Slot Machine Secrets Every Player Should Know

In many casinos, slot machines are the biggest moneymakers. They attract a lot of attention and the payouts are substantial. Whether you’re playing authentic slot machines for fun at a casino party or online for money there are a few trade secrets players need to know.

Slot Machines Have Predetermined Payout Settings

When a casino orders a new slot machine they choose the long-term payback percentage they want. This is factored into the fine-tuning of the machine and determines how loose or tight it is (in terms of payouts). Once in operation, slots don't adjust internally to become looser or tighter.
The one exception is with progressive slot machines. These have a jackpot payout that increases with each pull, but it still doesn’t increase the chances of winning.

But Payout Settings Can Be Adjusted

Casino floor operators have been known to adjust how tight or loose slot machines are in order to generate interest in a slow area. This can be done with a new chip from the manufacturer or software update. But that doesn’t mean you can count on certain machines to pay out as well as they did before. If the area picks up the slots may be adjusted again to start paying out less.

Local Government May Have a Say in the Play

Whether or not a casino can adjust the payout settings of a slot machine is up to the local jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions also create requirements on how much money a slot machine can hold and pay back.

There’s More Than One Type of Progressive Slot Machine

There are actually three types of progressive slot machines:
Standalone Progressive Slot Machines – These are the traditional slots you see in Vegas. Bets must be made on a specific machine to build the jackpot.
Local Progressive Slot Machines – Local progressive slot machines are typically located in a single casino and synced together. A bet in any of the synced machines builds the jackpot they all share.
Wide Area Progressive Slot Machines – This type of progressive slot machine is the most widespread. Machines from across locations can be linked to generate a huge jackpot.

Each Pull is Independent

With slots, the odds don’t improve the more you play. A player’s odds of winning in the one game are completely independent of the outcomes in previous games.

Partial Wins Keep People Playing

One of the more recent changes in slot machines is the concept of partial wins. With some machines, you can play multiple lines at once. It’s common for one of the lines to win while the others lose. This gives the player the rush of feeling a win, but overall it’s a loss.
The idea behind partial wins is it will encourage people to keep playing. In the late 1980s, Nevada put restrictions on the use of algorithms to create “near win” scenarios because the idea worked so well.

Slot Machines Make Mistakes

Slot machines are complex, advanced machines – but they aren’t foolproof. On more than one occasion people have thought they hit multi-million dollar jackpots only to be told the machine malfunctioned. Each machine should have a disclaimer listing the maximum payout. If you hit a big jackpot always look for the maximum payout to verify the win.