Strategy For Slot Machines Reddit
- Find machines where the house advantage varies by some mechanism, and only play when the house advantage is very low, or the player has an advantage. Look up published estimates of the slot machine hold and stick to the areas and casinos that have the lowest.
- My job for the past many years has involved writing the software that runs casino slot machines and their back end systems (player's club software and most recently server based gaming systems). I have experience not just with the software, but also with the on-site operations of multiple casinos - as I've had to go on-site to fix issues at times.
- We share 5 slot tips that most people are unaware of, that can help improve your chances to win. Knowing these slot machine strategies can be the difference.
- Image: via Reddit. The legal payout percentage is based on the house, not individual machines. So some machines, even with the same games you’ll find elsewhere in the casino, will pay out less.
A new year brings hope and promises of new beginnings, new opportunities and hopefully a better year than the one before. The conclusion of one year and the beginning of the next is a time for reflection, and for resolving to correct certain bad habits and focus on new goals—and if you’re a frequent visitor to casinos, there are a number of vows you can make right now to get the most out of each and every trip.
We interviewed some frequent slot players and casino workers. We got these inside tips on how to increase your chances of winning. You won't want to miss thi. Table games have a lower house edge than slot machines when you learn to play based with the correct strategy. If you’re a slot player, why not give a table game a try? If you prefer to stick with slots exclusively, then try a new, exciting slot title for a change of pace. 6) Play only the best-paying video poker games.
This year, we’ve got some important advice for you: fill your resolution list with easy, good-for-you goals and resolve to play smarter in the casino. By doing so, you’re likely to make it your best year at the casinos yet. Here is a list of resolutions that will help motivate you in year 2020 and help you have more fun, excitement, and satisfaction you experience in the casino.
1) Set aside a few extra dollars each week to spend on casino visits.
Even if you don’t know the next time you’ll be visiting the casino, now is a great time to start setting aside a few dollars each week into a casino fund. This way, you will have the money on hand if you receive a great promotional offer, or if you just want to get away for a trip to the casino.
2) Always use a players club card.
Not using your players card is the equivalent of turning away free money. The casinos give you comps for your play, and the only way they know how much to give you is by tracking your play. If you don’t use your card, the casino can’t track your play. Using your card does not affect how the machine will pay out, as some players falsely believe. It does, however, affect the amount of comps that you earn.
3) Keep a gaming log.
Smart players keep a log book. The law allows you to deduct gambling loses up to the amount of your winnings. You can only do this if you have documentation of your losses. Keeping a diary or logbook is the way to do this, and with the beginning of a new year around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start your log. There is even an app named “Gamblers Anonymous” that will let you keep your log on your phone.
4) Take advantage of casino promotions.
Casinos are constantly running promotions to attract players. These may include special drawings, tournaments or double point days. Taking advantage of these promotions is a smart way to get a little something extra.
5) Learn a new game.
Table games have a lower house edge than slot machines when you learn to play based with the correct strategy. If you’re a slot player, why not give a table game a try? If you prefer to stick with slots exclusively, then try a new, exciting slot title for a change of pace.
6) Play only the best-paying video poker games.
Not all video poker games are created equal. Resolve to locate and play only the best games. Gone are the days when 100 percent and greater payback games were common. There are still enough very good paying games to make it worthwhile to seek them out. There are positive games such as 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17 percent) and full pay Deuces Wild (100.76 percent) available in selected locations of some casinos. When these games aren’t available, look for games that return at least 99 percent.
7) Learn the correct video poker strategy.
Video poker is one of the best games you can play. The house edge is low if you learn to play the correct strategy for each particular game. Many players sit down and rely on hunches for playing their hands, which increases the house edge. This year, resolve to learn the playing strategy for one or more of the best games. In order to maximize wins—or minimize losses—not only must you choose the best game(s), you must also play that game properly. To do that, you must learn the proper playing strategy. Strategies are available in books, software or even online. Pick one, two, or three games and learn the strategy or strategies perfectly.
8) Play only with a pre-determined bankroll.
Bankroll is critical for any casino trip. In any random game, there are fluctuations. You may win more than you lose for a while and then lose more than you win for a while. Sometimes you lose a lot more than you win and sometimes you lose more than you win for a very long time. All of these happenings are part of the natural flow of a random game. To enjoy your trip to the casino you must have enough money to last through the losing times. Make sure you have enough, and make sure it isn’t your next mortgage payment you are using. A losing streak doesn’t have to end at any particular time, so make sure you can afford to lose whatever you are bringing to the casino.
9) Play only while rested and sharp.
Playing after you become tired, or after a few too many drinks, can cost you money. It is natural to want to continue to play when you’re having a good time, or thinking the next hand will be a royal flush. However, if you become tired, stop playing. If you find you are not thinking clearly due to consuming a few drinks, stop.
10) Have a game plan.
Many players simply go to the casino with a pocket full of money and jump from game to game until all their money is gone. You can have a much better time if you just spend a few minutes to make a plan for your next casino visit. Know ahead of time how long you will play, how much money you want to risk, and what other activities you will do there. And if a casino isn’t appreciating your patronage (and club membership), find another place to play. There are a ton of terrific properties out there which will welcome your action and give you a fair shot
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.
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.
Roulette Slot Machine Strategy
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.
Is there a strategy for slot machines. The Umbrella strategy is one of those strategies, which create a pattern.
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.
Best Slots Strategy
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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Have fun, be safe, and make good choices!
By Jon H. Friedl, Jr. Ph.D., President
Jon Friedl, LLC