinements and am feeling really good about how those hands get played in Pai Gow. Next, I will be focused on using the same approach in Asia Poker. Thanks so much for all of your help, Gregory!
~Danny
57.0.2
2023-05-11
This week has had a couple of "rapid fire" releases. If you're able, please review the release notes for the previous release, 57.0.1. to read about the new games, bug fixes, and enhancements that were made.
In this release, I am trying another "Hail Mary" fix to Craps. After changes that were made to address crashes on iPhones, a bug appeared that randomly impacts the dice; they are not always updating on the screen to match the final roll. There is no rhyme or reason. Hence, the artillery-strike approach I am using to address a bug I cannot reproduce.
In addition to working on this issue, I am working with Jeffrey on addressing some edge-cases in the Pai Gow games. There are some situations in which the House Way (which also controls the Dealer's cards) is not playing the hands in the most optimal manner. Because my goal is authenticity, this is important to me. However, I do want to make sure that folks realize that if their hand is not played optimally using "House Way", they should gain some solace in the fact that the same algorithms apply to Dealer hands.
RBG is "on fire"! Please keep telling your friends and others about the app. I need to spend a couple weeks working on the versions for "other platforms", but I am filling up the backlog with some really great suggestions and ideas. I truly appreciate the support from the Player Community!
Please, if you haven't already, consider taking a couple of minutes to post a review in the App Store. I know it seems trivial, but it really is the only marketing that I have. I don't have the funds to invest in expensive ads. The greater the number of people who play , the greater the number of hands that get dealt. In keeping with my commitment to you, an ad continues to be shown after every 100 hands. The more "100 hands" that get dealt, the higher my ad revenue becomes. It's not a fabulous amount of income, but every penny helps!
Also, please remember that you can get $1000 in chips every 24 hours by playing the Reward Ads in the Chip Store. Nobody says you have to watch them, but you do have to play them....
Please keep using "Send Feedback" to submit your ideas, requests, and suggestions! I think 2023 is going to be an exciting year for Riverboat Gambler!
Since I'm assuming this release will hit the App Store BEFORE Mother's Day (or very close, at least): Happy Mother's Day to my Mom, YOUR Mom, and all Moms!
~Danny
57.0.1
2023-05-08
In response to many requests, I have added a handful of video poker games to RBG! Personally, I never really understood the "draw", but having created these four games and played them, I now see why others like them! I will likely add more video poker in the future if these become popular. NOTE: please read the "How to Play" if you're not familiar with the differences between video poker and table games. While they are not slot machines, they are also not table games. One important difference is that if you hit a win, your initial wagers are not refunded. Instead, like a slot machine, once wagered, those chips are gone.
When I added the new games, I also started to add a sub-menu concept to the main menu as a way to continue to get that menu under control. Soon, I will make additional changes to group other games by "type"; like Pai Gow, Blackjack, Hold'em, etc. Your favorites will still be at the top of the menu and all games will still be sorted alphabetically on the Search menu.
Additional Changes/Enhancements:
1. BUG: Rob reached out via "Send Feedback" to alert me to an issue with Heads Up Hold'em on the iPad 12. In Landscape mode, the "Odds" wager button was being covered up by the Ante wager button. Since the Odds wager is a forced bet that increments automatically as Antes are placed, it was a bit confusing to see the bankroll decrease by twice the Ante each time a wager was made, but to not see the chips on the board. That has been fixed in this release. Thanks, Rob!
2. BUG: Jeffrey reached out with some screenshots of Craps. This bug is a head scratcher and I'm not 100% sure I've resolved it in this release because I cannot reproduce it. The issue is that after a roll completes, the dice on the board are not always updating correctly to reflect the final roll. I made some "Hail Mary" changes in this release and will also continue to try to reproduce the issue in order to get to an actual root cause. I suspect this is the last remnants of the issues that were previously causing Craps to crash on iPhone. Thanks for letting me know, Jeffrey, and please let me know how this release works out on your device!
3. ENHANCEMENT: Double Draw, Lunar Poker, and the Video Poker games require the Player to tap cards to Hold or Discard them. I cleaned up the code that was handling those operations and re-styled the indicators that are displayed on the cards. Now, they look a lot nicer. They are dynamic based on the size of the cards so please reach out if any of them are too small. I did my best to check all impacted games on all devices, but you've seen me drop that ball before!
4. ENHANCEMENT: I had a little fun with graphics and added a new style of dice for the games that use dice. Check out Preferences in those games!
5. BUG: Ties in Pai Gow Tiles were not being properly resolved. Many thanks to Gregory, a Pai Gow Dealer, for reaching out to me using "Send Feedback" and helping to educate me. He is also advising me on some tweaks that are required for some Asia Poker edge cases. Gregory: your help is invaluable!
I have a question for those who made it this far in the release notes: My mother has gotten me addicted to a non-casino game that offers "tournaments" in which you can play against a bunch of other people and the top finishers win "prizes". I'm curious: would anyone be interested in "RBG Tournaments" where the Players who amassed the most chips in a particular game during a period of time would win prizes? If you are, please reach out via "Send Feedback" or via the support email address and provide me your thoughts. On paper, it looks cool but it would be a ton of wasted work if I “build it and they DON’T come”.
I'll close with my standard "Thank you for your support" line. I really do appreciate the support of the Player community. There is no way that RBG would have become what it is today without your support, patience, suggestions, and feedback.
~Danny
56.12.7
2023-04-19
Major bug fix that impacted ALL games. Thank you very much, Brad, for alerting me to this one! It's ugly and it's sure to generate a lot of noise if folks don't see the alert messages and updates I have posted on Twitter (@RiverboatApp).
Board controls became disabled if you changed the screen during an active hand (e.g. accessed the Chip Store, How To Play, or Pay Table after cards were dealt). The issue is resolved in this release.
And, here I thought it was going to be a nice, slow, easy week after finally getting to the bottom of that nasty, elusive Craps issue!
~Danny
56.0.0
2023-04-09
Game #57 has arrived and I love it! Requested by Linda, "Cali Lowball" is sure to become a favorite of many! I've played this game for hours and feel like I'm becoming addicted to it! What is really wild about the game is that, like a 2-Way Bad Beat, you actually WANT the Dealer to have better cards than do you because, in Cali Lowball, the WORST hand wins! Be sure to read the instructions to fully understand the game. There is no such thing as a Straight or a Flush and ACES ARE ALWAY LOW. Check it out and let me know what you think. Many thanks to Linda for reaching out with the request!
A few releases back, I made a change that impacted the games that require the Dealer to "qualify". In those games, the first time the Dealer fails to qualify, a message pops up to explain the parameters for Dealer qualification and what happens in the game should the Dealer fail to qualify. These messages were served once and only once. When I started to get a lot of support questions on the topic, I opted to make those messages show up once, per session, per game, when the Dealer failed to qualify. While doing that helped to reduce the support questions from folks who were new to an impacted game, it create a whole other "problem". Namely, experienced Players had to deal with seeing a message that was really a "Duh! No kidding!" message from their perspective.
In this release, in response to inquiries from Robert (a long time supporter, advocate, and advisor) I prioritized making such messages optional. Now, Players may turn these messages off using the "Show Popup Instructions" switch in Preferences for games that are impacted. I want to thank Robert for bringing this to my attention and mostly for his patience. I can relate to the fact that having a "dumb" message pop up while trying to play a game with which you are familiar can be annoying!
Enhancement: I received some rather cool/educational feedback from Eric, a former casino Dealer, about Faro. I turns out that the "final sequence" option in that game was historically referred to as "Chasing the Turn". It makes sense when you consider that that is basically what is occurring. For that reason, I've rebranded that part of the game. Now, instead of the boring "final sequence" verbiage, all references to that "bonus game" should be reflected as Chasing/Chase the Turn. Thanks Eric!
Bug Fix: Rabbit Hunter: If the Bad Beat Bonus was wagered and there was a Push with a Pair of Tens or higher, the app would crash while trying to calculate a bonus that should not be paid.
Bug Fix: There were a handful of crashes that appeared to have been caused by the 3rd party libraries that are being used for logging. It's pathetic that trying to log some information could create an exception that would crash the app, but it's the reality of app development. Hopefully, the changes that I made will prevent such situations from occurring in the future!
The backlog of general "TODO" items has been significantly reduced. This is great news because it means I can get back to focusing on enhancing RBG with new features! I have a lot of exciting plans for the app, but I will always prioritize Player requests and bug fixes above those plans. There are still a few (very few) crashes occurring on Craps for the iPhone. Those issues are my number one priority. If you have any suggestions or requests, though, please make sure that you reach out using "Send Feedback" or via the support email that can be found at TheRiverboatGambler.com so that I can add them to the backlog.
Finally, I never get tired of saying: I sincerely appreciate you! Your support and patience are amazing and your input continues to improve RBG as an app! Please, if you haven't already, consider leaving a review in the App Store and, please, encourage your friends, family, and complete strangers to "check RBG out"! The more that YOU help with the marketing, the more I can focus on writing code!
~Danny
55.7.0
2023-03-29
One of the features for which I get a lot of positive feedback is the "Poker Hands" option from the game menus. I'm told it helps folks who are new to poker become more familiar with the composition and rank order of the hands. So, when Devan contacted me via the support email account and requested that a copy of the Faro board be made available that could be used to track the card counts in that game when it is being played live it sounded like a nice enhancement.
Look for "live play board" on the Faro game menu. This feature can serve as the abacus if you are dealing Faro to a group of family and friends. Using your mobile device, you can now deal the cards and, by pressing and holding the corresponding cards on the live play board, you are able to increment the counter for each card. I opted to go with a "long press" to prevent an accidental "tap" on card that could screw up the count and slow down the game. The counter for each card will increment to 4 and then a subsequent press will reset the count. I hope the Faro Players like it! Please, if you have any suggestions, just let me know!
A HUGE bug was uncovered by Chuck and reported via "Send Feedback". While I'm sure Chuck didn't find it amusing because it prevented him from playing Craps on his new IPhone, I have to admit it made me chuckle at my own mistake.
When Craps and Roulette are first loaded, those games store some necessary screen coordinates to the device. These coordinates are required to calculate which wagers are being placed. When we update our devices the upgrade process typically transfers all existing application data from the old device to the new device. In the case of Craps and Roulette the fact that I wasn't verifying that the previously saved coordinates matched the current device and reloaded as necessary created a situation where you could be playing on a device that contained coordinates for the wrong device. The problem only manifested if you went from a smaller sized device to a larger one. Thanks to Chuck having reached out, that issue has been resolved in this release. You have to agree, it was a ridiculous "bug" given the fact that folks change devices constantly!
Lastly, I've updated some of the support libraries that are used to serve the ads that are shown after every 100 hands/spins/rolls. As I've stated many times in the past, I always get a little nervous when updating 3rd party libraries because I don't have any control over the code base for those libraries, but I've done some extensive testing and all seems good.
As always, my thanks to everyone for your continued support, feedback, and suggestions. More changes are coming. Please keep your messages coming! If you haven't already, please consider leaving a review in the App Store and please help to spread the word about RBG to your friends and family!
~Danny
55.6.4
2023-03-25
A "new" game has been added!
Well, it's new to iPhones, anyway! As requested and as promised, I knuckled down and figured out how to add Roulette to some of the larger screen iPhones. Now, that game is available on iPhone12 and above (I'm still looking at ways of getting it added to the newer iPhoneSE). Check it out and let me know what you think! As of this release, that leaves only Sic Bo that is exclusively available on iPads. Unfortunately, due to real estate limitations, that may need to remain true for quite some time.
There have been a handful of crashes when RBG is running in the background and then opened. While I've not been able to reproduce the issue, I have made some adjustments to the code in places that I think could be contributing to the issue. Please let me know if you experience a crash by reaching out using "Send Feedback". Any details that you are able to provide will be appreciated.
More games and enhancements are coming! Please continue to share the app and tell your friends about it. I couldn't do all of this without your help, support, and encouragement!
~Danny
55.6.3
2023-03-20
A change to the Casino Wallet that allows a Player to remove chips from the table was crashing on the smaller, legacy iPhoneSE devices. The bug also impacted larger iPhones that were in "Zoomed" display mode because, at that resolution, the SE screens get used.
Other than this issue, RBG has been extremely stable for the past 3 weeks; ALWAYS a good thing!
~Danny
55.6.2
2023-03-15
I'm extremely pleased by that stability has returned to RBG since the last series of updates. Knock on wood: I've not gotten any reports of crashes since the last release. That's huge given the issues that were previously being encountered by Craps on the iPhone. Please be sure to let me know if you experience any problems.
This update is a quick fix to the Blackjack games. At the end of a hand that involved a Split, the "Reset Board" button was not being shown. Many thanks to Curt who reached out via "Send Feedback" to alert me to the issue. I appreciate that you took the time, Curt!
I'm going to "take a break" for a couple of weeks to recharge my battery. Then, I will get back into things and start working on the next series of enhancements (including new games). I will, of course, respond immediately to any bugs or other issues that are reported.
Thanks for your continued support! Please keep your ideas, requests, and suggestions flowing.
~Danny
55.6.1
2023-03-10
Couple of bug fixes and some refactoring in this release.
1. BUG: Faro has been "swallowing" any wagers that are left on the board if the Player opts to shuffle the deck early.
2. BUG: There have been increasing reports of RBG crashing on iPhones. I haven't been able to reproduce the issue, but I suspect there may be a conflict between that game's animation and notifications. In this release, I've disabled notifications in Craps and the other games that have added animation (Boule, Sic Bo, Roulette, Fish/Prawn/Crab, Keno). Hopefully this will address the issue while I try to determine the root cause. Please reach out with any details you may have should Craps crash on your iPhone.
3. BUG: Pai Gow Tiles was not allowing the Hand to be played manually. Tapping tiles did nothing.
4. BUG: Double Draw Poker: Discarding cards was not working properly.
~Danny
55.6.0
2023-03-07
Couple of bug fixes and some refactoring in this release.
1. BUG: Faro has been "swallowing" any wagers that are left on the board if the Player opts to shuffle the deck early.
2. BUG: There have been increasing reports of RBG crashing on iPhones. I haven't been able to reproduce the issue, but I suspect there may be a conflict between that game's animation and notifications. In this release, I've disabled notifications in Craps and the other games that have added animation (Boule, Sic Bo, Roulette, Fish/Prawn/Crab, Keno). Hopefully this will address the issue while I try to determine the root cause. Please reach out with any details you may have should Craps crash on your iPhone.
3. BUG: Pai Gow Tiles was not allowing the Hand to be played manually. Tapping tiles did nothing.
4. BUG: Double Draw Poker: Discarding cards was not working properly.
~Danny
55.5.1
2023-03-01
This is a quick maintenance release to update some libraries that are used to support ads and to address some minor bugs. It's always a little scary to update the 3rd party libraries that are used because I do not control that code and have no ideas whether issues will evade my testing and impact RBG. If anything does happen, I'm a text away if you use "Send Feedback" from any game menu.
1. BUG: There was still a flaw in the logic for bonuses that would prevent folks with little to no bankroll from claiming a bonus because, without chips, it's a bit hard to play 20 hands. Now, the Loyalty Bonus will be awarded immediately regardless of how many hands have been played if the Player's bankroll is less than $500.
2. BUG: From inception, Baccarat has been incorrectly dealing hands to "place holder" Players at the table if the number of Players in Preferences was set to a value other than one. This resulted in the 8 deck shoe becoming depleted more quickly than it should have been. Many thanks to my new friend, Stephen up in Baltimore. As a casino dealer, he realized there was a glitch somewhere because the shuffles seemed to be (and were) too frequent. Thanks for the assist, Stephen! I appreciate you and your support.
3. BUG: Sic Bo & Farobank started crashing after the recent changes that were made to better control the animation for placing Quick Replay wagers. Those issues have been resolved in this build.
4. BUG: DJ Wild was not allowing the required Play for Ante wagers greater than $250. Many thanks to Edward who reached out to report the problem! While testing the fix, I found a couple of other "glitches" that might impact the High Rollers. Nice find, Edward!
5. BUG: Rabbit Hunter was not allowing a default wager amount to be set under Preferences.
6. BUG: Six Card Pocker: If the default Bonus wager amount was set higher than $25 in Preferences, the Bad Beat wager couldn't be placed because it cannot be exceed $25. Now, the default wager amount for the Bad Beat Bonus is always $5.
7. BUG: Blackjack Games: The bankroll was being displayed over the top of the game logo so it was impossible to read.
8. BUG: Instant Messages: A library required to send out instant messages was dropped in a previous build. That precluded me from being able to alert Players to issues like the recent problem with Daily Loyalty Bonuses.
9. ENHANCEMENT: Pai Gow Games: Now, you can enable the games instructions under Preferences if you turned them off in the past when they were displayed.
10. ENHANCEMENT: There was a one-half second artificial delay in dealing cards when a hand was replayed that was introduced in a previous release. While not a long time, for those who have been playing RBG for awhile (self included), it was annoying! I was able to track it down and remove it. Filed under "lessons learned".
11. ENHANCEMENT: Now that Daily Bonuses are fixed, they have been modified to increase based on the number of hands played between bonuses. The standard $200 bonus is increased by $25 for each 100 hands that have been played above 100. This means that at 200 hands the bonus becomes $225; at 300 hands it becomes $250 etc. The max bonus is $300 and is awarded if 500 or more hands have been played.
I have some exciting plans for RBG this year but, first, I must continue to clean up the code base and streamline things a bit more. Assuming there are not anymore irritating bugs in this release, I am going to "step away from the keyboard" for a few days to recharge and then get back to work! Please keep your ideas, requests, and suggestions coming!
