May 27, 2009 I've seen some slot machines with total combinations of over 10 million, and only one of those combinations is the 'jackpot.' Progressive Machine: The type of slot machine where the jackpot keeps growing (or progressing:P) PAR sheet: Paytable and Reels. This is a sheet with a table of information about the specific game on the slot machine.
A lot of myths and superstitions, as well as outright fallacies, exist in the world of gambling. This is especially true when it comes to slot machines. Some of these false legends may have had their roots in a nugget of truth decades ago, but technology made them moot by the end of the last century.
The problem is that when these myths are accepted as fact, people try to create winning strategies around them. Unscrupulous people may even try to sell “winning” strategies based on these falsehoods. So let’s clear the wheat from the chaff and look at some of these strategies and why they won’t work.
Taking a Look at Modern Slot Machines
We live in a world run by computers. The gambling industry is no different. Anytime the industry can incorporate sound technology, it will.
Case in point, if you were to compare a slot machine from the 1970’s to one today, you will notice that the machine in the 70’s was mechanically based whereas today’s machines are more digitally based (they are essentially computers). There were lots of moving parts in those old slots. Now, everything has digital images on the machine.
But that’s only the surface. Today’s machines have what’s known as a Random Number Generator (RNG). This is probably the most important piece of technology in today’s current slot machine. These RNGs are designed to make the game fair and uses advanced mathematical formulas and computer programming codes to insure there is no “system” or algorithm that anyone (casinos or players) can use to beat the game. These formulas incorporate 256 different stops per reel. On a 3 reel slot alone, this allows for 16,777,216 final positions.
Another innovation is that of progressive slots where slot machines are networked with other casinos to create giant payouts–some upwards of US$10 million.
I’d be remiss not to also mention that this technology allowed for the advent of online slots. Hundreds of online casinos with tens of thousands of games exist all over the internet. All use the same basic technology, including the RNG to make the games fair.
So now that we know a little about modern slot machines, let’s take a look as some slot strategies that simply won’t work.
1. The Machine Gets Cold after a Big Win
There’s a common belief that when a jackpot is hit on a slot machine that you shouldn’t play it for a while because the machine is “reset”. This is pure nonsense. It would be illegal in most jurisdictions for a casino to have the slot machine set up that way as it would give an unfair advantage to the casino.
Also, as discussed above, the slot machine is equipped with a Random Number Generator. The key word here is random. While it’s true that the likelihood of a slot machine hitting jackpots twice in a row or even twice in the same week is slim, the odds of it happening are roughly the same as any 2 machines in the same casino hitting the jackpot in the same week. Each 3 reel slot has 16,777,216 combinations it can land on, so you can play on a machine that has won, and it will not make a bit of difference.
People set in their ways and those who have their “systems” will continue to perpetuate this myth.
And while we can sit and preach science, math, and logic to them, they will still choose to believe this and change machines.
2. The Machine Is Overdue Because It Hasn’t Paid Out in a While
The same people that believe that they shouldn’t play on a slot machine that has just won tend to also believe that a slot machine that has not won big in a while is overdue for a win. Players will try to actively seek out these slots in hopes of getting that big win and collect the jackpot.
The reality is that this is simply not true. Because all of the total combinations are random, some machines may go weeks or even months without hitting a big jackpot. Once again, it comes down to the RNG in the slot machine, not when the last big win was.
3. Don’t Leave the Machine Because You’ll Miss Your Overdue Win
You’ve been sitting at the same slot machine for hours. You hit minor wins here and there but you can feel the big one is just a few spins away. You’re not alone.
The mindset that if you leave the machine, the next player will win your jackpot is a common one. After all, we’ve seen it play out on television a thousand times. But the truth is that the next player hitting a big win on a machine you have been playing for a while is unlikely. The length of time you sit and play at a slot machine doesn’t matter and by playing for long periods of time, you are not “priming” the slot machine for a win, because all the results are random.
4. All Slot Machines Are the Same
Some people believe that all slot machines are the same and take the same strategic approach with every machine. This is just not true. Slots can vary greatly based on the number of reels, bonuses offered and whether it is a progressive slot among other factors.
