Slot Machines

Introduction
In the world of gambling, slot machines are one of the easiest games to play,
it is as simple as pressing a button. This game is very easy to understand, but
as you know most easy games come with a high house edge, and this game is
no exception. This a fun and quick way to lose your money in casinos.
How They Work
It makes no difference if you are playing 3-reel single-line game or a 5-reel
25-line game, the end result of each bet is decided by random numbers. This
is how it works, the game picks random numbers for each reel, then it
arrange each number in a place on the reel, the reel will be stopped in this
selected position, and the result is summed up. In simple words, since you
pressed the button the result was already predicted, the rest is just for your
amusement. In this game the odds are the same for each spin on every
machine.
This is the only game in casinos, where you can’t quantify the odds. In simple
words, the player has no idea how this game was calculated, so it is not easy
to find another game, and use it as an example. You can use the Atkins Diet
slot machine to understand better how this game woks. It is a simple, five-
reel game with a free spin bonus round, much like IGT’s Cleopatra game.

For information on how it works and all the odds, please visit my Atkins Diet
par sheet.

For a more complicated example, featuring sticky wilds in the bonus, please
try my Vamos a Las Vegas slot machine.

For information on how it works and all the odds, please visit my Vamos a Las
Vegas par sheet (PDF).
Odds
In the next table you can find the casino win for all slots during year 2012 in
Clark County Nevada (Las Vegas). Their definition for slots is, every electronic
game, and this includes video poker and video keno. Video keno is known to
be almost as tight as reeled slots, except video poker which has a much
higher return. In reality the return for reeled slots, is supposed to be higher
than these numbers.

Clark County Slot Win 2012

DENOMINATION

CASINO WIN
(PCT)
$0.01 10.77%
$0.05 5.96%
$0.25 5.74%

$1.00 5.64%
$5.00 5.51%
$25.00 3.97%
$100.00 4.73%
Megabucks 12.89%
Multi-
denomination

5.32%

Total 6.58%
Source: Nevada Gaming Control Board, Gaming Revenue Report for
December 2012 (PDF, see page 6).
Penny video slots is played by most players, and the house edge usually goes
from 6% to 15%. Commonly, nice casinos have tighter the slots.
Advice
Slot machines is not a game of skills, however, you might develop some skills
to help you choose a machine, and ways to maximize the return. If you want
to play slots, follow our advice
 You should always use a player card. Slot machines might be a poor
bet, but casinos in general treat their slots players very well. A 1$ bet
might probably score better than a 100 $ bet in blackjack. But you
should not play for this reason, you might give more than receive back.
 The simplest games have better odds. If you look deeper the fancy
games with appealing signs, in general, do not pay as well as simple
games. Although, many slot players choose the fancy games because
they are more fun to play.

 Higher denominations, have better odds. Because of this, it is
recommended to play only one coin per line on a 5-cent game, instead
of five coins per line on a 1-cent game.
 Always remember to take your ticket when you cash out. You might
get too excited and forget it.
 We recommend you to play on a slow basis and as low as possible to
get your fix.
 Some games have skill features, like Top Dollar. You should their
advices under consideration.
Myths and Facts
Pretty much everything you know about slots is not true. These are the
most common myths and facts.
Myth: these machines are designed to go through a period of payoffs.
These periods can stretch thousands of spins, and when they are done,
the results will repeat in the exact same order as the last period.
Fact: this is not the case, each spin is random and separate from all past
spins.
Myth: this game is designed to pay off a peculiar percentage of money
bet. So, after a player hits a jackpot, the machine will narrow win chances,
to get back in balance. But if a jackpot has not been hit in a long period, it
is behind time and more likely to be achieved.
Fact: as we stated before, each spin is separate from all past spins. This
means, each machine has always the same odds. In other words, even if a
jackpot was hit, this does not influence when it will hit again or how much
the game paid out in the last period of time.
Myth: if a player does not use her/his player card, a slot machine will pay
more.
Fact: whether a card is played or not, has no influence on the mechanism
of each play’s result. The odds are pretty much the same with or without
one.

Myth: if a player use a card, this empowers the casino to report your
winnings to the IRS.
Fact: even if you win $1200 or more, the casino will report this to the IRS
either way. This might work in your favor, because in a net losing year,
which might be the case, casinos will have evidence of it, and these
annual win/loss statements can be used as evidence to declare balanced
loses to jackpot wins.
Myth: casinos have a slot department, where they can narrow your game
wins by pressing a button. This means, you should be kind to the
employees and give them a good tip, or else, they will press the button
and end your game.
Fact: there might be some truth about this myth, these types of slots are
still in experimentation and a minority. But there are adjustments to
protect players from this. For example, in Nevada machines cannot be
modified unless it has been idle for more than four minutes. During this,
machines will show a message that it is being serviced. But for most slots,
an employee will personally go and open the machine and change a
computer chip, known as an EPROM chip.
Myth: machines near doors and heavy traffic flow are more likely to lose,
meanwhile machines in hidden corners lean to be tight.
Fact: according to slot machines directors this is just another myth, and
position has no influence on returns.
Myth: during the slow hours and days of the week, machines are more
likely to lose, while during busy hours they tighten them up.
Fact: we doubt someone would do this. In general casinos are trying to
reach a balance between winning good money and happy costumers. The
best way to achieve this is to give players enough long “time on the
device,” with a good opportunity to win so players keep returning. If
casino machines are too tight, players will notice it and be doubtful to
return.

Las Vegas airport is one of the places where you might find tight
machines, for example, if the slot manager feels that 92% is the right
return for a penny game, he is more likely to set every penny game all
that way, and keep it like this for years.