As always, thanks to all of you for your continued support and please accept my apologies again for the recent SNAFU with bonuses. I was extremely grateful for the many of you who reached out via text to report the problem as opposed to those who felt the need to chastise me in reviews and attribute the disappearance of those bonuses to devious motives.
~Danny
55.5.0
2023-02-26
This is a quick maintenance release to update some libraries that are used to support ads and to address some minor bugs. It's always a little scary to update the 3rd party libraries that are used because I do not control that code and have no ideas whether issues will evade my testing and impact RBG. If anything does happen, I'm a text away if you use "Send Feedback" from any game menu.
1. BUG: There was still a flaw in the logic for bonuses that would prevent folks with little to no bankroll from claiming a bonus because, without chips, it's a bit hard to play 20 hands. Now, the Loyalty Bonus will be awarded immediately regardless of how many hands have been played if the Player's bankroll is less than $500.
2. BUG: From inception, Baccarat has been incorrectly dealing hands to "place holder" Players at the table if the number of Players in Preferences was set to a value other than one. This resulted in the 8 deck shoe becoming depleted more quickly than it should have been. Many thanks to my new friend, Stephen up in Baltimore. As a casino dealer, he realized there was a glitch somewhere because the shuffles seemed to be (and were) too frequent. Thanks for the assist, Stephen! I appreciate you and your support.
3. BUG: Sic Bo & Farobank started crashing after the recent changes that were made to better control the animation for placing Quick Replay wagers. Those issues have been resolved in this build.
4. BUG: DJ Wild was not allowing the required Play for Ante wagers greater than $250. Many thanks to Edward who reached out to report the problem! While testing the fix, I found a couple of other "glitches" that might impact the High Rollers. Nice find, Edward!
5. BUG: Rabbit Hunter was not allowing a default wager amount to be set under Preferences.
6. BUG: Six Card Pocker: If the default Bonus wager amount was set higher than $25 in Preferences, the Bad Beat wager couldn't be placed because it cannot be exceed $25. Now, the default wager amount for the Bad Beat Bonus is always $5.
7. ENHANCEMENT: Pai Gow Games: Now, you can enable the games instructions under Preferences if you turned them off in the past when they were displayed.
I am still seeing a couple (very few) crashes in the logs and I'm trying to hunt them down. I'm extremely pleased by the fact that 99.9% of users are experiencing no crashes. Given the number of deals, spins, and dice rolls that occur ever day, that's actually an amazing statistic. If you do hit a bump, please reach out to me using "Send Feedback" to provide any information you may have. I suspect the issues that exist are still related to my inexperience with animation when RBG was first developed and the fact that I have perpetuated "bad habit". I am going to be focusing on the animation related to dealing cards next and will be performing some significant surgery in that area.
As always, thanks to all of you for your continued support and please accept my apologies again for the recent SNAFU with bonuses. I was extremely grateful for the many of you who reached out via text to report the problem as opposed to those who felt the need to chastise me in reviews and attribute the disappearance of those bonuses to devious motives.
I want to publicly state my appreciation to Apple's review team for their help with the last release. They were kind enough to expedite their review of that release after I completed some necessary updates to the RBG icons to ensure that the icon on your device now matches the image in the App Store. Their consideration helped to get the fix to you as quickly as possible. Thank you, Apple!
I have some exciting plans for RBG this year but, first, I must continue to clean up the code base and streamline things a bit more. Assuming there are not anymore irritating bugs in this release, I am going to "step away from the keyboard" for a few days to recharge and then get back to work! Please keep your ideas, requests, and suggestions coming!
~Danny
55.4.1
2023-02-24
This release is to correct an issue with the Daily Loyalty Bonuses. In some cases, the bonuses were not being properly queued. I apologize to everyone who was impacted. Unfortunately, this issue occurred simultaneously to an issue that I had receiving texts on my phone so my reaction time was slower than is typical because
In addition to fixing the regularly scheduled Loyalty Bonuses, I was able to address an issue upon which Dylan has been patiently waiting for some time: Payouts for the Aces Up Bonus in 4 Card Poker were being reported but they weren't not actually being paid! Wow! Totally "not cool". That bug's been in there for quite some time. Thanks for reaching out, Dylan and for your patience. I appreciate it!
Another late breaking change that I squeezed into this release impacts the recently added search feature on the main games menu. Now, that list appears in alphabetical order. So, if you just want to see the games listed alphabetically, simply tap the search icon (magnifying glass) in the upper right hand corner. For the immediate future, the main games menu will continue to be listed in an order that appears to be random but, in reality, attempts to group similar games together. Mississippi Stud (my favorite game and the reason RBG was created in the first place) may likely always remain at the top of the list for sentimental reasons. Later this year, I will be making some additional changes to the menu. Please submit your ideas and recommendations. I play RBG every single day and I rarely get passed Mississippi Stud unless I'm testing.
Apologies again. I have not done a substantial amount of testing on this release; I've mainly focused on the bonuses. The changes that were made "should not" impact anything else, but you never know. I will be doing a lot of stress testing over the next few days.
~Danny
55.4.0
2023-02-18
In the past, many of the issues that have been encountered by Players in Riverboat Gambler have been related to Players being able to place wagers or deal cards or roll dice or spin wheels prematurely. This has been especially true for folks who play very quickly. Matthew has uncovered numerous examples of this and I have addressed those individual cases as he reported them. In these unexpected situations, the game engine gets confused and the results are less than desirable; in some cases a crash. Thankfully, there have not been a significant number of situations, but there have been some.
I have learned a lot in the past year about handling animation in iOS. In this release, I have applied those lessons to better controlling when button are enabled and disabled. For this release, I basically gutted the components of the game engine that control when buttons should be available to tap. Like the previous release, these changes were foundational so they impacted every game in Riverboat Gambler. Changes of this magnitude are always scary because they are dangerous. While I am fortunate that existing, loyal Players often extend me a great deal of patience, I am always fearful of the impact on a new Player. After all, we only get one chance to make a first impression!
After the change, I played every game many, many times to test the impacts of the changes. Along the way, I found a few obscure bugs and fixed them. I did my best to avoid “the Happy Path” and tried to exhaust each game. With 56 games, that’s a lot of testing and it’s likely I may have missed some edge cases. I apologize in advance. Please let me know if you find something.
Another MAJOR change in this release is enhanced support for devices that have the display “Zoomed”. Now, those screens should be better centered on the device.
Next, I will continue to prune the backlog and continue to reduce the code base in preparation for some exciting changes I have planned for this year!
Please keep your feedback, suggestions, and requests coming - they all end up in the backlog. If you haven't already, please consider leaving a review in the App Store. With only 1700 reviews, I am starting to suspect that I will never catch up to Candy Crush and their 2M+ reviews!
~Danny
52.0.3
2022-10-30
Release 52.0.0 added "Deuces Wild Bonus!" to the RBG games lineup. However, I never flagged the game as ready for Production so, it's only showing up on test devices! Rookie mistake! Many thanks to Robert for reaching out using "Send Feedback" to let me know that the game wasn't on the menu. Now, it should be.
Other Changes:
1. Wild 5 Poker: I've tweaked some of the screens so that the results and Dealer Failed to Qualify messages are better positioned. I've also had to update some of the metadata that is required for showing the ads.
2. Three Card Fury: the 3 Card Monster wager was not being properly refunded in a Push situation.
Thanks for your continued support! I'm currently working on stuff that I think is going to be pretty cool and appreciated!
~Danny
51.7.0
2022-10-15
This release is all about bug fixes and screen adjustments for IOS 16. I want to thank everyone who continues to reach out using "Send Feedback" to report issues. It's very refreshing that there aren't many bug report lately! (Of course, that could mean folks have gotten bored and have "moved on" ... LOL
Bugs & Enhancements:
1. (BUG) Omaha Hold'em: at some point the Left Handed mode for Omaha Hold'em (on iPhones) disappeared. Now, it's back. Check out Preferences.
2. (BUG): Chase the Flush: Long time support Aaron (from Issaquah - love that name!) reported that the "Same Suit" bonus wasn't being paid on a Fold. Turns out, it was being paid but the messaging was wrong. Thanks, Aaron! I appreciate you and all the support you have provided!
3. (BUG) Down Under/Zombie Blackjack: While working through the 5K+ unit tests for the updates for IOS16, I realized that if you split cards on these two games, the board logo was superimposed on the split hands. That's been resolved. I'm guessing these are not "go to" games for many folks because the issue has obviously existed for quite a while.
4. (BUG) Craps (iPads only): I have done a lot of testing on Craps as a result of the IOS16 updates and it became obvious that there needed to be a way to exit the game between shooters. RBG was designed to prevent you from leaving a game while you have chips in play. In Craps, if you use the new Dealer Assist feature, that would require a Player to manually remove (potentially) a lot of wagers. Now, if you try to exit with chips on the board, you will only be prevented if there are wagers in play that cannot be removed (e.g. active Passline wager)
5. (BUG) Casino Over/Under: "Big Joe" reached out to let me know that it was possible to hit "Fold" on a hand after placing a wager that should end the hand. That has been fixed in this release. Thanks for reaching out, Joe. I hope everyone will join me in wishing for a healthy recovery for your mom!
6. (BUG) Pai Gow/Face Up Pai Gow: Thank you, Wendie, for letting me know about the misplacement of the "House Way" button on these games. You've been playing RBG for quite a while and I appreciate your support!
7. (BUG) Asia Poker: Lori reached out via Send Feedback with a screenshot showing that a 4-Card, Ace-High Straight that used a Wild Card as the Ace was not being read properly. That was the toughest bug to resolve, but it has been squashed in this release! Thanks, Lori!
8. (Enhancement): I'm a bit scared of Criss Cross. It's supposed to be a version of my goto game, Mississippi Stud, but I haven't been able to win at it. So, I've been using RBG to figure that game out. It didn't take long for it to become obvious to me that the game should end a hand anytime I tripped up on the middle wager. Now, that will happen.
9. (Enhancement): I've updated ALL of the games for the iPhone 14 Pro & iPhone 14 Pro Max. Now those games should render nicely. Please let me know if you see any issues.
I still have about 4K unit tests to complete across all games and devices. That will be my focus for the next week or so. Then, I will get back to the enhancements backlog.
Please stay in touch using "Send Feedback" AND please encourage friends, family (and complete strangers in a casino) to check out RBG. I rely on the Player Community entirely for marketing and we are still losing to Candy Crush! (CC: 2M reviews; RBG: 1.6K reviews)
~Danny
51.5.0
2022-10-02
A lot packed into this release!
It's always pretty awesome when a new device is released, but it's also a lot of work! In this release, I've updated the screens for 14 games for iPhone 14 Pro & iPhone 14 Pro Max. The changes were not major; just tedious. The US Marine in me gets a bit antsy when things are "off center" or not perfectly symmetrical.
Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
A word about bugs & crashes: if the app crashes, I receive a report with some details that may or may not help me to localize the issue. However, in order for that "Crash Report" to be transmitted, YOU must open the app again after the crash. So, kind Players, if you do hit a bug where the app shuts down on you, please open the app again for a couple of seconds to allow that report to be sent; even if you realize you probably need to take a break anyway.
1. (BUG) Blackjack Games: there have been a few, sporadic issues in Blackjack. I have not been able to recreate the issue, but I did find an "opportunity" in the code that could be contributing to the problem. If this doesn't fix things, I will keep on trying! If any of the Blackjack games crash on you, please use “Send Feedback” to let me know.
2. (BUG) Craps: Joel & Paul have been kind enough to help me try to track down an elusive bug in Craps (iPads only) that locks up the game; typically on a Come Out roll that is a seven. I was finally able to reproduce this issue! As I suspected, the recent, cosmic “Dealer Assist” feature had some holes in it. Hopefully, those are now plugged!
3. (BUG) Texas Shootout: Matt reported an issue wherein, if the Player opted to split her cards and play two hands AND both hands beat the Dealer, both winning bonus hands were reported as the same rank. That's been addressed in this release.
4. (ENHANCEMENT) Hold'em Games: Robert gets credit for this enhancement although, as I told him, I suspect Putin or the Chinese hacked the app and turned the related functionality off. Ultimate Hold'em, Jackpot Hold'em, Texas Hold'em Bonus, and Heads Up Hold'em now support the Player Slow Roll feature. Check out Preferences to use that feature. How this was missed, is a mystery to me.
5. (ENHANCEMENT) Bankroll display: I've modified the app to display bankroll values of greater than 1 million using abbreviations (e.g. $1 million = $1M). This is similar to the change that was recently made to the amounts displayed on chips. To the many folks who have been requesting a "High Roller Room": it's possible that this is meant to lay the foundation for that type of enhancement. You never know!
In the last release, I had updated my development environment. I've gotten a couple of reports of weird behavior on IPads that have IOS 16 installed. I'm currently looking into those situations. For whatever reason, I cannot seem to get my iPad 12.9 updated to IOS 16. I have read that there are some known issues that will be addressed in IOS 16.1, but I don't know that they will address the problems reported in RBG. Please let me know if anything whacky happens to you.
"As always": my sincerest thanks to everyone for your continued support. I have been humbled by the support I have received since turning ads back on in the last release. I have gotten some amazing feedback and suggestions and am working towards what I believe will be a great solution to being able to generate revenue AND continuing to meet my commitment to maintaining and enhancing this great app! Your ideas and suggestions are very important to me and often represent the catalyst I need for a "next level" change.
Please continue to tell your friends (and complete strangers about the app). I will continue to do my best to ensure we have a great "virtual casino".
~Danny
51.2.0
2022-09-04
I have to be candid: it feels really great to be working on Riverboat Gambler as much as I have these past couple of weeks. This app started out as a training exercise; I simply wanted to create a mobile app for myself so I could play Mississippi Stud on my iPhone. I had never written a mobile app for Apple so it was something to learn.
Now, RBG contains 52 games and I am making a lot of virtual friends around the World. I never saw this coming and, despite the 1000s of hours of work it has taken to get here, I am still having fun with it.
This release is especially fun because two Players each made a different request for High Flush (a.k.a. “I Love Suits”). First, Ron, asked that the cards not be pre-sorted when they are dealt. Then, the following day, Hunter asked that the game support the recently introduced "Player Slow Roll" feature.
In my humble opinion, neither suggestion would have made a huge difference to the game by themselves. By this I mean that had I simply stopped sorting the cards it would just have made it a slower game for the Player because (s)he would have to review and digest 7 cards to determine his/her best Flush. The best Flush is pre-calculated after the Deal during the sorting process so that I can communicate to the Player the allowable maximum for the Raise Wager (1x, 2x, or 3x the original Ante) after the cards are dealt.
Similarly, simply introducing Player Slow Roll to High Flush would not have created a ton of anticipation if the cards remained sorted because it would be pretty clear when a Flush ended and a new Flush started and because the sort puts the best Flush at the beginning of the cards. For the record, all of this sorting happens AFTER a random deal occurs. The randomly dealt cards are intercepted, the hands are read and sorted and then the routine to animate the deal and distribute the cards is called.
All of that having been said, by combining Ron & Hunter’s suggestions I believe we have just made High Flush a lot more exciting! Now, the Player will not know what his/her best Flush and Straight Flush are until the last card has been revealed. It is actually pretty cool! So cool that I made the same change to 3 Card Poker, too! To try it out, toggle the option in the Preference section of the games. NOTE: if Player Slow Roll is not enabled, the cards will continue to be sorted.
Thanks Hunter and Ron for reaching out using Send Feedback. These types of suggestions from the Player Community are what have evolved this app to what it is today.
More enhancements and games are coming!
Thanks everyone for your continued support! Please keep the ideas flowing and please help to spread the word about RBG. I much prefer writing the code than marketing the app, but marketing is one of those things that have to be done. That and encouraging folks to buy chips to feed a starving developer ... LOL!
~Danny
51.1.0
2022-09-01
This was a fun release because I get to make a few Players happy with some requested enhancements!
First, Pete reached out using "Send Feedback" and asked that I add "All Smalls, All Talls, and Make'em All" to Craps. As I always do when it comes to Craps, I cringed! That game was the hardest to create and it's always the hardest to enhance because it is so complex. PLUS, I had to stretch my not-so-great artistic skills to add wager spaces to support these new wagers.
But, the feature is very cool and I am glad I was able to add it. These three new wagers can be found on the Hop Board. They can only be placed at an initial come out roll and they stay until they either hit or the Shooter craps out. "All Smalls" is paid if 2,3,4,5, and 6 are rolled before a 7. "All Talls" is paid if 8,9,10,11, and 12 are rolled before a 7. "Make'em All" is paid (150 to 1!) if all of the number get rolled before a 7. As a guy who is "always on Midnight" that wager really appeals to me. Thanks for your support and for the great suggestion, Pete!
The second "enhancement" is probably better classified as a "bug". Matthew (the most dedicated bug finder in the Player Community) has been on me for quite some time to fix the Pai Gow House Way rules as they apply to Straights, Flushes, and Straight Flushes that also contain Two Pairs. Jeff, also a long time supporter, recently brought this up, too. Now, in cases where a Straight, Straight Flush, or Flush can be made AND the cards also contain Two Pairs, the Two Pairs rule will apply.
There are some additional edge cases to Pai Gow that have to be addressed as it applies to "maximizing" hands. I'm working on them. While I stated earlier that Craps is the most complex game, the most complex rules to enforce are in the Pai Gow games. As I type this, I'm chuckling at those detractors who like to accuse me of "rigging the games". If they only knew how many evaluations have to be written in the code to get things just right. I can't imagine the logic that would need to be written to "fix" the games...LOL
As always, thank you everyone for your continued support. My mother's health continues to improve which is freeing me up to get back to the business of growing and improving RBG. Please keep your suggestions coming! I am excited to be back in the saddle more full time.
