Those same people lose thousands at slot machines, but don’t brag about those trips.
I can see the one after that. Bond and the crowd in dinner suites, the women in revealing cocktail dresses and gowns.
Blowfeld: Mr. Bond, it comes down to this. For the fate of the Free World crowd gasps call it: heads or tails.
Let’s settle this like gentlemen.
Yu-Gi-Oh street battle!
I used to think it was fun when there were actual quarters involved. It was great to hear the chink chink chink chink of the payouts. With the new electronic machines that only take bills or those slips…I dunno. It’s just not the same. I feel like I drop a 20 in and moments later it’s gone. Even walking away with the slip isn’t as pleasing as walking around with a bucket of quarters.
In super mario brothers 2, I was an expert at timing my button presses right on the extra lives slots! I have never played a real slot machine though, and can’t understand why anyone would. I honestly would rather just play that “guess a number” game described above.
Actually some slot machines are not ‘hot’, but due for a win. They’re designed to pay out at a fairly regular rate. There are often lurkers waiting around a machine that seems to be on a losing streak to jump on. The casino floor guys will keep an eye out for these guys who may go up to an old lady and tell her there’s a phone call for her, then take her machine when she walks over to the desk. Now since the machines are designed to pay out at a rate where on average you lose, I don’t think this could be a great advantage. And the design may allow for some long periods without a win. So I don’t think it’s a great idea to count on this, but it should give you some small improvement in the odds.
But all I do is put in some money and play. If I win I win, if I lose I lose. I’m not going to gamble enough on anything to make a big difference in my life.
Slot machines aren’t programmed to pay out based on their recent history. They run a series of independent trials.
Not necessarily; while the odds favor the house, that doesn’t mean every slot player has the the exact same outcome. Some people win more than others; I knew someone like that. I can’t explain it, but she had uncommon good luck at slots.
That’s just feeding the addiction. The draw is that you can win. Of course, you won’t, but that slim hope is what keeps you feeding $20 at a time to the one-armed bandit. I find it simpler just to walk up to the floor manager and ask him to kick me in the nuts repeatedly. Then I pay him $20.
Oddly enough, they always take that deal.
I’m not sure what there could be to explain.
The original Leisure Suit Larry had a slot machine segment. I could see the appeal. I also learned quickly that slots are a losing proposition without the ability to save and restore.
I played some of the new slots two years ago in Florida (Mom had gotten two free buffet and $10 gambling credit vouchers in the mail). I found it all very confusing. I prefer three wheels and one line.
Lanzy
As others have said, each spin is an independent trial. They can no more get ‘hot’ than a pair of dice.
Re Variable Odds
IIRC The odds of each and every machine are available from the state gamin commission. I remember a ‘World’s Biggest Secrets’ or somesuch special on one of the networks investigated and found that odds did vary depending on placement of machine.
I enjoy watching slot play - at least, for the machines with the neato bonus games. The ones that just give you free spins, or just have classic-style reels? BO-ring.
I’m not really interested in any casino games for fun. Unless I’ve been given a +EV promotion from an online casino, I don’t play.
But to those getting snippy about slots in particular, what’s the difference between a slot jockey, a Craps player who only ever plays Pass/Come plus odds and a Blackjack player who only plays perfect basic strategy?
Theoretically the slot jockey will lose faster, but all 3 players are effectively just “sitting there pressing buttons”, losing money, (on average), whilst not making any of their own decisions.
I’ve never been to a casino and probably never will. But if I did, I’d probably play slots since I don’t know any card games well enough to win. Plus if it’s a penny slot, that’s a lot of bang for your buck (especially with the free cocktails).
“I believe you are familiar with the game known as ‘Ro-Sham-Bo’, Mr. Bond? Look down below your waist, and you’ll find that in this game, my ‘scissors’ have the clear advantage…”
Wait, what? Are you suggesting that they program these machines to increase the odds of winning (ie, un-randomizing the results in favor of the player) based on how long it’s been since the last payout?
I think he means that over millions of trials, the payouts will average out at a fairly regular rate. I hope that’s what he’s saying. Because otherwise he’s dead wrong.
Wow, you guys sound like* loads *of fun.
These all roughly translate to “I don’t enjoy this activity, therefore nobody should.” I say, to each his own. While I do prefer craps and blackjack, I play slots for three reasons:
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I don’t always feel like being mentally alert enough to make the right decisions at the tables. When I’ve had a few drinks and/or I’ve been sitting there too long, and I start to get angry at myself for making a dumb mistake, it’s time to head to the slots.
