As a member, you may get additional offers in mail or online. During casinos’ off-seasons, it’s common for them to try to lure you in with free play, free food, or a free hotel stay (or all three). So if you’re going to spend your money anyway, you might as well sign up. Always check the player desk daily to learn about daily promotions and special offers; many of them are not advertised online. If this is your first time, walk around and get to know the facility, especially if you are staying as a hotel guest. Generally, casinos are layed out with the action in the middle and the services around the perimeter. Notice where the rest rooms and emergency exits are located. Look at the floor to identify where the main walkways are, should you become lost. Also notice the overhead signs that indicate different areas and how to get back to where you were.
You can pay with a previous payout ticket, your member card, or cash. Often (if not always), the previous payout ticket will go in the same slot the cash can be inserted. Most machines take $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 dollar bills, though some also take $1, too. These areas will be lit up and unmissable. If you see the Bill Acceptor not lit, or flashing blue, it is in need of service or what is called a Bill Drop [emptying out the accepted cash and making it ready to accept new money]. Press the HELP or SERVICE button to summon an attendant. Most machines no longer spit out coins. If you’re looking for a coin tray, you may be looking for a while. New machines use the TITO system [ticket in, ticket out]. Some casinos have reverted back to coin usage in the high limit areas, as it takes less time to play coins that it does to insert paper. But for machines of $500 denomination and higher, you will need a ticket to play. For certain variations of games, the methodology is spelled out on the glass above the screen. It’ll tell you what type of game it is, what each spin pays out, and details on the jackpot. If it’s there, read it before you sit down. Some machines will be blatantly better than others. Machines tend to be grouped by denomination, style and brand name. Video slots have a HELP or INFO button that will walk you through the various payouts, play lines, bonus games and special features. Each machine has a light on top of it called a ‘candle’. The candle contains a color indicating its denomination, and also serves to notify the slot attendant if service is needed. The candle flashes in specific patterns for service needed, entry made into the machine, jackpot, door not secure, and other functions. Locate the “Cash Out” button. This is how you’ll finally be freed from your semi-conscious state and released into the world of windows, clocks, and not-for-free soda. Press it and it’ll tabulate your winnings and issue a ticket, which you can then take to the cashier or to the payout redemption machine – if you win, of course. Keep in mind that tickets are bearer instruments; whoever holds it can redeem it. So guard it as you would cash. If you find one on the floor or other location, do NOT attempt to redeem it; turn it in to Security or other official. All tickets are numbered and time-stamped, and attempting to cash out one that isnt yours can get you in trouble, up to and including being ejected and barred from the location!
Generally speaking, if more money is needed to hit the jackpots, you should bet it (why play if you can’t win?). So if you’re not looking to dip into your grandmother’s inheritance, the penny, nickel, or quarter slots may be more to your liking. And you’ll get more playing time out of your dollar in the long run! Most casinos lay out these machines in sections. You’ll see giant lit-up signs displaying “5¢” or “25¢” or “1¢. " If the casino is a maze (as some seem to intentionally be), just grab a waitress or attendant to be pointed in the right direction. High limit slots, usually $5 and higher, are located in separate rooms or ‘salons’, with their own attendants and cashiers.
While we’re at it, the concept of a “hot” machine also doesn’t pan out logically. Realistically speaking, a slot machine is a like a pair of dice. You may feel like after you roll four sixes in a row you’re probably not going to get another six, but in all likelihood, the six is just as likely to come up again as every other number. With each roll, the dice starts back over. And the slot machine is the same. It’s only over the course of an absolutely Titanic-sized number of turns that the casinos are getting their payout numbers. Unless you plan on making a career out of risking your money, there’s no point in letting it factor into your decisions.
Betting more doesn’t increase your chances of winning, so it’s fine not to bet max on this type of game. This kind is fairly straightforward in that if you bet a small amount, you’ll win a small amount; bet a large amount, you’ll win a large amount – but it doesn’t effect the number of times you win. Look for machines that don’t have much of a discrepancy between the coins if you’re looking to save your money. If one coin gets you 2000 on the jackpot, and 2 coins gets you 5000, but three coins gets you 45000, you may want to walk away. Imagine what would happen if you bet one coin and hit it big! You’d be sulking all the way to the buffet.
