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August 30, 2008, |
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August 30, 2008, |
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SLOT MACHINES The first slot machine was invented in the 1890s by a man named Charles Fey. His machine's design was identical to the design of the current reel slot machines. It had three reels with a variety of symbols, all of which spun when an arm (handle) to the right of the machine was pulled. If three identical symbols aligned, then the player would win. Fey's machine was a simple affair and the odds were easy to calculate. If there were three reels with 20 symbols on each, the odds of striking a jackpot wowd be I in 8,000 (20 x 20 x 20). Now, however, there are slot machines with more reels and more symbols per reel. All new slots contain silicon chips and microprocessors so they have become fairly complicated devices whose odds of winning are almost impossible to calculate for the player. But be sure the odds definitely favor the casino. Nonetheless, slots are by far the most popular gaming device in any casino. There are many reasons for this: slots are remarkably easy to play; they don't require interaction with other players; and newer machines have striking 3D imagery and stereo sound. With slots all you have to do is: put coins in slot, pull arm and wait for the symbols to line up - or not, as is mostly the case. Slot machines are often referred to as "one-armed bandits." They are called that because of favorable odds for the casino, normalty 10-15 percent of each spin. An average slot costing $10,000 can return hundreds of dollars daily to the casino operator As a result, slots are responsible for nearly half of a casino's overall profit. Some Canadian casinos
have as many as 3,000 slot machines - all
Slot machines come in many forms. Some are huge, some are small. Some appear to be mechanical but most are electronic. Some have video display terminals; others look like Fey's ancient machine. There are slots which take pennies, nickels, quarters, loonies and toonies; others that take and return winnings from a cash card; and others with tokens varying in value from a quarter all the way up to $500. Most slot machines have three reels (wheels) which spin, but some have four or even five reels. on each reel are marked about 20 to 25 symbols (the number varies from casino to casino). In most modem machines, the reels are just for show. Winning combinations are detemined by a computer chip and a program with a lot more virtual stops. The odds on hitting the big advertised jackpot are not good: · three-reel machines: approximately
8,000 to I
Nor is it possible to
predict the payoff of machines from their advertised claims. A casino
that says "slots pay 90 percent" means that the house take is 10 percent
- and this is likely true. But that doesn't mean that you'll get
back $90 for every $100 you put in. Your first coin could win the
jackpot; your 50th coin could win the jackpot; but most likely none of
your coins will win significant prize money.
WIN some serious cash at
WHICH ONE DO I PLAY? There are machines with one payline (the line where symbols align), some with two paylines and some with multiple paylines. Some machines have a fixed prize; others have jackpots that keep growing with every coin played (these are called progressive slots). Often, progressive slots are interconnected to many others and thus the jackpot can get quite large. In terms of odds, some slots have a return rate as low as 75 percent. This means that for every dollar you put into the machine, it will have a theoretical return of 75 cents. Other slots have a return rate as high as 98 percent, which still means that you will lose at least two cents for every dollar played. No slot is ever proved to favor the player. The best odds are usually on the most expensive slot machines in the casino (usually $100 per pull). The absolute worst choice of machine is the nickel slots. In some Caribbean islands, casinos are known to hold as much as 60 percent, so watch out. Video poker slots are preferable because a player can alter the game by making decisions. DID YOU KNOW?
HOT TIP If you want to play
progressive
slot machines, be sure to play the maximum number of coins permitted.
That is, if there is more than a single payline, you should add additional
coins for each additional payline. This will increase the size of
your winnings considerably but the strategy increases the size of your
bet only slightly. For example, if you decide to play the Lucky Fruit
Salad slot machine, which is progressive and has three paylines, be sure
to place three coins in every bet. The payoff is better in the long
run.
On reel-type slot machines, there is no real strategy since the hit frequency and prizes are predetermined by the program. Nonetheless, some gamblers believe that there are hot and cold slots, depending on whether a particular machine is on a winning streak or a losing streak - and there may be some substance to this gambling approach. To determine whether or not a slot machine is cold, simply set a number of pulls on the machine that you win do prior to sitting down in front of one. Let's say you choose the "lucky" number seven as your number of pulls (you can choose any number of pulls, but remember to keep it reasonable). Now you sit at this machine and if you win nothing during these seven pulls, you simply move on to the next one - that machine was "cold." Never continue to play on the theory that a particular machine is "due" to pay because a number of losses have come in a row. This strategy simply makes the bad odds of playing slots even worse. If you stumble upon
a hot machine, do not use the same principles as those above. Keep
with hot slots for as long as they remain hot (they give you winnings).
It is also a good idea to increase the size of your wagers as you begin
to win. This would probably seem to be the opposite of our basic
"win 50 percent and quit" strategy, but slots have their own logic.
ODDS AND SNZATEGIES The following chart
shows the unpleasant odds of the various
Cost of bet
Average payout
From this we see that the average nickel slot machine keeps 15 cents of every dollar put into the machine. You would do better at any other casino game except keno. Of course, these are not the exact payout averages for each individual slot machine. The odds vary from casino to casino and machine to machine. Nevada casinos usually advertise their slot machines' payout odds. All you have to there do is shop around and look for the best odds. In Canada, gamblers must use guesswork. In terms of strategy, always load up the slot machine. If the slot machine takes up to three coins, which almost all do, play the three coins. By increasing the size of your wager slightly, the potential jackpot becomes tremendously larger. On the progressive machines, that enormous jackpot can only be reached if you load up the machine fully. Because there is no
skill involved in the game, there are no reliable winning strategies for
slot machines. They are called "bandits" for a reason-because they
are impossible to beat.
TO MAXIMIZE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING One approach to playinh slots, which is at least reasonable, is to break Your time and money at the slots into sessions where you sit and play with a specific amount and then move on to another machine. Let's say you enter the casino with $l00 for the slots.Now simply divide that money into equal sessions, thether it be 10 sessions of $10 each, or five sessions of $20. Let's say that you choose 10 sessions of $10. Then you go to a machine and play (keeping the 50% rule in effect from the main page) for no more than $1, then move on to the second session, find another machine and play for $10, and so on until your money is exhausted.
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