Remember the movie National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation, when gambling fever consumes Chevy Chase’s character, Clark W. Griswold? He goes on a losing streak to beat all losing streaks while his son, Rusty, wins four cars by playing the slot machines. Maybe Clark would have done better if he had read Probability For Dummies! In this article, you discover the basic ideas behind slot machines and how they work, so that you can get past the myths and develop a strategy based on sound probability.
Winning At Slots - What Are My Odds? First of all you should know that slot machines, as with many casino games, are a type of game for which there is no “winning strategy” - technically speaking they. Sep 05, 2018 Spinning-reel slots in particular are profit. And at this rate of play it could take years of playing a single slot machine for the casino’s long-term. There are basically three outcomes.
Understanding average payout
When casinos advertise that their slot machines pay out an average of 90 percent, the fine print they don’t want you to read says that you lose 10 cents from each dollar you put into the machines in the long term. (In probability terms, this advertisement means that your expected winnings are minus 10 cents on every dollar you spend every time the money goes through the machines.)
Suppose you start with $100 and bet a dollar at a time, for example. After inserting all $100 into the slot, 100 pulls later you’ll end up on average with $90, because you lose 10 percent of your money. If you run the $90 back through the machine, you’ll end up with 90 percent of it back, which is 0.90 x 90 = $81. If you run that amount through in 81 pulls, you’ll have $72.90 afterward (0.90 x 81 = 72.90). If you keep going for 44 rounds, on average, the money will be gone, unless you have the luck of Rusty Griswold!
How many pulls on the machine does your $100 give you at this rate? Each time you have less money to run through the machine, so you have fewer pulls left. If you insert $1 at a time, you can expect 972 total pulls in the long term with these average payouts (that’s the total pulls in 44 rounds). But keep in mind that casinos are designing slot machines to go faster and faster between spins. Some are even doing away with the handles and tokens by using digital readouts on gaming cards that you put into the machines. The faster machines can play up to 25 spins per hour, and 972 spins divided by 25 spins per minute is 38.88 minutes. You don’t have a very long time to enjoy your $100 before it’s gone!
The worst part? Casinos often advertise that their “average payouts” are even as high as 95 percent. But beware: That number applies only to certain machines, and the casinos don’t rush to tell you which ones. You really need to read or ask about the fine print before playing. You can also try to check the information on the machine to see if it lists its payouts. (Don’t expect this information to be front and center.)
Implementing a simple strategy for slots
Advice varies regarding whether you should play nickel, quarter, or dollar slot machines and whether you should max out the number of coins you bet or not (you usually get to choose between one and five coins to bet on a standard slot machine). In this section, you’ll find a few tips for getting the most bang for your buck (or nickel) when playing slot machines.
Basically, when it comes to slot machines, strategy boils down to this: Know the rules, your probability of winning, and the expected payouts; dispel any myths; and quit while you’re ahead. If you win $100, cash out $50 and play with the rest, for example. After you lose a certain amount (determined by you in advance), don’t hesitate to quit. Go to the all-you-can-eat buffet and try your luck with the casino food; odds are it’s pretty good!
Choosing among nickel, quarter, and dollar machines
The machines that have the higher denominations usually give the best payouts. So, between the nickel and quarter slots, for example, the quarter slots generally give better payouts. However, you run the risk of getting in way over your head in a hurry, so don’t bet more than you can afford to lose. The bottom line: Always choose a level that you have fun playing at and that allows you to play for your full set time limit.
Deciding how many coins to play at a time
When deciding on the number of coins you should play per spin, keep in mind that more is sometimes better. If the slot machine gives you more than two times the payout when you put in two times the number of coins, for example, you should max it out instead of playing single coins because you increase your chances of winning a bigger pot, and the expected value is higher. If the machine just gives you k times the payout for k coins, it doesn’t matter if you use the maximum number of coins. You may as well play one at a time until you can make some money and leave so your money lasts a little longer.
