Best Slot Strategy

The smart way to get rich off casinos As previously mentioned this system is based on the so-called corner bets, but this one only provides. The best slot machine strategy for a dread losing streak is simply to move on to a different slots game. Since each spin is a unique event, feeding more coins into a losing machine in no way increases your chances of winning, although technically it won’t hurt either.

1. Best Slot Machine Strategy
2. Best Slot Strategy
3. Best Slot Game Strategy
4. Slot Machine Strategy To Win

Even with slots, a little strategy goes a long way

By Frank Scoblete

Even though the house has an edge on just about every slot machine and video poker game (with some few, hard-to-find exceptions), players can still play a tough game against the casino if such players use intelligent strategies in deciding which games to play and how to play them.

Pessimists might say that all slot and video poker players are doomed to forfeit their money to the house edge, and they are right, except that how you forfeit the game against the house is where the gambling pleasure comes into the picture. In short, don’t just give the casino your money by playing the worst games with the worst strategies. Instead, play games where the contest is close to even or at the very least as even as you can get. Give the casino a real run for your money.

So let’s take a look at slot machines to outline some general rules to follow if you want to play the strongest possible game against the casino.

Analyze the slot return percentages in this magazine and you can see clearly that not all denominations return the same percentages. Right o the bat, this tells you something important; not all slot machines are the same. Some are better for your bankroll; some are worse. The smart player picks the better machines to play. Do most slot players know to do this? No.

Slot returns by denomination are not the only story. Within denominations the returns of different types of machines vary. Let us say that you have a traditional one-dollar machine and you decide to play one that has a progressive jackpot or a progressive jackpot that is linked with other casinos, you should know that the return percentage is often far less because those big progressive jackpots must be paid for sooner or later by the casino. Because of that the machine will hold a greater percentage of the money you put in.

Take Megabucks as a specific example. The odds of hitting the “big one” are just about 50 million to one. The return percentage of the machine is usually around 86 percent. You are facing a big house edge on such a machine.

Now take a look at a stand-alone non-progressive machine and you will see the difference in returns. If you follow the percentages of one-dollar returns, you know that they are averaging in the 90-92 percent range across the country. So the 86 percent return of a linked progressive such as Megabucks is made up for by the larger return of non-progressive machines. So which machines give you the greater chance of being ahead on any given day? Obviously the non-progressives; they could be coming in with returns in the 95 or higher percentages. Take that to heart.

So the wise advice is to play a non-progressive machine if you want a better chance of coming home with some money. I admit that those huge progressives are fantasy machines but, sadly, most of our fantasies in life do not come true.

I tend to differ with many slot-machine writers in an important area. On those non-progressive machines, it makes no sense to play full coin in order to have a chance at the top jackpot which is, I admit, larger using full coin. The increase in that jackpot is not worth the extra risk. These jackpots only increase the return on the machine by a fraction of a percent; yet you are betting quite a bit more in money to get only a fraction of a better return. The cost is a waste of money in these cases.

To be specific, if you play, say three coins, you aren’t getting three times the value. You are getting a fractionally higher return but spending three times to play the game.

Think of spending a night playing three coins spin after spin after spin—how much money are you putting into the casinos’ craw doing that? On a three-coin traditional machine, playing one coin over four or five hours cuts your risk significantly compared to playing three coins per spin. That’s a big savings over time.

In today’s new-fangled slot world, there are many types of machines and payouts all over the landscape. Traditional machines now compete with fabulous video machines, multi-play machines, multi-coin machines, multi denomination machines and the like. How should a wise slot player approach these machines? Are there better or worse ways to play?

Of course, of course!

The question most asked of me is simple: Do penny machines and nickel machines return good percentages if I play, say, twenty lines (give or take)? In fact, they don’t. A nickel machine pays a nickel’s return and the more money you dump in the more those larger nickel percentages eat at your bankroll. Don’t waste your money. If those nickels add up to (let us say) a quarter, you are playing a quarter machine; if they add up to a dollar, you are playing a dollar machine but you aren’t getting a quarter machine or a dollar machine’s return.

