The Kobow Method

Named after Koza & Bower — the two mathematicians who invented the pre-generated finite-pool instant lottery ticket (US patent 3,826,499, filed 1973, granted 1974) and co-founded Scientific Games Corporation. Kobow is a portmanteau of their names. This page explains the four distribution heuristics we apply on top of their finite-pool framework, and shows side-by-side what happens when we rebalance real math — same RTP, same caps, measurably better player experience.

Origin — where the math came from

In 1973, Koza and Bower filed the patent covering the pre-generated finite-pool instant lottery ticket — the mechanic behind every pull-tab, scratch-off, and electronic pull-tab in the regulated market today. Their insight: because every ticket outcome is fixed at printing, prize density in the deck is the only dial that controls player-experience feel — and RTP alone hides everything interesting about that feel. R1–R4 below are Kobow.Bet’s own distributional heuristics layered on top of that finite-pool foundation.

The four heuristics in one sentence. A well-formed predetermined game passes R1 (session RTP lands inside a credible band most of the time), R2 (bonus gaps are bounded — no player goes 300 tickets without a bonus), R3 (prize mass is spread across tiers — not bunched at $1), and R4 (volatility is coherent with the advertised game class). Two decks with identical 85% RTP can score wildly differently on these — and players feel the difference.

Four principles — the governing heuristics

Each heuristic is a measurable distributional property of the deck. We compute all four for every paytable variant we design; the Kobow rebalance was driven by asking where does the original v2.8 paytable under-perform on R1–R4?

Live comparison — original vs Kobow (same RTP, different game)

Both paytables have RTP = 85.00% and obey the same $10,000 top-prize cap. The only difference is how the 85% of mass is distributed across prize tiers. Run a Monte Carlo simulation below to see how identical expected-value decks produce meaningfully different R1–R4 scores.

Session length

Sessions

Seed

Ready — click Run to simulate

Running — 0%

Original MadLab v2.8 Medium baseline

RTP—

Hit frequency—

Volatility σ/μ—

In-band session RTP—

P95 bonus gap—

Max bonus gap—

Run to populate

Kobow Rebalanced Medium kobow

RTP—

Hit frequency—

Volatility σ/μ—

In-band session RTP—

P95 bonus gap—

Max bonus gap—

Run to populate

Prize mass distribution — Original R3

Where the 85% RTP is placed across prize tiers. Concentrated at $1 = thin middle.

Prize mass distribution — Kobow R3

Same 85% RTP, but mass moved from $1/$2 tiers up to $5/$10/$25.

Session RTP distribution — Original R1

How often a session's realised RTP lands inside the advertised band.

Session RTP distribution — Kobow R1

Tighter distribution = more sessions feel like the advertised game.

Bonus gap distribution — Original R2

Tickets played between bonus triggers. Long tail = players quit.

Bonus gap distribution — Kobow R2

Compressed tail: max gap is bounded, p95 is tighter.

Volatility fingerprint — Original R4

Per-ticket payout distribution (log scale). Coherent-volatility check.

Volatility fingerprint — Kobow R4

Fewer zero-wins, fatter middle, same top-end: classic Medium.

Predetermined deck sample — first 100 tickets

Each cell is one ticket (prize by colour). R2 penalizes long stretches of the same colour; R3 packs colours evenly.

Original—

Kobow—

What actually changed

Identical inputs in, different distributional properties out. RTP stays locked at 85.00%; the cap stays at $10,000. Everything else is shaped by the R1–R4 targets.

Metric	Original	Kobow	Δ

Live session test — Koza-Bower scoring in real time

Watch a player session unfold ticket by ticket. The balance chart tracks net position while the four R1–R4 gauges update live. Same RTP, same caps — the feel diverges immediately.

Tickets

Speed

Seed

Ready — click Play to start the live session test

ORIGINAL v2.8 Medium

Ticket

Player

$0.00

House

$0.00

RTP

—

Last Win

—

● Player● House

—

R1
Session RTP

—

R2
Gap control

—

R3
Prize spread

—

R4
Vol coherence

KOBOW Rebalanced Medium

Ticket

Player

$0.00

House

$0.00

RTP

—

Last Win

—

● Player● House

—

R1
Session RTP

—

R2
Gap control

—

R3
Prize spread

—

R4
Vol coherence

Why this matters — the Kobow thesis

RTP alone is insufficient. Regulators, operators and players all care about the feel of a game — and feel is determined by R1–R4, not RTP. Two decks that advertise 85% can be a fair draw or a frustrating grind depending on how that 85% is distributed. Kobow's rebalance holds RTP and cap constant while pulling R1 in-band rate up, tightening R2's p95 gap, spreading R3's prize mass, and keeping R4's volatility coherent with the advertised Medium tier. Same math, measurably better session.