Slot Machine Gambling

Slot Machine Gambling Research

Doing research about slot machine gambling led to this story. My slot budget for this particular day was $100. I wanted to compare paybacks on machines with jackpots ranging from modest to significant, so I decided play a modified version of my Nickels to Dollar System.

Gambling Research with smaller denominations

Starting my slot machine gambling explorations with $100, I picked five different nickel machines and played $20 (400 coins) through each, but did not replay the credits won. I kept an accurate count of how much went in and how many coins the machine paid back.

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Slot Machine Gambling with penny slots at WinADay Casino

My first machine was a three coin Double Diamond with a top jackpot of 2,500 coins ($125). At three coins per spin, it took me 22 minutes to play 130 hands = 399 coins. I cashed out 350 coins. This was a loss of 49 coins or 12.25%. This machine, for this particular session, returned 87.75%.

Next, I chose a three coin Triple Diamond with a $4,000 coin ($200) jackpot. Again, it took approximately 22 minutes to play the 130 hands. I cashed out at 322 coins, which worked out to 80.7%. This machine kept 19.3%.

The third slot was a five coin Double Diamond, top jackpot 5,000 coins ($250). At five coins a hand, it took only 15 minutes for 80 spins. Four hundred credits in, 355 credits out, this one held 11.25% and gave back 88.75%.

A three-coin Red White & Blue machine with a top prize of 10,000 coins ($500) was my next pick. 130 spins and about 22 minutes later I collected 301 credits. This one paid back only 75.25% of all the money I fed it.

For my last five-cent machine, I selected a three-coin Ten Times Pay slot dangling a carrot worth 25,000 coins ($1,250) as a top jackpot. It devoured 263 of the 399 credits I put into it. This machine kept a whopping 65.66% for the casino and paid out a measly 34.34%! The worst result so far in this slot machine gambling expedition.

My gambling research showed a trend!

These results clearly proved that the higher the jackpot, the more volatile the game. If you want to make your stake last and would be satisfied with a relatively modest win, don’t select a machine offering a super-large jackpot.

On the other hand, if only a really big win would make you happy, take the all-or-nothing approach, go for that colossal prize, but realize that you will likely face an early exit.

It took nearly two hours to play 400 5c Coins through each of five different nickel machines. When I counted the cash at the end it came to $73.25. Collectively the hold percentage for those nickel slots was a very steep 26.64%.

Upping the slots game – Time for quarters!

After a 20-minute break in the coffee shop, it was time for my seconds session of slot machine gambling. I divided my $73.25 into three lots, two $25 (100 25c coin) stakes and one lot of $23.25 (93 25c coins) and went searching for suitable quarter machines.

My first pick was a two coin Double Diamond model with a modest jackpot of 1,600 coins ($400). At two coins a spin, it took less than ten minutes to run 100 coins through the machine. I collected 118 coins my first positive payback = a profit of 18 quarters ($4.50). A 118 percent return!

The next 25 cent machine was of the two coin Wild Cherry variety, offering a 5,000 coin ($1,250) top prize. Here, after about ten minutes of play, I collected only 85 credits, a loss of 15%. This machine returned 85%.

I took my final $23.25 (93 quarters) to a three coin Red White & Blue machine featuring a 10,000-coin ($2,500) jackpot. At three units per spin, I didn’t have to wait long for the result; the payout was a paltry 27 credits, the machine kept 71%. Not only was it a tight machine, it must have been in a cold cycle as well. A kind of slot machine gambling experience from hell. My $73.25 had shrunk to $57.50.

The fifty cent slot machine!

After a short break, I found a bank of 50 cent machines, each with its own individual, progressive jackpot. The jackpots on all the machines were in the $503 to $575 range. Obviously, the jackpot started at $500 and hit relatively often, since not one had reached the $600 mark.

These were three coin slots and to have a chance of collecting the jackpot I had to play maximum coins. There was not much choice of machines, since only the ones with the lowest and second lowest jackpot amounts were not in use. I picked the one with the $511 jackpot.

At three coins per hand, my $57.50 bankroll gave me only 19 three-coin spins. If I didn’t hit anything fast, my ‘research session’ would come to an end very quickly. I needn’t have worried, this time Lady Luck smiled. I lined up three sevens, good for a secondary jackpot of 300 coins. Less than five minutes after I sat down, I cashed in $178.

Was I ready to try the dollar slot machines?

Now it was decision time. Should I wager the whole bundle on dollar machines, or pocket my original $100 and take only my $78 profit to the dollar slots? I compromised and put exactly half, $89, at risk. I allocated $45 on one machine and reserved $44 for another.

I chose a two coin Double Diamond machine paying a jackpot of $800 for one-coin and $1,600 for two-coin play. Since there wasn’t any real advantage in inserting maximum coins, I opted to stretch out the time by playing at a leisurely pace of only one coin per spin. That way I made $45 last for a good ten minutes. What was the outcome? I cashed out a very disappointing $12.

For my last slot machine gambling experiment I selected a two coin Wild Cherry model that also did not offer a bonus for multiple coins. The jackpot was posted at $2,500 for one coin, and $5,000 for two coin play. This machine was at the end of an aisle, slots all around and far away from the table game area.

The theory is that slots bordering the tables are especially tight, because the noise slots make irritates table players. Since it was my last hurrah for this session, I decided to bet two coins per spin and hope for the $5,000 jackpot. Well, the jackpot didn’t materialize, but I did cash out $58, which was $14 more than I put into this machine.

Hey, I made a profit but there was more!

By now, more than three hours had passed since I started the run on that first nickel machine. There were still two important stops to make. First, I went to the change booth and received a total of $159 in paper money. I had recouped my $100 starting stake, plus I made a profit of $59. Then I visited the slot club booth to see how many points I had earned for my play that morning.

Of course, I never do any slot machine gambling without first inserting my slot club card before wagering my money. It turned out my play entitled me to a complimentary buffet lunch; besides, it added a tiny sum to the cash back money which I always collect at the end of my casino visit.

The points I earned that morning probably also contributed towards elevating my VIP rating at this casino. That can mean additional rewards, such as free room nights and invitations to slot tournaments. And that brings me to the last and most important message.

Slot Machine Gambling Summary

Players who really want to win at slots need to choose the right machine and allocate their gambling money wisely. Next, it’s important to know when to quit. If, on a day-to-day basis, one can be satisfied with small wins, it means staying power. And staying power allows players to keep chasing that big jackpot without having to dig deeper and deeper into their pockets.

Keep recycling those small profits, take advantage of all the slot club benefits or online bonuses and sooner or later your slot machine gambling will lead to that gigantic payday.