Ok, so I've always wondered if it would be better to do say 40 spins at $5.00 a spin or 200 spins at $1.00 a spin? At the end of the $200 which strategy will yield me more money? Has anyone tried this? We play for entertainment but would really like to be able to say we ended up with a few more dollars in our pockets at the end of a session.
If there were a way to reliably get a higher percentage payout over time by changing bet size, we'd all be doing it! All other things being equal, the 200 spins is most likely to approach the house edge, statistically. That's about all you can determine; the rest is up to the RNG and any advantageous bonus mechanisms the particular slot may have. I will say that for some casinos, time spent on machine can directly or indirectly factor into comps. In those cases that would arguably make the lower bet amount better as it'd be more likely to keep you on the machine longer for the same amount of bankroll, and so although the likely win/loss percentage averaged out over time would still be the same, you might extract a bit more value in comps.
Is this your daily budget? If so, do both on different days and see which one you like best. Of course, taking twenty spins in a day may not yield much entertainment if you don't hit anything.
To piggyback on what @Jack O. Better said, think of it this way (and 200 spins is not really enough to have the real mathematics kick in, but pretend it is): Assume the hold % of the machine is 10%. And you start with $200. If you do 200 spins at $1/spin, your end result is more likely to be close to $180 (the expected end value from a 10% hold) than if you do 40 spins at $5/spin. And the range of your probable results is more likely to be narrower at $1/spin than $5. Not mathematically precise, but just for illustration: $1/spin, your probable results might end up somewhere between $100 and $300. $5/spin, your probable results might end up somewhere between $25 and $1,000
With a $200 budget, the chances of going bust can blow any of those numbers in a heartbeat. I tend to play in the $5 range and often can go through $200 in minutes. The 10% or 20% is based on long term life of the machine. Heck, even playing a 100% payback machine, you can still drop your entire $200 or even a $1000 and walk away with nothing. It depends on many factors including the top jackpot. If my budget was $200 a day - I would be looking for machines with around $1 per spin. And find machines that do NOT have a high jackpot. Yes, you give up the chance the big money, but you might be able to play longer. For example, lets assume a machine pays out at 100% and the only jackpot is $1,000 on a $1 bet. That means that only once over 1,000 spins it will pay out, which gets it to 100%. And if that was a $10,000 jackpot, than once in 10,000 spins. In real world, there are lots of smaller wins along the way, so you have to have even more spins to win big. And of course you could even put in $2000 and still get nothing. The long run percent still holds true. Expecting to get 80% back on normal machines is how casinos get rich - and I have helped.
No kidding. I’ve frequently gone ~50 spins in the past hitting something small maybe once or twice. A 3 day trip of a 20 spin bad run sounds nauseating.
Do 200 spins at $1. Take your time and enjoy. Look around. People watch. Order a drink or 3. Then the next session go to the craps table and throw a dollar at number 12 two hundred times. Take your time and enjoy. People watch. Order a drink or 3. Then the next session go to the roulette table and throw a dollar at 11 for 200 times. Take your time..............
If you play Dragon Link at $1 a spin for 200 spins at the 2 cent denomination you have a much better chance at a bonus than 40 spins at $5. The bonuses appear at the same frequency regardless of the denom in my experience. Of course the bonus might stink but maybe not. It’s gaming after all.
As already said DON'T go for the high volatility big payout machine, stick to the old style machine with the low volatility and smaller but more frequent payouts. Get your free beverage and enjoy the scenery. Good luck and may the gods be with you!!!
If you want to walk away with money, the $1 spins will give you less volatility, a longer session, and the highest likelihood to walk away with some money. If you want a better chance to hit a big jackpot and a short session while likely walking away with little to no money, then do $5.
