Maximum Coin Amount
Written March 4, 2008 by Jack Jones
Why you should play the maximum coin amount at the slot machines from Mark Pilarski.
Next time you’re front and center of a one-armed bandit, give the paytable a once-over and you’ll note that when five coins are wagered, all winning hands, except for the royal flush, are paid out multiplied by a factor of 5. The royal commonly pays mucho more.
By not playing the maximum coin amount on most video poker machines, your overall return is affected. For example, playing short reduces the long-term payback by up to 1.5% on a Jacks-or-Better machine. It’s even worse on some double-pay Deuces Wild games where you receive double pay on four deuces, but only if you insert five coins. By playing less than the maximum coin amount on this machine, your long-term payback is hacked by over five percent.
As for slots, Emily, note on the paytable the proportional difference in the size of your payoffs. Example: One coin inserted pays 500 coins; two coins bring back 1000; and for three coins, a whopping 4000 is returned. Your windfall, Emily, comes when three coins are played.
Playing the maximum coin amount in slots almost always pays off better, overall, than any of the lower multiples. By pressing Max Coin, Emily, you receive the best payoff odds available on that particular machine.
