each spin is different and has the exact same odds as the previous spin. "cold and hot" machines are just a superstition. but my strategy is to usually bet every line and the minimum bet per line. (if I am playing a multi line game) this usually is about 60 lines and 1 penny per line so 60 cents a bet and just keep mashing the respin button until i trigger a bonus. If i blow a hundred bucks I usually just walk away to regroup or do something else before i play again.
Since it's pure luck and strategy has no bearing on winning or losing my strategy is purely psychological. I'm notorious for bouncing from machine to machine. I hardly play more than 10 minutes at a single machine before moving unless the bonuses are often and fun. There's no skill involved so move on when it's no longer fun.
For me, 10 pulls with no reasonable payback usually means its time to walk away. I fully believe some machines are configured looser than others. But, as you'll note, everyone has different opinions on this.
OK, first of all, IMO, there are no "strategies" for playing slots. There are preferences for how much you want to spend (i.e. lose) before you get bored, pissed off, or disgusted. Or you see a different machine that you would like to play. My preference really depends on whether a machine is "high volatility" or "low volatility". I am usually more patient with a high volatility machine. However, this weekend I also learned that you can get a handpay from a scatter win on The Amulet and the Charm, so who knows? . . . .
DaiLun, On that note, do you prefer to play the machines just outside the HL rooms or at the end of an aisle that might be a good machine and draws other to play the ones set with a worst % or is that just crazytalk.
Is there a location in casinos where the machines are looser? It would make sense that near entrances they would want more excitement form the players to get more people in.
FWIW in his call with investors where Steve Wynn talked about rogering players on craps odds he also said: So it sounds like his "loosest" slots are buried in the corners of the casino. Slots are computerized, and house edge is based on the odds and paytable. A "looser" slot is still a rip off, and it is very tough to observe the difference anecdotally. Long story short, you can put your worst machines by the door and the will still win about as often and generate plenty of excitement. Its just that the wins will be proportionately a bit slower, or the losses in between more severe.
I believe that is an Urban Legend. For 45+ years, I've been hearing "the slots are looser on the aisles and windows", but I have no hard evidence to back that up (or dismiss it for that matter). Some of my hand pays have been on machines tucked back in a corner where you wouldn't notice them. My jackpots have come at all times of the day and night. My highest handpay was on Christmas in the high limit slot area of an Indian casino, and the second highest was at Bally's Las Vegas. My last handpay (just last week) was at 7AM when I was desperately looking for a cocktail waitress for a cup of coffee! I've hit 'em within 2 pulls of starting (SLS), In recent history, I've never stayed with a machine for more than 30 minutes. I will play 'em "wherever", but prefer not to "squeeze in" between two people or sit right next to a chain smoker. (I'm an ex-smoker, so I understand, just don't like it)
Of course machines are configured in different ways, that still doesn't have any bearing on the randomness in play. One machine can hit five more times in a cycle of, say, 10,000 plays and it means what to the superstition of "knowing" when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em? Exactly. As pointed out above, it is purely psychological, which means if you want to have a spin count, go ahead, but the math is the math.
The only advice I would have is that if you don't intend on betting max credits on a linked million dollar jackpot machine then you should move on to a non-jackpot machine.
I don't play a ton of slots, but just as a craps table (my game) will get hot and cold, I have the same superstitions on slots. Although I know it isn't accurate, its just how I'm wired. But I will say this - on my last trip I found a slot that was my ATM. I would hit the same machine every time I passed it, and had wins of approx. $500 (twice), $600, $750, and $900 on five separate occasions. Now I know it was random, dumb luck, and I had sessions at it where I didn't win as well, but for me that machine was "hot", so I would be willing to spend more time at it than others. My wife on the other hand, jumps machines fast, except for the ones she's playing because she simply enjoys the game or wants a bonus or is waiting for a drink.
Our brains are interesting things when it comes to patterns, real or perceived. And sometimes random is very "favorable." Years ago we were playing at Montelago, DDB. I was killing it, pulling quads -- several with kickers -- in an unprecedented fashion. I'd hit a few, change machines, hit that one, try another and hit it. Meanwhile a woman was playing the same carousel, doing nothing, giving me the stink eye every time I'd hit and Terri was whooping and high-fiving, and as I moved she'd take my abandoned machine. I'd hit and move, she'd move and not hit, I'd move, so would she, hit, not, and so forth.
I used to be a slot wholesaler and would pick up machines being sold off by the casinos so I learned a little about them. The older machines had a physical chip that needed to be removed to change the odds and that required a gaming rep to be present so this was rarely done. Talking with the techs when loading the machines I found out that any machine that was near a place where folks lined up (coffee shop, front desk, showroom) the machines had bad payouts since they had a captive audience. Also machines with an unusually high top award have less hits due to the amount it must take in (example a 3 coin machine that has a top of 1000/2000/5000 will hit more often then a machine that has a top award of 1000/2000/25000) One last note...the reason casinos were dumping slot machines that took coins for tito machines was a glitch was discovered with the random number generator. The machine has a list of root numbers it used to compute out reel results. When a machine is turned on for the first time The first root number has the top award combination in it (that's why when they turn on the machines they don't let anyone play them for a few hours) but if the machine is turned off or loses power when it boots back up it starts at the top of the list again. The newer machines don't have this problem but if you find a slot machine made before 1999 and there is a power failure just sit in front of it and wait for the power to turn back on.
My mother was a fairly strong winner over the years. I was completely worthless. She gave me a tip many years ago that has helped me win a lot more often Her strategy is to bet every line and the minimum bet per line. This usually is about 50 lines and 1 penny per line so 50 cents a bet. If she loses, she stays the course with the same bet. If she wins some credits. she plays the next spin at a larger rate. For instance if she wins one hundred credits. She play 2 times the lines for one spin. "let ir ride" (once) If she wins 150 credits or more she plays that spin at 3 times. Occasionally after a larger win she will play the max spin (once).. In essence; We never "chase" after a bad spin and risk more of her bankroll. She only risks more money when she has won it from the machine past spin(s). After a good hit, She starts back to the initial 1penny times all lines bet. Her reasoning is that when a machine is hot she is using the casinos money to increase her bet amount, and has a better chance for a big payout. On the flip side, when she or the machine is cold, she can play longer, and give her a chance for the machine to hit after being patient. I follow her strategy to a "T" and have enjoyed slot play longer with more wins than previously. She also never plays more than a $20 at a time in a machine. She may feed in 10-$20 bills into her favorite machine, but in her past when she played a hundred, she would be tempted to play max credits, or stay ata cold machine too long.
A "strategy" of moving on to another machine or another casino after X number of spins without a win or bonus is actually a pretty good idea. In the long run you will spend less time putting money into slots, so you will end up losing less money.
Yeah, moving is a good idea if you aren't bothered by it because you lose only Calories when walking. Last session at a local, I didn't hit much at all, but didn't lose tons because I was walking maybe a quarter of the time.