If you want to put in enough nickels that they add up to a dollar (or a quarter) you are much, much better off just moving to a dollar or quarter machine.

[Read Frank Scoblete’s books I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack, I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps and Confessions of a Wayward Catholic!All available from Amazon.com, on Kindle and electronic media, at Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores. Visit Frank’s web site at www.frankscoblete.com]

You're welcome! In an 8/5 game, the jackpot would have to reach 37,704 coins to reach 100%, assuming you have to play 20 coins to win it. Assuming only 8 coins, the meter would have to reach 15,082 coins. On a 7/5 machine and 20 coins required the meter would have to reach, 46,956 coins. These figures assume you are playing the proper strategy for these pay tables with a per coin payoff for a royal flush of 800. As the jackpot grows some strategy adjustments are called for to more aggressively try for the royal. These adjustments were not calculated in this answer. It doesn't make any difference what the coinage is.

Best Slot Machine Strategy

Each frame in these video slots is weighted equally. Any given line is equally likely to produce any given combination. Thus, the return is the same regardless of the number of coins played.

Thanks for the kind words. I have barely heard of teams of slot players doing this. However, this is very common with progressive video poker players. There are teams of these professional players who routinely check the meters and when they find one high enough they call their teammates in an attempt to monopolize the machines until somebody hits the jackpot.
The problem with slots is that it is not clear to the player what the odds are of hitting the jackpot so it is not obvious what the jackpot size has to reach for the machine to become profitable. Plus, it probably rarely happens that a meter gets high enough to overcome the house edge.

If the odds against something are 4 to 1 then there are 4 chances it won't happen and one chance that it will. So, in this example, the probability would be 1/5. It doesn't matter what the probability is, if the events are independent then the past does not matter.

None of these factors matter. Walk away when you're not having fun any longer.

For variable-state slots, you have to know what the positive point is for that model of machine. For example, on the Piggy Bankin' slot machine, I think it becomes positive when there are about 40 credits in the bank. At that point the player is supposed to play one coin at a time until the bank is hit. The book Robbing the One-Armed Bandits by Charles Lund (1999) covers specific positive points for various machines, however many of the machines covered in that book are now hard to find.
As for how to determine when a progressive jackpot is unusually high, you'll either have to observe it over a long period of time or find someone who has done the same. For example, SlotCharts.com keeps data on progressive slots at online casinos. But even when a progressive slot is unusually high, it's impossible to know at what point it becomes high enough to be a positive-expectation game without knowing how the probabilities on the machine are programmed. In my section Deconstructing Megabucks I attempt to figure out when the jackpot is large enough to have a player advantage.
Update: Since this question was published, SlotCharts.com is blocked to U.S. traffic.

Thanks. This is a good question and I wish I had a firm answer. The exact answer depends on the theoretical return of both machines, and nobody ever reveals this information. Yes, you do get a better return in general on dollar machines than quarters, but you are giving up the max-coin bonus. I think the house edge will do down about 2% making the jump from quarters to dollars. However, without reel weightings, I can't tell you the cost of not playing max coins. My general advice is to find a slot machine without a max-coin incentive and then bet one coin at a time.

You’re right, the mathematical answer is that it doesn’t matter. I would choose the machine either randomly or based on environmental factors. My highest priority is that if there were any smokers in the vicinity I would sit as far from them as possible. Otherwise I would distance myself from any loud noises, including other players. If the machines were crowded I would pick an aisle machine, giving me a little more elbow room and one less neighbor.

I believe that most online slots have a fixed return, regardless of the coinage. This is unlike slots in real casinos, which return more the greater the coinage. What you should do depends on your priorities. If you want playing longevity then you should play as little as possible per spin. If you want hope for a big win then you should play as much as possible per spin. However the house edge is likely the same either way.

