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Slots Simplified

Jack Jones — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:54:53 +0000

Slots are the easiest game to play in the casino. Insert a coin, pull the handle, and then reach into your purse for more money. Unfortunately, that’s what normally happens when the house has such an enormous built-in edge. But that does not mean you cannot at least close the gap against you and throw in some fun to boot. So, below are some of my favorite slot tips to help you overcome this huge house advantage. These tips will not guarantee that you’ll become an instant winner, because it’s tough to beat a house edge that generally runs well over 10 percent, but it also doesn’t have to be so tough on your bankroll. Let’s get started.

1. The only true skill to playing slots is machine identification. Example: progressive machines offer the opportunity to compare and shop around for the best value. One 25 cent “slot machine carousel” can have a progressive jackpot of $2600 and another bank of machines-exactly the same and standing side by side-$1900. You should always be looking for the best slot opportunities possible.

2. Casinos will advertise machines that have a 98.5 percent payback. WOW! A casino game holding just a percent and a half, and on a slot machine no less. But there is a downside. If you look closely at the advertisement, it will probably say, “on select machines.” Furthermore, it probably will not be posted on the machine itself, and generally will be limited to a single bank of machines in the casino. Now it becomes your responsibility to find them. Easiest way: Ask a slot employee, and if he or she doesn’t know, have one of them ask a direct supervisor.

3. Las Vegas gives away over one-half billion dollars in comps each year, and as a slot player, you deserve your share. Repeat, you deserve your share. How? Casinos now offer you the ability to “comp yourself” by using one of their player’s club slot cards. It is generally based on the number of coins you cycle through a machine, so you might as well get credit for all those quarters you’re inserting. Shop casinos for comp value and find out what you are worth to them.

4. You always want to treat “comps” as a form of profit, but you never want to gamble just to receive them. It’s much better to play a 98 percent payback machine and increase your winning opportunities than play machines with a poor return that cycle more of your coins. Remember that you’re there to stay in action and possibly win, not lose your bankroll for a free buffet.

5. If you cannot afford to play the maximum amount of coins, you should not be playing that denomination of machine. If dollar slots are too rich for your blood, drop down to a quarter machine. It is always better value to play five quarters versus one dollar, or five nickels instead of one quarter.

6. I recommend not playing back the credits you have accumulated. Cash out and take stock. The problem with playing back credits is that the longer you stay, the machines built-in advantage eats away at them. It doesn’t take long to zero out.

7. Avoid restaurant, bar, supermarket and airport slot machines. Notorious for being tight.

8. Can’t decide which type of slot machine to play? If you are going to choose between video poker and slots, play video poker. Even poor play on a video poker machine will have a better payback than most “reel” slot machines.

9. Before you walk away from a machine, don’t forget to press the cash-out button. Millions are lost each year by gamblers forgetting their winnings (stored credits).

10. It is your responsibility if destiny favors you that you receive full payment when hitting a jackpot. Even with some relatively small jackpots, if the slot is short coins in the hopper, you will receive only a partial cash payment in the tray, with the balance to be paid by a slot attendant. If you were to insert more coins and pull the handle, say good-bye to the remainder of your jackpot.

11. Read all the posted material on a slot machine. It is your responsibility to fully understand all printed information concerning the number of coins to insert, lines needed to be lit, prizes or awards. In most cases, when someone calls a slot attendant over and complains the machine “just ripped me off,” that individual generally did not read the pay schedule correctly.

12. When you insert coins, don’t assume all the tokens register before you pull the handle. Played five but only four recorded? SORRY. You will get a sympathetic pat on the back from the casino, but no money.

13. I recommend avoiding machines that use video representations of symbols. With these slots, there is absolutely no way to figure out what the payoff percentage of that machine is. For all you know, your true chances of hitting a major jackpot could be 2,097,152 to one.

14. Most casinos will hold a slot for you while you go to the restroom, take a short break, or even go on a buffet run. Just ask a slot supervisor to reserve your machine and give a specific time when you will return.

15. Don’t chain yourself to a cold machine, even if it is your favorite. Why? Because the longer you stay on any slot, the more time the machine’s built-in mathematical advantage has to work you over. This is how casinos build mega-resorts. Time always works on their side, and they have a mathematical edge on every slot.

16. Just because you’re only playing slots, you still need to set a loss limit on your bankroll for both your trip and each individual gaming session. Divvy up your wad per playing session, discipline yourself and stick to it.