One of the big differences involves the expected payback on each machine. The expected payback in any game is the amount you can expect to win over time. Some machines only have an expected payback as low as 85%. Yet others can have paybacks as high as 98% or even more, although none will be over 100%.
What do the percentages mean?
Using the 98% payback as our guide, for every $100 you spend, you can expect to win back $98. You can also expect to lose $2.
Those who do know and have studied expected paybacks and have incorporated it into their strategies know that in order to get the maximum expected payback, every decision that is made in the game must be correct and they must make thousands of spins over a long period of time. If they play for shorter amounts of time, the expected payback percentage decreases.
5. Pushing Buttons Versus Pulling Levers or Vice Versa
Today’s slot machines differ in many ways from those 30 or 40 years ago. Mechanical slot machines required a lever on the side to make the reels move. Today that is not the case. A simple push of a button can start the machine. Some machines still have these levers, mostly because of tradition and for aesthetic purposes, but also because hardcore gamblers can be a superstitious lot and prefer then levers to the buttons. These machines also have a button that can be pushed instead of using the lever. Both function exactly the same.
There’s a belief among gamblers that on machines with levers, you have a better chance of winning if you use the lever versus pushing the button. Those that have this as a strategy claim that the slot is “rigged” to allow bigger and more frequent wins by using the lever. This is simply not true. Both the lever and play buttons on a slot machine function exactly the same.
To that same end, players also have the belief that using the Autoplay button on a slot machine pays less than spinning each turn, and that a rest period of anywhere between 10 and 30 seconds (depending on the person) should be used between each spin as to maximize payouts.
These too are mistaken beliefs. The fact is that anyone using a slot machine or even an online slot machine is working with sophisticated computer software capable of making millions of complex computations every second. The RNG will force the slot machine to act the same way no matter how fast or slow the games are played or which button or lever is used to play the game.
6. It’s a Conspiracy, and Someone Knows Where the Good Slot Machines Are
One of the more common myths about brick and mortar casinos is that slot machines with higher payout are in hidden areas of the casino. Once again, this is not true. If you have incorporated this into your strategy, it might be a good idea to think again.
This belief seems to take into account a “conspiracy” that casinos are trying to prevent big wins, and while it can probably be said that they don’t want to see everyone walk away with huge jackpots all at once, winning is actually good publicity for a casino, after all, who wants to gamble if no one ever wins?
In that same “conspiracy” vein, there’s also a common myth that casino employees know all the secret “loose slots” and can help you find the ones that win all the time. You simply need to tip them well.
Unfortunately, this is also not the case.
Employees would have no idea which slots are “loose” because of the RNG. Plus while tips are great, giving information like that (if the information did exist) would be likely a violation of not only casino rules, but may even violate local laws. Besides, if they knew the winners, they would quit and play those slots themselves.
But those aren’t the only conspiracy myths. Another myth involves the time of day. There’s a wrongheaded belief that casinos can control the odds of winning on a slot machine, and they change them throughout the day. The thought is that they try to make it harder to win during peak times and then make it a bit easier during slower times.
This, once again, is just simply not true. The casinos have no way to affect the odds of winning on a slot machine. Odds of winning are determined by such things as the number of reels, number of pay lines, bonuses, and whether it’s a progressive machine. All of these are set by the manufacturer.
Even if casinos had the ability to do this, it would be highly illegal, as casinos are expected to keep their games fair at all times. That means that no matter what time of day or what day of the week, month or year a person plays that game, their chances of winning need to be the same on the same machine.
7. Bonuses Games and Progressive Slots
Many slot machines today have bonus games. These can be similar to the regular game where the reels spin for extra money or can involve a more intricate interaction that is reflective of a video game. Because extra money is involved, many think that slot machines with bonuses hurt their chances of winning big.
This is also false.
Any slot machine that is manufactured whether it has a bonus or not, contains the same Random Number Generator software. The RNG software is ignorant of whether the slot machine has a bonus or not (although the RNG can be incorporated into the bonus game itself). So winning the big jackpot on the regular play of a slot machine or any amount for that matter, has no bearing on the presence of a bonus game.
When we talk bonuses we must include progressive slots. Progressive slots involve a jackpot that increases each time the game is played but the jackpot is not won. When the progressive jackpot is won, the jackpot for the next play is reset to a predetermined value and resumes increasing under the same rules.
