Slots which is a better strategy?

We are low rollers; ie 300 a day gambling money. At home at our local casinos I'm usually a max bet penny machines; cause when its gone I just drive a half hour and im home. However in Vegas running out of cash early would rather suck. So how do you other low rollers do it? Go big or go home attitude or go max line minimum bet and HOPE!! I've seen some NICE hits on .50 or $1 spins so I'm between the two. Thoughts?

 

Ms. Gecko and I are also low rollers, but we gamble all day long and seldom lose more than $300 a day between us. In fact, we often make that much or more. Not to sound condescending, but the reason is that we don't play slots! Honestly, if you want to make your money last, try playing VP or table games with better odds. You might even find you enjoy it more. Sorry, but other than that, I don't know of any slot "strategy" other than dividing your bankroll by the number of days and stop playing if/when the day's allotment is reached.

 

My girlfriend plays $200 a day at .40 - .80 a spin and it lasts her all day. There is no strategy. Play what you are comfortable with.

 

**IF** it were me, I would use that $300 on $5 craps or buy in to a poker game - either could go south but if you are conservative could last quite a long time. If I had only the choice of playing slots I'd play $1 max bet at 3 credit spin and win until it was all gone which probably wouldn't last very long at all. I'm not big into slots and hitting tiny wins here and there doesn't really do anything for me so my perspective on this may be skewed. As I said I'd probably go down to Excalibur and play $5 craps all day long, I've had some really good times there - good mix of players and very friendly dealers. Also to any newcomers I've seen there dealers be more than helpful, more so than just about any other place I've played (which is every single casino on the strip with the exception of Flamingo/Ballys).

 

More a VP/Tables person than slots myself but the wife plays slots almost exclusively and has a not dissimilar budget (perhaps a little higher most trips) and she manages to get plenty of hours on her beloved machines each day.

On penny video slots she always bets max lines and generally bets minimum stakes although if she's ahead for the day she'll sometimes have a little swing at 'glory' by max-betting a machine or two and if the bankroll dips past a certain point will revert back to max line, min stakes.

Sometimes she'll fancy a little change and play quarter reel slots for a single coin on machines where the only difference between the paytables is the top jackpot or if she can find one where there is actually no differentiation at all for multiple coins per spin.

Occasionally she may find her bankroll being depleted far too quickly and take time out from gambling that day for an hour or two to enable her to play into the late evening but that really does seem to only happen every now and then.

Furry

 

I guess the question comes down to:

1) Do you want to get a bunch of play out of the money?
2) Do you want to try to win BIG?
3) Are you wanting both 1 & 2?


For me, I want the playing time.

I would like to win big...but mostly want to play. So I play at low limits - looking forward to $1 BJ at Riviera. I'm not going to win much there...but I'm going to get a lot of play time.

I love the energy of craps. My basic strategy is betting 6 & 8 - sometimes I have to make a come bet in order to shoot. - here I am going for playing time and some smaller wins.

I used to play craps by just betting the come bet...no odds an occasionally a hard way bet - here I was just going for the play time again.


I tried mega bucks once when I was trying to win big.

For me, I like diversity. I try to find a combination of as much play time as I want (on small money) and some opportunities to win big.

 

If you want to stretch the bankroll, drop your bet down. It doesn't have to be one per line but considering that Vegas casinos have huge max bets compared to other locales, anything smaller will make a difference. Also remember progressives tend to be tighter than the regular gmaes so be cautious how you play them.

 

max line, min bet, penny slots.

Mystic unicorn is my jam when I play this way! have never gone a trip without hitting a full screen of unicorns for a cool $200 on a $0.40 bet.




I have also seen some that are half a cent per line. so 50 lines for $0.25...love those

 

$300/day.
Hmmm, I would break it down into $100 for the morning/afternoon with minimum bets.

The $200 is for after dinner when the drinking starts. As the night progresses increase bets based on the remaining bankroll.

 

Good Advice

LVBound gave you good advice. Divide your gambling bankroll... whatever it is... into segments for morning, afternoon and evening for each day of your trip... and leave a bit for airport gambling... look it up online, there have been a lot of bigs wins there.
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I can tell you from personal experience ... when I was much, much younger... Las Vegas is no fun at all with no money. After that one experience of having only airport money on the last day... I said "Never Again" will I be that dumb.
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Read the "Help" and "Pays" on slot machines and it will tell you when that machine must be played at max to win big... most slots you do not have to gamble max to win a jackpot... For example, if Wheel of Fortune needs max to win the millions, either don't play it or play max. I have won $1800 on a Triple Diamond slot with 3 quarters. Won $1200 on Stacking Sevens or some name similar with an 80¢ bet... and a TITO last spin on Stinking Rich for 3¢, ... I won $64... where the max bets on that machine had sucked my money like a vacuum, . I have had a few wins on $1 and $5 machines, but for some reason... my particular luck seems good at lower amounts and seems to run away if I get greedy and start betting too high for my bankroll. Youtube has a lot of "big slot wins on small bets".
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I go to Las Vegas to have a good time... and a good time for me is to be able to gamble all day long. Fremont has $3 craps and most every place downtown has $5 minimum blackjack and other table games. You can play a long time on $100 invested on $5 min. at freebet blackjack or Pai Gow Mania or $3 craps for example.
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Hope you have a fabulous "first time" and can post a trip report about all the new things you enjoyed!!!

 

i would try craps with your bankroll.
$3 at casino royal
$5 margaritaville
$5 Excalibur (most of the time $5)
$5-10 Monte Carlo
to have a good time min. on pass line and take min. odds.
that $300 should last many hours.