~Danny
Additional Bug Fixes:
Craps: While working on Pete's request, I discovered that the "Default Come Out Wagers" features was not properly re-wagering Hop Bets that had been saved. That's been fixed.
Boston 5 Poker: This game was was added in the last release and had a bug in it. In this game, when the Player beats the Dealer, the Ante is a Push while the Blind and Raise wagers pay "Even Money". Holy Cow! Shortest release ever!
50.11.2
2022-08-02
It's hard to believe how quickly time has passed this month. The previous release was made at the beginning of July and, now, here we are at the end of July.
This release addresses some issues that Matt identified with how the Pai Gow House Way rules were being applied. Thanks for the assist, Matt! I appreciate your continued support.
Most of the changes are related to ensuring that the best possible Low Hand is played when a Straight, Flush, or Straight Flush are possible in the High Hand.
Additionally, I have updated some of the supporting libraries that are used.
My sincerest appreciation to all of you who continue to reach out using "Send Feedback" to make suggestions and to submit requests. Your support is greatly appreciated. More changes are coming!
~Danny
50.11.1
2022-07-06
This is a "clean up" release.
Now that I have my original Macbook repaired, I have my full development environment available to me. In this release, I've reduced the sizes of some of the images that were added when I introduced two additional deck styles. This makes the app footprint smaller so it consumes less space on your devices.
More changes are coming! Please keep helping to spread the word and continue to submit your suggestions and requests via "Send Feedback".
~Danny
50.10.4
2022-06-20
This release is all about helping folks to see the cards better.
In this last release, I responded to a Player request to change the font color of the "Large Print" cards from gold to white. I was happy to do that. Unfortunately, that change affected other users who preferred the previous color to help them to see the cards. Chad was kind enough to reach out via "Send Feedback" to let me know. Thanks, Chad!
In this release, I have added an additional 2 decks. You can find them under Preferences.
1. The first deck is simply the original larger print cards with the gold font color and I have increased the size of the card values slightly.
2. The second is a hybrid of the multi-colored suit deck that was requested some years back and the larger print cards. This deck uses four different colors for the suits and then a larger, single pip value has been placed the center of the suit.
Granted, these larger print decks are not the most artistic, but they seem to do the trick.
If you are having issues seeing the cards on your device, please reach out to me with "Send Feedback" and any suggestions that you have. As history shows, I will always do my best to accommodate our Player Community. While this release and these decks "percolate", I will also look for additional, publicly available artwork that may be helpful.
As always, thank you for your support, loyalty, patience, and partnership. We continue to make RBG a pretty spectacular app; one that I never envisioned. Please keep sharing and telling your friends. I am both excited and curious to see how big this little app that I created can become.
Also, If you haven't already, please consider leaving a review in the App Store.
~Danny
50.10.1
2022-06-04
In this release, I have updated some supporting of the supporting libraries that are used in the app.
Additionally, the following bugs were addressed:
1. Farobank was not allowing the game to be changed. Once you opted to play that game, the only way out out of it was to exit the app. Thanks very much to Bob in Massachusetts for reporting that bug. Farobank has not been tested for a long time and was impacted in the recent Craps release in a way that I was unaware.
2. There were some crash reports on Wild Five Poker. That game was not properly reporting when the Player bankroll was insufficient to play a hand.
3. Some modifications to the code that ordered the Straights was made to ensure The Wheel was played as "5 High" as opposed to Ace High.
More changes coming!
~Danny
50.9.1
2022-06-01
Quick bug fix to the routine I added in the previous release. Wild Straights that led with a Wild Card in the lowest position were not being properly read. So much for my "super duper, amazing Dealer Engine" that was going to result in me being asked to be a Keynote Speaker at the next Apple Developer's Conference! LOL ~Danny
50.9.0
2022-05-29
First: my apologies for the delay in getting these bug fixes out. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for the patience of the folks who reported some issues with their favorite games and then had to wait so long for this release. On top of spending a lot of time helping my Mom through some health issues, I ran into a snag with my MacBook and had to send it out for repairs. The good news is my Mom is now doing great and I have a replacement development environment in place.
Bug Fixes/Changes in this release:
1. The "Quick Replay" feature was broken on Baccarat. Thanks to Rocco & Tammy (and some others) who reached out to let me know and for waiting patiently for what was a simple fix.
2. Craps: the wagers on "The Dark Side" (Don't wagers) were being removed from the board correctly but the wager total was not being properly decremented. This created a situation that made it appear that there were chips on the table and that prevented a Player from leaving the Craps game. Also, a pretty simple fix that didn't justify the delay. Thank you, Paul and Joel for letting me know and for your understanding of what I had going on.
3. Matthew has been beating the app up and he found a few other situations where the best Straight or Flush hands were not being played according to the HouseWay rules. "Best" in this context means the hand that allows for a good High Hand while maximizing the Low Hand. About the time my computer broke down, I was wrapping up some significant surgery related to how Straights are being read from the cards; no simple feat! The new approach is much more elegant, requires a lot less "spaghetti code", and is now being shared by the Pai Gow games and those games that have, at most, a single "partially wild" card. I am planning to continue to refine this new approach as I think it is the best way to read Straights, Flushes, and Straight Flushes. It's also much simpler to maintain which will (hopefully) make it more difficult to break!
4. My Mom is a huge RBG supporter and also had an enhancement request for this release. On some of the games (3 Card Fury, as an example), the cards are highlighted when you tap them to make selections. The border highlights on her iPad 12 were so thin that she had a hard time noticing them. Now, I've doubled the width of such borders on all iPads and I'll be paying particular attention in future testing to see if they can be improved more.
5. Lastly, another Matthew find: When he tests, Matthew leaves no stones unturned; if there's a bug, my money is on him finding it! It was possible in Roulette to lock up the game if you tapped the screen like a crazy person after a spin and while the payouts were being made. I thought I'd addressed that issue in the previous release, but there was still a way to lock the game with that sort of feverish tapping. I believe that is now resolved. Please prove me right, Matt!
There are still a few minor issues in the backlog and I'll be working on them next. Also there are some new games that have been requested. I am hoping I will be able to add at least one new game during June.
As always: thank you to everyone for your continued support and for your requests, suggestions, patience, and understanding. RBG has gone from being my app to being "our app" and I could not do this without you!
~Danny
50.6.2
2022-04-24
More updates to the screens on iPads. Hopefully, now things are better aligned. Please let me know if you come across any screen issues. I could be happy for the rest of my life if I didn't have to update those screens again; but I will!
Also:
1. DJ Wild Poker bug fix: Many thanks to Terrie who wrote in via email to alert me to the fact that the engine was reading a wild Royal Flush incorrectly as 5 of a Kind. This would happen any time there were four wild cards and any part of Broadway. Nice find, Terrie! Nice hand, too!
2. Craps enhancements: Joel suggested adding an indicator as to how much has been wagered on the Craps table. I thought it was a great idea, so I added it! Joel also pointed out that on his iPad, the "shortcut" options I added a little while back were overlapping the options used to toggle Place Bets On/Off. So, I tweaked that a bit on all devices.
Thanks for your continued support and feed. I'll be focusing on some new games shortly. Please keep telling folks about Riverboat Gambler and, if you haven't, please consider leaving a review in the App Store. Currently, I'm only 2.4 million reviews behind Candy Crush!
~Danny
50.6.0
2022-04-18
This release is a refresh of this weekend's version 50.5.1 that includes a fix to Craps (iPads only). For that reason, I'm using the same release notes. Many thanks to Paul & Joel who both reached out to me literally within seconds of one another to alert me to the fact that the Craps background wasn't properly anchored on the screen which resulted in a skewed table. As a result, I was able to make the update and put this update together! Thanks, guys! I appreciate you!
A lot of work went into this release and I hope you both notice and appreciate it. It was grueling for me!
In this release, I have made more updates to game screens to standardize on the text and logo colors and to streamline how those items are configured . Over time, as RBG has evolved, the graphics have gotten a bit "wonky".
While working on this release, I developed a profound admiration and respect for the folks who are engaged in "UX" (User Experience) work. I really believe there needs to be a national "Graphic Artist Appreciation Day". Holy cow! What those professionals do is not easy work! I much prefer programming to the pixel manipulation and "design thinking" upon which they make their "bread & butter". Just learning how to use the graphic tool I purchased was enough to make me wish I could afford to hire someone else to do that work!
As always, thanks so much for all of your support, suggestions, and encouragement. It means a lot to me, personally!
~Danny
50.4.5
2022-04-05
Bug Fixes & Enhancements:
BUG 1: Thanks to a bug report that "Judy" posted in an App Store Review, I was able to isolate a bug in Deuces Wild that was improperly reading a hand that contained 4 Deuces. Thanks so much for letting me know, Judy! I appreciate your help and patience.
BUG 2: The puck in Craps (iPads only) was resetting its position if the iPad orientation changed. The active point remained in play, but the "ON" button was returned to the "Don't Come Bar" area of the table. And nobody ever noticed that?!? The code to deal with that situation had been commented out. No idea why. Hopefully I didn't break something else by making it active. I didn't see any adverse impacts in my testing...
BUG 3: Thanks again to Matthew for detecting that if a hand of Bonus Six Stud Poker was played and then the Ante wager for the next hand was changed the 5th Card Option wager from the preceding hand was not removed from the board.
ENHANCEMENT 1: or games that don't support an actual "Fold", that stat is now "greyed out" on the Game Stats screen. Matthew was questioning why, despite multiple folds in Face Up Pai Gow, that stat stayed at zero. The reason is that Pai Gow technically doesn't have a "Fold". It's a Win/Lose/Tie proposition. The Fold button was only added to help the game go more quickly in those cases where the Player couldn't win against the Dealer's face up cards.
ENHANCEMENT 2: The biggest change in this release is to the screen backgrounds. A couple of folks reached out to me and asked if there was anyway to make the contrast better. So, as I always do, I decided to see what could be done. Personally, I like the new "look", but, to paraphrase Dr. McCoy: "I'm a programmer; not a graphic artist!".
Please let me know what you think and reach out with any suggestions. I'm learning a lot about the image editing tool that I bought and I'll be making some additional "tweak".
More features and enhancements are coming. Please keep your ideas flowing. They continue to be the motivation for the evolution of RBG!
~Danny
50.4.4
2022-03-27
Bug Fixes:
1. DJ Wild Poker: Trey was kind enough to send in a very professionally detailed defect report that described an issue with how the remaining bankroll was being incorrectly calculated. This could cause the Player to get stuck with a dealt hand but insufficient funds to play out the hand.
50.4.3
2022-03-20
A few minor updates:
1. You can now determine how many games remain before the Loyalty Bonus game by tapping on the Super Bonus image from any Achievements screen. Also, the check for this award now occurs every time a new game is launched from the main menu. Previously, it was only checking each time the app was initially launched.
2. Wild 5 Poker bug fix: 5 of a Kind with a Wild Card was not being read properly.
3. Four Card Poker bug fix: Hector was kind enough to reach out using "Send Feedback" to let me know that the bankroll check on this game was incorrectly reporting an "insufficient bankroll" in certain situations. Thanks for reaching out, Hector! Your help is truly appreciated.
More enhancements are coming! Please keep your feedback, suggestions, and requests coming! Lately, there seems to be a lot of interest in having sound added to the app.
~Danny
50.4.2
2022-03-06
Bug fixes in this release:
1. In some games, if wagers were placed and the game was changed before the cards were dealt, it could appear that the chips on the table were not returned to the Player's bankroll. Behind the scenes, those chips would ultimately be returned, but it was misleading. Thanks for catching and reporting this, Matt.
2. Casino Wallet: minor visual tweaks related to using the wallet after wagers are placed and before they are "committed" by dealing cards. Another find by Matt!
3. Addressed an unique "edge case" in the House Way Rules for Pai Gow tiles. Many thanks to Bryan for catching this one!
4. The Dealer at DJ Wild paid Andrew for a Natural Straight Flush despite the fact that he had a Wild Card. Thanks for letting me know, Andrew. I have a talk with that Dealer and that shouldn't happen any longer.
50.4.1
2022-02-22
Acting upon some additional feedback from Matt, I made some changes to the Pai Gow card games that are intended to improve the user experience. Prior to this update, the cards reacted oddly if you quickly tapped them multiple times when removing a played card from the board. Now, to remove a played card from the board you will "press and hold" instead of double tapping them.
I will be looking into making a similar update to Pai Gow Tiles in the near future.
As always, thanks to everyone for your continued support, feedback, and suggestions.
If you've not already, please consider leaving a review in the App Store to share your experiences and thoughts with others. Also, remember that I am super easy to reach via "Send Feedback" in the app, email from the support site, and on Twitter: @RiverboatApp.
~Danny
50.3.0
2022-02-16
This release is about enhancements:
1. I've updated the result messages for all of the games on all devices to better position them in an attempt to reduce how much of the board is obscured at the end of a hand. Please let me know if you experience any boards that could benefit from additional adjustments. Please keep in mind that those messages are removed if you tap on them.
2. Baccarat now supports the new "slow roll" feature. If this is turned on under Preferences, the game will pause until each of the two Player cards is revealed by tapping on cards. This was in response to the feedback and "begging" from my good friend and one of my most loyal supporters, Bishop Bryan! Hope you like it, Bryan! Thanks for all of your valued support!
3. I have updated the libraries that are used to show the Reward Ads that can be viewed in the Chip Store. Players can earn up to $1000 per day watching those pesky little ads.
4. Many thanks to Howard who has also been a huge supporter and one of my "muses" since 2019. Howard pointed out that there was an opportunity to streamline the use of the wildcard in the House Way rules for Asia Poker. That game (and the other Pai Gow games) follow prescriptive sets of rules for how the Dealer cards get played (and the Player cards when House Way is used). Thanks to Howard's feedback and screenshots, I was able to tweak how the rules were applied to ensure that if a wildcard could be replaced in the High Hand with a card that was used in the Medium or Low Hands, that play was made. Hopefully, I did the app and that game justice with these changes!
5. Bug fix in Texas Shootout: It was not properly reading 5 of a Kind and ensuring a Suited 5 of Kind was called when possible.
6. Bug fix to Three Card Draw Poker: If only the 1st 3 Bonus was wagered, the results window was not not being displayed properly. Thank you, Matthew, for emailing me about this one. I never would have caught it!
50.2.0
2022-02-07
I'm pretty excited about this release!
Quite a while ago, someone asked me if it was possible to modify the app so that the Player could "slow roll" their own cards. By this, they were asking that the Player cards be dealt face down and then the Player could reveal those cards at their own pace. As I recall, the specific game that was mentioned was 3 Card Poker and the rationale was that it would add a bit of suspense to the game. Unfortunately, I failed to add that request to the backlog and completely forgot about it. As a result, I cannot remember who requested the feature. But, whoever you were, you have my thanks for recommending what I think many will find to be a fun enhancement and I apologize for the delay in making it happen.
In this release, I have added an optional "Player Reveals Cards" setting under Preferences for the following six games:
1. Mississippi Stud
2. Three Card Poker
3. Cajun Stud
4. Let It Ride
5. Big Raise Stud Poker
6. Criss Cross
By default, the feature will be "Off" so nothing will change unless you access Preferences for one of those games and turn "Player Reveals Cards" on. When the setting is "On", all cards will be dealt face down and the game will pause until all Player cards have been revealed. You will reveal your cards by tapping on them one at a time; in any order.
Check it out and let me know what you think! If you have a favorite game to which you would like me to add the feature, let me know. For many of the games, it did not seem to make sense to me to add this feature. But, then again, I still primarily only play MS Stud!
Bug Fixes:
1. Wild Five Poker: yet another bug was introduced wherein if you discarded a card in one hand the setting was not being reset before the next hand was dealt. This meant that if you tried to "stand pat" in a subsequent hand, the game was still discarding which ever card was in the previously discarded position. Doh! That was a bonehead mistake! Thanks to Howard, Jay, and others for reporting the issue to me.
As always, my sincerest appreciation to all of you for playing Riverboat Gambler and for helping me to spread the word and for your suggestions that continue to improve it. Who knew that the little app I created so I would be able to play Mississippi Stud on my iPhone would end up containing this many games and would be dealing more than 5 million hands a month around the World?!? Wow! #SoVeryHumbledByYou
If you use Twitter, please consider following me: @RiverboatApp or watch for #RiverboatGamblerIOS. It is proving to be an efficient and effective way for me to get out messages about bugs and fixes and enhancements.
~Danny
50.1.0
2022-02-04
Bug Fixes:
1. Quick fix to the last game that was released, Wild Five Poker. There was a bug that was evaluating the Wild 5 Bonus hand when determining the outcome of the forced Bonus wager. This resulted in the Bonus not being properly paid. Thank you, Howard, for catching and reporting this. I appreciate you!
2. Recently, I updated the Blackjack games because a bug had set the Bonus limits to $3K. When I "fixed" that, I created a situation that could freeze those games during a Double Down action because the engine was interpreting the DD wager to be in excess of the table max. Thank you, Willie, for reaching out to me via "Send Feedback" so I could squash that bug and squeeze it into this release. You rock!
