Alongside editorial work, I publish open datasets on the mathematics of casino games — released under permissive licences with a DOI so every figure can be independently verified and reused.

An Exact Combinatorial Dataset of Video Poker Return-to-Player and Optimal Hold Strategy

An open dataset of the exact return-to-player (RTP), house edge and optimal hold strategy for common video poker games, computed by full combinatorial enumeration of all 2,598,960 possible five-card deals. The engine reproduces the published returns of 99.5439% for 9/6 Jacks or Better and 99.7283% for NSU Deuces Wild to four decimal places, and includes the source code and raw enumeration logs so the results are fully reproducible.

  • Author: Zavian Thornell
  • Publisher: CasinoStrategyLab
  • Published: 2026 · Licence: CC BY 4.0
  • DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21976923

DOI / Zenodo record · Wikidata · Explore on CasinoStrategyLab

Cite as: Thornell, Z. (2026). An Exact Combinatorial Dataset of Video Poker Return-to-Player and Optimal Hold Strategy (v1.0) [Data set]. CasinoStrategyLab. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21976923

Blackjack Expected Value Under Variable Rule Sets: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study

A comprehensive Monte Carlo simulation of blackjack house edge across 480 distinct casino rule configurations. Each configuration was evaluated over 1,000,000 simulated hands using perfect Basic Strategy, producing a high-resolution dataset of house edge estimates with standard errors below 0.2 percentage points. The rule matrix covers deck count (1/2/4/6/8), dealer soft-17 behaviour, double after split, late surrender, blackjack payout (3:2 vs 6:5), resplit aces, and doubling restrictions. Results confirm that 6:5 payout increases house edge by 1.36 pp — the single most impactful rule variation.

• Author: Zavian Thornell
• Publisher: Zenodo
• Published: 2026 — Licence: CC BY 4.0
• DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.22294169

Links: DOI/Zenodo Record — Explore on CasinoStrategyLab

Cite as: Thornell, Z. (2026). Blackjack Expected Value Under Variable Rule Sets: A Monte Carlo Simulation Study (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22294169

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