What Is A Loose Slot Machine
The loose slot machine is the slot player’s Holy Grail. Much as King Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table searched Britain for the Holy Grail of myth, slot players search casinos for loose machines. That is that online slot machines are looser across the board than real, land based machines and there is a significant difference between the RTP%s you will routinely find in each realm. A loose slot machine increases your chance of winning and helps if you want to know when a slot machine is close to hitting the jackpot. Below you will find a list of things to look out for when determining if you have found a loose slot machine.
“Hey there, Tex. You want some free money?”
If anyone ever says this to you, run away. There’s no such thing as free money and there’s always a catch when someone tells you that there is.
If there’s anything to be gleaned from movies about gambling, it’s that casinos are evil and they want to leave you with nothing…NOTHING.
But wait. What if movies aren’t like real life? And what if your main interest lies in playing the slots?
Here’s some good news, there are right ways to play pokies and come out on top. If you’re careful and calculated, you can avoid the typical pitfalls of casino life using some slot machine tricks.
Let’s go over some of the best practices when hitting the slots. Here are some dos and don’ts for making the most of your trip to the casino.
Grab a pack of cheap cigarettes and put your ugliest suit on, it’s time to gamble.
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Wait, Money Does Grow on Trees?
That thing at the beginning about running away when someone offers you free money?
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If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas, then you’ve seen what can only be described as casino heaven. The Vegas strip is a veritable pig pen of casino activity, and with so much competition between establishments, the different casinos need ways to get people into their building instead of someone else’s.
That’s where no-deposit bonus codes come in. These are essentially free money vouchers. The casinos use them to bring people in the doors, where they know that will power will eventually fade away along with the free money. So evil, right?
But if you’re smart and careful, you can take this free money and use it to make more money using some of the tricks we’ll outline here.
A Couple Slot Machine Tricks
Sure, most folks just waltz on to the casino floor and just start losing money, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you get to know the way that casinos work, then you’ll be at an advantage.
Or at least an advantage over the other gamblers. The casino always has the advantage. Remember, you’re in their house.
Loose Slots
Yep, there is such thing as a “loose” slot machine. This is an old-school term that basically means that a slot is more likely to pay out.
In the age of digital slot machines, the actual mechanics of the machine don’t cause it to pay out more, but machines today have random number generators (RNG’s) that do pay out at different rates.
Casinos always keep the machines that have higher payout rates away from the ends of the aisles and away from doorways. This is to keep gamblers from winning big on a machine and immediately taking their business elsewhere.
So always make sure to get into the thick of it before you settle down at a machine.
Bet Max
What? Bet the max amount? Isn’t that the quickest way to bankruptcy?
Yes and no. Machines nowadays have multiple bet lines so when you bet the max you can take advantage of multiple lines. The odds of you winning don’t increase, but the amount you win will greatly increase when you do win if you bet max.
Different machines have different volatility levels. Machines with high volatility are quicker to run you out of town, but the winnings will be way better. Low volatility machines pay out less money at a higher frequency. Keep this in mind.
Play Classic Over Video
Those big flashy video slots with all the fun graphics and loud music? They aren’t just there to entertain you. They’re there to take your money.
The video slots are there to draw people in, and it works. But the casino’s cost of running and maintaining video slots is much higher and they take up tons of space compared to the other machines, so the payout is almost always lower.
Stick to the boring old slots. There’s less to look at but you might just leave them with heavier pockets.
Random or Progressive?
Temptation is the name of the game at the casino, and progressive slots are really tempting.
A progressive slot machine is one that pools all the money from everyone that’s played it since its last jackpot. There are also multi-slot progressive jackpots that pool a few different machines to tempt people with enormous payouts.
Keep It Random, Y’All
Random slots obviously look a bit less enticing, as they have a fixed jackpot. They do, however, pay out those jackpots more frequently. Pick your poison, but often good things come to those who wait.
Pay Tables
Take a look at the pay tables of different machines to compare. A pay table shows the payout for each combination of symbols/amount bet.
Pay tables can be an indicator of a machine’s volatility, and doing a little comparison rather than just sitting down randomly at a machine can help you in the long run. It’s better to take your time and find the right machine that your research tells you is more likely to pay out.
Talkin’ Bout Practice
Did you know that practice always makes perfect? Well, not perfect in this case because it’ll never be perfect. But there are websites where you can try out some of your strategies, look at pay tables, multipliers, and other game features without losing your hard earned dough.