~Danny
49.1.5
2022-01-14
This release contains a couple of enhancements:
First, "Blackjack Fever" left a review about Blackjack. It was a kind 5-Star review, but (s)he did say that there "seem to be a lot of 10s". As I have stressed, all deals, rolls, & spins in Riverboat Gambler are 100% random. However, as I do with all reviews, I looked at the game to make sure there wasn't a bug (that's always a possibility). I didn't find a bug, but I did notice that the 8 decks that are used were being reshuffled as soon as one-half of the "shoe" had been used. I honestly don't know what the correct "reshuffle point" should be, but I decided that "half the shoe" probably didn't adequately simulate what I've seen Dealers do in a casino when they "cut the cards" with the "yellow card". For that reason, those games will now reshuffle when the shoe is down to 104 cards (2 decks). Hopefully, that is a bit more realistic.
While I'm talking about Blackjack (a game I don't play because I'm always scared of getting beat up for "splitting 10s"), I wanted to mention the Blackjack Card Counter feature that I added some months back. I have never received any feedback on it. I added it because I watched the movie "21" and thought I might want to learn how to count cards…LOL. I would love to hear from the Blackjack Players as to whether or not that feature adds value and (more importantly) if I implemented it correctly.
The next change is just the addition of a new "Player Message". Many of you will see it right away, because those messages only get shown once. The purpose of the message is to try to clarify the "Net Win" part of the messages that get shown after some of the hands complete. A while back, someone reached out to me via "Send Feedback" because the previous messaging was confusing him. Honestly, in retrospect, it would have been much easier to simply explain the original messages to him and leave it at that, but I liked his input and I changed ALL of the games to report a “Net Win” when appropriate.
Now, the most frequently asked question I get is about the new message....LOL
In short, here's the deal (pun intended):
The "Net Win" is the total that your bankroll INCREASED after a hand ended.
For example, if you win $200 on a hand, but you also had a $25 wager on an optional bonus that did not win, your "Net Win" is $175 ($200 win - $25 loss).
Watch your bankroll. You will still be paid the $200 (and you will be refunded the original wagers), but, at the end of that hand, you are not "ahead" by $200. You are really only ahead by $175. Technically, it's possible to win a hand and actually lose or break even. Case in point would be the way I wager on 3 Card Poker (I play it if I can’t get a seat at MS Stud because it’s right next door). I place the same $25 wager on the Ante, the Pair Plus, and the 6 Card Bonus. When I beat the Dealer without a Pair Plus or 6 Card Win, I get paid $50, but, I'm “net even” because I lost $50 on the two "bonus" wagers. In that case, the Net Win is zero; something that is painfully obvious when the Dealer pays me with my own money….doh!
That is what the messages try to communicate.
The last thing I'll say on this topic is that "Net Win" only shows if there is a Net Win. If you break even or, worse, lose, there is not any message. To be candid, that's intentional because it's just depressing to constantly see when we are losing.
The last change is an update to the libraries that are used to display ads. Yes-there are still Reward Ads for free chips. Remember, I listened to you and got rid of ads between hands!
Thanks, everyone, for your continued support. As we start 2022, I am excited about the prospects and future for Riverboat Gambler. My little app continues to grow because of your support, your feedback, your requests, and your help. What started out as a simple training exercise has turned into something I never could have envisioned. I'm humbled and grateful for you and I am having a blast working with you!
~Danny
49.1.4
2022-01-08
Small bug fix to Texas Hold'em Bonus.
Many thanks to Matthew for reaching out to me using the feedback email address on the support site to let me know that it was possible to bet "The Flop" before the cards were fully dealt. If that occurred, the game got stuck because the Turn wager button never enabled (even though it was flashing). The only option the Player had was to Fold the hand and forfeit his wagers. Not cool!
Thanks again, Matthew. Your help and patience are truly appreciated!
I have also made a change to remove the Achievements option from the game menu if bonuses are disabled. The idea for this change came from working with Alan who was noticing that none of the Achievement counters weren't working. The reason the counters were not working was that bonuses were disabled. When bonuses are disabled, nothing related to Achievements happens. So, it only creates confusion to keep them included in the menu. Thanks for helping diagnose that "problem", Alan!
~Danny
48.4.2
2021-10-22
Quick bug fix that impacts all of the Blackjack variations. I came across this while working on Game #50 (many Players are gonna love the next game!). I'm very surprised that nobody ever reported the bug to me. It's possible that the bug was creating a way to "game the system", but I didn't drill into the impact - I just fixed the issue.
The bug was that if two "splittable" cards were dealt to the Player, the Split option remained available even after the hand was "Hit" and additional cards had been dealt.
48.2.0
2021-09-28
More updates to screens for the IPad Mini to make better use of the screen real estate. After this release, there are only 3 more game boards that can still benefit from adjustments. Woo Hoo!
Additional Updates:
1. I've also updated some of the core third-party libraries that are used in the app. That's always a huge and scary proposition. I have tested the app pretty substantially, though, so hopefully there won't be any unexpected consequences. As always, please reach out to me if you find any issues and I will get them resolved ASAP.
2. I've added a new and fun Achievement to the 5 Card games that start with 2 Player cards: "Rags to Riches" for $200 in bonus chips! This Achievement is met if you play "rags" and win the hand. "Rags" is defined as any two, non-paired, non-sequential cards of different suits that are a value of 2-5. This Achievement is not part of the "Super Bonus" because those are just terrible cards that most folks would fold anyway. To be candid, I was surprised when I hit it the other day; I'd forgotten that it was added...LOL
~Danny
41.1.3
2021-01-19
Updated Player Bonuses and performed some additional updates for the 4th Generation iPad Air screens.
I am working on some new games and hope to start to release them soon.
Thank you for your support. Please continue to share your suggestions and requests. Also, please consider leaving a review in the App Store if you have not already!
41.1.2
2021-01-09
Additional changes to the screens that support the iPad Air (4th Generation)
Bug Fixes:
1. The counter that was added to the Blackjack games was not properly resetting when the deck was shuffled. Thanks to Mike for catching this and letting me know.
41.1.1
2021-01-04
Additional updates to screens that support the IPad Air (4th Generation). More updates are coming.
Please continue to submit your suggestions and requests. The app only continues to improve because of your feedback and involvement.
41.1.0
2021-01-03
Image updates and some adjustments to screens for the iPad Air (4th Generation). More adjustments are coming.
Happy 2021, everyone!
41.0.1
2020-12-31
Minor enhancements to improve performance and image updates to clean up some screens.
Additional updates to ensure compliance with the Apple Privacy Policies that are designed to protect our Players. Please note that Riverboat Gambler does not collect, store, share, nor sell any personally identifiable information.
Happy Holidays to All!
41.0.0
2020-11-29
At the request of multiple Players, Game #43 has been added to RBG! Three Card Blackjack is my kind of game! Like traditional Blackjack, you will play against the Dealer in an attempt to get the closest hand to 21. However, in this variant, there are no decisions about "Hitting", "Staying", "Insurance", or "Splitting". Instead, both the Player and the Dealer each receive 3 cards from which to make their best hand. Then, the best hand wins! Blackjack ties go to the Player and the Dealer must have 17 points to qualify. If the Dealer fails to qualify, the hand is considered a Push (unless the Player has a Blackjack). The optional Ace Plus wager is fun, too! Check it out, let me know what you think, and please keep the suggestions coming!
Bug Fixes:
1. Single Deck Blackjack was a bit of a "train wreck"! I wasn't thinking very clearly on the dealing. Instead of waiting until the deck was exhausted (16 card or fewer remaining), it was re-shuffling after each hand. In essence, it was really "Single Hand Blackjack". Kudos, to Nate for bringing this to my attention so I could fix it!
40.0.1
2020-11-25
This update is my way of showing appreciation to the RBG Player Community, I've added an additional chip bonus to everyone's bankroll!
Thank you for your continued support!
40.0.0
2020-11-22
Riverboat Gambler started out just over three years ago as a way for me to learn how to write an app for Apple devices and so I could play Mississippi Stud on my iPhone. Now, in this release, RBG is up to a total of 42 games! This release adds another Blackjack variant to the games menu: Single Deck Blackjack. As with the majority of the other games, this game was added upon request from many in our Player community.
I would like to thank everyone for their continued support, feedback, suggestions, and requests. There are still many more games planned and, as the holidays approach, I am hoping to have more time to devote to improving the app.
I would like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and hope that you are all doing what is necessary to stay healthy during these trying times!
~Danny
39.1.0
2020-11-08
This release updates some of the 3rd party libraries that are used to handle crash reporting. These types of updates always make me nervous because the changes that were made in those libraries are a "black box" to me. I have tested the app and not had any issues, so my hope is that our Players will not be impacted and the changes will be absolutely transparent to you!
39.0.2
2020-11-04
The "Hate the Chips" folks won the debate! I've changed the chips back to what they were before I attempted my Picasso impression! As I said in one of the review responses: "I'm a gambler - not an artist!" LOL
One of these days, I hope to have a variety of chip styles from which you can choose, but for now, we will stick with what we had!
Stay Safe!
~Danny
39.0.1
2020-10-27
Big Oops! The last release broke how the Pai Gow cards were being dealt on some iPhones. Sorry, folks! Many thanks to the folks who reached me via "Send Feedback" to call my attention to the problem! ~Danny
39.0.0
2020-10-25
It's been a while, but here it is: Game #41!
Thanks to Anthony for suggesting that Big Raise Stud Poker be added to the RBG collection of games! This one is sure to become an instant favorite. It is an interesting variant of Mississippi Stud in which the Player starts with three cards and then decides whether of not to buy the remaining two cards for up to 4x the original Ante! Check it out and let me know what you think!
There are currently five more games queued up. As always, please keep your suggestions coming. I cannot over emphasize how much I appreciate the support that I receive from our Player Community and I thoroughly enjoy hearing from you. As many already know, when you use "Send Feedback" your message goes straight to my phone!
Please stay safe
~ Danny
Bug fixes:
1. I adjusted the algorithm for the All In to Win achievement for all games. Now, if you win a hand when your bankroll is less than your initial Ante, you will qualify for that badge.
2. Adjusted tile positioning on some devices in Pai Gow Tiles
38.5.1
2020-10-21
Had to remove some debugging code that did not get removed from the previous release!
38.5.0
2020-10-20
Updated to fix Roulette issues on the 7thGen iPad.
38.4.3
2020-10-09
Adjusted the graphics on Criss Cross for the flashing wager spots; it was colliding with the chips that were wagered. I will be making similar changes to other games (e.g. Texas Hold'em Bonus) that leverage the "flashing" animation
38.4.2
2020-09-21
Tweeks to some shared code to address User Experience when iPads were rotating.
38.4.1
2020-09-16
Updated the libraries that are used to serve ads. No other bug fixes, changes, or enhancements.
38.3.0
2020-09-02
Well....this release was supposed to be awesome because I stretched my art skills and gave all of the chips a facelift. I think, though, that folks will more appreciate the fact that it addresses some pretty ugly bugs that were introduced in version 38.2.0. Oops! We went from over 600K hands dealt with zero crashes to 100 crashes in a single day ("worst day ever"!). I guess it just proves that one bad line of code can really have a big impact. My apologies to those who were affected! I assure you, the release went through some vigorous testing, but it turns out that my test environments are not truly reflective of how some Players set their Preferences.
There is also a bug fix in here for Omaha Hold'em: Thanks to Dick for discovering and reporting that there were situations when the Check/Fold button became disabled after the hand started.
38.2.0
2020-08-31
It is hard to believe, but I have just added game #40 to Riverboat Gambler! And, there are 3 more requests "waiting in the queue". When I created this app so that I could play Mississippi Stud on my iPhone, I never dreamed it would grow to what it is today! It has become a full-time, second job, but it is a lot of fun to work with you, the Player Community, to continue to evolve it!
Game #40 is a variant on a timeless favorite, Crazy 4 Poker. In "Four Card Frenzy", an Odds wager replaces the Super Bonus wager and it introduces a Bad Beat to the game. Additionally, it has a second, optional Prime Bonus that pays based on the colors of the cards in the Player's hand. Please be sure to read the "How to Play" section to understand the nuances on this game. For those who are already crazy about "Crazy 4", this is likely to become an instant favorite.
Please keep your requests and suggestions coming and, if you have not already left a review in the store, please consider leaving one and help to spread the word about RBG.
Updates & Bug Fixes:
1. Heads Up Hold'em: I updated the game to use the same button for Check/Fold so that it would follow the same pattern as the other Hold'em Games.
2. Added a reconciliation routine to identify any Hands Played/Won achievements that may have been missed. Thanks to Tyler for finding and reporting that bug!
3. Pai Gow Tiles: Cleaned up the Foo images. They were supposed to be purely black and white.
4. Let It Ride: Adjusted some of the achievements
5. Pai Gow games: Jokers that were played in the middle of a Flush were incorrectly being valued as Aces.
6. High Flush & Three Card Blitz: Fold button was enabling too quickly which could cause issues for those Players who are playing at "lightening speed"
7. Face Up Pai Gow: Rules incorrectly stated that the Player had the option to play the "House Way" by tapping a button that does not exist.
8. Tequila Poker: On a win, the Ante is supposed to pay even money, but it has been paying the same Odds as the Low/High Tequila wagers. While I was in there, I modified the game to tally the High Tequila points for the first four cards.
38.1.2
2020-08-21
In a recent release, I slowed things down a bit on the games to allow animation to finish before the hand was fully completed. I received some feedback that the "lag" that I introduced was a bit too long so I have decreased the duration of that lag. Additionally, I added a governor to Three Card Fury to limit the number of times the game instructions are shown after the cards are dealt. Now, they will show 3 times each time that game is played. There are other games that likely require a similar adjustment and I will be dealing with those in the near future.
Lastly, this release fixes a HUGE bug was causing sporadic crashes that I've been trying to track down for several weeks. Many thanks to "Sean in the 714" for all of his assistance in tracking down the cause. His screenshots and videos were invaluable to helping me finally reproduce the issue and then develop a solution. I cannot thank you enough, Sean!
38.0.6
2020-08-07
Quick fix to the Blackjack games: a single line of code was deleted and it brought those games to their knees! Many thanks the folks who reached out to me today and let me know about the problem. ~Danny
38.0.5
2020-08-03
Two new achievement bonuses: Royal Match and Royal Double Date added to give Players additional chances for free chips!
Cleaned up the Poker Hand References in the "How To Play" instruction sections and made additional minor adjustments to some game screens.
Fixed an issue on High Flush where the hand results could be overlaid by the cards if the Player played to quickly (right, Paul?!?) :)
38.0.4
2020-07-23
Minor bug fixes and screen adjustments.
I am still trying to isolate some crashes that are occurring in 3 Card Fury. If you experience a crash, your feedback/input would be greatly appreciated. Remember: you can contact me directly using "Send Feedback" from any game menu
More games, from Player requests, are coming; likely in August. RBG continues to grow because of Player input. Please share your ideas, suggestions, and requests
~Danny
38.0.3
2020-07-19
Bug fixes:
1. DJ Wild Poker: a Wild Straight (3-6) that used a Wild Card was not playing the 20:1 odds for a natural straight because the hand was being read as a 5-High straight.
2. A couple of folks reported that Reward Videos were not loading. I was not able to reproduce, but I have updated the Ad Provider libraries in this release.
38.0.2
2020-07-11
Minor adjustments and bug fixes:
1. The Super Bonus for game Achievements needed some tweaking to make sure it was being paid properly and timely.
2. Updated the instruction message in the Pai Gow games to remind Players that double tapping a played card will remove it from a played hand.
3. There were some situation in which the results message was being shown under cards or overlapping the cards. Thanks to Paul for reporting this one.
4. Adjusted the wager spots on Cajun Stud to make things more intuitive.
5. Three Card Poker was not properly recording "Wins" for the Achievements. Instead of evaluating the outcome of the Player's 3 Card Hand, it was evaluating the outcome of the 6 Card Bonus hand. Many thanks to Terry for reporting this issue and helping me to isolate the issue.
6. Three Card Fury bug: If there was a 3 Card Flush and a 3 Card Straight in the Player's cards, the Flush was being paid for the Royal Family bonus instead of the Straight. Thank you, Nancy!
7. Dealer Match on Blackjack games: If the second Player card was a match, but the first Player card was not a match, the odds were being reduced by a value of one. Nice job catching this one, Mike. It's been there for a long time!
I will repeat what I have said many time: Riverboat Gambler continues to grow and to improve because of the Players that get involved. This app has become a "beast" for one person to maintain on his own!
I am still working on trying to diagnose some obscure crashes in 3 Card Fury. Please let me know if it happens to you and what was happening when the app crashed. It "appears" to be related to Folding the hand.
38.0.1
2020-07-07
Bug Fix to Three Card Fury: The Busted Monster was not paying properly
38.0.0
2020-07-05
Two years ago, nobody could have predicted that Riverboat Gambler would be dealing 5M hands a month to Players in virtually every country on the planet. Yet, that is where things are. If it had been up to me, this app would still just be Mississippi Stud. All of the credit for it growing as it has goes to the Player Community that has helped it grow! Thank you for your requests, your feedback, and your support!
In this release, the RBG game count goes up to 39! A short while back, "Blue Sky Mountain Girl" requested that a game be added. While I was unable to find the game that she requested, I did find another fascinating game: Three Card Fury! This game is an interesting variant of the traditional Three Card Poker game in which the Player gets to make a 3 Card hand from four cards! Check it out! If you are a fan of 3 Card Poker, this is sure to become a favorite.
I hope all of you are staying safe and coping through this terrible pandemic. Please continue to use the "Send Feedback" option from any game menu to let me know your thoughts.
~Danny
Bug Fix:
1. Asia Poker was allowing the Low Hand to be higher than the Medium Hand.
37.0.7
2020-06-29
Something wonky is going on with the currency symbol on some devices. There was one report of the dollar sign being replaced with a square and another with it being replaced with a dash that makes it look like the bankroll balance is negative.
