Tiki Bros. Dispel the Myth of the Stacked Deck

Green: Welcome to the Tiki Bros. Tip Talk! Green Tiki here reporting to you from our local public pool. The pool was kind enough to let us come here free and read your letters while relaxing in floaty lounge chairs. Ain’t that right Red?

Red: Well, it was not exactly free. They made us clean out their SPAM encrusted computer for over an hour before they would even let us in, on account of you accidentally clogging up the pool’s filter system last week!

Green: How was I to know that eating Popcorn in the pool is not allowed?

Red: I do not think the popcorn you ate was the problem. It was all the popcorn that missed your mouth and fell in the pool! Anyway, enough with the chit-chat we have a job to do. Would you mind reading the first question before you cause any more problems?

Green: Fine. Let me just put my hollowed-out-pineapple drink in my floaty cup holder, grab our first question off our floaty desk and I’ll get started… Woah-h-h! Oops! Phew! I’m OK, but I almost fell in!
Let me see here. A player writes…

During the past few weeks I have been using this new weight-loss product I saw on the news. You should try it too. I have lost a bunch of weight. 29.2 pounds to be precise!

Aw that’s nice! Good for you player! Hey Red, maybe you should reply to that one! That gut of yours is getting a bit too round! HA HA!

Red: Green! You dunce! You are reading SPAM! You must have printed it out when we were fixing the pool’s computer. *Sigh* Green, please read the next one before I run out of patience and dunk you in!

Green: *Snicker*

I received an e-mail from Pogo asking me to come back, that I am missed. I NEVER left and will NEVER leave. I LOVE POGO forever!
-actonup 222

Red: Aw, that is very sweet of you actonup! Let me see here. Why would you be getting superfluous emails from Pogo? Hmm.

Green: And why is Red using superfluous words like “superfluous’ when he could just say “Extra”!

Red: Ok actonup, I have a theory. Is it possible that you accidentally created a second Pogo account at some time? Maybe another nickname that you do not login to anymore is the one that is getting the “Come back to Pogo” emails? If you do not login to that other account anymore, eventually Pogo will stop emailing it. Hope that helps actonup. Green?

Green: I guess that is my cue to take a sip of my fruity drink then read the next question eh?

There is a lot of discussion in the game rooms about whether the deck is a true random shuffle or if the results are intentionally adjusted. It would put a lot of rumors to rest if Pogo would just come out and verify that the poker deals are random. thanks! -undrdogb

Red: That is a very interesting question undrdogb and it has a very interesting answer. The cards and everything else Pogo are pseudorandom to be precise! We say pseudorandom because computers can never be absolutely random since everything is digital and is programmed with 1’s and 0’s.

Green: Oh no! Red is about to “Geek Out”! Pseudorandom means that the numbers appear to be totally random. They are generated by special computer code that generates stupefyingly long random-looking numbers.

Red: In all intents and purposes for our players Pogo’s cards, dice and numbers are as random as possible. This means that we take care to make sure the games are not repetitive. More importantly, we make sure that we are never intentionally “stacking the deck” for one player or another. The funny thing is, it would be very difficult actually make a game stack cards or dice against one player intentionally. Pogo’s programmers want everyone to have fun, whether you are winning or losing!

Green: This doesn’t mean that one player or another won’t ever have a good hand. Just like when you shuffle cards, it’s pretty much inevitable that one person or another is going to win. Either based on skill in the particular game, or just how good their hand is in the first place. So, sometimes it’s luck and sometimes you have to make your own luck!

Red: I know I’m getting a bit long winded, so to make a long story short. For Pogo card games, the randomness of play should be as good as shuffling a deck of cards five or more times, if not better! We cannot tell you exactly how our shuffling in Pogo works, because it is stupendously technical even for a smart Tiki like me. I do recommend bringing your four-leafed clover for luck to any Pogo game you play though! Good Luck! Another question Green?

Green: Hold on Red. The question fell in. Let me fish it out of the pool.

Red: Never mind! I will just read the one I have here.

Tiki Brothers,
I have been playing Snood on Pogo ever since I found this new game. I was wondering when it will be added to the list of games on Club Pogo as I am getting a little sick of searching for it every time I want to play.
Thank You,
-Barry

Green: Rank 14 already? Cool! Hmm, maybe this email is a few days old, but Snood now is up on Pogo’s game list pages now.

Red: This is a good opportunity for a learning moment though. Did you know that you can add games to your favorites list on Pogo so you never have to search around for them ever again?

Green: There are two ways edit your favorites. The easiest way is to click the Games A-Z tab on Club Pogo home page. You will see a huge list of Pogo games. Next to each game you will see a little white plus sign. Click that plus and it will turn into a heart. That heart means the game is now in your favorites list. Remove a game by clicking the heart.

Red: Another way you can edit your favorites is to click the “Edit Favorites” button on Pogo’s homepage. You will be sent to a page that will list All Pogo Games on the left, and your Favorite Games on the right. Search for the game you want to add on the left, click it to highlight it, and then click the “Add” button. This will put your choice the right side. You can even change the order of the games with the up and down buttons. Finally hit the “Save Changes” button when you are finished.

Green: Congratulations, you’ve edited your favorites. Clever people have even been known to get a “Sneak Peek” at new games that are not officially added to the Games A-Z list of Pogo Games yet. Hope this helps and have fun! Alrighty, Red I’m going to read the last question now.

Dear Green and Red Tiki Brothers,
Why, oh WHY have you made the card sizes on cribbage, First Class solitaire (etc.) SO SMALL?

Some of us are old (we remember when you were little cacti saplings) and our vision is bad. Even with our faces pressed on the screen, we can’t see the cards.

Hoping to see the cards,
-Karen “KebsyCats” on Club Pogo
p.s. – “Green”, you are my favorite. No offense, Red.

Red: I am shocked! I thought I was everyone’s favorite Tiki! Where the heck were you hiding that email Green!? Besides we have answered that question before. I have half a mind to dunk you in this pool!

Green: I hid it in my trunks in a zip-top baggy! Sorry Red but, I couldn’t resist! Thank you for the very nice compliments Karen. You can read our classic Tiki article on screen size here. Now excuse me as I paddle away from my jealous brother! Red is suddenly “Green” with envy! Have a great day everyone! Have fun on Pogo! *Splash* *Splash*

Red: Come back here! Uh! Oh!!!! *Splash* *gurgle*

Green: Haha you’ve fallen in! See what happens! Oh oh, he’s swimming towards me!!!! Oh no! *SPLASH!* *DUNK*

Red: Not to worry folks just teaching him a quick lesson in manners. Heh Heh! Have a great day! See you next time! And stay cool!

Alright Green, come on up now.