Check out a practice site to try out different games and learn about the nuances of each slot machine. There is a lot of variance between machines when it comes to free spins, bonus rounds, and multipliers, so it will benefit you greatly to familiarize yourself before you do it for real.
Try Math
Listen, these god-forsaken machines were built on math. And if you really want to beat them, you have to fight fire with fire. This requires a lot of time and brainpower, but it is possible to give yourself a chance.
There are loads of math based strategies available online. While they certainly don’t guarantee success, they at least allow you to feel like you’re in control over the game. Get a good pocket-sized calculator, a notepad, and a pen and go get yourself some money.
Know When to Give up on a Machine
This is an easy one. Sometimes you just have to know when to give up if a machine isn’t paying out. It’s not exactly following your gut, but more like letting the results dictate what you do.
You never want to end up like the old person sitting at the same machine for hours on end in their sweats, smoking cigarette after cigarette, dumping all of their excess money into the slots.
And what was stated earlier rings is all too true. The slots will always win in the end.
The easy way to avoid this is to have the willpower to walk away and find another machine. You can do it.
Bounce Around
Not staying too long at one machine is one of the more obvious tips. But if you have the option, bouncing around to different casinos is another good move.
Casinos are all vying for your business, and as mentioned earlier, they will offer you different perks to get you in their clutches. Why exploit the generosity of just one establishment when you can get free spins, chips, and bonuses from two? Or three? Or four? Don’t limit yourself.
Have Limits
No, but do limit yourself though. If you’re not having a good day at the races, pack it in early.
It’s really easy to go down a dark gambling hole, and that’s what the casinos want you to do. But you can always go back, so don’t be discouraged.
Set a limit for yourself on how much money you are willing to spend at this place, and fastidiously stick to it. Yes, the next spin could change your life, but what if it’s actually about 150 spins from now? Be careful out there.
Good Luck
The bottom line in all of this is that this is all luck based. If you are playing the slots and using slot machine tricks expecting to win, you’re doing it wrong! There are lots of so-called “experts” telling you how to play the pokies, but the best advice is to not let the pokies play you.
All that you can do is employ some of these strategies and hope for the best, and you’ll be in a better position than if you just go in blind. Even the most seasoned and strong-willed gambler is at the mercy of the slot machine.
In any case, good luck to all and visit our pokies blog for more articles about all things pokies or look at one of our many gambling guides to gambling in Australia.
Once a month this column will answer reader questions about things you experience in Bay Area card rooms. The following recently came in from a player in the North Bay:
Question
'On a recent visit to the Bay Area I visited a casino in the North Bay and overheard some other patrons describe the slot machines there as 'loose.' What does this mean? Are some slot machines really more likely to pay out jackpot money than others? How can you tell loose machines from 'tighter' ones?'
Answer
Here's what Russell Kinney, vice president of slot operations at Cache Creek Casino in Brooks (Yolo County), had to say:
'When casinos talk about slots being 'loose,' they're talking about the payback percentage. Machines are set to pay back a certain percentage of everything that players put in. The catch is that this is calculated over millions of pulls. Most $1 machines and above pay back at 95 percent, so long as you are playing (the maximum number of) coin (lines). Over 1 million pulls, this means you'll make back 95 percent of what you put in. Of course if you sit down with $100 and play for 20 minutes, it is possible for the machine to take your money and not give you anything.'
'Payback percentage also relates to entertainment value. If you walk into a Strip casino in Vegas, and you put in $100 but only get 32 minutes of entertainment, that's not the best entertainment value. Well, if you go to a local casino and you get 45 minutes of entertainment for the same amount of money, you're getting more value, and the paybacks on the local machine are probably better.'
'For the best entertainment value, guests need to look for machines with the lowest top award. Think about it - at a payback of 95 percent or better, these machines are going to have a higher frequency of hits. If you have a $1 machine that has a top award of $1,000, it is going to hit over and over and over again for $10, $20, $50 and so on. Let's say you find another machine with a $50,000 top award. The program running that machine was written in such a way that it won't give you as many small pays because it has to pay out $50,000 at the top end. It's a trade-off; machines with higher top awards will take your money faster, but you have the opportunity to win big.'
What Is A Loose Slot Machine Jackpots
'Of course the most aggressive paybacks - the 'loosest slots' - in the casino are usually video poker; paybacks here can be up to 103 percent. If you find a poker machine that has a 7/10 payback, I'd play it. That means that when you win, you get seven coins on a flush and 10 coins on a full house. Most paybacks in California are 5/8. Every once in a while you see a 6/9. Keep in mind that these rates are only if you play max coin, and only if you play by the same rules as the computer itself.'