Slots Being honest... how do you play?

[deansrobinson]

Now that the Seminole Hard Rock and I are back on speaking terms, I found myself over that way last week. Having some time to kill, I did some exceptionally unscientific research on the gaming habits of my fellow citizens. I'm just guessing the over ninety percent of the slot players I observed were playing only the minimum or close to it. I didn't see a whole lot of max betting goin' on.

One thing I know is that a lot of slots are designed so that the 'bonus' feature is active only for max bet. I also know that the bonus and other payouts are commensurate with what you're spending, so minimum betting - to me - just looks like a slow bleed.

So...when you're there playing slots, what do you do? Are we mesmerized by the video graphics? The last time SHR threw some free-play my way, I was in...max betting (exhausting the free play)...and out. My philosophy is you're either winning or losing, and let's end the suspense right now. How do you play? How long do you go before deciding to move on? What characteristic makes one game "your favorite slot machine"?

And for those keeping score at home: $70 SHR free play + $100 my hard earned scratch = $425.00 out the door. So there's that...

 

[Richard Alpert]

Great thread idea, Dean!

Triple Double Wild Cherry, or Sherry as I call her, is my slot machine wife.
To this point she has just given me a minor handy, but one of these ways we're going all the way!
She likes it best when I massage that MAX BET button!

I'm faithful to her, but I'm worried I'll be tempted to have an affair with Ellen.
My real-life bride says she doesn't think I'll have to worry about that...

RICHARD

 

[leo21]

One thing I know is that a lot of slots are designed so that the 'bonus' feature is active only for max bet. I also know that the bonus and other payouts are commensurate with what you're spending, so minimum betting - to me - just looks like a slow bleed.

That's true of the reel slots of the past but that's not how most video slots are designed and never has been. There are games that you can't hit the top progressive prize if you don't max bet but games that require max bets to get into a bonus don't last long on the casino floor. If I maxed bet, I would bet ten times more but I would only win 10 times more. If I would win a higher multiplier than than on a top slot win, max betting on a video slot would make more sense.

For that reason I bet max lines at one or two credits a bet. I have to be familiar with the slots tendencies to bet more. Betting max just means losing faster and I generally would rather have more bets. I generally know if after $5 played through if I feel like I have a chance on a game. I look for games that are simple 20-25 lines with free games with a multiplier for the bulk of my play but I love games like Buffalo too.

 

[C0usineddie]

Usually 9 line will activate the bonuses. Not every machine but the ones I play. So can play 9 lines, 1 cent per line and still get bonuses.

i dont win alot but I dont risk hardly anything either. A free beer and basically i am into profit.

i think that the machines are keyed to play differently depending on the lines play and amount payed. So just because it is hitting on my method, if i switch over to max coins it want pay out at the same rate and its its own game running in the background all the time. yes, yes, i know that machines are regulated by the gaming board blah blah but we dont know all the technical issues about them so my theory holds some water.

cant tell you how many ladies have plopped down next to me, put their money in, played max credits and left while digging into their purses for more money.

 

[Rush]

I put a hundred in a slot machine, and walk away. My time is valuable.

 

[nostresshere]

I put a hundred in a slot machine, and walk away. My time is valuable.

Your chances of winning just dropped to ZERO. NADA. ZILCH. BUTKAS. ZIPPIE DA DOODAY.

Most experts will tell you that it is important to actually spin the reels. I have read this many places.

 

[Sparky4]

Great thread idea, Dean!

Triple Double Wild Cherry, or Sherry as I call her, is my slot machine wife.
To this point she has just given me a minor handy, but one of these ways we're going all the way!
She likes it best when I massage that MAX BET button!

I'm faithful to her, but I'm worried I'll be tempted to have an affair with Ellen.
My real-life bride says she doesn't think I'll have to worry about that...

RICHARD

Sherry is my machine too, in addition to 4x wild "Sherry". I bounce back and forth, sometime max sometimes not.

 

[flyguyfl]

Your chances of winning just dropped to ZERO. NADA. ZILCH. BUTKAS. ZIPPIE DA DOODAY.

Most experts will tell you that it is important to actually spin the reels. I have read this many places.

I knew there had to be some trick to slots! Thanks!

 

[Electroguy563]

When I do play slots I will max bet but I don't stay too long. I tend to move around a lot. I sometimes wonder if I stayed longer I would have hit a big one.

My sister plays minimal bets because her bankroll is smaller. She tends to stay at a machine she enjoys playing and when she gets lucky and her wins accumulate she will bet bigger until she can max bet. If she goes on a losing streak she drops down to minimal bets again.

Dean, just my guess but maybe that's what those people were doing when you observed them playing minimal bets. Where I live we don't have casinos but if there were I think I would drop by 3 or 4 times a week after work and drop a couple of 20's in the machines and minimal bet. Have a drink or two then head home for the day. (Or so I think.....)