 

$5 pai-gow poker. Forget slots - you'll play just as long (or longer) playing pai-gow as you would any slot machine, have more social interaction & perhaps even earn a meal (downtown, anyway).
You can also play $3 blackjack, 3:2, downtown, at either the El Co or the Fremont. If you play the Fremont, it's a 6-deck shoe with a Lucky Ladies side-bet. You can play the side-bet for $1, and it certainly has a "slot" feel to it, only it probably wins more frequently than a slot (about 20% of the time, 4-to-1 on any two-card 20), and has a slot-like jackpot if you're dealt two queens of hearts. (200-to-1, or 1000-to-1 if the dealer has a blackjack).

Anyway, a $100 buy in at a $3 table, flat-betting, can last quite a long time...almost as long as $5 pai-gow.
So - one of those two would be my advice.

 

Good Lord, why on earth wouldn't the drinking start until AFTER dinner??

 

This all depends on which machines you are playing. Some of the licensed slot machines don't give very big pays for min bets. You will only see the big wins when you are betting at least $2 or more. There are machines like Mystical Unicorn (also my favorite - won $250 on .50 once) and other G+ Deluxe WMS machines that will sometimes pay big on minimum bets if you hit it just right. But those are also high volatility so you can go a while without hitting anything.

It's good advice to look at the paytables before sitting down. That's if - you are looking to get the most for your money. If you are like my husband...he likes to play games that are fun, have fun bonus rounds and are entertaining (most of the licensed games). He hates most Konami and Aristocrat games for this reason - they just aren't that exciting but I've seen them return some good wins on low bets.

Minimum betting on pennies can eat up your bankroll fast. And there's nothing worse than getting a good hit and saying "man, if only I was playing max...." I can't tell you how many times we've said that.

I'm changing our strategy this trip. We bring about $2000 for the 2 of us as our bankroll for a 3.5 day trip. I plan on reading paytables and playing machines based upon that. I won't be minimum betting - I've vowed not to play under $1.20 a spin on any machine. 24 hours in - we'll see how that goes but that's my goal for now. I'd love to see if I get different results than in the past. I also will play some freebet blackjack and Pai Gow as well, it's always good to mis it up with table games in between. For quarter and dollar 3 reel machines- I always play max but I don't play them that often. I'll be hitting some of those this time too.

Check out some videos on youtube and you can get a feel for what is out there and what kind of pays are available on the various machines and various bets.

 

I'm not a slots player beyond a random $21 into the Majestic Lions @ MGM, or 8 figure Megamillions, but I do know the older reel slots (diamonds, bars, etc) typically have a lower hold/house edge, mainly because the casinos own these machines outright vs. paying lease and licensing fees for the video promo slots.

If you are comfortable playing machines vs. table games, but wouldn't mind getting a strategy card / learning strategy before your trip, Video Poker will stretch your gambling dollar for far longer action playing the same amounts vs. playing slots.

You can find decent nickel 9/6 JOB machines ($0.25 max bet) at LVH (9/6 JOB), dime machines ($0.50 max bet) at El Cortez and quarter machines ($1.25 max bet) at many casinos throughout Las Vegas including on the Strip (NYNY); close to the Strip (Ellis Island; Gold Coast; Palms) and Downtown (The California, Four Queens; Main Street Station), and many more locals casinos.

I'm assuming you enjoy playing the machines more than table games (since you are slot players), but by learning simple strategy you can greatly extend your gambling hours and risk far less playing video poker with very good pay tables. I suggest 9/6 JOB (Jacks or Better paying 9 coins for a Full House and 6 coins for a flush) because it has the lowest variance (your play is slower and study vs. high variance games such as double double bonus) and your gambling dollars will go the farthest playing these games.

I limit nearly all of my Vegas play (95% +) to Video Poker, Live Poker or Blackjack. With discipline to limit play to the best odds (S17 and/or DD BJ, Full Pay Video Poker, skilled live poker play) you give yourself a decent chance at coming home even/ahead. I've won over 40% of my Vegas trips, and have only come home losing my bankroll a few times in my 42 trips.

I hope my post was helpful. This board is a great resource to find information regarding video poker play, and you can also go to VP Free 2.0 for information regarding the best machines in Vegas, your local casino, and beyond. You can pick up strategy free online, or via laminated inexpensive strategy cards. I never play without my strategy cards as back-up.

 

I'm a quarter video poker player, and finding the best games (99+ %) downtown, always helps my money last longer. However, based on your chosen daily limit, each person has to decide if it's better to play nickels, quarters, or dollars. When your eyes get too big for your bankroll, you WILL see your money disappear.

Our recent trip just completed, we cycled & recycled about $36K playing VP, over a week-long trip, and only lost $62.

 

I have got this quite a few times on Mystical Unicorn at the casino (both Morongo and Pechanga). I love this game and I got this on JPC a couple times too. I have not been able to play it for a while though because people are on it every time I go to the casino now. Another game that is similar - King of Africa, I got all lions before too a long with the major at the exact same time betting only 40 cents.

I recommend WMS games for not a lot of money because the money lasts longer and you get more bonuses. The Xtra Reward Konami games are good too. I <3 Miss Kitty =)

 

Gramma knows best, no money = no fun. look for .01 machines with least amount of lines. That still get u to bonus rounds. one penny on all lines. But I would do nickel vp downtown or Ellis island. And drink like a fish.

 

I just saw this - I know it's an old thread but I LOOOOOVE Mystical Unicorn!

I've gotten a full screen twice and a near full screen a few times at the local and in Vegas last year. I always have to try if I see one as I pass by. I always bet min but I think I will be upping it to 2 per line this time and see what happens.

Man, I just love MU!!