Author and casino expert Steve Bourie takes a look at various types of slot machines and discusses when it is best to bet maximum coins on them. Machines covered include: multipliers, buy a pays.
Slot machines are the most popular games in the casino, although they're not as popular as they used to be. In some casinos, 80% of the profits are generated by the one-armed bandits. The question on everyone's mind seems to be the same: how do you win on slot machines?
I wish I had a magical formula I could see you that would ensure you'd walk away from the slots a winner. Unfortunately, I don't have one. Luckily, neither does anyone else.
Slot machines are entirely random, and they're programmed to pay out less than the odds of winning, so in the long run, slots are good for nothing more than eating up your gambling bankroll. If you still want to play slots after understanding that, well, good for you. That's not a problem.
There are some things you can do to improve the odds, though. That's what I'll focus on in the rest of this post—actual, practical things you can do to improve your odds of winning on slot machines.
1. Understand the Theoretical Cost of Playing Slot Machines
The savviest gamblers understand the math behind gambling games better than most people. If you grok the way slots work better than other people, you'll be able to make better informed decisions about what to play and how.
The first concept to understand about slot machines is that each outcome has a probability attached to it. When you multiply those outcomes by the probability of achieving them and add them all up, you get the mathematically expected return for the game.
Here's an absurd example that illustrates the point well:
You're playing a slot machine that costs $1 per spin. 50% of the time, you'll get a combination of symbols that will result in $1 in winnings. The other 50% of the time, you'll get a combination that results in no winnings at all.
But to keep things interesting, slot machine designers have multiple combinations with multiple prize amounts. When you do all the math, such a game has a theoretical payback percentage—the percentage of each bet that the game returns in winnings.
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These payback percentages vary wildly from game to game, from casino to casino, and from location to location. In competitive areas like the Strip in Las Vegas, slot machines might have a payback percentage of 96% on average. In non-competitive places like the airport, these games might have a payback percentage closer to 75%.
For the purposes of this post, I'm just going to assume that the average slot machine has a payback percentage of 88%. That's the equivalent of a 12% house edge.
To calculate how much money you can expect to lose playing such a slot machine, you simply multiply the amount of money you're betting per spin by the number of spins you're making per hour. Then you multiply that by the house edge, and that's your hourly expected loss.
So if you're playing a dollar slot machine and betting $3 per spin, and you're making 600 spins per hour, you're putting $1800 per hour into action.
The casino expects to win, on average—in the long run–$216 per hour.
That doesn't compare favorably with other casino games, by the way. Contrast that with blackjack. Let's say you're playing blackjack with perfect basic strategy, and you're getting in 100 hands per hour. And let's also say you're betting $5 per hand. That's $500 per hour you're putting into action.
If you're using perfect basic strategy, the house edge in blackjack is probably 1%. Your expected hourly loss is $5 per hour.
That's a big difference.
One might almost assume from this that the best way to win at slot machines is to refuse to play them at all.
2. Understand What's So Attractive about Slot Machines
Most gamblers understand on some level, even if it's almost unconsciously, that slot machines are a lousy bet.
But they're still the most popular game in the casino.
How does that happen?
I can guess at some of the reasons slots are so popular. Some of these reasons are easy to understand, too. Remember how I pointed out that you'd only lose $5/hour playing blackjack if you use perfect basic strategy?
Memorizing and implementing basic strategy in blackjack requires work and effort. Some gamblers don't want to put in any effort toward that sort of thing. They'd prefer to play a game that's easy to understand and easy to play. And nothing could be easier than mindlessly pressing the spin button on a slot machine.
Also, when you play slot machines, you usually have the opportunity to win a prize of 1000 units or so on a single spin. (A 'unit' is the amount you're betting. If you're betting a dollar, then a lot of slot machines will have a jackpot of $1000.) Many gamblers like the idea of winning a big prize.
Compare that again to blackjack. You go to all that effort to learn basic strategy, and the biggest prize you can win is 150% of your initial bet. It might be a little higher than that if you get to split your hand or double down. But realistically, most of the time, you're only going to win a single unit or 2 on a hand of blackjack.
Finally, slot machines are designed for the express purpose of keeping gamblers interested. The companies which design these machines spend countless dollars researching which images, color schemes, and sound effects are going to be most attractive to gamblers. Wheel of Fortune slot machines are no accident. They're the most popular game for a reason.
If your goal is to play an easy game where you have a shot at a big jackpot, slots might be the right game for you. You just want to decide beforehand if the trade-off is worth it.
3. Improving Your Chances of Winning and Reducing Your Potential Losses Are Both Realistic, Worthy Goals
Let's talk about how you can make playing slot machines less expensive in the long run.
The first and easiest way to reduce the amount of money you lose playing slots is to slow way down. The biggest factor determining your hourly expected loss is the number of spins you make per hour.
Really fast slots players can make 1200 spins per hour. Average slots players probably get in 600 spins per hour.
