You found a casino that pays odds-for-1 instead of odds-to-1. In fact, if you went back and looked at the table layout, it probably lists the bet on 12 as paying 30-for-1.

FINDING THE BEST SLOT MACHINE

Everyone who has ever played slots for at least five minutes seems to feel that they are qualified to find the best slot machine.

'Best' usually means the 'loosest' slot, meaning that the machine seems to pay out more coins than have been played, at least for a time period.There are as many theories as there are people on how to find this elusive machine.

Some people believe strictly in luck.If they were wearing their lucky hat the last time that they played and won, then they will ascribe their luck to this hat and be sure to wear it every time they play.

Others like to talk to the slot machines while they play.I once played next to an elderly lady who started out telling her machine to 'Be good to Mama, Baby,' followed by an occasional pat on the front of the machine.After about thirty minutes her tune had changed to 'Pay up you tight son of a bitch,' followed by a whack on the machine glass.

Some folks like to test the temperature of the machine before they begin playing.If the machine is warmer than the other machines, then this qualifies the machine as a 'hot' one, suitable for play.

Some people will only insert cold coins into a machine, claiming that if warmer coins are used, the machine tightens up.

Many players believe that slots should be played only at night or on the weekends, or some other variation of timing.

Still others believe that the rhythm used in pulling the handle is the secret.Implementation of this theory includes such variations as the short hard pull and the slow, almost delicate pull.Each has its adherents.

Others use the 'the attendant must know' theory and ask the slot attendant which is the best machine to play.A variation of this is to observe another slot machine when playing and if the machine has not paid a jackpot in a long time, to consider playing the machine as it should be ready to pay.

The location within the casino is also important for many players.Some players claim that aisle machines are the best, while others believe that the loosest slots are hidden in back corners so that they don't get much play.

I wish I could tell you that one of these approaches works.You may consider that I have saved you some money, as each of these approaches have been touted at one time or another in slot publications of dubious value.I recently purchased a slot bookwhich spent several pages describing how hot and cold machines are laid out in a casino based on the author's theory of how casino executives are supposed to think.

I don't have much to say about the 'luck' or clairvoyance theories of slot play.Perhaps some folks got it and some don't.I know that I don't do very well when I rely purely on luck.If luck does work, I have the impression that it is a very personal thing, and I don't have any advice on how you may increase yours vis a vis winning at slot machines.I am going to assume that you are like me and believe that luck comes to those who are prepared, so we will concentrate on becoming more prepared.

The time of day theories are really absurd.Many players believe that the casinos can push a button inside a slot, or jiggle a couple of levers and change the payouts.With the microprocessor controlled slots, the chip itself must be changed to affect the payout percentages.Changing the chip requires the skill of a trained technician and several hours work.It is also an expensive proposition for a casino to be constantly changing its slots.You can rest assured that slot payouts in a particular casino will not change with nightfall or from a weekday to a weekend.

Obviously, talking to the machine or even caressing it, is not likely to have any effect on a computer chip controlled mechanism.Neither is the temperature of the machine (which is probably most affected by the temperature around it) nor the warmth of the coins.Slot machine levers have zero influence on the random number generating chip controlled machines.The machines could just as easily be activated by a button (as are the video slots) or a pull string.The days of handles activating gears which determined the rate of spin of the reels are long gone.

All of these theories may occasionally win some money for their adherents, but consider:Randomly selecting any machine may work just as well.

We are after something a little more definitive.Let's look first at some of the characteristics of the different types of slot machines.

One of the attributes we will look for on any machine is the ability to play from one to as many as five coins without any penalty for playing less than the maximum number of coins.Why?Because we want the flexibility to adjust the size of each wager dependent upon the exact playing conditions we are facing at that exact moment.

This condition knocks out of contention any single coin slot machines.With a single coin slot, the only option we have is to insert a coin and pull the lever.It is a win or lose proposition, with no alternatives other than changing machines.To have the best chance of winning, we will demand the flexibility to vary the number of coins based on each individual machine's attributes.

With this one condition, we will rule out play on any of the single coin mechanical machines.This restriction is not too severe, as these machines can only be found in a few downtown casinos in Las Vegas, and scattered about other Nevada sites.

By requiring that no penalty be imposed for playing with less than the maximum number of coins accepted by a particular machine, we will also rule out a number of multipliers which do impose this penalty.We will not want to play on any Option Multipliers (buy-a-pay) slots as these machines bring additional symbols into play with additional coins inserted so that with less than the maximum number of coins played, the number of winning symbols are severely reduced.