In most cases these jackpots involve a series of linked slot machines. These can be linked in the same casino or with slots in other casinos. The more machines connected, the larger the jackpots can become.
One of the big myths regarding progressive slots is that only “high rollers” win. Because of this, most players who don’t consider themselves high rollers tend to avoid these type of slots as part of their strategy.
But there’s no way for a slot machine to tell if a player is a high roller or not. That status has no bearing on the ability to win the jackpot.
Conclusion
Gambling and superstition go hand in hand. Blowing on dice, lucky numbers, knocking on wood, and stacking chips in a certain way are all examples of casino superstitions that everyone has heard of. Over time, these superstitions are followed so closely that people start to believe them as fact. Once they become fact, people them incorporate them into strategies.
Much like a superstition, people creating these strategies may truly believe they work, when in fact, if they do work, it is usually due to luck.
The best bet when creating a strategy is to look at the math and the science behind the slot machines. Understand the machines that are being played on. Study the manufacturer’s information such as payback percentages and how the bonuses work.
Still, any gambling venture involves a certain degree of luck. Luck in and of itself is a form of superstition. As such, you may choose to still use some of these myths as part of your strategy, despite the fact that they probably won’t work.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.Introduction to High Roller Slots Tricks
This blog continues our journey of winning strategies for slot machine casino gambling. Here, I’ll be explaining to you three easy high roller slots tricks. Now, please understand I’m not trying to turn you into a full-time high-limit slot machine gambler! Not at all!
As I’ll explain, there are some very inexpensive slots winning strategies which can be applied to more than just low limit slots. They can also be rather cheaply used, with only a few bets, on a $1 to $5 denomination high limit slot machine.
The three tricks you should know about involve applying a few of the winning strategies I’ve already discussed, as well as a new slots strategy, winning strategy #6, I’ll be explaining in full momentarily. Here goes!
This article has the following sections:
- Introduction
- 1st Trick: Use Winning Strategy 1 in a High Limit Slots Area
- 2nd Trick: Combining Winning Strategies #1 and #7
- 3rd Trick: If a Slot Machine Shows a Win, BET ONCE
- How Long Does a Slot Machine Need to be Idle?
- Play High Limit Slot Machines When Appropriate – Carefully!
- Summary
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1st Trick: Use Winning Strategy #1 in a High Limit Slots Area
One interesting pattern I’d noticed at a relatively medium-sized casino had to do with a simple observation. At this local casino, I saw that I would win once when I first sit down, but not win again for some time.
Roulette Slot Machine Strategy
This pattern recognition is a slots strategy I’ve mentioned before, explicitly Winning Strategy 1: Only Win Immediately and my Professor Slots podcast episode #23.
By using this approach, we can take advantage of a common practice found at many casinos, where they provide an initial winning taste.
The first dozen times I visited the high limit slots area at this small, local casino, I found it odd that I would win a jackpot during the first few pushes of the button. But, then, I would spend thousands of dollars without so much as another hit.
I don’t mean I wouldn’t have another taxable jackpot, but that I wouldn’t win anything whatsoever. It just seemed odd. Or, put another way, it was statistically unlikely to be randomly happening so consistently and often, visit after visit after visit.
As an aside, don’t worry too much about all the money I was spending. Unbeknownst to me at the time, each $100 spent these three months earned one more entry for the drawing of a car – which I would end up winning. I tell that story in:
As a second aside, the money I was spending was significant slots winnings from another local casino where I was consistently making quite a profit using Winning Strategy 7, the topic of my next blog article.
2nd Trick: Combining Winning Strategies #1 and #7
Let’s back to the story of what I learned and how I learned it. At the time, I even struck up a conversation with one of the slot operators. In that helpful interview, I asked them when were people winning jackpots and on which machines were they doing it?
This slot attendant helpfully told me about a slots player who had recently gone from one machine to another winning about eight total jackpots in a row in the high limit slots area.
I found this other slots player’s approach very intriguing, to say the least, and have since tried to employ my Winning Strategy 7 alongside playing each machine up to 5 times. By doing so, I’ve found that my annual return for this strategy alone resulted in a 150% profit over my original bankroll.
