Who... erh... What is FRank?

FRank is a short name for “FreeExtraChips Ranking Algorithm”. This is an algorithm that has been developed by the FreeExtraChips team (with special mention to FeC founder who was working on this algorithm since 2007, previously named F-Ranker-Beta and live on-site until the "birth" of FRank), used to evaluate every casino listed in our site. FRank uses some "quite-complex" routines and sub-routines to evaluate every aspect of a particular online casino, including player feedbacks. It can determine with an incredible accuracy if a casino has some good or bad facts.

What You need to know about FreeExtraChips

The main aim of Freeextrachips.com is to guide players in deciding on the best online gambling platforms to engage in. All the reviewed casinos on our website have been checked and verified by one or two members of the team and we are sure to check for their eCOGRA accreditation or license validity. With this, you are sure that your personal details and banking information are safe from third party users.

From the reviews we provide, you will have in-depth information on the pros and cons, software features, wagering requirements, rules, promotions and games. These elements are used by our FRank algorithm tool to determine ranking of the various casinos we have in our database.

How does PageRanking Work?

Probably the pagerank we know of is that by Google, Yahoo or Bing search engines. PageRanking assigns a score to searches, the higher the score will be, the higher the pager will rank on the search results.

These scores are usually determined by the number of the other web pages that are linked to the targeted web page. This is how most of the search engines work but our FRank tool has a different algorithm which makes it work differently.

How FRank works

FRank gets to analyze every casino that is listed at FreeExtraChips; these casinos are analyzed with regard to their specific characteristics. To efficiently rank the different casinos reviewed, it makes use of the sub-routines to compute the ultimate score which is the FRank Value, Facts Value as well as, the players’ reviews. The basic FRank Value for every casino we have is the sufficiency. Will all these the FRank Value is developed.

All the facts values are determined through computation of all casino facts; these include and not limited to number of software running the casino, age of the casino, how popular the software is, languages supported, options available to reach the customer support and the banking options available.

The computed value maybe of negative or positive impact to the FRank Value.

Scenario:

A casino that has one software, few banking options, and one language will have a smaller facts value than a casino with 10 softwares, plenty of banking options and 10 languages. You need to understand that these casinos are individually evaluated; to your surprise, the first type of casino we mentioned in this example can also have a good “FRank Value”.

The software, licenses and the age of the casino are of great importance. Depending on how old the casino is, how popular and proficient the casino software is, the FRank Value will be boosted. As for the licenses, the harder they are to procure like those from UK Gambling Commission or AAMS (Italy licensing), the better the Facts Value will be.

Other determinants of the Facts Value are the currencies, number of games available, number of gambling platforms available (download,instant-play,mobile and/or live casino), restricted countries and banking options play role in determining the Facts Value. 

Reviews Value

When a player has played in a casino and submits his review to FreeExtraChips.com, it bears a description and rating. Before this review is published, it is moderated and is later evaluated by FRank where each of them is assigned a value-based description, as well as, rating.

After the review is summed up, for each casino, the Review Value is achieved and contributes to the facts Value and finally to the FRank Value. Through the algorithm we have developed for FRank, we arrive at FRank Value using the Reviews Value.

Example

Let’s assume a casino has Facts Value of 6.5 and a Reviews Value of 8.5 the result will not be 6.5+8.5/2=7.5 but through the complex algorithm developed, the calculations will be done and with such values the FRank Value should be between 6.9 and 7.8.

FRank Value

This value is computed from all the casino facts and reviews by players.

How often does FRank evaluate the casinos?

Facts Score: Every 8 hours

Reviews Score:  Every 8 hours

Rankings: Every 8 hours

Why does it take this long?

FRank goes through a lot of data which takes long for it to determine the ranking.

Final Note

The FRank Score cannot be altered manually. The scores are evaluated every 12 hours and updates are made every time a new evaluation is done. This makes it pretty hard for one to alter with the scores generated. Even us at FreeExtraChips cannot change the working of the algorithm (no manual actions to "joke" the system). The buck is left with the casino, they need to WORK FOR PLAYERS  to get higher ranking. However , Frank is always evolving and we are working to make it more "strong" .No one is born perfect . Future upgrades can expect reported on this page.