Less obviously, but using the same logic, we will reject playing on the Multiple Pay Line machines, which accomplish the same thing as the Option machines by bringing additional pay lines into play as additional coins are inserted.

A second condition we will impose is that the machine we select to play is a High Frequency machine.By high frequency, we mean that the machine has been programmed to pay off many lower payoffs more frequently rather than a very small number of higher payoffs.

Table 15 compares the hypothetical payoffs of Low and High Frequency slot machines.

Table 15.Comparison of High and Low Frequency Slots

If we look at the payoff schedules on these two machines, we don't have much of a clue as to which is the higher or lower frequency machine.Both machines have similar payoffs, and both machines will ultimately pay back 95% of the coins played.Having the benefit of using this table, we can see that the high frequency payer will return a higher percentage of the coins played on the payoffs of 20 coins or less.If we add the payoff percentages for all payoffs of 20 coins or less on the high and low payoff machines, we find that 94% of the payoffs on the high frequency version are for payoffs of 2, 10 or 20 coins, while only 77% of the low frequency machine payoffs are for 2, 5, 10 and 15 coin payoffs.

For our purposes, the machine paying 94% of its payoffs on payoffs ranging from 2 to 20 coins is the better machine, as it is more likely that we will hit one or more of these payoffs in short-term play.While the lower frequency machine returns exactly the same overall payback of 95%, it accomplishes this by making fewer lower coin payouts and concentrating a higher amount of its payback in the less frequently hit jackpot payoff of 1,000 coins.

In short-term play, we are not likely to ever hit the jackpot payoff.Since 18% of the slot's overall payback is represented by this jackpot, in simple terms, by not hitting the jackpot, our return will be reduced by 18%, a large percentage of the expected payback.

We discussed locations of slots in a general way in the previous chapter.We found that the best paying slots are located in the state of Nevada, and on the average, the lowest paying slots are in Atlantic City.Of course this is from your and my perspective.If you owned a casino, you would prefer the lower payout Atlantic City slots.

Another aspect of finding the best slot machine is picking the best casino in the best location.Unfortunately, casinos are not very forthright on their exact hold percentages so that this task is not always that easy.

We can, however, refine our selection process somewhat without knowing the exact hold percentage of each casino.

First, we know that we should confine our play to casinos.Grocery stores, service stations, bars, airports and other non casino locations often have paybacks of from 50% to 75%.Your money will disappear very quickly if you decide to regularly play the slots at Joe's All-Nite Market.Needless to say, you should stick withlegal slot machines.If you decide to play illegal slots, who knows what extortion will be enacted on you.And you will have little recourse if you are cheated.

If you are new to the idea of playing slot machines, it is important to understand how to read a slot machine before you head out onto the floor and begin playing the slots. One thing that should be understood is that although slot machines may look as though they are all the same, that is not the case. THE RISE OF SLOT MACHINES Born of a San Francisco mechanic’s tinkering in the late 1800s, slot machines have gone through a multitude of phases and incarnations. Among slot machines’ phases are: They’ve been used as business builders on shopkeepers’ counters, sometimes dispensing sticks of chewing gum or golf balls instead of cash. Slot machines use a random number generator. Early slot machines were mechanical (think coin slots), but they still used a random number generator, in the same sense that a roulette wheel, a deck of cards, or a pair of dice are also random number generators. https://bdlucky.netlify.app/understanding-the-slot-machines.html.

The airport slots at McCarran International Airport are notoriously tight, although I have been known to play them on occasion to enjoy a diversion not usually found in the airports of the world.An elderly neighbor of my mother had an interesting experience at the Las Vegas airport.His plane was already boarding when he hit a $100 jackpot on a quarter machine.Realizing that he did not have time to change the coins into bills, he began stuffing the quarters into every pocket he had.When he finally waddled onto the plane, with quarters bulging in every pocket, his pants fell down from the weight of the quarters.The entire plane gave him a round of applause.

There are many theories about where the best machines are located in casinos.Some players believe that machines located at the end of aisle hold the key to fame and fortune, while others will swear by different locations.If you have ever read about slots, it is likely that you were treated to the author's pet theories about where the best machines were.

To try to separate truth from fiction, I devised a simple experimental approach.Playing with a group of friends who agreed to participate in the experiment, we played a number of casinos systematically and recorded the results.In order to limit the number of variables for each trip to a casino, we played only the same denomination machines, e.g. nickel, quarter, dollar or five dollar machines.Our only variation in these experiments was the location of the slots in the casinos.Each trial was at least at hour long, each player used the same session bankroll, and each player played at roughly the same speed.Over the years, I was able to accumulate a number of these trials.While admittedly deficient in a number of ways (for example we played on slots manufactured by different companies, rather than same company slots, and all of our trips were to Las Vegas so that we didn't 'sample' other slot venues), I feel that the results clearly indicate a pattern of placement of slots by the casino executives.