17. I’ll come clean here. I don’t play slots. But as a local in a casino town, I know where the locals who do play find the most cluck-for-the-buck. Simply put, locals don’t play dog machines. So when searching for high payback machines, ask a few employees where the locals find the best slot value. Even if they are not slot players themselves, they at least know where their friends like to play.

18. Leave both your credit and bank teller cards at home so you will not be tempted with the easy convenience of getting cash. Also, allow me to take the obvious one step further. Only bet what you can afford to lose.

Finally, going to slot heaven-Las Vegas? Your best return in Las Vegas, and the country for that matter, are in the casinos Downtown or N. Las Vegas. Average return on quarter machines: 95.5 percent. That almost makes it a decent wager.

Slot Placements

Jack Jones — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:46:20 +0000

There are a few readers out there who have been asking us about slot placements, so we figured we would put this one to rest. They think that machines are looser close to change cages and ATM machines in but there is difference of opinion on machines next to tables. Some say they are loose so table players will hear wins and be enticed to get off tables others said they are tighter because they know table players will drop in coins as they come and go from tables.

However, we think the machine placement advice is outdated. It is true that every slot director will have his or her own slot floor philosophy, today’s slot directors order roughly the same payback percentage for each of their machines in a particular denomination.

Slot directors may have ordered different percentages and played placement games when slots weren’t as entertaining as they are today and when they had only a few hundred slots to manage. Now that they have a few thousand slots to deal with, they don’t have the time to micromanage them.

Randon Number Generator Wins

Jack Jones — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 16:43:22 +0000

odern slot machines generate new random combinations even when they’re idle. They are not waiting to be played before kicking in. Further more, wins are not programmed to occur on a certain pull or after a certain number of minutes. There’s no way to predict when a hit will occur since it is constantly working. You might have better luck on a machine if you play slowly, but that’s just becuase the pull happened at a different time. The actual speed you play at doesn’t affect the results positively or negatively because the machine would have polled the RNG to get the results of your spins at different times. There’s no way to know for sure when you are going to hit and if you would miss out on a jackpot by not pulling that one extra time.

Return on Slots

Jack Jones — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:42:01 +0000

The average slot machine payout can range anywhere from 85% to 99% of all coins bet depending on what machine you are playing and the gambling jurisdiction you are located in. Because the casino wants to make a certain amount of money per hour with its slot machines, the general rule is the lower the denomination of the machine, the lower the payout. With a onedollar slot, the casino payback can be perhaps 98%, whereas with a machine at a lower denomination, such as dimes or nickels, the payout must be much lower to achieve the same hourly return for the casino, and the casino doesn’t want to lower that return one bit.

A payout percentage of 98% means that 98%, on average, of all money that is inserted into the machine is being paid back to the player. In other words, the casino makes a 2% profit.

On average, you ask. Well, it varies with the geography, and without knowing where you play we can’t give a precise amount. But, we do have some general averages you will typically find across the United States.

For nickel machines, paybacks are generally 91%; for quarter machines, 93%; fiftycenters, 94%; for dollar machines, 95%; and for $5 slots, payback approaches 97%.

Slot Systems

Jack Jones — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:44:47 +0000

You see a lot of advertisements for slot systems, whether you get spam, see ads online, or get snail mail offline. These ads make promises that for only a small fee, you’ll get their detailed slot system that will detail a formula that will make you tons of money sitting at the machines.

Here is our advice: stay clear! If you plan on beating games such as lottery, roulette, keno, or slots then you are going to need luck and luck alone because these games are based on math and numbers, not skill and certainly not any system. There is no system for slots, or any other casino game for that matter, that can beat the games that are based on pure chance.

Do me a favor if one of these yahoos contacts you. Write them back or ask them to come back to you in one year and rub it in your face that they made millions while you passed on their system. Chances are they are going to be gone with the wind.

Wheel of Fortune Slot Machines

Jack Jones — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:35:34 +0000

If you have ever seen the slot machine Wheel of Fortune at your local casino then you probably know just how popular it is. I have seen players waiting nearly an hour just to get a sit for the chance to take a few pulls and a chance to win grand prizes. Since the game is so popular we figured we would take a look at the payback percentages on these machines, the frequency of payoffs, and how often a bonus spin appears for the play.
The game is produced by International Game Technologies and is probably the most successful slot machine theme ever developed, making it a staple at casinos around the country.

The Wheel of Fortune machine is a nine-line, 45-coin (with of course five bets per line) machine resembling the popular TV game show hosted by Pat Sajak. The symbols are primarily your traditional fruits with prize images from the show, such as a car and a diamond necklace. The Wheel is very similar to the same one you will find on Wheel of Fortune, but it doesn’t have the dreaded Lose a Turn section.