FRank Version 1.2.1 - December, 16th 2019

Updates

• FRank Version 1.0, Release - October, 19th 2015
• FRank Version 1.01, minor bug fix - October, 23rd 2015
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the proper calculation of the values ​​of each casino banking option. Rankings are slight affected ( +/- 1 position for casino 14 casinos affected).
• FRank Version 1.02, bug fix - October, 29th 2015
  • Fixed a bug that prevented the proper calculation of facts/reviews influences on FRank total value. Rankings not affected.
• FRank Version 1.03, minor bug fix - November, 5th 2015
• FRank Version 1.04, values balancing - December, 1st 2015
  • Balanced values given from positive/negative user reviews. Rankings affected (+/- 4 positions, 22 casinos affected).
• FRank Version 1.05, software(s) factor value balanced - December, 2nd 2015
  • Balanced values given from software use/popularity/efficiency. Rankings affected (+/- 8 positions, all casinos affected).
• FRank Version 1.06, minor bug fix - February, 6th 2016
• FRank Version 1.07, cryptocurrency value booster balanced - April, 4th 2016
  • Casinos that use cryptocurrency such has BitCoin or Litecoin or Peercoin etc. have now a more prominent boost. Rankings affected (+/- 2 positions, all casinos affected).
• FRank Version 1.10, virtual dictionary (English) added - April, 29th 2016
  • FRank can now fully understand what a reviewer wants to leak in his message (thoughts tending to positive or tending to negative) regardless of the "stars" assigned in total . This value , algorithmically calculated , will be summed to the total  of the single review (user) . Please note: this feature is still in testing and future tunings will be announced later. Rankings affected (+/- 3 positions, 32 casinos affected).

• FRank Version 1.10.1, virtual dictionary (English). Minor bug fix. - May, 2nd 2016
  • Minor bug fixed. Rankings not affected.

• FRank Version 1.10.2. Minor bug fix. - November, 8th 2016
  • Minor bug fixed. Rankings affected (+/- 2 positions, 122 casinos affected).​​

• FRank Version 1.10.3. Minor bug fix. - January, 20th 2017
  • Minor bug fixed. Rankings not affected.​​

• FRank Version 1.10.4. Minor bug fix. - May, 7th 2017
  • Minor bug fixed. Rankings not affected.​​

• FRank Version 1.11 virtual dictionary (English) updated. Minor bug fix. - June, 24th 2017
  • Virtual dictionary (English) updated and populated with new words/phrases detection. FRank can now understand better player reviews. Minor bug fixed. Rankings affected​​ (+/- 3 positions, 189 casinos affected).

• FRank Version 1.12 software(s) and banking options values rebalance - March, 09th 2018
  • Balanced values given from software (use/popularity/efficiency) and banking options (global usage/user friendliness/popularity). Rankings affected (+/- 12 positions, all casinos affected).

• FRank Version 1.131 software(s)banking options, user reviews values rebalance - January, 09th 2019
  • Balanced values given from software (use/popularity/efficiency), banking options (global usage/user friendliness/popularity) and user reviews values. Rankings affected (+/- 10 positions, 522 casinos affected).

• FRank Version 1.2 added the feature "quarantine" for user reviews, all computing "weights" rebalanced - September, 23th 2019
  • Added the feature "quarantine" for user reviews: each review will be "quarantined" for the duration of a refresh (8h) before being added to the total FRank count, to prevent attempts to manipulate the ranking. All algorithm computing "weights" rebalanced:  we noticed a too consistent adjustment towards brands that add software and other features frequently against more static but still valid brands. Rankings affected (+/- 1 or 2 positions, all casinos affected).

• FRank Version 1.2.1 minor bug fixes - December, 16th 2019
  • Minor Bug Fixes. Rankings affected (+/- 1, all casinos affected).