For example, say a quarter machine pays 10 credits for the outcome 777 when you play only a single quarter, but if you play two quarters, it gives you 25 credits for the same outcome. And if you play the maximum number of quarters (say, four), a 777 results in 1,000 credits. You can see that playing four quarters at a time gives you a better chance of winning a bigger pot in the long run (if you win, that is) compared to playing a single quarter at a time for four consecutive tries.
The latest slot machine sweeping the nation is the so-called “penny slot machine.” Although it professes to require only a penny for a spin, you get this rate only if you want to bet one penny at a time. The machines entice you to bet way more than one penny at a time; in fact, on some machines, you can bet more than 1,000 coins (called lines) on each spin — $10 a shot here, folks. Because these machines take any denomination of paper bill, as well as credit cards, your money can go faster on penny machines than on dollar machines because you can quickly lose track of your spendings. Pinching pennies may not be worth it after all!
Penny slot machines appeal to many players because they seem to offer the lowest cost to play. For just a cent, you could spin the reels and win big. Except, that’s not always how it works in reality. Here’s everything you need to know about penny slots, as well as some of our favorites to play in 2019.
How much do you have to wager on penny slots?
You might think that penny slots just cost one cent to play. However, this often isn’t the case. Particularly at brick-and-mortar casinos, you’ll find that minimum spin values can be 50 or 100 credits on the penny slots. This means that you’re still wagering $1 per spin. No wonder penny slots account for 50% of casino income.
Is There A Particular Slot Machine Better At Playing Video Games
This is because while the unit of credits is worth a penny, you’ll be prompted to wager on all available paylines, often with multiple credits per line. Betting 5 credits a line on a 20 line, 5 reel slot machine means you’ll be wagering 100 credits on each spin of the reels. Even if you take things slow and spin the reels every 10 seconds (the average players spins every 6 seconds) you’ll still be looking at 6 spins per minute – or $360 worth of spins in an hour of play. That’s not quite what penny slot fans were planning on.
But not all slots require you to bet the maximum. If you play the best penny slots online, you’ll often find that they have minimum spins of 25 or even just 5 cents. This means that you can put a penny on all available paylines without breaking the bank.
Can you win big with penny slots?
Many people have stories about winning big with penny slots. How much is a big win when you’re betting pennies? $500 and up certainly sounds worthwhile when you’re spinning the reels. All the games list their maximum payouts, such as this one that had a maximum payout of $6500, despite one gambler believing she’d won millions.
In fact, some penny slot games are linked to massive progressive jackpots. These can be truly lucrative, in the tens or even hundreds of thousands. But before you get excited, make sure that you read the terms and conditions to activate the jackpot.
Usually, you will need to wager the maximum amount on each spin, or at least have wagers on every available payline. Check the rules before you spin because there’s nothing more disappointing than thinking you’ve just won a life changing prize, only for it to turn out to be pennies on the dollar.
What are the best penny slot machines?
When you play at physical casinos, you’ll often find that the best penny slot machines have different odds from the same games offered at higher stakes. In fact, you might come out ahead on your bankroll by playing higher stakes slots at casinos.
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That’s why it’s often best to play at online casinos, where the odds for a game are stable no matter your wagering level.
Whether you wager a penny, a nickel, a quarter or a dollar, you’ll face the same house edge when you play online. Plus, you’ll get access to a much broader range of the best penny slots online.
So, what are the best penny slot machines? That will depend on your play style. Are you all about the bonus rounds, or are you just interested in the core slot action? Are you planning to play from the US or another country?
You can choose from a variety of the most popular slots online. From Wheel of Fortune to The Wizard of Oz, The Dark Knight to Wonder Woman, Monopoly to Guns N Roses, you can play tons of top-rated online slot games for penny credits. Just remember that playing for pennies doesn’t mean that your spins are cheap, but nor are your winnings.
Check out our guide on playing slots online for free.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/jun/08/slot-machine-lose-lose-situation
https://www.dummies.com/education/math/using-probability-when-hitting-the-slot-machines/
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g29750-i78-k4046492-Any_penny_slots_worth_it-Atlantic_City_New_Jersey.html
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2016/11/02/woman-denied-slot-machine-win/93206170/