37.0.6
2020-06-18
Minor screen touchups and improved diagnostic logging.
37.0.5
2020-06-14
Performing some cleanup related to how Store Purchases are made and recorded
37.0.4
2020-06-14
In almost 2M games dealt and played, there have been 7 crashes in the past two weeks. While this doesn't sound like very many, if I were one of the 7 people impacted, I would be a bit frustrated. Please know that I am trying to get to the bottom of things. If the app crashes on you, please reach out to me with any information you may feel is important.
In this release, I've added some additional logging and diagnostic support that I hope will help to get to the bottom of things!
37.0.3
2020-06-09
A few tweaks:
I generally play on my iPhone, but when playing on an IPad, I noted that the game menu wasn't sticking/staying open like it should if the device moved. That was annoying!
I also edited some of the instructions on a couple of games for clarity and grammar.
37.0.2
2020-06-02
Bug Fix:
1. Face Up Pai Gow: Achievements and Game Stats were not being recorded properly. For the purposes of the "Push" button, a hand will be recorded in Game Stats as a Loss. Technically, the game doesn't the option to Fold. That button was introduced to expedite the game in those cases where the Player cannot Win or Push
37.0.1
2020-05-31
Note: Update to a picture that is part of the new Money Wheel game: There were two $20 spaces on the image that is used when the 2 is randomly spun. The red space should have been annotated as $1.
Big (Huge!) Shoutout to Bryan for suggesting game #38: Money Wheel!
In the last release, I introduced RBG Double Tap which was really just a way to leverage a spinning wheel that I created and intend to leverage as another way of providing Players with an opportunity to collect additional bonus chips. Bryan immediately recommended that the new wheel be used to add "Money Wheel" (a.k.a. Big 6 Wheel, Wheel of Fortune, Big 6, Lucky Wheel) to Riverboat Gambler. In this new game, you have the option to wager on 7 different values that are presented on a wheel and then to spin that wheel. If your number comes up, you can win up to 40x your wager!
NOTE: please review the "How To Play" information for this game so there is no confusion. A live "Money Wheel" has 54 slots. In RBG, there are only 7 slots on the wheel. However, behind the scenes there are really 54 slots. All spins are completely random and, based on a random selection from 54 chances, the wheel will land on one of the seven spaces that you see. So, even though the spaces on the wheel are all the same size, not all spaces are created equal.
I had a lot of fun creating this game and, again, I want to thank Bryan for suggesting it. Riverboat Gambler continues to evolve because of the Player Community involvement. Had it been up to me alone, this would still just be Mississippi Stud. LOL
More games coming! Let me know what you think!
~ Danny
36.0.2
2020-05-28
There was an issue relative to "timing" and bonus awards. The bonuses were being awarded and the bankroll was being updated properly, but the screen that announced the bonus was not being displayed.
I have personally been experiencing a few ads where the "X" is either not present or is a bit hidden. Honestly, I have no idea how the advertisers get away with that. I am finding, though, that if I tap in the corners, the ads close. I don't know about you, but having to do that really doesn't enamor me to the advertiser or make me any more likely to check out their offering! Please let me know if you are experiencing any issues. I do not control the ads that are surfaced every 35 hands, but I do have the ability to block specific advertisers.
36.0.1
2020-05-26
This release was a lot of fun to work on and is really just me stretching myself a bit. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from the Player community.
I have been working on some additional, creative ways to introduce additional bonuses into the app. Towards that end, I created a wheel that can be spun and used for various purposes.
In this release, I am leveraging the wheel to introduce a new, unique game: "Riverboat Double Tap". This game is about as "carnival" as you can get and I expect it to become a favorite for those who enjoy Red Dog and Casino War. Plus, candidly, it's my attempt at coming up with something new and unique ;)
Double Tap derives its name from the fact that the game requires two taps. The first tap is to select from 1 of 13 cards to expose a Spade (Ace through King). The second tap starts the spinning wheel in an attempt to match the uncovered card on the wheel. If a match is made, the payout is 15 to 1! The deal of the 13 cards from which you select and the outcome from the spin of the wheel are both completely random. Just about the time you feel like throwing in the towel and never playing the game again, you hit a win.
Now that the wheel exists, I will be figuring out other ways to leverage it in the app. As I indicated, one use will be to introduce some additional player loyalty bonuses.
Please keep your suggestions and requests coming and please, as things open up, continue to be safe!
Bug Fix:
1. Classic & Zombie Blackjack: these game froze after insurance was offered to a Player when the Dealer showed an exposed Ace. Thank you, Kiran, for alerting me to the problem!
~Danny
36.0.0
2020-05-25
This release was a lot of fun to work on and is really just me stretching myself a bit. It will be interesting to hear the feedback from the Player community.
I have been working on some additional, creative ways to introduce additional bonuses into the app. Towards that end, I created a wheel that can be spun and used for various purposes.
In this release, I am leveraging the wheel to introduce a new, unique game: "Riverboat Double Tap". This game is about as "carnival" as you can get and I expect it to become a favorite for those who enjoy Red Dog and Casino War. Plus, candidly, it's my attempt at coming up with something new and unique ;)
Double Tap derives its name from the fact that the game requires two taps. The first tap is to select from 1 of 13 cards to expose a Spade (Ace through King). The second tap starts the spinning wheel in an attempt to match the uncovered card on the wheel. If a match is made, the payout is 15 to 1! The deal of the 13 cards from which you select and the outcome from the spin of the wheel are both completely random. Just about the time you feel like throwing in the towel and never playing the game again, you hit a win.
Now that the wheel exists, I will be figuring out other ways to leverage it in the app. As I indicated, one use will be to introduce some additional player loyalty bonuses.
Please keep your suggestions and requests coming and please, as things open up, continue to be safe!
~Danny
35.0.5
2020-05-22
I am continuing to try to isolate the causes of some obscure crashes that have been occurring. While running test cases (which basically means playing 100s of each game and running 10,000s of simulation, I will also be touching up the screens a bit as I find opportunities.
In this release, I have added increased logging and I have made the following enhancements:
1. Adjusted the iPad screen layouts for High Card Flush and Three Card Blitz.
2. Casino Over/Under: reduced the number of buttons that are used. Instead of a Deal & Fold button, there is now a single button that is Deal OR Fold, appropriately.
3. Blackjack games: added a confirmation message after the Player is prompted for Insurance to indicate when the Dealer does not have Blackjack
4. Lunar Poker: Cleaned up the instructions to make them more clear.
Bug Fixes:
1. Three Card Poker: one of the causes of crashes turned out to be the fact that it was possible to press the Fold button when only the Pair Plus or the Pair Plus & 6 Card Bonus wagers were placed. That was problematic in that in those cases, there is no reason to Fold and the round ends itself after the initial deal has completed.
2. Four Card Poker: added the ability place only the Aces Up wager. I would have sworn that someone reported this a long time ago and I had resolved it!
Please keep your ideas and suggestions coming!
35.0.4
2020-05-17
There has been a slight uptick in crashes (67 crashes in 2M hands dealt) since the last major release when I revamped some of the code to streamline it for efficiency. I am not getting a lot of helpful information from the crash logs and I cannot reproduce the issues. So, I am going to making some incremental changes based on some theories of "what might be happening".
If you have any input, please reach out to me with that information. Thanks!
35.0.3
2020-05-13
Bug Fixes:
The following games were not properly refunding Blind wagers when the Player tapped passed the maximum Ante wager:
1. Heads Up Hold'em
2. Ultimate Texas Hold'em
3. Omaha Hold'em
4. Double Draw
5. Three Card Blitz
6. DJ Wild
35.0.1
2020-05-10
Game 36: Omaha Hold'em. I hope you like it!
A Riverboat Gambler Player requested that I add "Omaha Hold'em" to the array of games in this app. In all of my research, I was unable to find an example of a casino carnival game that was played like Omaha Hold'em. I did find, though, that Omaha Hold'em is a fascinating twist on Texas Hold'em. Based on what I had to do in order to deliver some of the other variants of Hold'em, I decided to try to put something together. Perhaps if someone has seen this game in a casino, they will reach out to me and help me fix anything I've gotten wrong.
The game mimics Ultimate Texas Hold'em. However, instead of two cards, the Player & Dealer are each initially dealt FOUR cards.
The major twists include:
1. The final hands must use three Community Cards and two of the four hole cards.
2. The final Play wager cannot be made until the Player has selected the two cards that he will use in his final hand.
3. There are not any side bonus wagers. Maybe in the future...
Personally, I like this game. I have no idea where it ranks with respect to "House vs Player edge", but it is fun.
Check it out and, as I said, if you have ever seen this in a casino, drop me a line with some feedback and suggestions.
Bug Fixes:
1. Casino Over/Under: The hand was being totaled before the last two cards were actually dealt.
34.2.0
2020-05-07
This release involved some significant improvements to the shared code that all of the games use. I have run most of the games through 2000 simulated hands to help to identify any issues (I don't have test harnesses for Blackjack - yet). Please let me know if you uncover any problems. Now, I am going to work on game #36!
Bug Fixes:
1. The non-classic Blackjack games only allow cards to be split one time. However, the Split button remained enabled after cards were split. If an attempt was to split cards a second time, the app would crash. Oops!
Please keep staying safe and keep your suggestions and feedback coming.
~ Danny
34.1.1
2020-05-05
Bug Fixes
After a while, wouldn't you think there wouldn't be any more bugs??? This app is started to become overly complicated!
Please stay safe!
~Danny
34.1.0
2020-05-04
Bug Fixes:
1. Face Up Blackjack: In this game, splits are only allowed when the cards are the same denomination. A bug was allowing any 10s to be split.
2. Red Dog Bonus!: The optional Three Card Bonus wager button was not correctly disabled after the deal.
3. Red Dog Bonus!: If the Ante wager was refunded due to a deal of consecutive cards, the auto replay feature did not work as expected.
34.0.0
2020-05-04
Here is game 35, folks! "Casino Over/Under" was requested by a Player and this is truly a carnival game!
I suspect that those who are attracted to Casino War, Tequila Poker, and Red Dog Bonus are really going to embrace this game. In Casino Over/Under, the Player places an Ante and an optional bonus. Like High Tequila, cards are assigned point values: Aces are always worth 11, face cards are worth 10 points, and all other cards are valued based on their number of pips.
After the initial wagers are placed, the Dealer deals the first of 3 cards. The Player then must decide to Fold or to wager that the final total of all 3 cards will be Under 18 or Over 23.
33.8.1
2020-05-02
Updated the "How to Play" for the Blackjack games to describe the new card counter feature
Bug Fix:
Criss Cross: The "Net Win" message was not being calculated correctly because the amount of the bonus wager was not being deducted from the gross. The actual adjustment to the bankroll was correct.
33.8.0
2020-05-01
I have to be honest: While I am certainly biased, I love this app, but I really need my casino fix!
Words of the Day: "Enhancements & Bug Fixes"
1. Raised the limit on outside Even Money bets for Roulette (iPad Only) from $100 to $500
2. Corrected the max wager amount to $500 for all of the games other than the Pai Gow games.
3. Four Card Poker Bug: If the Dealer and the Player had the same Two Pair hand, the app crashed because it was looking for a High Card to break the tie. Of course, there wasn't a 5th card available.
4. There was some issues with how dates were being evaluated that was contributing to some app crashes. I think I understand what I was doing wrong and believe I have it fixed in here.
Blackjack Enhancement: DISCLAIMER: I am not a Blackjack Player.
By request, I've added a "card counter" feature to the Blackjack games. It can be turned shown and hidden from the game menu. You can also hide it by tapping the counter if it's showing. The counter feature displays the "Running Count" and the "True Count" as well as the number of remaining decks. The Dealer is using an 8 deck shoe that gets cut in half after the shuffle so, effectively, the deal progresses through 4 decks before there is another shuffle.
I believe that I have correctly implemented what I researched, but I welcome input/feedback from the "professionals" in the RBG Community. The "Remaining Deck Count" is rounded. I will be updating the "How To Play" to include all of this information in a future release.
33.7.0
2020-04-28
Bug Fixes:
1. Adding the "Fold" button to Face Up Pai Gow screwed things up a bit when it came to the "Dealer's Ace Up Pai Gow" push situation. Also, I noticed that the cards were being dealt "under" some of the labels on the screen. This release addresses both of those situations. Thank you, Bryan, for letting me know about the issue!
2. The Odds button was being covered by the Pocket Bonus wager spot on one of the iPads in Right-Handed/Landscape mode. Thanks for the catch and report, Paul!
I hope everyone is enjoying the app and staying safe! If you haven't left a review in the App Store, please consider doing so. Also, remember that you can reach me directly with your suggestions and feedbacks by using "Send Feedback" from any game's menu.
To the Blackjack Players: I am working on a way to keep and display "The Count". It will be something you can turn on & off at will. If you have any ideas or suggestions on this feature, please reach out to me.
I'm working on additional updates and hope to release game 35 in the next 2-3 weeks!
33.6.0
2020-04-26
My Mac ended up in the shop after it crashed, so I had to re-establish the development environment and get all of the tools updated.
Handful of adjustments and fixes:
1. Added "Fold" option to Face Up Pai Gow for those situations where there isn't an option to beat the Dealer
2. Updated Baccarat to allow the Tie wager to be bet in combination with Player or Bank. Thanks, Ricardo, for pointing this out!
3. A lot of updates to grammar and punctuation in the "How To Play" files
4. Removed some ad libraries that were causing random crashes.
33.5.1
2020-04-20
Hot fix to adjust some code that was being cleaned up. I removed references to the old slot games that were in the app a year or so ago, but didn't consider the impact on the folks who had played the games in the past. This change should prevent the app from crashing when that new code is processed. Sorry!
33.4.3
2020-04-12
Bug Fixes:
1. Updated the libraries that are used to show Google Ads to prevent the "X" that is used to close the ad from being unreachable/difficult to tap.
2. Updated Roulette (iPad only) wheel to re-center when the screen orientation changes.
3. Updated Roulette (iPad only) to correct the results text for Red 21. It as reading "31, Red"
33.4.0
2020-04-11
Updated the Casino Wallet to make the slider a bit more user friendly.
Bug Fixes:
1. Fixed issue in Zombie Blackjack & DownUnder Blackjack that was causing them to crash the app
2. Update to Craps to fix the landscape rotation
33.3.0
2020-04-10
Updated pop-up screens to properly re-center if the screen rotates.
Increased the max wager on Craps (iPad only) to $500 for Come and Place Bets
33.2.0
2020-04-06
Updates to some diagnostics and logging.
33.1.1
2020-04-02
Bug Fixes:
1. Four Card Poker payout message was adding any Ante Bonus amount to the Hand Win which overstated the actual win. The bankroll was correctly adjusted.
33.1.0
2020-03-31
Bug Fix:
1. Three Card Blitz was not paying the Play wager for a win properly.
2. Pai Gow Games: I can't thank David enough for his help on this one. The Joker was being placed in the hand twice in cases where it was used with 3 Aces to create a 4 of a Kind. Without his screenshots, I would still be pulling out my hair.
33.0.1
2020-03-28
Adjusted animation for the Blind wager on the new game, Three Card Blitz, when a re-play occurs
33.0.0
2020-03-27
Here you go! Game #34! Riverboat Gambler now includes Three Card Blitz! This game is pretty cool. You play against the Dealer to pick up to 3 suited cards with the goal getting a higher point total than has the Dealer. The fact that you have 7 cards and there is an optional Flush Bonus makes this game feel a little bit like High Card Flush.
Check it out! Let me know what you think.
I still have a long list of requested games to address. Please keep your ideas, suggestions, and requests coming!
Additional updates:
1. Because the game menu has become so long, I've modified it so that new games are easier to find for the few several days after they are released. New games will appear in green text.
32.5.0
2020-03-25
Cosmetic adjustments:
1. Resized some images
2. Adjusted the in-game menu so it didn't consume more than 2/3 of the screen height
32.4.1
2020-03-23
Bug Fixes:
1. Zombie Blackjack: thank you to Matthias for identifying an issue with the Dealer Zombie hands!
32.3.0
2020-03-21
This release includes some clean up and optimizations. More games coming soon!
32.2.0
2020-03-16
Several Players expressed a desire to limit the number of chips they had on the table so I've added a "Casino Wallet" concept to the game menus. This feature allows you to decide how much of your total bankroll is on the table and how much of it is "in your pocket". Check it out and let me know what you think.
Bug Fixes:
1. Craps (iPad Only): fixed issues with how High Horn bets were being placed and paid. Thanks, Paul, for the assist!
32.1.0
2020-03-13
This release provides the ability to wager in multiples of $5, $25, or $100 on Roulette. Prior, the limit was $1
32.0.1
2020-03-12
By request, I've updated Roulette to allow the increment amount to be changed to $1, $5, or $25.....for the High Rollers!
Bug Fixes:
1. TriLux bonus in Blackjack games was improperly reading 3 card straights (Thanks, Aaron! Appreciate the assist)
2. Zombie Blackjack: Player Blackjack was not recognized as an automatic win (Thanks for catching this, Tom!)
32.0.0
2020-03-09
Riverboat Gambler is now up to 33 games! This release adds another variant on Blackjack: Zombie Blackjack! I have been scouring my emails and texts and, for the life of me, cannot find the person who requested this game awhile back. If it was you, please reach out to me again so I can thank you in the next set of release notes!
