Slots Bet max on penny, or lower than max on higher denom?

I've been playing tables and video poker for years, but recently have had some fun playing slots. I have been committed to bet max on VP, and have heard that on video slots that may not always be necessary.
My question is, given a multi denom game, if I want to bet $5 per pull, is it better to bet max pennies, or a lower bet on .05 or .10 denomination? And does it matter what type of bonuses?

Thanks in advance!

 

Different machines require max bet for progressives - SOMETIMES. And sometimes even to get the bonus. You have to read the machine to see.

As to pennies vs nickel or higher. According the official state stats, penny slot has the highest casino hold. And for some strange reason, $.05 is often better than $.10 or even quarter.

What I have no idea of is what happens if you are on the same machine and switch from penny to nickel. Does the old change?

 

I would say no difference unless there are progressive jackpots that you would qualify for. For example at a penny there's a mini of $5. But if you are playing 2 cents the mini is $10. You would qualify for twice the amount betting the same amount.

 

As a low roller (maybe $200/day bankroll) I find I last much longer betting minimum on higher denoms. So much so that I all but avoid penny slots now. Exceptions are penny games without progressive jackpots or where bet multiplier doesn’t make a difference—but these types (older IGT/WMS games) tend to be available in .02 and .05 as well.

 

Seeing how no one really seems to know, I always go with the highest denomination that I can, 60 nickels vs. 300 pennies.

 

What I've noticed is that - machine dependent - the higher the electable denomination, the higher the dollar value of the award payouts (e.g. if you're playing 1¢ the Minor is worth $22, but if you're playing 10¢, the Minor is worth $250). So, it depends on your objective, as you're gonna run through $X faster the higher you go. Am I mesmerized by the display and just want to sit in one place long enough for a comped drink? Would I like to wager more for the possibility of a larger win? Ultimately, "is it better to" is subjective, but in the end, it's Mister Software that calls the shots.

 

Put me down for 9 lines, .01 cent per line.

I get bonuses and do not lose anything worth noting,. I can play the same $20 across multiple days and drink free beers. I will spend way more money tipping than gambling.

Dont win anything but sometimes will win like $9 or something like that. I play these games for fun, not to fund my retirement account.

 

I'd rather play a dollar machine where max is 2 or 3 bucks vs a penny that the max is about the same.

 

I always play higher coins on lower denominations. Both slots and VP.

 

In general, you want to play max LINES on any machine, especially video machines like Cleo II and Davinci where there is a bonus round for having a certain number of bonus symbols on a played line. This is less true for a lot of reel machines, and some of the newer video machines, I don't play much but I think some of them don't even use a line structure. But if you see line buttons on the machine, it uses lines, and you'll usually be better off playing all lines.

So if playing at a certain denom means you can't play all lines, drop the denom until you can.

I believe most multi-denom machines can be set to different paybacks for the different denoms. Whether a given casino does that is unknown. The slot VP at Cosmo gave an example where he has a 4-denom machine set to one payback % for the lower two denoms and a better one for the higher two. Based on the payback %s, my guess is that it was a 3-reel machine in the HL room. How much that extends to other machines on his or other casino's floors is unknowable.

Since it's unknowable, you should assume that you are getting the payback of the lowest denom regardless of what denom you play at.

This would be my approach when looking at Cleo II, which has 20 lines. I don't want to play more than $5 spin.

I find two machines
One has .01 / .02 / .05 / .10 denoms
The other has .25 / .50 / $1 denoms

I am going to play the .25 machine, 20 lines for $5/spin. My assumption is that I'm getting a .25 denom payback %, which is higher than anything I'd get on the other machine.

If the only machine they had was the .01 / .02 / .05 / .10 machine, I would play 20 lines at the .10 denom, either 1 credit per line for $2/spin or 2 credits per line for $4/spin. I would assume I'm only getting the .01 payback % but would play at .10 JUST IN CASE.

Max COIN comes into play when it's required to hit a progressive, or on a three-reel machine where there is some premium for doing it - like a 3 coin max machine where the top line jackpots are 1,000 (for one coin) - 2,000 (for two coins) - 5,000 (for three coins). Or a game like Pinball, where, when you get a bonus round, you get something like one Pinball shot for one coin, two shots for two coins, but four shots for 3 coins.

 

And apparently, your return will be better based on what gets published as returns.

 

I have asked this question, directly, of many slot directors, slot makers, marketing executives and casino managers. It is always best practice to switch to a higher denom for the best payback.

If you do not want to max bet at a higher denom, on games where you must max bet in order to win a progressive or something, it is not always a good play. In those games, the progressive or bonus rounds, that you will no longer be eligible for, feed so much into the overall payback, you would hurt your chances to gain any ground, and will most likely be going backwards in the returns game,

On games where it doesn't matter, and all bet levels are treated the same, it is better to play 10 lines X 1 at the quarter level for $2.50, followed by 10 lines X5 for nickles and max bet 10 lines X 25 for pennies. All would be $2.50 max bet, but the quarter denom "should" hold the best return.

Inherently, the higher the denomination, the better the returns. Casinos want to cater to the high-limit player. On my above, max bet at quarters is a $62.50 bet VS the most you could play on the penny version, at $2.50. The higher denom, traditionally, will hold the better returning chip.

You can actually see the chip flip sequence when changing denom. The machine will go back to the start up screen, as it selects the proper set and changes the RNG for that game play.

While no one, not even I, can say it is 100% certain, on all machines in every casino that changing the denom up will get you a better game. It is fairly certain that casinos would not punish the higher betting players that do this, by making pennies a better bet VS nickles, quarters, dollars ETC.

So, it should be a smart play no matter what! I have covered this a number of times on here, and on my website if anyone wants to dig deeper.

 

Apples and oranges. Nearly every $2.00 or $3.00 max bet dollar machines is a single line. While they do hold better returns, on average, over a penny machine. They can be very boring for slot players that are used to multiple lines. Which also helps your coin in, as smaller wins re-feed your credit meter.

I play dollar games too. And they are always the ultimate feast or famine. Put in $30, and it is fairly common to not win anything on 10 spins @ $3 a draw. But it is fairly uncommon to not win back something, playing 10 spins on a penny slot at the same $3.00 bet.

For me, I'd rather play a 5 line $1 denom machine, than a 1 line at 2 or 3X. Easier to cycle coins through, that help my ratings and comps.

Say what you want, but those "wins" on penny games (even when you win less than your bet) are frequent enough, that you can build up points and run a lot of coin through, which equal better comps.

All machines have their place. But I would never expect a 20+ line slot player to drop down to a boring single line to gain the 2-3% advantage in returns, and forfeit all that extra coin in recycling.

 

Thank you all for the great advice and explanations. I love this board! I’m looking forward to moving up from pennies.

 

Chuck, what a great explanation! I’m new at slots and plan on playing more on my trip in a couple of weeks. This, along with your suggestions on playing 3 wheel slots and 5 line slots helps me immensely. Thank you