FAQ: How much does Robinhood cost?
The platform is free of charge for players and will remain so indefinitely. Dealers, initially, also pay no fees and keep 100% of their winnings. However, Robinhood will eventually charge dealers a percentage of their winning. The timing of the fee and its percentage will be decided by shareholders through decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) methodologies. Tips by players will not be subject to any fees.
Q2: What currency do players need?
At the start, Robinhood will support Ethereum but will expand to accept other cryptocurrencies such as BTC, Litecoin, Dash, etc. based on player feedback. Similar to a physical casino, players exchange Ether and Robinhood chips in the cashier section of the platform. The value of Robinhood chips is pegged to Ether so that players don’t have to worry about the price volatility while they are playing.
Q3: Why the name Robinhood?
Robinhood is a well-known tale of the English folklore, a legendary heroic outlaw who took from the rich and gave to the poor. We feel we’re applying the same transformation to the casino industry by distributing the ports to the players, instead of having it be limited to a few select operators. Players are empowered, no longer at a disadvantage facing giant casino houses that follow unfair practices.
Q4: What do dealers need to join?
Dealers must have a computer with an internet connection and need to purchase a starter pack priced at $195 (including shipping) which includes 6 decks of cards, a card shower, a card tray, a card scanner, and a webcam. Using the card scanner, dealers swipe the cards they draw instead of manually entering the value and suit of the card in the system. This results in a better game experience since the game is not slowed down by manual data entry. It furthermore eliminates human error.
All items have clear Robinhood branding to help players validate that genuine Robinhood devices and cards are in use, preventing bad actors from using altered cards or devices to cheat.
Robinhood sells everything at cost and makes no proton the starter pack to help dealers bootstrap their tables.
Q5: Why would someone become a dealer?
Dealers can make anywhere from $34-$49 per hour for running tables with a $15 minimum player bet. For reference, this is 4-6X the minimum wage in the United States of America. See subsection 4.2 for details. Aside, from the attractive income, dealers enjoy a great deal of autonomy, not having a boss or needing to report to anyone. They choose their own working hours and may opt to work from the comfort of their homes.
Q6: How do dealers fund their tables?
Dealers use Ether to buy chips, in the same manner as players, to fund their tables. They can cash out and convert their chips back to Ether whenever they please. Robinhood recommends a minimum and maximum table bet to dealers based on their balance and enforces a minimum to ensure the solvency of the games.
Q7: How do players know dealers don’t cheat?
There are several mechanisms in place to bring players peace of mind that dealers are acting appropriately:
- Dealers are ranked by players on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). Any dealer with a score below 4 is banned from Robinhood. This mechanism empowers players to choose which dealers they like to see on Robinhood.
- Dealers purchase equipment (deck of cards, card shuers, card scanners, and camera) provided
by Robinhood. Robinhood will send dealers branded equipment that it has internally tested and reviewed to ensure quality and fair play. Equipment will furthermore have tamper-proof seals to prevent alteration. Dealers are only allowed to use equipment sent to them by Robinhood and cannot use their own devices or cards.
- If for any reason, players want to challenge a hand, they can do so conveniently from the
platform. The money involved in challenged hands is blocked until a Robinhood auditor reviews
the incident and resolves the case. Auditors will use the player chat log, the dealer’s video feed, player and dealer history to make their decision.
- Dealer hand history is available on Robinhood and also published publicly, available for anyone to store and audit it at any time.
- Dealer statistics are continuously monitored to spot and audit outliers.
- Dealers have to comply with video feed rules that prevent the use of any unapproved devices, or aids. Robinhood continuously validates dealer compliance and will ban non-compliant dealers.