I've probably shared before that I don't play Blackjack very often. I don't play it because those of you who do can be fanatical and I never feel safe when I "split tens" ... LOL
BUT, this game is a bit addicting. Similar to the last game that was added (Down Under Blackjack), this game changes things up a bit and gives the Player a second chance at winning on hands that bust before the Dealer plays. Yep! You can bust to a dead hand and your hand could possibly come back alive and you can get paid - hence, the name Zombie Blackjack.
Here's the deal (pardon the pun): If the Dealer busts with any number higher than 22 AND the Dealer's up card was a 7 or higher, all dead hands win! Now, the House does have their own little Zombie twist, too, though. If the Dealer busts with exactly 22, all dead hands are forfeit and all other hands Push.
I tried to get a little creative with the graphics on this game which is probably why I seem to like it a bit. Play the game and you'll see what I mean; it's a bit hokey, but.....it was still fun to do. [smile]
Additional Changes:
1. Blackjack is now a single Player game. It is you against the Dealer. I did this because someone pointed out that seeing the other Players' cards influences how you might play. It's really difficult to figure out a way to show those other cards, so, this way, you see all the cards that are played and can try your hand at "counting an 8 deck shoe". Other games still allow you to specify the number of Players at the table and the seat in which you are seated. See Preferences in each game to configure those settings. The hands at the other seats are being dealt to "ghost" hands from the randomly shuffled decks.
Bug Fixes in this release:
1. Blackjack: turns out that when you split cards and end up with a "Blackjack" that's only supposed to be counted as a 21 and paid even money. Thank you to the Player who pointed that out in his/her App Store review. I am doing my best to keep the experience "real".
2. Pai Gow Games: In cases where the High & Low Hands (or High & Medium) were ranked as High Card hands, it was possible to play a higher second card in the lower hand. Also, in certain obscure situations, the bonus was not being paid properly when there was both a Straight & Three of a Kind in the Player's cards. Many thanks to Melisa for finding and reporting that bug. It was definitely a buried edge case. Finally, it turns out that Pai Gow & Face Up Pai Gow have been treating ties as Pushes. Per the rules, Ties go to the Dealer!
3. Craps: There was an issue with how "Off & On" Come payouts were being calculated.
4. Blackjack Games: The Trilux Bonus was improperly reading hands when all cards had values of 10 - regardless of denomination
31.0.0
2020-02-16
Wow! As promised, Riverboat Gambler now includes yet another game: "Down Under Blackjack". That brings the total to 32!!! Personally, I had never heard of "Down Under" until one of our Players (Ron up in PA) suggested that it be added. I'm typically not a Blackjack player, but I love this game!
This game is another variant on classic Blackjack. In Down Under Blackjack, the Player is provided some hints about the Dealer's hole card prior to acting.
Initially, my personal reaction was how could this game be better than Face Up Blackjack was very recently released? After playing it a bit to test the game's stability, it dawned on me that the differences are slight but very important. In this game, the Dealer does not win pushes, but can cause a push if he busts with exactly 22. You will need to review the How To Play section on this one to make sure you you "get it". Then, be prepared to get addicted to this game!
At Bryan's request, I have also made some adjustments to the animation timing on Baccarat to slow things down a bit. I think his advice was "spot on", because the game does seem to be more enjoyable now that there is more of a pause between cards being dealt. One day, once I've mastered animation, I can come up with a better way and leverage it in the rest of the games that reveal cards.
As always, please let me know what you think and please keep the requests and suggestions coming. There is a slew of new Blackjack variants in the backlog and I will be releasing them steadily over the next couple of months!
Also, please consider leaving a review in the App Store if you have not already done so!
~Danny
30.0.7
2020-02-11
Minor cosmetic and logging updates.
Bug Fix:
Face Up Pai Gow: the Fortune Bonus for two Ace High Pai Gow hands was supposed to be paying 40:1, but was only playing even money. Kudos (again), to Jack S for spotting that and reporting it.
30.0.6
2020-02-07
And yet another Pai Gow fix: The bonus payouts were not taking into account that Trips pays higher than a Straight in cases where a hand included both. I'm really not sure why this was handled in Asia Poker but not the other to Pai Gow games. I can only assume that in "streamlining" some code, I got a bit careless.
We have Jack S. to thank (again) for uncovering this one. The man is a Pai Gow T-Rex!
30.0.5
2020-02-06
Roulette Bug Fix:
Many thanks to Robert for helping to identify a very elusive bug in Roulette that was causing the "Last Bet" feature to place reduced bets after a spin. This release fixes that bug. I am now going to work on adding functionality to that game to allow you to bet in greater increments than one! That way Robert won't have to tap his fingerprints off to place his $90 wager on Black! ... LOL
30.0.4
2020-02-04
Fix to Pai Gow & Face Up Pai Gow: some hands were being misread which caused the wrong winner to be declared. Thanks to John S and everyone else who let me know and who took the time to forward screenshots. It literally took less than 5 minutes to locate and fix the problem because those examples helped me to reproduce the issue.
30.0.3
2020-02-03
Nothing too major. I have cleaned up some of the code at start up to streamline the launch and touched up some of the images.
More games are coming though! Keep those suggestions and requests rolling in!
If you haven't left a review in the App Store, please consider doing so to help get the word out!
Thanks for your support!
~Danny
30.0.2
2020-02-01
In response to an App Store review request, I have raised the table game max wager amounts from $500 to $1000.
Bug fixes:
1. Pai Gow Games: The hands were not being compared properly so the winners were not being called properly.
2. Farobank: This game does not currently support preferred wager amounts. For some folks, the wager amount may have been changed from the default $5 and could then not be changed back. The wager increment amount is now locked at $5 for the table bets and the bonus bets.
3. Craps: When Pass Line odds were paid for a winning point, an underlying value was not being reset. This meant that if another point was set before a craps roll, when Pass Line odds were bet, the chip marker started at the total of the prior wager. While the correct value was being deducted from the bankroll, the value that was displayed on the table was incorrect.
30.0.1
2020-01-31
Bug Fix:
1. Crazy 4 Poker: some code that was added to support automated testing was messing with the animation timing. This was causing some hands to be cleared before they were actually read which resulted in a crash.
30.0.0
2020-01-30
There seems to be "no limit" to the number of variants there are of Texas Hold'em (pun intended!).
Many Players asked that "Jackpot Hold'em" be added to Riverboat Gambler. So, in keeping with my goal to grow the app based on user input, here is Game #31: Jackpot Hold'em. This game is basically Ultimate Texas Hold'em with one huge difference: the first card in The Flop is exposed BEFORE the Player has to decide whether to Check, Bet, or Fold. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Good news for the folks on iPhone SE devices: This release adds "Face Up Blackjack (a.k.a. Double Exposure) to your game menu! I am working on a version of Blackjack for you next! It can be a bit tedious given the limited amount of screen real estate, so please be patient.
Bug fixes in this release:
1. Blackjack: there were certain conditions that could cause the result message to become garbled.
2. Face Up Pai Gow: under certain conditions, the Dealer's hand ended up empty (no cards). This caused the app to crash when the hands were compared to find a winner.
29.0.0
2020-01-25
Here we go again! Game #30 has arrived. By popular request, Riverboat Gambler now includes Face Up Blackjack (a.k.a. Double Exposure Blackjack). As the name implies, this is Blackjack where the Dealer cards are dealt face up!
A couple of key differences between this game and traditional Blackjack:
1. The Dealer wins Ties/Pushes unless the tie is for a natural blackjack. In those cases, the hand is a true push.
2. The Player may only split cards one time compared to four times in traditional blackjack.
3. Cards must be of the same denomination to be split. This means K/K can be split, but K/Q may not be split. This regardless of the fact that both are worth 10 points when calculating a hand's value.
4. Blackjacks pay 1:1 as opposed to the standard 3:2.
5. There is no concept of "insurance" because the Player already knows the Dealer's hand before such a decision would be wagered.
I believe I have modified the original Blackjack code correctly to support this new game, but please let me know what you think. While I have tested the game, I don't play Blackjack because I have found it dangerous to my health. When other Players realize that I like to "split 10s", they get a bit cranky!
Thank you, Ryan, for reporting the following issues that are addressed in this release:
1. Pai Gow Tiles: some of the payout messages were not properly formatted. (Dude! Great catch on the missing paren).
2. Baccarat: Wins, Losses, and Pushes were not properly tracked in the new "Game Stats" feature. Folks will want to reset the stats for that game after this release.
3. Pai Gow Tiles: There is definitely a series of activities that can cause the animation to go a bit wonky; I am still trying to get to the bottom of that.
I have also made some tweaks to the cards so that they have an outline. The outline must have been dropped when Texas Shootout was introduced and I had to implement multiple border colors to identify all hands that get played.
28.1.0
2020-01-16
As I have promised, I am continuing to increase the number of hands that are dealt between ads. In this release, that threshold moves from 30 to 35. This number will continue to increase as the number of Players increases. My rationale is simple: the app generates a small amount of revenue from ads and that same amount of revenue can be made by showing a larger number of Players fewer ads.
Additionally, in an effort to decrease the size of the app, I have resized large image files and removed files that are no longer being used.
Bug Fixes:
1. The new "Game Stats" feature was not properly configured for Let It Ride.
2. There was an issue in Texas Shootout that impacted how wagers were being refunded.
3. The screen coordinates for the 12.9" IPad were wrong for the button when 8 was rolled as the point. No impact on payouts.
28.0.7
2020-01-11
The wrong code base was deployed for the last release (28.0.6). For that reason, the fixes that were supposed to be made for Cajun Stud and Three Card Poker didn't get made.
Bug Fixes:
1. Crazy 4 Poker: Thank you to Eddie for reporting an issue with how the Ante was being refunded when the Dealer failed to qualify with at least a King-high hand.
2. Baccarat: A request was made to "slow" things down a little bit so that the Player could evaluate the cards before the hand was played out. Thank you, Rocco, for uncovering the fact that is was possible to press Deal while a hand was still being dealt. This caused that game to lock up.
3. Cajun Stud: The Pocket Bonus was not being paid unless the Lo Ball Wager was also bet.
4. Three Card Poker: The app would crash if the Six Card Bonus wager was not placed.
28.0.6
2020-01-10
Bug fix to Cajun Stud: The Pocket Bonus wager was not being paid unless a Lo Ball Bonus wager was also made.
28.0.5
2020-01-10
There have been a handful of crashes (7 hands out of 3M) when an attempt is made to read a hand. I have been running the games through 1000s of test deals, but have not been able to reproduce a crash. In this release, I have added some additional diagnostic logging in order to identify the offending card combination.
Cosmetic changes: In some of the games, if the Player placed wagers, but then decided to Fold, those wagers were refunded, but they still remained on the board. Now, they are removed.
28.0.4
2020-01-07
In this release, the notifications related to "Failed To Qualify" situations and the instructions for the Pai Gow family of games have been updated to show those messages more elegantly.
Bug Fixes:
1. Cajun Stud: Some Pocket Bonus wins were not being properly paid
2. Ultimate Hold'em: Folding a hand was not being handled properly. Thank you, Suzy, for reporting this one!
28.0.3
2020-01-05
A couple of minor updates and I finished changing out the Failed To Qualified screens that were periodically showing as blank on some devices.
Bug Fixes:
1. Criss Cross: the game wasn't properly returning Player wagers on some hands; notably, Pushes
2. Face Up Pai Gow: Royal Flushes were not being rated for the Fortune Bonus unless they were accompanied by a Royal Match.
3. Crazy 4 Poker: The game board header was overlapping the "hamburger menu". This caused the Payout Table to be shown instead of the game menu when that area of the screen was tapped.
I'm just going out on a little limb, here, but I'm guessing not many folks are playing Baccarat. I say that because I do not play it very often, but while testing, I noticed that the animation timing were really way off. Those have been fixed in this release.
28.0.2
2020-01-02
Changes that I assumed were simple and inconsequential when Face Up Pai Gow was added turned out to be pretty damaging. Shame on me for rushing the release and not performing a full regression test of all of the games. This release fixes a lot of bugs and I am still stress testing the app to get it back to a completely stable state. I am trying to trim down the code base because Riverboat Gambler has grown so rapidly. Because it is expected to continue to grow, there will likely to be a series of small updates in the coming weeks.
I want to send a big shoutout to Floyd who uncovered a lot of things in Heads Up Hold'em & the Pai Gow family of games. I really appreciate that you took the time to send all of your valuable feedback and screenshots using the Send Feedback option!
A while back someone requested the ability to opt out of Achievement Bonuses so that they could gauge their play and track wins/losses without their bankroll being artificially inflated by those free chips. Recently I was chatting with someone (Bill) who suggested implementing a way for Players to track how they are doing in a game; a great way to measure your understanding of a game.
In this release, many of the games now have a "game stats" option on the menu. When you access this feature, you will see some simple metrics about your play for that game. You can reset these metrics whenever you please, but there's an automatic reset when any currency value exceeds $99 million (or is less than -$99 million) or when any counter exceeds 99 million. This is to ensure that the app doesn't end up with display issues for very large numbers. Check it & let me know what you think.
This release also includes the screens for Craps on the 10.2" iPad (7th Gen). Now, Roulette is all that remains for that device, but it will take some time; here are 180+ spaces to wager on a Roulette board!
Bug fixes:
1. Face Up Pai Gow: The instructions that are shown for the first 3 hands completely covered the Dealer cards. Not good considering the idea is to SEE the Dealer cards. Thank you to Jesse for reporting that issue.
2. Face Up Pai Gow: This Pai Gow game is supposed to be commission free, yet it was charging a 5% commission. I missed it in my testing due to the rounding of my $5 wagers, but Gary caught it right away with his High Roller wagers! Gracias, Gary!
3. Heads Up Hold'em: On the 10.2" IPad, in portrait mode, the Play button disappeared when the screen was changed to left-handed mode in Preferences.
4. Heads Up Hold'em: Sometimes the "Failed To Qualify" message is blank. I've added some additional code and some diagnostics to try to address that. This applies to other games as well. Once I've isolated the problem, it will be applied to every impacted game.
5. Heads Up Hold'em: When the Dealer failed to qualify, the Ante is refunded, but both the Ante & Odds wagers were removed from the board. Now, only the Ante is removed. This was not impacting payouts
6. Pai Gow: This family of games has never been properly tracking hands won. This prevented the Winning Hand achievements from being recorded and those bonuses from being awarded.
7. Any game that had a payout option of 3:2 was improperly rounding the payouts and dropping the change!
8. Face Up Pai Gow: Fortune Bonus spot was dropped from iPads
9. Baccarat: Hands were not resetting properly so it was possible to get a natural 35. Thanks to Rocco for reporting this one.
10. Blackjack: In technical terms that might be complicated to understand, this game was totally hosed up!
As always, thanks to everyone for your support, suggestions, and requests. If you haven't already, please consider leaving a review in the App Store to let other folks know what you think about Riverboat Gambler.
Stay Tuned! There are more games coming in 2020!
Happy New Year!
~Danny
28.0.1
2019-12-31
It turned out that Game #29 (Face Up Pai Gow) was not added to the menu for this major release. Thanks to Floyd for letting me know.
Bug fix for Casino War: App was crashing when a war was waged.
Happy New Year, folks!
28.0.0
2019-12-29
Multiple folks requested that Face-Up Pai Gow be added, so here it is as the 29th game in Riverboat Gambler! Because I am not a regular Pai Gow player, I spent a lot of time researching and watching videos and I believe this is pretty spot on. In essence,
Face-Up is the same as regular Pai Gow with a couple of twists. First, the Dealer shows his cards and forms his two hands before the Player has to make a decision. Second, there is no 5% House commission (yea!). Third, if the Dealer's best hand is an Ace-High Pai Gow, both hands are an automatic push. An optional Ace High bonus makes it possible for the Player to still get paid for that situation, though. The Fortune Bonus is only different from the regular Pai Gow bonus in that you're looking for a Royal Flush + Royal Match to hit the 2000:1 payout (instead of a Royal Flush + 2 deuces). Check it and and let me know what you think!
Bug Fixes:
After resolving the myriad of bugs that occurred due to IOS 13 incompatibilities, we went for a month with zero crashes! Then, a screwed up build (27.0.0) caused 200 crashes in a single day. This was caused because the project became corrupted and some images were lost. The biggest culprit was the 10 of Diamonds in the Classic Deck. Thankfully, I was able to get that resolved quickly thanks in no small part to all the Players who reached out to me using the "Send Feedback" option in the app. This app would never be where it is without your help, support, and patience!!!
1. Asia Poker: In some instances, there was an issue in how cards were being managed if there was a four card straight or flush that contained a card that was also half of a pair. The Asia Poker and Pai Gow games are among the most complicated in the app and many, many hours have been spent debugging those games and accommodating for all of their intricacies; fingers crossed that there aren't anymore! Keep in mind, too, that those games have been a part of Riverboat Gambler for a very, very long time.
2. Pai Gow Bonus: While working on the Face-Up Pai Gow, I realized that the payouts for the 7-Card Straight Flush hand were not being managed properly. I am assuming that didn't impact anyone yet because I've not gotten any complaints about that 8000:1 payout. Wow! That's a lot! I wonder how many people have every actually won $40K for a $5 wager in a casino...
3. Made some additional grammatical changes to some of the game instructions.
27.0.1
2019-12-22
Bug Fix: Some images, including the Craps dice and the 10 of Diamonds from one deck were missing from the app. This caused the app to crash if those images were needed.
Thank you, Floyd, for letting me know!
26.1.19
2019-11-22
Cosmetic updates and fix to Crazy 4 Poker to ensure hands are read correctly.
We've gone a month with ZERO crashes across the globe. That's awesome!
Please keep telling your friends. I am working on some new games that I hope to release before the end of the year.