However, I’d only been using this strategy for four months since this casino opened, and felt I’d need to continue doing it for about a year to be convinced that it wasn’t either temporary or due to having limited data.
Today, I see this as an error on my part, and probably a severe loss of winnings. Winning slots strategies exist, and you can find them yourself – if you can believe your own eyes.
The area most people get stuck on is this: They don’t believe these strategies are possible, and it’s hard to try it yourself they do when you’ve already convinced yourself it’s impossible.
It doesn’t help that most winning strategies are relatively new, and based on the latest casino technologies that started being installed in new casinos since 2012.
Getting down off my usual soapbox, and back on topic, I have found this combination of winning strategies to be the cheapest approach yet to slot machine gambling, while resulting in the highest profit margin.
Using it at my local casino required only $500 per visit and $250 in return on most visits without a taxable jackpot. But then there are the taxable jackpots won, which are more than a few of the typical jackpot winnings on high limit slot machines.
As I’m sure you understand, a single $4,000 taxable jackpot pays for many subsequent visits.
Again, so far, this is all further storytelling about the experiences which resulted in my discovery of Winning Strategy 1 and how to best use it in conjunction with another winning strategy I knew. But, next, I learned a strategy I didn’t already know.
3rd Trick: If a Slot Machine Shows a Win, BET ONCE
By using these known strategies, yet another approach grew out of them. It’s easy, simple, and quite inexpensive. And, it’s completely counter-intuitive to what most slots players will tell you to do. But, because they feel this way is the reason why it works.
Slots players will tell you it is essential to check the machine’s last play. If it shows a winner then, in general, skip that machine. Don’t play it, is the general advice. I say phooey, but with a small caveat I’ll pull from Winning Strategy 1.
My third trick is this: If a slot machine is showing a win, BET ONCE. However, avoid that machine if it’s been played recently.
For this to work, if it is going to work, a slot machine showing a win needs to be idle for a while, and probably hasn’t been idle if its chair is still pulled out. That the chair is even pulled out is a beautiful clue it was used relatively recently.
Why does this work? At some casinos that set up their slot machines to offer an initial taste, the first push of the button of a high limit slot machine will win either a “small” nontaxable jackpot worth several hundred dollars or a more massive taxable jackpot over $1,200.
For example, I happened to be in the casino one Saturday evening, to take care of some tax paperwork having to do with winning a car the night before, and noticed that one of the $100 high limit slot machines was showing a $1,000 win. I didn’t think much of such a small jackpot, as it was not even taxable, but it was something I noticed.
When I went back to the casino the next morning, I noticed that that same machine had the identical winning reel combination showing on it. To me, this indicated that no one had played that machine for just over one day.
At first, I didn’t think much of it. But then, standing there looking at it, I got to thinking about my strategies. And, standing there thinking it through, I learned something.
Previously, my strategy was not to play any slot machine if it showed a win. But, I started to think, what if I was winning at one push of a button on machines that hadn’t been played for some time? Was this perhaps a refinement of a known strategy?
As usual, theory metaphorically in hand, I decided to test it. I walked over to the $100 machine showing the $1,000 win, placed my player’s card along with $100 in the machine, pressed the bet button, and immediately won a $5,000 taxable jackpot.
To date, this is the only time when I’ve won any taxable jackpot on a $100-denomination slot machine. Although, using this strategy at the same casino, shortly later I did win $500 with a single 1-credit bet on another $100 slot machine.
How Long Does a Slot Machine Need to be Idle?
One loose end with using this strategy is the question of how long does a slot machine need to be idle for it to turn into a winning slot machine via this strategy? The honest and straightforward answer is: I don’t know. But, consider my observations.
I’ve found more slot machines are winners with this strategy if I attend the casino on a Saturday morning (especially after a busy Friday night) or mid-afternoon on Sundays.
That’s because these are typically the most extended times when slot machines aren’t played, and being idle for some time matters. But, how long does it need to be inactive, you ask? I’m still piecing together clues about this.
Another clue comes from Eric Rosenthal, from whom I have second-hand information. He knows someone he trusts from within a slots manufacturer who told him that slot machines reset whenever a voucher is printed.
That’s interesting. If true, it means idle means no time at all. So, that information alone may be enough to tell you how long idle is – but I don’t think so.