We refined the terms 'loose and tight' to include three categories of machines:

Loose machines were those whose estimated paybacks were from 97—99%.

Middle paying machines paid out at from 93—96%.

Tight slots paid out less than 93% of the coins played.

Let's apply these criteria to different slot denominations.

This chapter continues and with specific information about where the best paying slots are found.Read about it in Super Slots!

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There are theories abound when it comes to picking the best slot machine at the casino. The most common theories relate to brick-and-mortar casinos, but we’ll also talk about choosing slots at gambling sites. Let’s start with finding a slot at a traditional establishment.

Brick-and-Mortar Casinos

Slot enthusiasts have come up with all kinds of strategies for finding the loosest or highest paying slot machines. The goal is to find machines that either pay out frequently or that are due to award a big jackpot soon.

Some of these theories include:

Free new monopoly slots. In addition to classic slots, users also can play the Monopoly game.

• Playing slot machines near busier parts of the casino
• Playing slot machines located in out-of-the-way places
• Playing slot machines after someone else left without hitting a significant payout
• Playing slot machines at certain times of day

I have some bad news. None of these theories has ever proven to be effective. One of the big problems is that casinos are not obligated to post the payout rates of their machines. There’s no way for you to walk into the casino and find a machine that is “looser” than all the others. It’s all a guessing game.

How To Pick The Best Slot Machine In A Casino

One of the most endearing myths is that slot machines become due to hit after a while. This is why some people will stalk the slots bank and wait until someone gives up without hitting a significant jackpot. Their reasoning is that the longer a machine goes without awarding a jackpot, the more likely it is to give up a big jackpot in the future.

This theory is based on an old myth called “gambler’s fallacy.” Gambler’s fallacy is the belief that certain outcomes become more likely after a string of misses. For example, it’s a common myth that if the roulette ball lands on black 5 times in a row, it’s just bound to land on red any time now.

The problem is that every spin of the slot reel (or spin of the roulette wheel) is an independent, random event. It doesn’t matter what happened in the past. Slot machines, roulette balls and decks of cards do not have memories. They don’t keep track of what happened in the past. Every new game is completely, 100% random.

Something to keep in mind is that modern slot machines aren’t powered by mechanical pulleys, levers and weights. Today’s slot machines are powered by random number generators (RNGs). Basically, these are computer algorithms that generate random numbers which are in turn used to produce a random outcome every time the reels are spun.

This kills the other theories such as putting in your coins in a certain manner, pulling the lever just right or hitting the “stop” button at just the right moment. It also means that when you see a near miss, you weren’t actually close to hitting the jackpot. The RNG determines the outcome instantly. Those near misses and reels that come to a gentle stop are just added effects for the sake of drama.

The only real form of selection you can use when playing slots is to choose between high paying jackpot machines and lower-paying games. Big jackpot games give you fewer small wins but offer the potential of a life-changing jackpot. The variance in these games is high and you’ll go home broke more often than not.

Slots with smaller jackpots tend to hit more frequently. You don’t have the allure of massive jackpots, but your odds of walking away a winner at the end of the night are better. There’s not nearly as much variance when you play these games.

Online Slots

Most of what I explained above can also be applied to online slot machines. Just like their brick-and-mortar counterparts, online slots are powered by RNGs. There are no special tricks you can use to alter the odds of hitting a winning jackpot. Online slots are 100% luck.

How To Use Slot Machines

Online slots also give you the option between high jackpot games that hit less frequently and smaller jackpot games that hit more often. Progressive jackpot slot machines are notoriously hard to hit but when you do get lucky, it’s worth a ton of money.

Lower payout games give you a better experience in the short run as you watch your bankroll jump up and down over the course of an evening. In the end, both types of slots are about equal in terms of long term expected value. It’s just a matter of personal preference.

The best you can do is just pick a slot that’s fun to play. Even though all slots work in the same basic manner, they come in all different types and styles. You have traditional reel slots, video slots complete with storylines and even 3D slots like those found at Bovada.

Indian Casino Slot Machine Secrets

It’s best to forget about getting an advantage when playing slots. Out of all the games in the casino, none of them is as much about pure chance as slot machines. Have fun, cross your fingers and remember to keep an eye on your bankroll.

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