~ Danny
26.1.18
2019-11-17
No significant changes. While adding Caribbean Stud to a different platform release, I noticed that the payout table for Caribbean Stud was showing that a winning Straight paid 3:1. That's not correct. It pays 4:1.
The app was paying the correct amount, though, so this is solely cosmetic.
On the upside: I caught Quad Aces while testing! Woo hoo!
26.1.17
2019-11-14
I cleaned up some code and debugging diagnostics that I was using to isolate and address the IOS13 incompatibilities and crashes caused by ads. For now, things appear to have stabilized (we have been "crash free" for over a week now - yea!).
There was an obscure bug that was causing the app to crash periodically when the a purchase button was pressed in the store. I have been chasing it for a long time without luck. I was finally able to isolate that issue and am pleased to report it has been resolved!
I am going to continue to perform some heavy regression testing in the app and want to repeat my appreciation to those who have helped to diagnose the obscure issues that caused so much angst lately.
If you left a review calling out issues, I respectfully ask that you consider revising your review so that it describes the app fairly to those who are new to our Player community.
Keep the ideas and suggestions coming!
I am hoping to be able to get back to the business of adding more games and features shortly! ~ Danny
26.1.16
2019-11-04
Holy Moly! Still running up against IOS-13 incompatibility issues! Now, there are some issues with how dates are being evaluated and compared. Thankfully, dates do not play a huge role in Riverboat Gambler. However, one area they are evaluated is in the Chip Store where you were limited to 20 videos a day to earn free chips. That issue should be resolved with this release.
I continue to appreciate your patience and understanding. There is a lot of code that has to be regression tested and it is a very tedious process that I can only do during evenings and on weekends.
Things will stabilize. You can count on it!
26.1.15
2019-11-03
Things are definitely much better, but there are still some crashes in IOS13. Unfortunately, I cannot reproduce the issue. From what I can see in the diagnostic logs, these may be related to ads.
If you have been impacted and remember what you were doing when a crash occurred, please let me know. In the meantime, I may be pushing out a few release in a rapid fashion while I try some theories.
Thank you!
~ Danny
26.1.14
2019-11-02
Updating diagnostics and logging to help better isolate some obscure issues
26.1.13
2019-10-31
Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy! This is really starting to get tedious! Still working around compatibility issues with IOS13; more proof that I probably need to get some formal training!
The Chip Store Holiday Special will fail for folks who do not have this update. I know from feedback and other conversations, that a lot of folks look forward to these "sales". This update resolves an issue related to recognizing the current date so that it can be evaluated as one of the holidays defined in the app. To compensate, this release will make that special available from 10/30/2019 through 11/1/2019. Hopefully, all who like to take advantage of those holiday deals will get this update installed before that period expires.
26.1.12
2019-10-30
I am still working through some crash activity and definitely getting closer! (knock on wood...)
I have made a lot of progress resolving issues that a 3rd party framework was causing with the new IOS13, but there are still some crashes occurring (on 10/29, 2 out of 1000 users were affected). The issue has something to do with when the app goes "into the background" and then is "brought forward". I need to isolate the specific set of conditions that occur to create this crash and am not able to do that in my test environments.
If it happens to you (you open the app and, instead of restoring to where your game was when you switched apps, you see the game loading again), please let me know. I'm wondering if it has to do with what caused the app to go into the background (e.g. an incoming call was answered) or because something like a Daily Award bonus is triggered when the app is re-activated. Any details from someone who gets impacted will be greatly appreciated.
On an upside (again, knock on wood!), the Chip Store issue has not raised its head since that update was released. (Massive sigh of relief here!)
As always, thanks to everyone who pitches in and helps when issues are uncovered. With 27 games across multiple devices, the code base for Riverboat Gambler has grown tremendously. As my first app, this was originally meant to be a fun diversion. Now, though, it has grown into a popular game with a loyal Player base that requires a lot care and feeding to maintain. I really couldn't do this without your help. It's not my "day job"! ~ Danny
Other issues being tracked down:
1. A friend indicated that the app is crashing when he tries to open it and he is not being notified that there is a pending version update in the Store. I cannot reproduce, but I am theorizing that it is actually the update check that may be causing the issue. Please let me know if you have a similar experience and if it gets resolved by either manually updating the app or when your app automatically applies an update.
2. Roulette randomly crashes from time to time on the IPad 10.5. It does not happen frequently and I cannot reproduce. I am not sure if it is a rare occurrence because of a special set of conditions on that particular device or because few folks are playing that game. If you get impacted, please provide any details you may have.
26.1.11
2019-10-30
Still working through some obscure issues with IOS 13 and some external, 3rd party frameworks
26.1.10
2019-10-28
I was able to isolate the root cause of the crashes that were occurring when purchases were made in versions 26.1.5 & 26.1.6. I had added a new library for logging game activity and that 3rd party library has a defect in it. I have pulled that code and turned the purchase bonus offer feature back on.
Thank your for your patience, support, and understanding these past couple of days. It really helped in diagnosing and solving the problem.
Bug Fixes:
1. In Texas Hold'em Bonus: in this game, the Ante is refunded if the Player wins the hand with less than a Straight. In cases where the Player placed a new Ante wager, by tapping that button, the original wager amounts were reset (by design). This meant the bonus amount was set to zero. However, the previous Bonus wager was not removed from the board so it looked like that wager was still in play. That resulted in the Player expecting to be paid if a Bonus hand was dealt when, if fact, one would not. Many thanks to Joe for uncovering this issue and for helping to figure out the issue!
2. Texas Shootout: If a different wager was placed after a hand that included discards, the discards were not removed from the table with all other cards until the Deal button was pressed.
3. Roulette: There have been a couple of Roulette crashes in IOS 13. If you are affected, please reach out to me with any information you may have. I am trying to diagnose that problem.
26.1.9
2019-10-26
I was able to isolate the root cause of the crashes that were occurring when purchases were made in versions 26.1.5 & 26.1.6. I had added a new library for logging game activity and that 3rd party library has a defect in it. I have pulled that code and turned the purchase bonus offer feature back on.
Thank your for your patience, support, and understanding these past couple of days. It really helped in diagnosing and solving the problem.
26.1.8
2019-10-25
There was an issue in the Chip Store that was causing the app to crash after the purchase confirmation was delivered from the App Store. I was not been able to reproduce the issue in a test store environment, but I was able to resolve it by removing the optional bonus offer popups. My theory is that those popup are not playing nicely with IOS13 in Production. This release adds some additional logging to the app to help me to understand what is happening. I will be working hard to get to the root cause and turn the optional Chip Store bonuses back on.
First, my apologies to all who were impacted. I am not 100% certain that you will actually be charged for those transactions because the app crashed before confirming the transaction, but if you are, please contact the App Store (The purchases that I made to reproduced the issue are still in a "Pending" state).
You can check your purchase history by following these steps:
1. Open Settings
2. Tap your Name/Apple ID at the top of the Settings section
3. Tap iTunes & App Store
4. Tap your Apple ID at the top of the screen (Apple ID: XXXXXXXXXXX)
5. Select "View Apple ID" from the pop-up message
6. Scroll down and tap "Purchase History" and then review the status of your purchases
I may be disabling the Chip Store in the next release so I can do some testing. Before I do that, I will come up with a way to ensure that your bankroll remains funded.
Thank you for your understanding, support, and patience! Many thanks to Laura and David who first alerted me to the issue so it could be quickly addressed.
~ Danny
26.1.7
2019-10-24
Minor UI updates
26.1.6
2019-10-23
Bug fix in Ultimate Texas Hold'em: when I reduced the number of buttons on the screen from 3 to 2, I multi-purposed the Deal button for Deal & Check. That prevented the Player from placing a 3x wager (tap once on Play and then tap Deal). I should have multi-purposed Check and Fold because neither of those choices will ever need to be made at the same time. That issue is resolved in this update.
Thank you, Jack, for finding and reporting this issue!
26.1.5
2019-10-22
Screen updates for the new 10.2" IPad for these games:
1. Mississippi Stud
2. Cajun Stud
3. Three Card Poker
4. Ultimate Texas Hold’em
5. Criss Cross
6. Double Draw Poker
7. Let It Ride
8. Four Card Poker
9. Caribbean Stud
10. Texas Hold’em Bonus
11. Baccarat
12. Tequila Poker
13. Red Dog Bonus!
14. Casino War
15. Keno
16. Heads Up Hold'em
17. DJ Wild Poker
18. High Flush
19. Lunar Poker
20. Texas Shootout
21. Pai Gow
22. Pai Gow Poker
23. Asia Poker
Still remaining: Blackjack, Crazy 4 Poker, Craps, Roulette
Additional Fixes:
1. Achievement screens were not rendering properly and were not adjusting if the orientation on an IPad changed.
2. Heads Up Hold'em on the IPhone Plus devices: the Deal & Fold buttons were misaligned, making that game unplayable. Thank you to Don for reporting that issue so that it could be resolved!
3. Texas Hold'em Bonus: adjusted the board layout for IPads.
26.1.4
2019-10-19
This has been a heck of a few days! First, "emergency adjustments" for things I was doing wrong that iOS 13 uncovered and now screen crashes on the new 7th Gen IPad. So much for getting into a casino this week! LOL
The 7th Gen screens should work now, but I will be "tweaking" them a bit over the course of the next few weeks. There are 27 games to address, so please be patient. Until I can make those adjustments, Craps & Roulette will not be available for that device.
26.1.3
2019-10-18
Major bug fixes:
The app started to act up with the new iOS 13. There are things that I have been doing with the screens that were being done improperly. I am addressing the obvious situations that I can identify and am going to continue to stress test the app in order to identify any other conflicts. I appreciate your patience while I work through this; hopefully, it won't be overly difficult. Those of you with whom I have collaborated in the past know that I take user experience seriously and will get this taken care of!
26.1.2
2019-10-17
Updated the libraries that are used to support the ads that get served up every 30 hands.
Bug Fixes:
1. Asia PokerI have no idea when (or how) it happened, but the results messages on Asia Poker stopped including the results for the High Hand of the round. The payouts were still being made, though. That's a good thing! Many thanks to Anthony for taking the time to identify the issue so it could be resolved!
2. Tequila Poker: Adjusted the Payout Table to remove a duplicate entry. (more proof that the Player Community is not reading the instructions that I slave over!...LOL)
26.1.1
2019-10-13
This release includes some additional touchups to the screens. Additionally, I have been refining the code to make it more streamlined and to reduce the size of the app. Already, the app size has decreased by more than 10%. This means it will install faster and the updates will be faster. There are additional opportunities that I will continue to pursue.
Now that these changes have been made, I will get back to the business of adding some more games. As always, thank you for your support, feedback, and suggestions! Please help to spread the word and consider leaving your comments in the App Store for others to read.
Bug fixes:
1. Thanks to Wendie for pointing out that the result messages at the end of a Pai Gow Poker hand were displayed out of order. Now, the results of the High Hand will precede the results of the Low Hand.
2. I finally isolated and fixed the obscure issue of the "How To Play" section not showing up on IPhone7Plus & IPhoneXR for Asia Poker. That was a doozy!
3. On phones, if the device is used upside down (to change the screen to left-handed mode), the achievement awards were being displayed upside down.
26.1.0
2019-10-09
Big Release! Riverboat Gambler has undergone a major face lift! There are still opportunities and I will be working on those, but I think it is high time to add a new game or two! I hope you will find the new screens easier to use. I am not an artist and I have not stayed at a Holiday Inn Express.
Please share your feedback - especially if you notice any screens that need to be adjusted for your device(s). All total, Riverboat Gambler contains more than 250 screens. The app is almost at the point where I will need to find someone to help me with this thing!
Additional Bug Fixes:
1. Ultimate Texas Hold'em (IPad 12): the Deal button was not displaying when the device was set to right-handed" mode and used upright (Portrait Mode)
2. Minor adjustments to the grammar in some of the game instructions.
NOTE: "How To Play" for Asia Poker seems to be problematic on IPhone 7. I am still trying to get to the bottom of this. If you experience issues with the Help screens, please let me know!
Thanks to all for the continued support, feedback, and suggestions. There are more games coming! Please keep sharing and telling your friends!
~Danny
26.0.11
2019-10-05
Still a couple of app crashes related to Roulette (3 out of 5,000). Hopefully, this release can fix that!!!
26.0.10
2019-09-29
Ad related crashes appear to be fixed, but the loading process for Roulette has been crashing the app periodically. This release includes changes to try to address that issue.
Additionally, the instructions for Texas Ultimate were updated.
26.0.9
2019-09-25
Bug fix: In Heads Up Hold'em the Odds wager was not being refunded if the Odds Bad Beat Bonus was won.
26.0.8
2019-09-24
STILL trying to work passed some issues that are being caused by ads. Please be patient while I get to the bottom of these aggravating problems.
26.0.7
2019-09-22
The previous release introduced some bugs from the ad provider. I have tried to work around those bugs in this release.
26.0.6
2019-09-17
Cleaned up some code and fixed some screens. A couple of new games are in the works and should be out in the next few weeks. Also, some additional features that have been requested by Players. Please keep the suggestions coming and continue to tell your friends about the app!
26.0.5
2019-09-05
I have long suspected that folks are not reading the game instructions OR that they are too kind to call me out when they are incorrect or unclear. Well, I have my proof!!! (grin)
This release updates the rules to 3 Card Poker that were a bit messed up!
PERSONAL NOTE to "Sb154": Please read my response to your App Store Review. I would like to collaborate with you to identify the cause of your issue. You are the second person to report that situation and I need to get it isolated and resolved. You can reach me using the "send feedback" option from any game menu or at the support site: TheRiverboatGambler.com. Thanks!
26.0.4
2019-09-03
Cleaned up some screens and stripped out unnecessary code.
Added some guidance on how to review the hand rankings for each game. Every now and again, someone leaves a semi-negative review complaining that 3 of a Kind should not be a Straight or a Flush. However, depending on the game you are playing, Three of a Kind does win (e.g 3 Card Poker).
Huge apology and even bigger Thank You to Tare in KC who recommended Texas Shootout that was released in version 26.0.0. It's a great game. My brother is digging it and has been asking where he can play it! Thanks you, Tare! I appreciate all of your help.
Jeffrey M reported getting stuck in the help screens for the newer games. A fix in here should address that problem, but I suspect there will be others. I am working on a way to diagnose & fix database corruption.
26.0.3
2019-09-01
Bug fixes and screen enhancements.
Thank you very much to Deborah G who took the time to report an issue in Blackjack and provided screenshot examples! Your help in making the app better is very much appreciated!
26.0.2
2019-08-12
A few adjustments to screens and a bug fix to Criss Cross:
When repeated wagers were made on Criss Cross the check that ensures there is adequate bankroll was only looking for enough balance to support 4 antes and the previous bonus. The check should have been for 5 antes! If there was enough bankroll to support 4 antes, the wagers appeared to be repeated, but, in actuality, the bonus wager was not made. If a bonus hand was made in the Community Cards, the Player would not be paid. Thank you Tare in KC for helping to isolate this issue!
26.0.1
2019-08-05
Bug fix:
Texas Shootout (new in the previous release):
1. 5 of a Kind was not being read correctly unless it was 5 Aces. Thank you to "E" for taking the time to report the issue.
2. Thanks to Ethan for reporting that when a Split was made, the app was not properly wagering the same amount as the initial ante. Instead, it was wagering the default wager amount as set under Preferences.
26.0.0
2019-07-29
Here it is! By request, Texas Shootout has been added to Riverboat Gambler as Game #27! This game distinguishes itself from other variants of Texas Hold'em by letting the Player and the Dealer each choose two of four hole cards to use with the Community Cards to form their best poker hand. The Player's advantage is the option to play two hands against the Dealer. The House advantage is that the Dealer wins ties. There are a couple of interesting bonuses as well. Check it out and let me know what you think!
Bug Fixes in this release:
1. DJ Wild Poker: Fixed the payouts for hands that included deuces and should have been paid as "naturals": low straights, flushes, and low straight flushes.
2. Blackjack: Fixed the Trilux bonus to ensure that all 3 card straights were being paid correctly. Also, fixed the message for 6-7-8 hands. Prior, they read as if a bonus was being paid instead of the fact that the Player simply had 21.
3. Four Card Poker: Players may now play the Aces Up bonus without placing an Ante wager. Also fixed Aces Up Bonus payouts that were not being paid if the Player folded.
25.0.1
2019-07-18
Bug Fix:
Heads Up Hold'em: if an Ante or Odds wager was reset, the board cleared, but the full wager was not returned to the bankroll.
25.0.0
2019-07-16
By request, ANOTHER game has been added to The Riverboat Gambler!
"Heads Up Hold'em" is sure to become a favorite of those who already like Ultimate Texas Hold'em and Texas Hold'em Bonus. It is another variant on the same theme, but this one is really cool!
I play Ultimate to make money; I play Mississippi Stud for the large payouts!
I wish they had Head’s Up in a casino near me!
You may notice that despite adding this game, the game count remains at 26; the same as the last release. This is because I removed the "slots". They were lame and, for those who have been loyal Players for longer than a minute, you know that I only added them when I was trying to figure out how to do the "spinning animation". Trust me slot players: they were only good for a laugh and could not hold a candle to the multitude of other slot apps in the store.
Bug fixes:
A lot! Holy cow. I was in cleaning up things and addressing bugs that had been reported and found others. Many of those were in screen layouts, but there were some logic issues in Blackjack (bonus payouts & rules), Pai Gow, Asia Poker, Criss Cross (bonus payouts), Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Four Card Poker (hand ranking & betting options), and Red Dog Bonus
One huge benefit to the growth in the Player community is that more and more people are beating these games up and sending in feedback.