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I’m a cheapskate. It wasn’t terribly long ago that you could still find a $2 blackjack table once in a while, and I could really make my gambling budget last. Now, it’s hard to find even a $5 table anymore. I’ll play at $10 for a while, but if I’m losing I’ll walk away from that fast. No way I’m plunking down $25 or more on a hand of blackjack or a roll of the dice, ever, but these seem to be the most common tables, and anything lower is usually too crowded to get near.
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They can actually be fun, even those incomprehensible ones the OP mentioned. Cool graphics, it’s fun when you trigger the bonuses, and so forth. And if I’m not liking a particular one I’ll just find another, no big deal. Most take your money relatively slowly, so if I don’t come out close to even (which usually happens), at least it’ll take me a while to lose my limit, and I’m having a good time while doing so.
To me, gambling money = entertainment money. Win or lose, if I’m not enjoying myself, what’s the point? So if you don’t enjoy slots, don’t play them. But spare us your sanctimonious judgement if someone else does.
I worked on a casino boat in slots as well as in the cage and have a LOT of slots experience from working with them and from playing. I nearly always come out ahead when I play slots, but I don’t claim to have any secret knowledge, I just use a few strategies that work.
I only play a set amount that I want to spend that day, period end of story. Full stop. No ATM visits, no borrowing, no nothing. When that money is gone, the slots play is over and that’s that.
If I do get ahead (maybe I put $50 in and win some, getting up to say $125) I won’t play that money down past $100. I’ll cash it out, put the ticket in my pocket and put some more cash in if I want to play it more. This keeps my winnings in one pocket and my spendies in the other. When my spendies are gone, regardless of what’s in my winnings pocket, I’m done for the day/night.
I always play maximum lines with the number of credits I can comfortably swing. If it’s a 9 line machine at 5 cents a line, that’s 45 cents. I’ll usually do that kind of machine at 3 credits/pull, $1.35/spin. If I get ahead, I may increase that to 10 credits/pull (max bet) for a few spins- the idea is that if you hit a bonus round while you happen to be playing the 10 credits/line you’ll get a much higher payout. I don’t play every spin at 10 credits/line or I’d be out of money in minutes, but I throw a few randoms in there to try and win. That’s exactly what I did in December when I hit for $1,500 on a machine that I’d only put $50 into. I won that money, cashed it in and spent 0 more dollars at the casino- got myself a coffee and waited for my parents to finish up. Anyway, the fun, if you don’t understand it, is that MAYBE when you’re spinning the 10 credit/line spin you’ll get the fun flashy bonus and THEN you’ll have some money to cash out and it’s a good day. If you’re counting on that or don’t find that chance fun, then I can’t understand why you would play slots to begin with.
I think I’m unusual in my betting/saving practices because I used to watch people play for hours and hours and lose hundreds/thousands of dollars at slots/blackjack/roulette/craps. I love to play but never throw good money after bad or try to recoup a loss day.
By the way, I know for a fact that they intentionally make the new machines very confusing for a good reason- there is always, always a “max bet” button and if you sit down at a 25 cent machine that has like 45 lines and hit that button (drunk or not doing the math) boom, you just bet 11.25 on ONE spin. If you hit? Well good. If you didn’t? Well, damn that was a lot of $$ on one spin. There are 90 line games and games where you can play 4 slots at once that are the same way- hit max bet on those and your bet might be $40 or more. They are intentionally confusing so you’ll throw your money in, hit a button or two and walk away confused wondering how it went so fast. I worked with slots and paid them out by hand, so I know exactly how the pays work and even myself and my former coworker get confused by some of the new machines. That tells me that they’re supposed to be confusing so that people don’t have a hope of betting in a way that might get them ahead.
Damn it now I want to play some slots.
Maybe I misunderstand the probability of this, but isn’t it still dead wrong to claim that the history of payouts on a machine has any bearing whatsoever on the chances that you’re going to win on the machine?
If the odds are 1:10, and there are two machines.
The first machine hasn’t paid out in the last 60 plays.
The second machine has paid out 9 of the last 60 plays, including the last two.
Which is more likely to win on the 61st play?
Neither. If you insist that either one is more likely, either because it’s on a ‘winning streak’ or it’s ‘overdue’ for a win, then you are either being willfully ignorant about how this works in order to enjoy the game a little more, or you’re just stupid. Either way, you’re wrong wrong wrong, just as much as if you wanted to claim 2 + 2 = 7, and you deserve to be chided and corrected.