Slots I wanna play the coolest, newest video slots, but…

I’ve got about three dozen trips to Vegas under my belt. I have a pretty good understanding (if not complete mastery) of the rules and basic strategies for about every table game – and many VP variants – that I’m likely to come across. And, darn it, I’m a reasonably intelligent person. So it is with more than a little embarrassment that I say this: I am completely intimidated by the vast majority of video slots.

So, I’m hoping (okay, I know) that some of you guys can give me some pointers so that on my next trip when I’m in the mood for some slots, I don’t just go looking for nearest old school reel slot. I’m just going to go ahead and put out some questions. Answer whatever you can or want. And add anything else that you think might help.

How much “should” I bet?
I know on reel slots and video poker, there is often (always?) a benefit for playing max coin. Is this also the case with video slots? Is there an amount that is less than max coin that is just as good (from a house advantage perspective) as betting max? How can I tell? I can figure out the math, but I’ve just never seen a list of pay outs – is there a “help screen” somewhere?

How much is this going to cost me (per bet)?
I know I’ve read plenty about 1¢/2¢ machines where the max bet was several dollars. Is this par for the course? Or are those types of machines the exception rather than the rule? Are there particular games that always have very high max bets, or do most games have some machines that are “cheap” and some that are “pricey” (with respect to their max bet, that is)?

What’s the deal with bonus rounds?
When I pass by someone playing one of these games and they hit a bonus round, I’m often a bit lost. Is there anything I can actually do to “screw up” a bonus round? Do I have to be paying close attention? Or is just a matter of pressing a button?

What else should I know?

What games to you like?

Many thanks in advance!

 

Most new slot machines do not have such a benefit. The exception to this is many progressives. So for example, Life Of Luxury progressive. In the bonus you have the chance of winning progressives if a gem comes up on the reel and you pick the right "hidden gem" when it lets you touch the screen. The bets range from 0.05 per line to 0.25 per line. If you're betting 5X, you get 5 picks.

So for progressives I would consult the rules/pays button to see if it matters for that game. Most other non-progressive slots don't have anything special other than gambling more money.

On the topic of budget, you will find games ranging from about 20 cents per pull to $1.50 per pull at min bet. Max is usually 5, sometimes 10 times the minimum. These are assuming playing all the lines.

Bonus rounds will generally guide you through it with audio or video queues if you need to touch the screen to start free spins, or pick little gems or whatever. There is nothing you can do to screw up a bonus round. They're mostly for show and it's debatable whether any player action during the bonus actually affects the payout.

What else to know... Progressives tend to not provide as much time value of money as other games. This has to do with the bigger occasional payouts which reduces the value or frequency of smaller payouts and holds a small amount on each bet as well to compensate. Honestly, if you see a game and it looks fun, give it a try. This is entertainment after all.

 

I just wrote up a reply and when I pressed the button to post, it took forever to load and then disappeared.

 

first thing I look at on a vid slot is the buttons below the screen. THere you can see how much a max bet paly is with a little math. If it says 50 lines and below that says 5 per bet, then if its a penny machine you are looking at $2.50 per spin. I myself ama little cheap, I normally dont play any machine for more than $1.00 to $1.25. The key here is to make sure the game will still let you get bonus rounds or max payouts while not betting the max credits. Most games will let you play the bonus even if you are betting 1 line and 1 penny per line, but chances of hitting that bonus are slim to none.

The bonus games are usually anything from free spins with a multiplier, extra wilds, or in alot of cases a small mini game. The min games are where you choose certain balloons or items to reveal a $ amount behind them. Some game slike Airplane for example, also have extra bonus gamew within the bonus round. You can pick them as you are picking your $, or you can pick an ending.

How much you bet is up to your bankroll, obviously the more you bet the more you can win, but at first I would bet smaller until you figure out the game and see if you like it at all. Mostly it just takes time just like VP, table games, or anything else to get used to it. Once you figure one out, most others fall in line to be very similar with different styles of bonus rounds.

Games I like are Monopoly, Wheel of fortune, Zeus, any of the fishing games, Rake it in, deal or no deal, Michael Jackson, and the list goes on and on!

Also at the bottom of most screens is a help button, if you push it, it will bring up a screen explaining the game, ways to get into bonus rounds, and paytables. Most paytables only show pay with 1 coin, so multiply that for each coin you put in past 1.

Good luck, I love slots, they are my weakness. I can sit at them all night. Be sure to try different ones, some are very boring, others are so fun you could care less if you are losing on them. I like to try ones I havent played alot because you never know how good it might be until you try.

 

btw Carve, looks like we will be out there at the same time! If you get downtown, message me and maybe we can have a cold one while playing a few video slots!