But if you go slow, you can probably get down to 300 spins per hour.
In the example I gave earlier, we predicted you'd lose $216 on average per hour. If you were to slow down and only place 300 spins per hour, that number would drop to $108 per hour.
Maybe that doesn't increase your probability of being a big winner, but if you really want to maximize your probability of winning, you have to switch to a different game entirely—one where you can get an edge. That's impossible with slots. To get an edge, you need to be able to count cards in blackjack or play expert level poker. There are other ways, too, but they're an order of magnitude of difference from slot machine play.
You can also reduce your expected losses by playing for less money. There's a big difference between making 300 spins per hour at $3 per spin and making 300 spins per hour at 75 cents per spin. Your total hourly action drops from $900 per hour to $225 per hour.
4. Use Some Practical Tips for Improving Your Chances
That 12% house edge that I keep mentioning is just for illustrative purposes. The truth is, most slot machines have different payout percentages. Your goal should be to find a slot machine with a higher payback percentage rather than a lower payback percentage.
One easy way to compare slot machines is to look at the size of the jackpot. The bigger the top prize is, the lower the payback percentage is. This is especially true when you start looking at progressive slot machine jackpots.
The probability of winning one of those huge $10 million+ jackpots is comparable to winning the lottery, which is to say that the odds are astronomical. Since a portion of the overall payback percentage for that game is attributable to that jackpot, which you'll probably never win, your practical payback percentage is much lower.
So if you're choosing between 2 slot machines, choose the one with the smaller jackpot.
Here's another trick:
Play the highest denomination machine you can afford. The higher the denomination, the better the payback percentage is. That's a general rule of thumb, but it's not bad strategy.
And since a lot of lower denomination slot machines push the multiple lines/multiple coins play so hard, you might be betting the same amount per spin anyway. If you're playing a penny slot machine and betting on 5 lines with 5 coins per line, you're betting 25 cents per spin.
You'd probably have better odds playing a quarter machine for one payline and one coin per spin. https://laketree.mystrikingly.com/blog/online-poker-free-10-dollars.
And it should go without saying that the location where you're playing has more to do with the payback percentage than almost any other factor.
But I'm not talking about whether the machine is near the restaurant or on the end of a bank of machines or something like that. I'm talking about the location of the casino itself.
The biggest payback percentages on slots in the United States are at the Las Vegas Strip casinos. That's because that's the most competitive marketplace there is.
On the other hand, if you're at the airport in Las Vegas, well… those are the only games in town, right?
They don't have any real competition, and they know you're just killing time and playing on a lark, so they don't need to provide a competitive payback percentage to get your business.
This is also true of bars and gas stations, etc. They're not competing with other gambling businesses. They're just looking to make a quick buck while you're stranded there doing whatever kind of business you need done.
5. Don't Pay ANY Attention to Silly Slot Machine Systems Being Sold by So-Called Experts
One of the most cringe-worthy gambling books I've ever read was John Patrick's Slots. It's a collection of 2 or 3 dozen slot machine systems that are supposed to increase your probability of being a winner at slots.
Most of his advice has to do with switching machines when you're 'running cold.' He has a limit for the number of 'naked pulls' you'll accept. (I think it was 7.)
A naked pull is a spin of the reels where you don't win anything. If you get 7 naked spins in a row, that's supposed to be a sign that the machine is cold and you should switch to another game.
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He also has some general guidelines for session bankrolls. He suggests that you have a win goal and a loss limit for each session, something like 20% of your bankroll for that session. So if you sit down at a game with $100, and you get down to $80, it's time to quit and switch machines. Same thing if you get up to $120. Quit and switch machines.
You'll also find people selling books about slots that are supposedly written by 'slot machine technicians' who can help you predict when a machine is getting ready to pay out. Poker full house called boat. One of these clues is supposedly the 'zig zag' method. The idea is that you find a slot machine where 2 out of 3 winnings symbols are visible at the same time. Such a machine is supposedly close to paying out.
This is just nonsense, too. Every spin of the reels is an independent event, and what happened on previous spins has no bearing on what's going to happen on subsequent spins.
6. Join the Players' Club
I have mixed feelings about the players' club. On one hand, I'm not crazy about sharing my personal information with the casino. They're going to use that information to advertise to me. I understand why that makes sense for them, but it makes less sense for me.
But from a purely mathematical perspective, it makes sense to join the slots club and always play with the card inserted into the machine. The casino measures how much time you spend on the machines and rewards you with rebates and comps accordingly.
Don't buy into the myth that playing slots with the card inserted interferes with your ability to win. That's just silly. The casinos don't need to cheat in this way. The games already have a mathematical edge, and the rebates and comps are programmed in such a way that the casino is still hugely profitable.
But even though the comps are much smaller than the amount of money you're expected to lose, it's still money that you shouldn't walk away from. After all, there's no difference between playing with the card inserted and not inserting the card.