The payback percentage for this game will be between 89-94% depending on where you are playing. The hit frequency is pretty high at 50%, with the player winning in some format every other time they take a pull. The bonus wheel gets hit on an average of once per 42 pulls.

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Based on its payback, I wouldn’t call the Wheel of Fortune a sound casino play since we try to only recommend wagers that have less than a two percent house advantage. However, this is a fun game so if you are willing to give away some of the house edge to amplify your entertainment, there are worse wagers you could make.

Baseball Method for Playing Slots

Jack Jones — Sun, 09 Mar 2008 14:15:12 +0000

The essence of the baseball method for playing slots is the philosophy of three strikes and you’re out. If you pull the handle three straight times, and if lose on every single pull then it’s time to move to another machine. What this method does is prevent you from losing oodles of money to any one specific machine that is in a losing cycle. When you move along after three pulls with no winning results, you never become a prisoner to one machine-which has a huge built-in mathematical edge-and put the casino in position to grind away at your bankroll.

Because the philosophy behind slot machines is to extract (grind) as much money from the customer as the cybernetic one-armed bandit can, I recommend the baseball method because it allows you to take advantage of a machine that is going through a winning cycle, but not become glued to a machine on a losing one.

Since all slot players experience the slot machines logical concept every time they play, insert coins — pull handle — open wallet for more money, you might want to try, the baseball method to slow the money exiting your purse.

How Progressive Jackpots Rise in Slots & Video Poker

Jack Jones — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:26:06 +0000

Progressive jackpots are a favorite of the casino patron. The desire to leave the casino after a few hours of playing with riches beyond your wildest dreams is an urge that few of us can control. Have you ever wondered how the progressive jackpots rise in both slots and video poker. Well we brought on Mark Pilarski to give us the details.
The rate at which the meter progresses upward is based on a pre-set percentage of all the money cycled through the machine. The meter rates will vary from machine to machine, casino to casino. If you are playing an individual progressive, expect an advance rate of five to 10 percent of the money played. Example: A dollar wagered, the jackpot goes up 10¢. Machines that are tied together, like a bank (carousel) or networked slots like Megabucks or Quartermania, involve a much lower progressive rate. In return, you are provided a mega jackpot-a.k.a. big, big bucks.

On your typical video poker machine, the meters rise on the average of between .25 and two percent with one percent being the industry average.

Most Popular Slot Machines in Las Vegas

Jack Jones — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 16:01:10 +0000

What are the most popular slot machines in the casino? This was a question recently poised to casino expert Mark Pilarski, and like normal he has the answer.

The bulk of the lucrative slot business has been the exclusive territory of one manufacturer, International Game Technology (IGT). Their bread-and-butter comes from the most popular machine in America: the Red, White and Blue reel slot. And what makes the Red, White and Blue so popular? Player appeal.

People flock to the colors that represent America. Players also love the paytable that offers plenty of low and midrange hits with enough high-end hits to keep them coming back for more.

Note here, that the above description of “hit rewards” comes from IGT company literature, not me. Because most slots typically have a casino advantage well above my recommended two percent, avoid putting those Red, White and Blue machines in your playing arsenal.

How Random Number Generators Work on Slot Machines

Jack Jones — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 22:43:10 +0000

We’ve all seen it happen if we have spent enough time in the casino. You go through your roll of quarters on a cold machines and then make your move hoping that your luck will change. Then some other patron steps up to the machine that you just left and starts pumping quarters in, only to hit a $10,000 jackpot in the first minute, leaving them incredibly happy and you scratching your head on how you could have been such an idiot to leave that machine. However, don’t let this fool you.

A lot of players falsely reason that if they had played just a couple more quarters then they would have ended up with the jackpot, but even if you would have sat in the same spot and kept pumping money into the machines then you would not have gotten the payout. Why you say? Because the results of a modern slot machine’s spin depend on exactly when the spin began.

The Random Number Generator (RGN) within the machine is constantly generating random numbers at a rate as high as a million per second. As soon as the lever is pulled (or the “Play” button pressed) the most recently generated random number is used to determine the outcome. Since results vary depending on exactly when the handle is yanked, an earlier or later pull by you would have created a completely different outcome. It isn’t preset in any order, but is constantly changing.

Consequently it is highly unlikely that you would have received the same result if you had played the additional quarters at that same machine. The only way you could have had the happy person’s money was for them to hand it over her seat at the end of the down pull while the reels were still spinning. Sure, it’s a pretty outrageous example, but I’m trying to drive home the point on how improbable the 10K was of being yours.