Bitcoin balance across a lobby: one pot, many tables
A casino lobby has hundreds of games and one balance. When the account is funded in Bitcoin, that balance can look odd on screen, with long strings of decimals or a display unit the cashier has chosen to show instead of the coin itself.
This note is about what a game sees of your balance, why the numbers look the way they do and which of those details come from the coin rather than from the game.
One pot, many tables
Switching games moves no money. The account holds a single balance and each game draws on it for the length of a round, then returns the result to it. A game does not own a slice of the balance and cannot be funded separately, so the figure at the top of the lobby is the figure every game works from.
Why the decimals run so long
The coin divides into very small units, so a stake of a few cents of value is a quantity with many places after the point. Some cashiers keep the numbers readable by showing the balance in a larger display unit and converting on the way in and out. That is a presentation choice, and it is worth knowing which one a cashier makes, because a converted balance and a balance held in the coin behave differently when the exchange rate moves.
A cashier that converts should say so on its own screen. If it does not, the deposit screen is the place to look before sending a large amount.
What the coin does not touch
The stake range of a game, its return and its volatility are set inside the game. The coin changes how the range is written on screen, never what the range is. A game described as a high-stakes table in coin is the same table described in any other unit.
Short answers
Why does a stake have so many decimal places?
Because the coin divides into very small units. A cashier may also convert the balance into a display unit to keep the numbers short.
Does the coin change the stake range of a game?
No. The range belongs to the game. What changes is how that range is expressed on screen.
Is the balance converted when a game opens?
Sometimes. A cashier that converts should say so, because a converted balance and a coin balance behave differently when the rate moves.
Does switching games move money?
No. One account balance serves the lobby, and a game draws on it rather than holding its own.
Related pages
Where to read next.
Games — which parts of a lobby the coin touches and which it leaves alone