No. If your goal is a small win then you should be playing low volatility, high hit frequency games. I can’t suggest any particular games but look for ones with comparatively small jackpots. These will also help you to play longer.

I’ve been asked about these North Carolina slot machines so many times I’m tempted to fly there just to see them for myself. Yes, if they did give the probability of each symbol for each reel then an optimal strategy and a return could be fairly easily calculated. However I have never actually seen such a table and have never worked out the odds.

The odds are exactly the same on a one line, 10 line, and n-line video poker machine. When you get a trash hand in 100-play you can expect to get about 36% of your original bet back. In 10-play it is still 36% but there is more volatility. In 1 play it is still 36% but you can get lucky and get a high paying hand on the draw. In other words you are more likely to hit it big on the draw in single play, but at the expense of lots more non-paying hands.

Best Slot Strategy

For purposes of determining the game outcome the slot machine does not consider how many lines you bet or how much per line. The only thing that matters is the exact nanosecond you pressed the spin button. Random numbers drawn at exactly that time will determine the outcome, since the machine is picking numbers even when you’re not playing.

1st place: $1,000,000
2nd place: $150,000
3rd-6th place: $25,000
7th-8th place: $20,000
9th-50th place: $5,000

The cost is $25,000, and the tournament is limited to 50 players. It is easy to see the expected win is $30,000. However, it is a huge long-shot. What would be the required bankroll for entry to be a sound bet under the Kelly Criterion?

The Kelly Approximation is the advantage divided by the variance. The possible outcomes are a win of 39, 5, 0, -0.2, and -0.8 times the bet amount. The advantage is (1/50)×39 + (1/50)×5 + (4/50)×0 + (2/50)× -0.2 + (42/50)×-0.8 = 0.2.

The variance is Expected(win²) - (Expected(win))² = (1/50)×39² + (1/50)×5² + (4/50)×0² + (2/50)× -0.2² + (42/50)×-0.8² − 0.2² = 31.4192

So, the approximate optimal Kelly bet is 0.2/31.492 = 0.0063655 times the bankroll. For a full entry of $25,000, the required bankroll would have to be 25,000/0.0063655 = $3,927,400.

However, for large bets like this, I think it is worth the time to find the exact optimal Kelly bet. Next, find the bet size b, which maximizes the expected log of the bankroll after the tournament, as follows.

Log of bankroll after tournament = (1/50)*log(1+39×b) + (1/50)*log(1+5×b) + (4/50)*log(1) + (2/50)*log(1-0.2×b) + (42/50)*log(1-0.8×b)

There is no easy way to solve for b. Personally, I recommend the 'Goal Seek' feature in Excel. The answer will come out to 0.0083418. So, the exact Kelly bet should be 0.0083418 times your bankroll. To justify the $25,000 entry fee, your bankroll should be $25,000/0.0083418 = $2,996,937.

Best Slot Game Strategy

1. Does this take into account the unknown house edge on the slot machines?

Slot Machine Strategy To Win

2. What would be the playing strategy for the best overall return? Could you just sit back and not gamble, and hope that the other 49 players all end up behind, while you break even and take the grand prize of $1,000,000?

Slot tournaments are always held on dedicated tournament machines. Usually these machines don’t accept bets, so your balance will either stay even or go up, after each play. So it doesn’t make any difference what the return is; the more you play, the more you can expect your balance to go up. Even if you had to play conventional slot machines, I would still bet as fast as possible, stopping only if I got a jackpot large enough to likely win the tournament. The reason is that it is very unlikely that 49 out of 49 players would be negative.

Interestingly, there was once a slot tournament at Caesars Palace where they gave a prize to the person who finished last. However, they didn’t announce this rule until the award ceremony. If you somehow knew of such a rule, indeed, it might be best to not bet.

I would play once on a $5 three-reel single-line game. Win or lose, walk away after one spin.