You should milk those comps for everything they're worth.
Conclusion
How do you win on slot machines?
The short answer is simple enough:
Get lucky.
Slot machine games are entirely random, so there's no way to get an edge over these games. Anyone who tries to tell you different is hoping you'll buy something from them. And what they're selling is worthless.
The best you can do is hope to lower the casino's edge over you. You can also adjust the way you play so that you minimize the amount of money you lose.
But forget about finding some foolproof way to beat the slot machines. People selling that information are the modern equivalent of snake oil salesmen.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.If you're in it to win it, one of the most popular questions you'll hear from someone playing slot machines is, 'how to find the slot machines with the best odds'? As simple as it may sound to answer, it's not. Slot machines from a reputable casino use a special software called a Random Number Generator (or RNG). The RNG ensures that all the spins that take place on the reels are indeed random. With this generator in place, it's impossible to know what's going to happen and which symbols are going to land on the reels.
Aside from the RNG, you should also be familiar with the payout percentage for each game you play. There are tons of different slot machine out there. Different games with different themes, designs, features, architectural layouts and of course, different returns they give out to the people playing them. Some people could care less about the payout percentages and whether they win or not. They look at it from a different perspective as they are paying for a product, in this case, they are paying for a game to play. Just like you do with any other games you pay for or shows you see, etc. They're strictly in it for the entertainment. Regardless of why you like to play slot machines, we'll be discussing some ways on how to find the slot machines with the best odds.
Best Slot Machines
As mentioned before, there are tons of different slot machines out there and we're here to try to narrow it down for you by discussing some of the best slot machine types available. Since there's so many slots out there, it's a good idea to place them all into different categories. For example, you have machines with progressive jackpots, and you also have machines with multiple lines offering bonus rounds. Aside from the machines, you also have different categories of players, some that like the simple kind of machines such as classic slots and those that like more of the modern video slot machines. Let's go ahead and take a look at some of the different machines so you can find the one that suits you.
Video slots
Today's day and age slot machine, the modern machine which uses virtual reels powered by electronic game computer technology. You'll see that many of the themes behind these slots are from popular television shows, movies, bands, etc.
Reel slots
These are the original slot machines that have physical reels rather than the screen displayed reels (video reels). These can only be located inside the land based casinos and are no longer being produced.
Single Line slots
Hands down the simplest and most basic slot machine out there. Like the name, it only uses a single payline and is becoming rare to see them as much in casinos nowadays. With the increasing popularity in the video slots, it's hard to compare multiple paylines to single paylines.
Bonus Round slots
A bonus round is triggered on these slots whenever the specific symbols land on the specific reels. These bonuses can range anywhere from free spins to a bonus game where you actually have to play in order to get a reward.
Multi-Denomination slots
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The denominations on these sort of slot machines can range anywhere from a penny to a hundred dollars.
Muti-Line slots
Unlike the single payline, this machine's paylines go in all kinds of different directions. These machines are more common now with the 30 payline machine being seen more frequently now, however there are some machines that have a lot more paylines.
Progressive slots
Each time you spin on a progressive slot, a percentage of your bet goes towards the jackpot and doesn't stop until someone wins the jackpot. That means there are more people playing other slots associated with the same jackpot in which everyone is contributing towards. These jackpots can range from smaller ones being around the thousands and the bigger ones reaching the millions.
Best Slot Machine Games
Depending on the type of person you are, the best slot machine games can vary. As mentioned before, there are those who are in for the win, and there are those are simply in it to have a good time. Some are strictly about winning money and could care less about what sort of slot machine they're playing, and there are those who love the different styled games, art, characters, sound effects, music and themes behind them. With all this said, it's best to play the slots you love the most and understand the paytable fully. That way you know how features are triggered and know what is needed to win a progressive jackpot or to trigger a bonus round, etc.
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Slot Machine Odds
As mentioned before, all reputable slot machines should be using the RNG to ensure all the spins you're making on the reels are random. Aside from the RNG, you have a certain payout percentage on each machine. These percentages can range anywhere from around 90% – 99%. Usually the percentage of payout is higher for the machines that require a higher bet to be made. For example, a machine with a $1 minimum could payout anywhere from 95% to 99%, and say, a 50 cent machine could payout anywhere from 92% to 95%. These payout percentages could also explain usually why the easier a game is the worse the slot machine odds are. This could explain why the odds on table games like blackjack are better than most slot machine games.
The higher the bet, the higher the payout percentage usually is. This is good for those who have a fat stack of coins, but whatever the case, it's important to make sure you can afford you potential loses if you lose.
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Conclusion
Through all this discussion, it's important to note, if anyone ever tries to tell you some tricks or secrets on how to win, just walk away. There are no secret recipes out there that will guarantee you will become a winner from slot machines. As long as you're having fun, that's the only thing that matters. You can start having fun now playing our wide range of free slot machines now at Caesars Casino online.
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