Here are some of my personal tips for successful slot play. They’ve done me well over the years, but individual results may vary. And luck / timing does of course play a big part in things too. Whether you’re a professional slot player (which I believe to be 40+ hours per week) or a “fun player” (or casual player), the following tips may be of use to you.
- How To Beat Slot Machines With Your Mind
- How To Beat Slot Machines At A Casino
- How To Beat Slot Machines At Casinos
- Tricks To Beat Slot Machines
1. Take enough money (bankroll) to play. In order for you to sustain your required play time, you must be able to invest a sufficient amount of money to warrant a successful play period. This will be dependent on the type of machine, the frequency of hits / wins, and the denomination value you choose to play. If you’re playing a machine at $1 per spin, and want to play for a few hours or more, I’d suggest a bankroll of $500. If you’re playing $5 machines, that bankroll should be $2,500. If you’re playing quarter / 25c machines (at 25c per spin), then $150 or thereabouts may be sufficient. Many slot players lose their money because they don’t have sufficient bankroll to last them in between jackpots.
- At first glance it seems online slot machines are a 100% game of chance. And they really are, at least in the terms of a single game round. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t influence your chances by using the right betting strategy and choosing the right game to play.
- All slot machines have different payback percentages. In slot machines, the payback percentage ranges from 80% to 98% depending on the size of the minimum bet and the local competition. Usually in land based casinos the highest payouts can be found in Las Vegas since there is a lot of competition there.
2. Be patient. Jackpot combinations don’t spin up all that often. Bet low amounts and give yourself the maximum number of spins possible for your bankroll – the more spins you have, the more chances you have to get that elusive jackpot! Don’t make big bets on impulse or out of frustration, that could unnecessarily hurt your bankroll (i.e. don’t bet $1 on a $500 bankroll, and then through frustration start playing $9 per spin)! Keep a level head, and a level bet throughout. Separate emotion from logic. Logically, you’re hoping to get a return on investment. You’ve got to make the investment first – but don’t panic when things go wrong. Keep your bets low and equal – and hope for some luck!
The previously described ways to beat slots had something to do with how money was inserted into the machine. The next slot cheat, as well as a lot of the following ones, are different. The next slot cheat, as well as a lot of the following ones, are different. Bet Max at progressive slots. When playing at the progressive slot machines, bet the maximum amount of coins and bet on all the paylines. It will be a pity if you have the best combination but don't win the jackpot because you haven't Bet Max.
3. Never play just for casino comps. Whilst complimentaries from the casino are always nice to receive, they never equal in value what you’d need to spend (in the long term) to justify them. Let’s say a casino gives 1 point (worth 1c) for every $4 into a machine. It’s not worth risking $2,000 ($400 x 5) just to get a $5 comp is it? If you’re playing anyway, that’s fine – but never play over what you were going to, just to get a casino gift. That cash is better in your pocket than theirs!
![Tricks to beat slot machines Tricks to beat slot machines](https://casinoexperts.nz/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/beat-a-slot-machine.jpg)
4. Know when to quit a machine. No slot machine will continually pay out. Generally slot machines will give and take in some form of “cycle”. If you’re winning, move on to another machine. If you’re not winning, ask yourself whether the machine seems to be in a cold cycle (showing you lots of “near wins” – but not actually giving you any payouts), or whether it’s a small glitch soon to come right. If it’s a glitch, stay where you are and continue playing, and wait for the up swing. If you believe it’s a “cold cycle”, cut your losses and move on. Knowing when to quit is one way of protecting your investment.
5. Know when you’ve made enough. When is enough profit enough? For me, anytime I’ve made 25% or more above my starting bankroll, I’ll leave a machine. If I’ve got a budget of $100 for the machine and after putting in say $80 I’ve got $125 of credits, that’s good enough. I cash out and move on. If I’ve put $20 into a machine and I’ve now got $25 after a hard fought battle (i.e. on a 5c machine), I’ll cash out and move on also. Your own thoughts will determine when enough is enough for you – but DON’T get too greedy. Greed can be very unlucky!
6. How often should you play? That’s up to you, and it will depend upon your reasons for playing and the time you have available. For most readers, I’d recommend visiting a land based casino about once a month, for a few hours of dedicated profitable play time (i.e. focused time when you’re there for one reason only: to make a profit whilst playing slots). Internet casino players might wish to visit more frequently – i.e. one night a week (as the slots typically pay higher online). But you should always only play to your own bankroll and time requirements.
7. Which casino should you play in? This is trickier for land-based casinos, due to the wide range of potential considerations: location, reputation, audience catered to (i.e. high end like Bellagio, low end like Circus Circus), comp policy, etc. For online casinos, it’s easier. Avoid casinos that are licensed in the Carribean, in South America, in Africa, and similar destinations. Casinos that are licensed in the UK or surrounds (UK, Ireland, Malta, Gibraltar, Isle of Man) tend to be very reputable, and pay out when you win. These reputable solidly licensed casinos are the only types of casinos promoted here.
8. Which kind of slot machines should you play? Three real slot machines without progressive meters attached typically pay well. Video slots (i.e. 20 lines etc) like IGT Texas Tea Slot Machine, or Captain Quid Slot Machine, or Join the Race for Riches, are an entertaining way to pass time, with an edge that’s not too detrimental (assuming all lines are played on each spin). However, they do tend to be a little lower in payback (on average) than the traditional reel spinners. Whilst there’s no hard and fast rule, online casino slot machines do tend to pay back a bit better than those in land-based casinos (the overheads are lower – they can afford to be more generous on the game payouts).
Perhaps you’ve got some of your own slot tips you’d like to share with other readers of this blog? If that’s the case, send me an email at [email protected]. I’d love to hear your views and ideas!
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.
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 To Beat Slot Machines With Your Mind
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.)
How To Beat Slot Machines At A Casino
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!
How To Beat Slot Machines At Casinos
Choosing among nickel, quarter, and dollar machines
Tricks To Beat Slot 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!