 

With some machines the jackpot is certainly impacted by playing maximum lines and coin. I remember sadly from a few years ago at Wynn when I was playing one of those "Hot Shot" machines (with the little flame character) and on a bonus round got a huge number of flame characters in the field - and the machine went crazy. The woman next to me stopped and looked over my shoulder and said "damn" in a sad way....

It turned out that because I was only playing a couple coins, I won about $35. At max coin I would have made $17,500....

I always check now to see what I give up by not playing the max on any slot...

JZB

 

I noticed that. Does the “IU” in your handle refer to your alma mater by any chance? I’m hoping to be able to catch the Hoosiers in a Sweet16/Elite 8 game at some point that weekend (knock on wood).

I’ll shoot you a message as we get closer to that weekend. Maybe we can grab a beer and watch Zeller, ‘Dipo and the gang tear up some hapless Wildcats or Tarheels!

 

Carve, it does in a way. I am from Indiana, and am praying we are still in the tourney that weekend. I will be arriving the Sat before Easter in the early AM. If we play a Thurs game we would play Sat, and a fri sweet 16 game would mean Sunday as long as we win! I actualy went to the Univ of Evansville but have been an IU fan as long as I remember! I have been stressing since I booked as to where I will be watching the game that weekend! Cant wait, please do message me! WOuld be great fun to watch the game with a fellow IU fan out there!

 

You’ve gotta learn to save your work, ardee! Or else come up with better excuses as to why you can’t help me out…that’s the second time you’ve used the “dog ate my homework” excuse when responding to one of my posts.

 

How much “should” I bet?
Check the machines because some do require max bet to win the max prize or even to activate the bonus round.
If playing on a machine where max bet is not required then the proper amount to bet is what ever you want.
My wife for some reason just can't do more than the base amount.
Me on the other hand can't do just the base amount. Not enough excitement.
Maybe when playing a new machine I may start off low but usually I do max bet or 2nd below max bet.
What ever makes it more exciting.



How much is this going to cost me (per bet)?
Can't really answer this at a BJ or Craps table. Same with the machines.
Just like the table games some machine will take your money quickly and others will give you lots of play time.



What’s the deal with bonus rounds?
Hard to screw up the bonus round.
You may accidentally opt out of the bonus round to take the cash instead, but usually I find the more drunk I am
the better I am at the bonus rounds.


What else should I know?
Monitor you money.
Some games will make it sound like you are winning every spin and winning a lot but in reality its a slow drain on your cash.
I had some guy stand behind me for about 5 minutes in amazement that I was winning every spin until I explained that I never win more than my spin amount so essentially I am losing each spin.



What games to you like?
Any game that I find entertaining.
I will leave a slot machine even when winning if its boring.
I will stick around playing a slot machine even when losing if I am having fun.
Some of the 3 reel slot machines are more fun than the new interactive slots.
Some of the newer interactive slots are some of the more fun games you can find.


Just like with table games you will find slots you really enjoy playing and others you won't.

 

Here's another question for you slot players --

On those penny slots does the payback percent change if you bet higher? I'm not talking about ones with a progressive jackpot or anything like that for max-coin. Just talking about the payback percentage changing the way $1 or $5 slots have a higher payback than penny or nickel machines. Since you can play several bucks a spin on a penny slot -- do they change the payback when you do that so its more like a higher limit slot machine?

 

How much “should” I bet?
Personally, I don't play a progressive video slot unless I'm willing to play the max. With the kind of luck I have, I'd hit the progressive and win a few grand rather than millions. :Þ The other thing to look at like someone said is if your amount affects the bonuses you can play. Frankly, those bonuses are the reason I play video slots in the first place, so I'm vigilant in that regard. In my opinion, the best way to play is to bet on all lines, even if it's just 1 coin per line. Since a good number of the new machines are 20 or more lines, it's lots of play, which leads into your next question...

How much is this going to cost me (per bet)?
I think most of the new machines are minimum $1.00 total spin when playing all lines, 1 coin per line. Multiply that by being able to play 5, 10, or more per line and you're getting into decent amounts per spin. But, since you're used to table games and VP and their minimums, I'm thinking the bet amounts won't be a shock for you.

What’s the deal with bonus rounds?
My favorite part of the games! I LOVE the bonuses and have to be careful I don't fall into the "I'll only play until I get the bonus" quicksand. I'm assuming that the machine has pretty well decided the outcome before you start the bonus, but it's fun to feel like I'm influencing the outcome rather than just letting the machine spin. Bonuses keep people interested in the games, without a doubt. When you get one, just take your time and follow the instructions on the screen. There is ALWAYS instructions, easy enough that anyone could follow them.

What else should I know?
Have fun, take your time, and ask the people sitting around you if you need help. Everyone on those slots play them because they love them, so it's pretty friendly, and I've never had anyone turn me down if I asked for their help.

What games to you like?
Lord of the Rings, any of the Wizard of Oz, Ghostbusters, Hangover, Sex In the City, and Godzilla. I'm looking forward to the 6 days I'll be there in March to really visit casinos and try to find new machines!