Please keep the reports and suggestions coming!
I'll be at Harrah's in New Orleans the weekend of 7/19. Hope to see some folks out there!
22.1.2
2019-07-03
Bug Fix: Pai Gow Poker screen periodically skewed the cards on iPhones.
22.1.1
2019-07-02
Update to Asia Poker: based on input, I modified house the House Way plays when there is a Full House. Prior, if a High Trips was present, those cards were split between the Low Hand and the High Hand and the Pair was paid in the Medium Hand. Now, if there is a single card that is higher than the Trips value, it is played in the Low Hand, the Trips are played in the High Hand, and the Pair is still played in the Medium Hand.
22.1.0
2019-07-01
This release is targeted towards enhancing Blackjack. In absolute candor, I do not play Blackjack and I am confident that those of you who do will lose any respect for me and jump me in the parking lot when I tell you that "I split 10s"! I know from personal experience that doing that is sacrilegious and, so, I avoid playing Blackjack (out of respect and fear)! I received many requests to add bonuses to the game, though. The biggest challenge to meet these requests was the screen real estate on phones (it is pretty limited on some devices). I was able, though, to add three new bonuses: "Dealer Match", "TriLux", and "Lucky Lucky". Not being a Blackjack player, these were foreign to me, but I must admit I think they are pretty cool bonuses.
If you like them, Deborah and "Island View" deserve much of the credit.
Additional fixes in this release:
1. I adjusted the screens for the 11" IPad. For some reason, I seem to neglect that device and its screens end up a bit wonky. I'm going to develop more discipline - I promise.
2. (This might need some adjustments): If the Player cards were split during a Blackjack hand, the only option for the Player was to repeat the same wager by pressing Deal. This meant that if you bet $50 on a hand, you were not able to change the bet on the next hand. All you were able to do was to press the Deal button and repeat the last wager. For the time being, in those situations, a "Reset Board" button will appear that will allow you to start over. I doubt this was a big deal to most folks because it wasn't reported, but, during testing I felt it was rather presumptuous.
Please let me know what you think, keep telling folks about the app, and be safe! I am continuing to work "The List" and it looks like there are some more games to add!
If it's not absolutely clear: I really appreciate your support in helping to evolve this app!
22.0.3
2019-06-25
As the number of Players continues to grow, I have been getting more and more requests to release an ad-free version for purchase. Believe me, I hear you and I am considering options. Recently, "mehuffer" left some feedback that suggested that if folks are buying chips, they should at least not have to be exposed to ads. I fully agree. While I continue to figure out the best, fairest way to deal with the ad situation, I have changed the app so that all chip sales are also accompanied by some amount of ad-free time. I appreciate the feedback and support from the Player community and ask that you let me know your thoughts and ideas via the feedback option in the app or from the support site, TheRiverboatGambler.com ~ Danny
Note to "Tjprod": I am still trying to reproduce the issue your reported with Double Draw Poker via review feedback. If you see this, please reach out to me via the text option in the app or via email so I can ask you some questions. In the meantime, I will continue to try to find the problem.
Bug fixes:
1. A rounding algorithm that was added to support payments on the craps table (iPad only) spilled over to some of the games that support $0.50 payouts (e.g. Ultimate Texas Hold'em, Casino War...).
2. Optimized some of the game code.
22.0.2
2019-06-22
Many thanks to "Dr d r e" for reporting an issue with Casino War. It was possible to get an "insufficient funds" message when waging war despite having remaining bankroll. That bug is addressed in this release.
22.0.1
2019-06-13
Bug Fixes:
1. Thanks to James Bond's very distant cousin for uncovering an obscure bug in Texas Ultimate Bonus that has surely been in the app since that game was added. If the Player tapped the Deal button too quickly, it was possible to lock the app up because the button would become disabled (not allow a Fold or a new Deal). In that situation, the only option was to close the app. I truly appreciate the fact that he not only found the issue, but was able to diagnose the root cause by remembering what he was doing when the situation occurred. Kudos & gracias, bro!
22.0.0
2019-06-10
In response to a request from "Matthias", Riverboat Gambler now includes "Lunar Poker". This brings the number of games to a whopping 24! I had not heard of the game before, but have to admit that I really like it. It is a variant of Caribbean Stud which, let's face it, has become a bit lame over time. This game though is far from boring. You will play heads up against the Dealer and have options to discard and draw up to an entire hand or to purchase a sixth card from which to make your hand. The optional bonuses are very enticing and promise payouts up to 1000 to 1. Check it out and let me know what you think. As always, please keep sending in your suggestions and feedback and, please share the app with your friends.
Other bug fixes:
I was making some minor adjustments to images to ensure consistency in the appearance of disabled wager spots and discovered that the Auto-Replay was broken for Ultimate Texas Hold'em. The new images and that fix are contained in this release.
1. Ultimate Texas Hold'em: If the board showed Quads, the remaining High Card in the Dealer and Player hands was not being used to break a tie. Instead, the hand was being declared a Push.
2. Turns out that the second line of text on Dealer "Failed to Qualify" messages were not being properly displayed on IPads.
21.0.7
2019-06-03
Bug fix for Craps. After the last fix, JP brought it to my attention that, while the PLACED points were properly being played "OFF" on a come out, they were incorrectly being paid if they matched the Come Out point. Now, they are solely being refunded.
21.0.6
2019-05-31
Bug fixes/changes to Craps:
1. Thanks to JP for pointing out that PLACED bets were "On" during the Come Out. This resulted in those bets being lost if the Come Out was a 7. Note: there is not currently a way to have the PLACED wagers "working" on the Come Out. I will be addressing that soon.
2. My Mom likes the game but her feedback was that the dice took too long to roll. She promised that she would play the game again when the dice did not take as long. I guess at her age, every second is precious! The roll time has now been cut in half from 4 seconds to 2 seconds (1 second per die).
21.0.5
2019-05-29
minor bug fixes and belated holiday sales specials.
21.0.4
2019-05-28
Minor bug fixes.
21.0.3
2019-05-22
Resolved some minor bugs.
21.0.2
2019-05-15
Bug fix to all games: ensure that currency values are formatted to zero decimal places when they are an even dollar value.
21.0.1
2019-05-14
Riverboat Gambler now includes Craps. Alas, it is only available for IPads; there are just way too many things going on in this game to scale it to the size of a phone screen.
There were multiple requests to add the game and I was not very confident that I would be able to deliver it in a manner that provided a decent User Experience. I hope folks like it and I look forward to hearing your feedback.
Personally, I have always enjoyed shooting Craps in a casino. The game is fast (which I love) and there is always a level of excitement at a craps table. The process of adding Craps to Riverboat Gambler was both extremely challenging and extremely fun. As a novice Player, I have always taken advantage of the help from the Dealers and have not necessarily understood every wager I have made. Typically, I am an awful shooter and rarely make the point. For the record, that continues to be the case now when I play craps in Riverboat Gambler.
In order to create this game, it was necessary for me to dive much deeper into the game than I had ever done before. There are so many different ways to wager (Come, Don't Come, Place, Lay, Buy, Horn, C&E, Hardways...) and each type of wager has its own nuances and is made (and paid) differently.
As with all of the games in Riverboat Gambler, I have done my very best to test all scenarios. This, though, does not guarantee that everything is correct or perfect. If I have misinterpreted any rules, then the game will be wrong. My commitment to our Player community will always be to address any issues that are reported. For this game, I beg your indulgence and assistance. If you find something that is wrong, please let me know and give me the opportunity to correct the flaw.
Riverboat Gambler started as an app to allow me to play my favorite game (Mississippi Stud) on an iPhone & iPad. Astonishingly, it has evolved into a "virtual casino" of the most popular Casino Carnival games around and folks are using it to learn new games and to improve their skills in their favorite games. This never could have happened without the valuable input of the Player Community. I continue to be grateful to all who have been helping to improve the app.
~Danny
Additional bug fixes:
1. Roulette: the screen coordinates for 1st Street & 3rd Street were reversed in landscape mode. This resulted in the wrong wagers being recorded.
2. Updated Payout Table for Double Draw Poker to show the payout (50:1) for a Wild Royal Flush
3. Thank you to Rhonda for reporting that it was possible to queue more than one purchase at a time in the Chip Store if the buttons were tapped too quickly.
20.0.0
2019-04-10
Riverboat Gambler now contains Roulette! That brings the total number of games to 22!
I have been working on this game for quite some time now, but had to divert my attentions to the issues that were being caused by ads and then on ensuring that the screens for the IPad 11 were finished.
To be candid, I rarely play Roulette in the casinos. Actually I rarely play anything outside of Mississippi Stud and Ultimate Texas Hold'em. I wanted to experiment with some more animation, though, and some Players had reached out and asked that Roulette be added. As I have said many times, I will do my best to fulfill special requests if I have the ability and if those requests do not conflict with other features or planned enhancements.
Unfortunately, Roulette is only available on IPad devices. There just is not enough screen real estate for me to release it for phones (there are 183 distinct places you can tap in order to place wagers!).
Please, take it for a spin and let me know what you think. I have done my best to cover all bases, but it is possible that I missed something. As one can read in the app store reviews, I make it a point to respond quickly with an acknowledgement and then a solution to all issues that are discovered and reported!
I continue to encourage folks to use the feedback option inside the app (or from the support site) to provide detailed feedback and to make suggestions. This allows me to ask questions and gain additional details when needed. The feedback in the App Store should really just be used as a way to communicate your thoughts about the app so others can decided whether or not to try it out. Please do not hesitate to leave a review in the App Store if you already have not!
Other changes in this release:
1. The option to text the app to a friend has been changed. Now, the "share the app" feature that appears on all game menus will allow you to select from two ways of sharing: by text message or by QR Code. If a friend is interested in the app, they need only focus their camera on the QR code that will be displayed on your screen. That action will route them to the Riverboat Gambler page in the App Store where they can follow through with the installation.
2. Minor changes to how ads are being served.
3. High Flush instructions included an empty page. That was removed.
4. Criss Cross: the "All In To Win" achievement bonus was not being properly awarded if the Player won with only the bonus. I will be checking the rest of the games that have that achievement to ensure they are awarding properly, but I wanted to get this fix out in the meantime.
19.0.3
2017-08-17
Bug fixes:
1. Blackjack was not properly refunding the entire way in a Double Down situation that tied the dealer. Thank you to Greg (a fellow Seminole Casino patron) for reporting the issue!
19.0.2
2017-08-17
Still finalizing the screens for the 11" IPad device:
1. Bonus Game: used to award bonus loyalty reward chips.
2. Tequila Poker
3. Keno
4. Preferences Screen
Bug Fixes:
1. Keno: fixed screen layout for 10" IPad. Based on how skewed things were, I can assume this game is not getting a lot of play!
2.
19.0.1
2017-08-17
Ten more screen updates for the IPad 11 devices. Four more to go!
1. Let It Ride
2. Crazy 4 Poker
3. High Flush
4. Caribbean Stud
5. Pai Gow (Tiles)
6. Pai Gow Poker
7. Asia Poker
8. Texas Hold'em Bonus
9. Baccarat
10. DJ Wild Poker
Bug Fixes:
1. Texas Hold'em Bonus: The card headings that distinguish between Player and Dealer cards were not rendering on IPads
2. Asia Poker: When the House Way split a Full House that contained only Jacks or higher it was not properly playing the highest pair in the high hand. Instead, it was splitting the trips between the low hand and the high hand. For example, in the case of Queens full of Kings, it played a Queen in the low hand, a Queen Pair in the high hand, and the King Pair in the medium hand. Thank you very much to Howard for reporting this so it could be addressed!
19.0.0
2017-08-17
Thank you to Mike for alerting me to the fact that I never completed the optimization of the screens for the newer IPad 11 devices! I hate to imagine how many folks with IPad 11 devices tried the app and "moved on" because those screens were so lame! I started to refine those screens and then became distracted by ad issues that were crashing the app for some folks. I am happy to report that those issues have been all but eliminated (yea!). Now, I intend to focus my efforts on making sure that there is a good User Experience on the IPad 11 and on figuring out how to (easily) offer an ad-free option.
Speaking of ads: there have been a few more requests (and nasty reviews about ads) about creating an ad-free version of Riverboat Gambler. Although the ads do not bother me (and I play this app a lot), I get that some folks are more easily aggravated. I also get that some of the ads are either flawed or a bit unethical in the way that they rotate the "X" that you must click to close the ad. Personally, it baffles me that some of them randomly rotate the "X" around the screen as if when it ends up in the bottom left corner of the screen a person will suddenly have an epiphany and realize that they cannot live with out that particular app. Whatever!
As a compromise, I have increased the frequency that apps are shown from every 17 hands to every 25 hands. My hope is that those Players who go ballistic when an ad appears will be able to wait the few second that it takes for an ad to show if they appear less frequently. Soon, you will have the ability to "opt out" of ads - I promise!
This release improves the User Experience (UX) on the IPad 11 for the following games:
1. Mississippi Stud
2. Three Card Poker
3. Ultimate Texas Hold'em
4. Criss Cross
5. Double Draw Poker
6. Red Dog Bonus!
7. Casino War
I will continue to work on the other 15 games to improve their UX. If you are using an IPad 11 and have a specific favorite that you would like to have addressed immediately, please reach out to me and I will ensure that it is prioritized.
I continue to be grateful to all of you for your support and encouragement. Please keep telling your friends about the app and sending in your feedback, suggestions, and requests.
18.1.20
2017-08-17
Additional changes related to crashes caused by ads. The last release that dealt with fixing some memory leaks appears to have reduced the frequency pretty significantly. Here's to hoping that these changes can help even more.
18.1.19
2017-08-17
Still working on the crashes that appear to be related to ads. This release removed code and references to a diagnostic tool (Google's Firebase) that was causing memory leaks. I am still collecting information for a period of time in an attempt to isolate more causes. To the few folks who are impacted, I continue to appreciate your patience
18.1.18
2017-08-17
Ads continue to be a problem. To put things into perspective, though, if the diagnostic information to which I have access is accurate, the impact is not wide spread. My reporting shows that of 655,000 hands dealt across all 21 of the games, there were 20 crashes in the past week. That, though, still irks me and I am focused on getting to the root cause and trying to determine what I can do to prevent those issues. If you are one of the folks who have been impacted, I am sure you are at least as aggravated as am I and I apologize for the poor Player experience. Please know that my number one priority is resolving these issues.
For educational purposes, the ads are served from Google. The app asks Google to supply an ad and then the app displays it. From the diagnostic information, it is clear that the vast majority of ads do not cause problems. That having been said, my coding is likely the cause of the problems. I must be doing something incorrectly for some of the ads that get served.
For those couple of folks who are not fans of the ads please be aware that I have done my best to make the ads unobtrusive. Personally, as a regular Player of the app, I barely notice them. In absolute transparency, the ads do generate a very small amount of revenue; enough to feed my cats for a month and to cover my nightly takeout while I work on this free app.
In this release, I have added some additional diagnostic and logging information in the hopes of zeroing in on which ads are causing the issues. If I continue to see what I consider to be too many crashes (meaning more than 5 a week), I will likely turn off ads while I come up with some creative solutions. If you are being impacted by these crashes (I am not!), please send me some feedback via the app or the support site. Getting input from those who are affected may help to isolate some causes and help me to determine where I should focus my attention. Posting a review in the app store telling everyone the app is crashing is not going to help resolve the problem.
I am extremely grateful and humbled by the Player community that has been growing and helping to evolve Riverboat Gambler. I will reiterate that this was always just supposed to be way for me to learn how to code for Apple devices and to play Mississippi Stud on my iPhone/iPad. However, I am committed to working on it as long as you are committed to playing it and helping to improve it.
~Danny
Bug fixes in this release:
1. Thank you to Jeremy for finding and reporting an issue in Three Card Poker. The app was not properly reporting a Royal Flush on the 6 Card Bonus. That is fixed in this release. I really appreciate that Jeremy took the time to send a screenshot of what he was experiencing; that helped to locate the bug and quickly fix it.
18.1.17
2017-08-17
Minor adjustments to some screens and some error handling applied to ads
18.1.16
2017-08-17
Ad issues are getting better (as a result of nothing I have done). However, I am still trying to minimize the impact on the application when there is an issue with Google. For now, ads have been turned off for a few days while I test some changes.
I have also received some crash reports related to Blackjack that appear to be occurring when cards are split. I am currently working on reproducing those errors so that a fix can be released. If this situation impacts you, please reach out to me using the feedback option within the app and provide any information you may have.
[shameless plug alert!] Please keep telling your friends about the app and let me know if you have any suggestions or requests!
To "lil seymour": If you are still playing the app and see these notes, I cannot reproduce the error that you reported in your negative feedback via the App Store. It would be greatly appreciated if you could provide me more information.
Bug Fixes in this Release:
1. There was a report of the Daily Bonus not being properly recorded if an update was also available. This has been addressed in this release. @ Pouchtech (Mike M): please consider updating your rating after you have verified that your issue was addressed. Sorry it took so long; my mom was in town visiting :)
2. Pai Gow (Tiles): Well, this game was pretty messed up from a rules perspective. To be candid, I never played the game in a casino and really added it by request and because I wanted to mess around with the animation of using the tiles. As a result of a tremendous amount of advice and guidance from Mariano, there have been some significant changes to that game's engine to correct my misunderstanding of the rules. I suspect there will be more adjustments to this game going forward.
Thanks, Mariano! Your brain must weigh about 75 pounds to understand the nuances of this game as you do!