Topic: Provably fair: purpose of client seed? (Read 230 times)
I think I would kind of agree with you on it. Like, for slow players who put each bet individually, it wouldn't matter if there was no client seed. Because they can always change server seed for each bet to make sure the system isn't recording their patterns. But for fast players and players who use bots, this can become a serious issue and a question to worry. The client seed simply takes all the blame off the casino hence putting the ball on the court of the player
https://dicesites.com/provably-fair
Has all the answers to your questions
Has all the answers to your questions
The purpose of client seed is used to determine the result of your bets. The site takes the client seed which contains the data of your bets and a nonce (used once) and combine it with the server seed that will create a hash. The hash is used to determine the result of your bets or the roll results. You can learn more in this site https://thebitcoinstrip.com/a-guide-to-provable-fairness-in-online-casinos/
You could get a clear idea on how provably fair works in a dicesite from here
So coming to your question regarding the purpose of Client Seed, let's assume that there is no client seed but only server seed and nounce taken for output calculation. You play several rounds and lose heavily so you change the client seed, once again you lose without any profits. If that's the case, what will you tell others? You'll most probably tell that site only gives bad seeds and that they are programmed to incur hefty losses or that the site is scam.
But by providing client seed(which could be adjusted by you) you are deciding the server seed's outcome not the gambling site. The server seeds outcome varies with the client seeds you use. So you can't actually blame the site being unfair to you.
To sum it up, Client seeds are made available to show that the site is being fair or say to build users trust.
Quote from: https://dicesites.com/provably-fair
How does provably fair work?
Although there are several implementations of the provably fair method, we will describe the most common one. With this method each roll-result is calculated by the following variables:
Serverseed - provided by the gambling site
Clientseed - provided by your browser and adjusted by you
Nonce - A number that increases with each bet you make
You will get an encrypted hash of the serverseed before you start gambling. Since you get it in advance, the site cannot change it later. However it is encrypted, so you cannot calculate your own roll results in advance (only afterwards if you get the unhashed serverseed.)
Your browser will generate a random clientseed. However, you could and should adjust this clientseed before you start. This way you can make sure the site does not know your clientseed in advance.
Now if you make a bet the nonce starts with 0 or 1 depending on the website. After each bet you make, the nonce number will go up by 1.
Although there are several implementations of the provably fair method, we will describe the most common one. With this method each roll-result is calculated by the following variables:
Serverseed - provided by the gambling site
Clientseed - provided by your browser and adjusted by you
Nonce - A number that increases with each bet you make
You will get an encrypted hash of the serverseed before you start gambling. Since you get it in advance, the site cannot change it later. However it is encrypted, so you cannot calculate your own roll results in advance (only afterwards if you get the unhashed serverseed.)
Your browser will generate a random clientseed. However, you could and should adjust this clientseed before you start. This way you can make sure the site does not know your clientseed in advance.
Now if you make a bet the nonce starts with 0 or 1 depending on the website. After each bet you make, the nonce number will go up by 1.
So coming to your question regarding the purpose of Client Seed, let's assume that there is no client seed but only server seed and nounce taken for output calculation. You play several rounds and lose heavily so you change the client seed, once again you lose without any profits. If that's the case, what will you tell others? You'll most probably tell that site only gives bad seeds and that they are programmed to incur hefty losses or that the site is scam.
But by providing client seed(which could be adjusted by you) you are deciding the server seed's outcome not the gambling site. The server seeds outcome varies with the client seeds you use. So you can't actually blame the site being unfair to you.
To sum it up, Client seeds are made available to show that the site is being fair or say to build users trust.
I have a more technical question here. Could someone explain the rationale for requiring a client seed as part of the protocol? Assuming the server seed commitment is known before placing a bet, the server can't alter the outcome in any way. Is is the idea that a server could predict betting patterns for an individual user (and shuffle cards / pick numbers accordingly)? That's the only thing I could think of which a client seed does prevent.
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