Many thanks in advance! [/QUOTE]

Have fun! Hope you enjoy your new Vegas venture!

 

They can do this...but excluding progressive games, the payback percentages change so little, it mainly just setting more money on fire when you increase penny slot bets. Even at $4/spin, it will likely return ~88%, just like a 40 cent spin.

 

Thanks for the answer -- so in terms of odds there's no benefit to play higher amounts if you want to spin $4 you might as well play a dollar slot at max coin. It's good to know because sometimes when I sit down at one of these just for fun I play max credits assuming that gets the best payback.

 

Some machines will put you into the bonuses more frequently if you bet higher, though, so you might have a chance of winning more.

These games are all my husband and I play. They're like video games, but with no skill required. It's all about the pop culture themes, the lights, the music...

Our favorites are the ones that have a long-arch "story." There aren't many of them. You log in with your players card and a password and the game remebers where you left off and there is a long term goal. You can unlock more bonus games or achieve some status in the game or something. The original Star Trek game was like this as well as the original Lord of the Rings games. Sooooooooooo fun!!

 

I played the Aladin slot machine last trip about 4-5 different times just to get the bonus round and not once did it come up. Don't want to say how much I dumped in that damn machine.

 

I feel your pain! I can't count the number of times I did this and how much money I would blow - and then the bonus would invariably SUCK! So yeah, lesson learned and now I walk away.

Usually to another of the same machine so I can try again. :evillaugh

 

This is the single thing I find most annoying with many penny slots - and will cause me just to get up and find another machine every time. It was even mentioned on a recent "60 Minutes" show about the slot phenomenon - where the machine is designed to give you "payback" in the form of stimulation and lights and action VERSUS MONEY, so the machine will be going crazy with bells and buzzers and lights, making you think you just won MegaBucks... But then you look down and realize that you just won $0.65 back from your $1.30 bet. That nonsense just feels like a cheat to me. I am ok with the machine exploding for a "mid level" jackpot but not for every darn little win....

For those machines where you don't have to strictly play "max credits" to win the huge jackpot, my overall strategy with penny machines is to set it up to always play maximum lines - and then press different coin levels for each spin depending on how lucky I feel that spin will be - varying from one coin to max coins. There is no science here - but the max lines gives you the max chance for a win and the coin choice helps you conserve your bankroll to take advantage of lucky streaks when they happen...

JZB

 

Something I saw in December and hadn't really noticed before was this: some of the machines had different max coins I.e. Hangover is four screens and if you play them all at 25c each and max play was $3 for all four at some casinos. At all harrahs casinos I noticed max was $6 but the progressive amounts seemed very similar if you got them on both stakes, that means if you play $3 on the bigger stake ones (I.e. 50c per screen x 4) you would have three chances to pick the progressive whereas on the lower stake ones at $3 max the progressive would be won automatically as all picks would be winners. The same for the Sex and The City machines. Goldfish amd mermaids machines take 30c min to activate the features in some places and 35c in others.

Hope that makes sense, sounds complicated but if unsure and someone else is playing just ask. Most people will be happy to explain. I've been playing many times and people are playing on 20 lines and have no idea why the features are not triggering. They are always grateful when you tell them they will never get a feature unless they are paying for the feature bet. The features are sometimes different to the bonuses.

It sounds even more gobbledygook now, sorry.

 

I used to enjoy playing slots. The problem now for me is that slots are MUCH more volatile than they used to be. Because of the many high-pay bonus rounds (if you're lucky enough to get one) and huge (potential) jackpots, I experience such HUGE dips in the bankroll.

Whereas, the 'older' machines, say in the 90s and before, had much smaller jackpots, yet the road to ruin wasn't nearly as steep.

Even with those faux-pay jackpots where you bet 60 cents and 'win' 45 cents. I'm very rarely able to make any reasonable amount of money last, unless I get several good bonus rounds.

I liken it to the double-double bonus video poker. Even with the same theoretical return as a regular pay table, the volatility is really high as your money tends to crater UNLESS you get those bonuses.

But that's just my preference. Many people don't mind losing a bunch and then getting a hefty bonus roud. I don't like alot of volatility. I like I game I can sit down at, put in $50-60 and play for a few hours. I just gave up on trying to that on slots. Full-pay video poker is my true love now.

But like others have said...make sure you read the rules on EVERY machine before you play. The buy-a-bonus machines, REEL Power, and machines that require you to play max credits to get either the progressive or even get paid on certain winning combinations are very frustrating if you miss a big win because you didn't read the rules first.

I did try slots again last time though. That darn fabled Lion's Share slot at the MGM which this website got me on a quest to play and I watched $150 go bye-bye in about 10 minutes. Not enough time to even warm my chair. :Þ

Good luck!