In other words, this machine doesn’t increase the amount you win if were to bet more, it just increases the amount of winning combinations or places you have access to. You’re literally buying what will pay you. And no, if the machine hits but you didn’t pay for it, the machine still counts that as a payout – it won’t make up for it in its 93% payback (or whatever it may be). Buy-a-pay slots are recognizable by the layout of their pay tables. Notice, for example, that a Double Diamond slot has the same symbols shown for one coin or two coin play. All symbols are active regardless of coins played. But look at Bally’s Flaming 7s machine, and you will see the bars listed for one coin and the 7s listed for two coins. For the sevens to be active, you must play both coins per play. If the 7s come up with only 1 coin in, you do not win. As we have mentioned before, learn so you can earn! Some video machines work like this, but those get their separate section.
Just like on the buy-a-pays, you wanna bet the max on this type of game, too. If you don’t bet the max, you won’t be winning the jackpot. You can get smaller cash prizes, but the jackpot won’t have your name on it. So if you do spend your time at this machine – which, in its defense, can have ridiculously large jackpots – be ready to turn out your pockets.
Keep in mind that, while multi-line machines have higher win-rates nowadays, the amount won is often small and less than the amount spent gambling on them. [8] X Research source Consider your position. If you are playing a video slot with 100 paylines at $1 per line, your minimum bet is $100 per play. You are now playing a high-limit bet on a $1 slot. For greater payback percentage, increased ratings as a player and more personalized attention, you may wish to move over to the high-limit machines. You do not need to bet max on this game, but you should bet all the lines. That way, not a turn will go by where you see a winner but don’t get it reflected in your winnings (because you didn’t bet the line). The machine doesn’t care which lines you’re betting and won’t adjust its payout rates accordingly, so bet ’em all to catch ’em all. Video games are far and away the most popular slot as of late. That’s because they offer bonus rounds, scatter pays and special events fairly regularly. In addition to the fun and varied animation, it gives you the sense that you’re actually playing a game and may have a chance at winning. Okay, so video poker may be more popular, but that’s another beast entirely. If you’d like to take a stab at this world, wikiHow has resources for that, too. Winning combinations will criss-cross, use diagonals, Ms, Ws, squigglies, curly-cues, and other directions, depending on the game. Even if you think you’re not winning, you might be and when you think you’re winning, you may not be. Just take in the pretty pictures and try to keep your head above water. And then saddle up for a bonus round and put those free spins to work.
Follow the prompts on the screen or read the directions above it. If you get confused or the machine doesn’t seem to be working, call an attendant (there’s a button on the dash that will do this for you – the machine will light up, notifying them) to help you. When you’re ready to leave, hit the “Cash Out” button. This will print you a receipt that you can then take to a Casino ATM or to the cashier’s box. Once obtained, remove your player’s card and hit the patterned carpeting. What time is it, anyway?
If you see a jacket on a chair or a chair is pushed up against a machine, it’s taken. Don’t use it. You’ll just end up in the middle of a confrontation when the person gets back from the bathroom. Don’t play more than one or two machines at a time. And if the casino is even remotely crowded, only play the one. Don’t ruin someone else’s good time with your insatiable appetite for handle-pulling. If you see someone get a jackpot that should’ve been yours, don’t fuss: There’s no such thing. Each computer is going through thousands of combinations every minute and the likelihood that you would’ve pressed the button at that exact one-hundredth of a second are incredibly minute. Worse than the odds of you walking away with a padded wallet!
Getting greedy or betting more than you can afford to lose are the 2 biggest pitfalls while playing slot machines. What can be a fun, relaxing experience can turn into something that’ll make you pull your hair out. Proceed with caution.
If at all possible, section out your money for the night. Tell yourself you’ll only spend a certain amount every half hour. If you’re up at the end of that 30 minutes, you get to bank what you profited (and keep going with the original amount!). And if you run out of money, you wait until the next half hour mark rolls around and proceed again. The night will last much, much longer.
Be aware that the payout numbers may apply to a bank of machines as opposed to individual units (like in progressive games), and not all machines in that row will pay out the same. You may need to watch other players gamble for a bit to determine which slots are better options. For purposes of clarity, that 98% payout means that you’ll win 98¢ for every dollar you spend. That is, if you were to spend the greater part of this decade there. Machines in Vegas are purported to payout more. But remember, this is over the long-term. Machines have the same number of combinations each time you take a turn. If you win or don’t win on one spin, you have the same chances of winning or not winning next time.
When you get home, put your winnings into a jar. The next time you go to the casino, take your bankroll out of that. If there’s nothing in the jar after a few times, either cut down what you’re spending or cut down on the number of times you go in any given period of time. Or wait until the casino sends you free play in the mail!
