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Slots Slot Tournaments - it is just mashing the buttons @ max credits?

Discussion in 'Slots' started by rycelover, Apr 11, 2016.

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  1. rycelover

    rycelover High-Roller

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    I'm invited to my first tourney at Harrah's Lake Tahoe next weekend. I never play slots (just a dumb craps player) but the Grand Prize is $500k and $500k shared by others. I think participants and invited players from all across CET properties. Since it's a free invite, it's gotta be +EV ...

    I know this has come up before, but I'm guessing the general consensus is to just mash the buttons at max credit for as long and as fast as i can throughout the session, right?

    Any insight as to how I should approach this from slot players would be greatly appreciated.
     
  2. Joe

    Joe VIP Whale

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    If it's a slot tournament, just bang the button for your 5 or 10 minutes. The next day in round two, do the same thing. No thinking involved.

    Good luck!
     
  3. NewOrleansSlimm

    NewOrleansSlimm VIP Whale

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    you can hit either the max bet or regular bet button, doesnt matter its all the same, some tournaments ive been in are 3-5 minutes long and it would have ballons pop up on the screen which if you touched within a few seconds it would give you bonus points so you had to be ready...

    other than that work on short strokes to press the button instead of banging so you dont wear yourself out
     
  4. BayouBengal

    BayouBengal VIP Whale

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    Bang it hard and bang it often. *thats what she said.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  5. FABismonte

    FABismonte Tell my wife I am "about even."

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    it is significant you mention your tournament is at Harrah's Lake Tahoe. When I was at a slot tournament at Harrah's Lake Tahoe last summer it was NOT just mashing the buttons. I also had to "pop" balloons on the touch screen which quickly counted down points upon some winning hands. If you delayed in popping the balloons, you lost points. So while my right hand was pressing the play button, my left had to be ready to press the screen at the right spots. While I am a healthy guy, this two handed slot tournament was like a tiring video game and so was not relaxing at all.
     
  6. Auggie

    Auggie Dovahkiin

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    Some random thoughts:

    When you get there find out what the rules are:
    - is there just one session? Two? Three?
    - how long is each session?
    - do you need to sign up for specific sessions you want? or is it random?
    - is there a party at the end when they distribute prizes?
    - do you have to attend the party to get your prize?
    - can you "rebuy" in to the tournament? (IE: for cash or by earning so many TR points can you get to go another round)
    - is the final winners determined by total score? best score? This can matter if it is by total score because if its two rounds and you really had bad luck in the first round then you can probably skip the second round and any further parts of the event if you want

    The tournament machines are going to be special slot machines set up specifically for the tournament. I haven't done a tournament at Lake Tahoe but its almost always basic three reel machines and you can push either the MAX BET or SPIN button... it will always play max credits.

    There are two counters: starting credits and won credits. The only credits that count towards the end are the ones you win and you can't spend your won credits to keep playing.
    Just as an example: if you start with 100 credits and its 1 credit to play each spin at max bet then you have 100 spins. If you win 200 credits through play your win meter will say 200 credits and after your 100 spins you are done - you can't keep playing and start betting those credits on your win meter. Likewise, if you played only 75 spins and had 25 starting credits leftover and you won 200 credits... then your final score is 200, its not 225 (its the 200 you won plus the 25 you have leftover... the leftover credits don't count).

    "Just hit that spin button as fast as you can" sounds really simple but you might want to try it out first: if sitting at your computer desk try setting a timer for 10 minutes and just keep slapping one spot on the desk for about as fast as you can for the whole ten minutes - its probably not a motion you are used to so you might find your hand/wrist/arm gets sore and tired pretty fast from doing that.

    Even if you are a craps player or other table games, if you are going to be there you should play: it really doesn't take up that much time and there isn't any skill involved that gives one player an advantage over another so your chances of winning something are pretty much the same as everybody else - if a third of the entrants win something then you have a one in three chance it'll be you.


    One thing that you do have to watch out for is: are the prizes in cash or slot play or a mix?
    If some or all of the prizes are paid out in slot play and if you really don't like slots then in order to get your winnings at the end you are going to have to play some slots to cycle your money through.