Why? Because I’ve seen 30 minutes work when an immediate next player did not. Other times, I’ve seen it work after it’s been idle for hours only. Another area of uncertainty is maybe, more like probably, different casinos are set up differently.
But, I have put some effort into trying to figure this out. After some thought, one week later I went back to the casino and took handwritten notes of all the current spin reels showing on all the high limit slot machines at that casino.
Slightly over a day later, I went back to that casino with the intent of executing the usual strategy but brought extra cash with which to push the button once on any high limit slot machine still showing the same reel spin from the previous day.
Unfortunately, that day was a beautiful day in January with moderately high temperatures not seen in months. Somehow, for this reason, the casino and high limit slot machine room were incredibly busy.
I mention this because, when checking the reel spins on each slot machine, I found that ALL slot machines had been played. I then went ahead playing my usual strategy and, to my slight dismay, I didn’t win a single time despite four immediately prior visits where I made 50-60% over the bankroll I’d brought.
What I learned from this confirmation, such as it was, was that it was the wins I had seen when using my unrefined strategy of 5 pulls then stop was occurring on slot machines which had not been played for a while. That is to say, I had been winning on idle slot machines.
So, during busy periods in the high limit slot room which, by the way, isn’t necessarily the same times when the overall casino itself is active, I learned that I shouldn’t use this strategy. Not then, anyway.
All I can say is, where casinos have set up this winning strategy, winning slot machines need to be idle for a while. This bit of information may not seem like much – but it’s something once considered impossible which evidence now suggests isn’t any longer.
And, being the savvy slots enthusiast I know you are, I expect you’ll make the most out of it.
Play High Limit Slot Machines When Appropriate – Carefully!
So, let’s continue to talk about getting the most out of my winning strategies. The whole point of these specific strategies is that they don’t require much money to try out. Not to be too blunt about it, why wouldn’t you try out inexpensive strategies in the high limit slots area?
I suppose I first noticed this myself at Seminole Brighton Casino in Florida in October 2019 and earlier at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut in April 2018.
Only afterward did I think, while I’m here why don’t I try out the winning strategies I’ve just figured out in the high limit slots area?
Unfortunately, this idea came to me only after I left both places. But, here it is for you. If you have figured out a winning slots strategy that appears to work at a casino, consider trying it in the high limit slots area.
This suggestion is especially valid if the specific slots strategy you’ve found to work outside of the high limit area doesn’t require much bankroll to win. If only a small bankroll is needed, or if you’re willing to risk a larger bankroll if it doesn’t, consider one way to optimize your strategy – by bringing it into the high limit slots area. Carefully, of course.
For those who have read my blog article Seminole Brighton Casino Florida Trip Report, these follow up thoughts for using a working strategy on high limit slots should work quite well there.
However, for those who have read my blog article Easily Win a Little at Slots at Foxwoods Casino Connecticut, I’d caution against this approach there.
As Dr. Mike from the You Can Bet on That podcast very well knows (I was sitting near him at the time), you can win a couple of hundred dollars on a high limit slot machine there within the first few bets.
But, the problem is, you can do the same thing on a low limit slot machines. So, use the winning strategy I described outside of the high limit area to bet less for corresponding winnings. Your profit will be more substantial.
Summary of High Roller Slots Tricks
In review, I’ve pointed out the easy application of two past winning slots strategies, along with a new winning strategy, which would require only a few bets on a high limit slot machine.
From a high level, the three easy high roller slots tricks I’ve outlined are merely pointing out that the winning strategies you worked hard to uncover at the casino you frequent can be leveraged, perhaps even optimized, in the high limit slots area with relatively little risk.
Because, finding that a winning strategy which works
If your gambling goal is entertainment, as with more slots enthusiasts, then getting a W-2G for having won a taxable jackpot would be exciting. I know my first W-2G was very exciting and, quite honestly, you never really get tired of winning them.
If your gambling goal is earning comps, then you’ll undoubtedly earn players clubs point by making bets on high limit slot machines. But, more importantly, some or all of winnings received in the high limit slots area can be spent on low limit slots.
Finally, is winning take-home money your gambling goal? Well, you’ll earn that money with little cash spent. If, as always, the casino you’re at has been set up by their operator such that one or more of these approaches will work.
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