 

[zNaturaL]

I usually play $2-3 a spin and will run $200-$300 through a slot before quitting (if it is entertaining me but I am losing). What makes a good slot? I would say I enjoy WMS and Aristocrat games...not a huge fan of Konami/Ainsworth/etc. Not totally sure why but I'm guessing it has to do with the overall game mechanics..

One other dislike of mine - I'm not a fan of slots that only have bonus symbols on certain reels. For example, you have to get the bonus symbol on the first 3 reels, or middle 3 reels. It feels like it's harder to get IMO. LOL

 

[20hof]

2-4 times min bet covering all lines for me

 

[Multifarious5]

I usually go max bet on games that don't have huge ceiling ($1.50 max bet.) I like Quick Hit quite a bit (Free Game Fever) and that is one game you really need to play max for the mini jackpots. I tend to stay on a long time IF a game cycles through bonuses at a decent clip. If it goes dry too long, I get off. (I've found the hard way, pushing through can result in LONG dry spells.

Now, I LOVE the Wonka games (I do NOT play max on these, 60-90 cents) and some other themed games, but they suck through my money too quickly.

I avoid bonuses that take too many caveats to hit (bonus reels must be touching, must fall on XYZ line, etc.)

Basically, I play whatever game is fun, has good bonuses with healthy payouts, and doesn't burn through my money. Oh wait...isn't that like saying I want a stressfree job with great pay and tons of paid time off? Good thing I'm realistic about what I want!

 

[pirviii]

I've limited my betting to 50 cents or less since the 90's. Back then it was 2 quarters max bet on most machines like Double Diamond Deluxe or Top Dollar. Sometimes if I was doing good I would go up to 75 cents to play the 3 quarter Wheel of Fortunes. On the new machines it's all lines at 1-2 per, keeping it under my limit. I try not to play machines with progressives or other requirements to play max to get extra symbols or bonuses.

 

[Geogran]

I put a hundred in a slot machine, and walk away. My time is valuable.

My strategy is I just follow along behind @Rush, hit the cashout button, and walk away a winner every time. I'm the best slot picker in Vegas.

 

[starlight0229]

I would say that 90% of the time I play max bet, but cap it at about $5 per spin.

 

[WHU66]

Slots are fun as well as potentential money winners - so for my wife and I we just set an amount we 'can' lose, gamble, enjoy the game, take a drink and move on. Playing max bet or not doesn't matter as much to us, it's whether the gaming is fun with a chance of a win....most penny slots, max bet means nothing anyway, those were the days of quarter 3 reels....

 

[dmr]

I like machines where you can play all of the lines, but not rigged so you have to play the better part of a dollar per spin. I also like the ones where you can, if you really want, do one credit per line to kill off a minimum number of credits.

 

[Joejoejackson]

Of course max bet...Sure you lose more but most of time you recover quicker..I'm talking a 5-10-25 dollar denomination - single reel slot...

Just the way I play ya have good days and bad days

 

[Geogran]

. My philosophy is you're either winning or losing, and let's end the suspense right now. How do you play? How long do you go before deciding to move on? What characteristic makes one game "your favorite slot machine"?

This is a fun and revealing thread @deansrobinson !

Being honest here as requested - for starters, Vegas is my happy place and I LOVE SLOTS.

I often play wayyy too long on a losing machine if it happens to be a favorite. I tend to be a grinder.

My favorites are no longer very popular, the old three reel blazing seven type and other similar three reel machines - dollar and five dollar slots, mostly max bet. This type machine, for me, has yielded many handpays and many losses - the machine's 'characteristic' - it's simple and straightforward with no bells or whistles or bonuses allowing me the luxury of settling in and zoning out for as long as I like which I rarely get to do back home in the 'real' world.

I have a few favorite so called 'penny' slots with bonuses that I play and also try new ones mentioned on VMB for variety throughout my stay, but I rarely play max credit on pennies, but usually don't play minimum either - something in between. My philosophy is " if I have to pay up to $8.88 on a penny machine to achieve max bet, I'd just as soon be playing a dollar or five dollar machine". Cause that's how I slot

 

[rutgers]

I usually play $2-3 a spin and will run $200-$300 through a slot before quitting (if it is entertaining me but I am losing). What makes a good slot? I would say I enjoy WMS and Aristocrat games...not a huge fan of Konami/Ainsworth/etc. Not totally sure why but I'm guessing it has to do with the overall game mechanics..

One other dislike of mine - I'm not a fan of slots that only have bonus symbols on certain reels. For example, you have to get the bonus symbol on the first 3 reels, or middle 3 reels. It feels like it's harder to get IMO. LOL

With you on that ... that's what drives me nuts about 50 Dragons.. you need to get the gold symbol on consecutive reels starting with the left.