    And if it is slot play you want to check if the slot play has an expiration date: I haven't done a Harrah's slot tournament in a couple of years but a few years ago for some of them the slot play had really short expiration dates (in some cases as short as 2-7 days) and if you don't play the slot play through in that time then it is lost. That could be an issue if something were happening like you had to show up at a 7pm prize party and they gave out the prizes at 8pm and if you have a decent sized win but you have an early flight home the next morning you might have to run through the whole slot play that night before bed or risk losing it (again, only if it has a short expiration date).
     
  7. rycelover

    rycelover High-Roller

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    This is awesome; thanks for the information!
     
  8. rycelover

    rycelover High-Roller

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    Here's the information about the tournament from a flyer I was given:

    All Caesar Entertainment properties will host their BIGGEST Slot Tournament Weekend Ever, and everyone who plays in the BIGGEST Slot Tournament Finale will walk away a winner.
    - There will be four main components making up the weekend:

    1. Race to Riches Qualifying Slot Tournament (Friday, April 15)
    2. Invitational Slot Tournament (Saturday, April 16)
    3. Wild Card Drawings (Saturday, April 16)
    4. BIGGEST Slot Tournament Finale (Sunday, April 17)

    1.) RACE TO RICHES – SUMMARY
    - All TR members will have a chance to participate by earning entries into the tournament.
    - Invited participants will receive one free entry as well as earn additional tournament entries.
    - The highest score of each participant will be used to determine the overall ranking.
    - Winners will receive a share of the prize pool as well as one free entry into the Invitational Slot Tournament.

    RACE TO RICHES – DETAILS
    - Invited Criteria: $50-199 MDV
    - Registration: 3pm-8pm
    - Tournament Play: 4pm
    - Entry Earning Period: 6:30am-7:30pm
    - Entry TC Hurdle: 200 TCs
    - Maximum Earned Entries: 2
    - Number of Winners: 25
    - Prize Structure: $15K
    -- 1st: $3,000 FSP & Invitational Entry
    -- 2nd: $2,000 FSP & Invitational Entry
    -- 3rd: $1,000 FSP & Invitational Entry
    -- 4th-10th: $750 FSP & Invitational Entry
    -- 11th-25th: $250 FSP & Invitational Entry

    2.) INVITATIONAL SLOT TOURNAMENT – SUMMARY
    - Invited participants will receive one free entry into the tournament.
    - Invited participants may also earn additional tournament entries.
    - The highest score of each participant will be used to determine the overall ranking.
    - Winners will receive a share of the prize pool.
    - Winners with the highest scores will also receive a spot in the BIGGEST Slot Tournament Finale.

    INVITATIONAL SLOT TOURNAMENT – DETAILS
    - Invited Criteria: $200+ MDV
    - Registration: 9am-4pm
    - Tournament Play: 10am
    - Entry Earning Period: 6:30am-3:30pm
    - Entry TC Hurdle: 500 TCs
    - Maximum Earned Entries: 2
    - Number of Winners: 20
    - Prize Structure: $50K
    -- 1st: $15,000 Cash & Finale Spot
    -- 2nd: $10,000 Cash & Finale Spot
    -- 3rd: $7,500 FSP & Finale Spot
    -- 4th: $5,000 FSP & Finale Spot
    -- 5th: $2,500 FSP & Finale Spot
    -- 6th-10th: $1,000 FSP & Finale Spot
    -- 11th-13th: $500 FSP & Finale Spot
    -- 14th-20th: $500 FSP

    3.) WILD CARD DRAWING – SUMMARY
    - Invited members will receive complimentary entries based on their Total Rewards Tier.
    - Invited members may also earn additional drawing entries.
    - Drawing winners will receive either a spot in the BIGGEST Slot Tournament Finale or a cash prize.

