Slot Machine Rules & Strategy
Slot Machine rules? Strategy!? This
one should be pretty obvious. Unlike the hundreds of different ways to
bet at the game of craps, pulling a level on the side of a machine is
pretty simple. Nonetheless, the game of playing slots can be analyzed
and strategy does exist.
Designed by Charles Fey in 1887, the first Slot Machine
was an immediate success. The game became very popular in its native
San Francisco around the turn of the century. The game evolved quickly
while game play remained low. In the 1970's, the games were viewed as
the inferior games of the casino. Any self respecting gambler would
not be caught dead at one of these 'machines'. The games were
typically played by the wives of the real gamblers at the higher
stakes table games.
Until the modern era of gambling and flashy casinos,
the slot machine played second fiddle to the rest of the gambling
family. However, today the machines are the largest cash cows for all
of the largest casinos throughout the world. The slot machine
obsession has swelled and overtaken the other games of the casinos.
Perhaps because of the simplicity, or the thrill of making that
million dollar pull the slot machine revolution has arrived.
Actual strategy regarding slot machines is based on
being an informed gambler. Slot machines have house advantages from 1
to 20 percent. How do you find out what machines have a 1 percent
advantage? Well, the payout percents are usually advertised on the
machines. If the information cannot be found on the machine, simply
ask an employee or call customer service online. Playing 1 percent
house advantage machines with progressive jackpots greatly reduce the
mathematical advantage that any machine has over the player.
The longer a player is engaged with a machine, the
longer they are subjected to the mathematical inevitability that they
will end up losing. Consequently, the only logical conclusion we can
make from this is quit while you are ahead. Because of the way probability
works, you will be winning sometimes and you will be losing sometimes.
If you find yourself in a winning position, cash out. You won! The key
to winning in the long term is riding the oscillations of probability
up, not down. This is all much easier said than done. However, there
are certain things that can be done to identify when you are riding
things up or down. The theory that machines are either hot or cold has
merit. The computers are programmed to payout when certain criteria is
met. If the machine has collected a certain amount of money, or it is
a certain time of day, the machine can be caught in a payout interval.
Catching machines during these winning periods is essential to a very
successful career in playing slots.
* Are you a gambling professional? Could your expertise
benefit people reading this website? If so, don't
hesitate to email tips, help, or strategies to the webmaster.
|