    WILD CARD DRAWING – DETAILS
    - Complimentary Drawing Entries:
    -- GLD: 1 entry
    -- PLT: 5 entries
    -- DIA: 10 entries
    -- SEV: 20 entries
    - Entry TC Hurdle: 25
    - Maximum Earned Entries: N/A
    - Earning Period: 6:30am Friday, April 15 – 4:00pm Saturday, April 16
    - Activation Period: 3pm-4pm
    - Drawing: 5pm
    - Number of Winners: 7
    - Prize Structure:
    -- 3 Finale Winners
    -- 4 $500 Cash Winners

    4.) BIGGEST SLOT TOURNAMENT FINALE – SUMMARY
    - All finalists will play simultaneously across the Enterprise.
    - Grand Prize Winner will receive $500K.
    - All other finalists will receive a share of $500K.

    BIGGEST SLOT TOURNAMENT FINALE – DETAILS
    - Registration: 10am-10:45am
    - Tournament Play: 11am (1pm CST)

    ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
    Machine Count: 16
    Minutes per Session: 3 minute sessions every 10 minutes
     
  9. aaisack

    aaisack VIP Whale

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    All the ones I've done have just been mindless button mashing. Casinos like to structure these things in such a way as to keep their guests at their property. Main Street Station does one with multiple sessions every day which pays out 100% of the money collected. They just want you to hang around.
     
  10. win4me

    win4me VIP Whale

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    I go to Tahoe slot tournaments often, and will also be going to this one. Feel free to PM me (I arrive about 12:30pm Friday) if you want to meet up. This is not their normal CET MM tournament format since top scores & wild card drawing on Saturday, determines who plays for the big bucks on Sunday. I assume it will be the "popping balloons or candy" machines they have used for the last year or so in Reno, Tahoe & some Vegas tournaments.

    P..S You have more details on the Friday-Sunday events than I received in my invite:beer:
     
    Last edited: Apr 11, 2016
  11. Harry Lyme

    Harry Lyme VIP Whale

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    This things are fun, but as said, VERY tiring/stressful on your hands. Limber them up a little before you start and be prepared to be quite coordinated if you have to mash/pop at the same time. And as has been said, if you're there, do it. Takes zero time other than waiting in line, and often the wait isn't long.
     
  12. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Hitting the button will spin the wheels. While the wheels are spinning, the machine ignores all the button pushes. There is nothing for it to do, so it ignores the pounding, smashing, banging, swearing, praying and curses.

    Banging on it just before it stops spinning MIGHT help so that you do not miss the exact time when it is ready to accept the pressing.

    It is simple logic. Press button. It spins. When done, the next press will spin it again.
     
  13. Harry Lyme

    Harry Lyme VIP Whale

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    Sure it's simple logic. However, depending on the game, you can stop the reels (though the outcome is sealed at the initial button press), and thus pressing them repeatedly will result in a spin, stop, spin sequence. Not to mention, I doubt many people are coordinated enough to focus on waiting for the reels to stop, popping the random balloons some tournament games have that also contain points, and then starting the reels again. So yes, it is simple logic. And yes, the machine doesn't hear the curses.

    Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
     
  14. nostresshere

    nostresshere Mr. Anti Debit Card

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    Many of the video machines allow you to stop the spin quicker when playing real money. I do it often so I can give my money away faster (LOL). Based on what I have seen, this an option the casino can set on many of these machines. I have played identical machines where one allows it, and the other does not.

    I have not seen that available on machines in tournament play though. At least so far. Side note - some casinos that have a separate play area will use older machines for the tournament since they are just sitting around. They are the older 3 real and not video. Some use the newer ones where they can set it up for tournament, and then return them to regular play afterwards.
     
  15. Geogran

    Geogran VIP Whale

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    To rycelover: Just follow the lead of the MC and you will do fine, it's easier than riding a bike! Everyone is there to have a good time, go for it!
    You can also watch a round of play to get a sense of how it works - best of luck to you!!

    Obviously slot tournaments aren't for everyone.
    But for those who enjoy the invitation, the play, the food, the beverages, the social interaction, and a chance to win some money or free play - why not?? (not all properties do food/beverage).
    Some of the daily slot tournaments that are 3 minute play don't pay out a lot - but it is still fun to try.

    As a slot player - I'm banging those slots anyway - so why not a tournament when the opportunity presents itself?
     
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