47 ways to beat the slots

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47 WAYS TO BEAT THE SLOTS 47 WAYS TO BEAT THE SLOTS Chapter One What You Should Know About Slot Machines You can’t force a big jackpot, no matter how many coins you feed into a machine. No slot is ever “due” to hit. Jackpots are created by a computer chip inside the machine. They happen at random; if you’re lucky you’ll be at the right machine at the right time. In the meantime, your aim should be to “play for playing money”. And that’s what this booklet is all about. Going home broke after every casino visit is no fun. I’ll show you how to change direction towards keeping more money in your pocket The aim is to recycle the same bankroll over and over, instead of finding new money every time you go to chase that elusive jackpot. It’s not that hard, if you let 47 Ways To Beat The Slots be your guide. If you’ve been playing slots for some time, you’re probably familiar with the various machines and how they work. In that case you may want to skip the rest of this first chapter. For those readers who are relative newcomers to the slot file:///C|/Systems/47%20WAYS%20TO%20BEAT%20THE%20SLOTS.htm (1 of 30) [6/29/2002 12:52:12 AM]

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What you should know about slot machines

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Page 1: 47 Ways to Beat the Slots

47 WAYS TO BEAT THE SLOTS

47 WAYS TO BEAT THE SLOTS

Chapter One What You Should Know About Slot Machines

You can’t force a big jackpot, no matter how many coins you feed into amachine. No slot is ever “due” to hit. Jackpots are created by a computer

chip inside the machine. They happen at random; if you’re lucky you’ll be at

the right machine at the right time.

In the meantime, your aim should be to “play for playing money”. And that’swhat this booklet is all about. Going home broke after every casino visit is

no fun. I’ll show you how to change direction towards keeping more money in

your pocket

The aim is to recycle the same bankroll over and over, instead of findingnew money every time you go to chase that elusive jackpot. It’s not that

hard, if you let 47 Ways To Beat The Slots be your guide.

If you’ve been playing slots for some time, you’re probably familiar withthe various machines and how they work. In that case you may want to skip

the rest of this first chapter.

For those readers who are relative newcomers to the slot file:///C|/Systems/47%20WAYS%20TO%20BEAT%20THE%20SLOTS.htm (1 of 30) [6/29/2002 12:52:12 AM]

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scene, here’s arundown on the different types of machines and how they work. Reading this

overview will also help you understand some of the peculiar lingo used in

slot play:

Standard or Basic SlotsRegular or standard slot machines have a fixed jackpot that never changes.

Standard models with a relatively small to medium sized jackpot generallyhit a winning combination more often. The ones offering a huge top prize pay

smaller amounts less frequently.

Progressive Slots

On progressive machines a tiny percentage of every bet goes towardsincreasing the jackpot amount until someone wins it.

Specialty Slots

Over the last few years more and more “multi-event/game-within-a-game”machines appear on casino floors. Two of the most popular examples are Wheel

of Fortune and Piggy Bank slots. There are many others.

Double-Up Slots

These are machines with “double” symbols. If you get a winning combinationthat includes the double icon, the payoff amount is doubled. And it gets

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better, if the winning combination includes two “double” symbols the payoff

is quadrupled!

“Wild” Symbols

“Wild jokers”, “wild cherries” or other “wild” images should not be confusedwith double-up symbols. They simply substitute for any other paying symbol,

but they do not increase the payout amount.

Individual Progressive

An individual progressive machine is self-contained, it does not receivefrom or contribute to another machine.

Linked Progressives

As the name implies, linked progressives are groups of machines that areelectronically hooked-up to contribute to one common jackpot that can get

quite large.

Multi-Location Progressives

Hitting the jackpot on one of these machines is what everyone likes to dreamabout. Hundreds of machines, located in many different casinos, all feed

that giant pot of gold. Your odds of winning those millions are about the

same as those for winning the lottery. But then, someone always wins the

lottery too.

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Single-Line Slots

Single-line machines pay only if the winning combination appears on thecenter line. They generally accept two or three coins maximum and feature

bar symbols with the traditional 7’s denoting the top prize. This is the

most popular type of machine.

Multi-Line Slots

These models have three to five paylines, offering more chances to line up awinning combination. However, they require an additional coin for each line

and they almost always pay the jackpot only if maximum coins are inserted.

The “RNG”

Today’s slot machines are run by computer generated programs. It’s amicrochip that triggers the random selection and decides what symbols the

reels will stop at. Hence that little microprocessor, known as a random

number generator (RNG), controls when and how much a machine pays out.

Payout Table

The display, usually at the top of the machine, that tells you how manycoins you’ll collect for the various symbol combinations. Sometimes there

are also special directions, relating to the payouts, printed on that panel.

Credit Meter

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Instead of coins falling into the tray, when you win, all newer machineshave a “credit meter” that displays your coin balance from spin to spin.

Instead of having to count what’s in the tray, you can see at a glance whereyou stand. Don’t forget to cash out when you leave!

Payout Percentages

All machines are programmed to pay out a certain percentage of all the moneythey take in. If you see a machine advertised as returning 97%, it means

that over a very long period of time it will pay out 97 cents for every

dollar it collected. It does not guarantee you’re going to get back $97 for

every hundred you put in.

Hold PercentagesThe opposite of payout percentages. If a machine pays back 97% it keeps 3%.

Therefore that particular machine has a 3% hold. In most jurisdictions holdpercentages are regulated by law and can be as high as 25%. Although in very

competitive markets the numbers will likely be in the 2% to 10% range.

Deviation

The random number generator (RNG) does just that. It generates numbers atrandom, which translate into losing and winning combinations on the reels.

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Over the long term it’ll produce a number of large and small wins that willadd up to precisely the payback percentage it was programmed for. But in the

short term you can experience cycles when an abnormal number of winning or

losing combinations appear. In other words, deviations from the norm.

Maximum Coin Play

Slot machines take from one to five (sometimes more) coins per spin. In mostcases it is advisable to always play all the coins the machine will accept

for every hand.

Short-Coin Play

Inserting less than maximum coins is generally not recommended. But on somemachines, under certain circumstances, playing one coin at a time can

actually be advantageous. More about that later.

Chapter Two Essential Winning Strategies

There is no strategy that will let you win over the long term. Slot machinesare programmed to pay out less than all the money that’s put into them over

a long period of time. But in the short term anything can happen. Machines

go through hot and cold streaks.

There are periods when they pay considerably more and times when they paymuch less than the normal percentage they’re programmed for. Players who use

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their bankroll frugally until they find a machine that’s in a hot cycle,

have a considerably better chance of walking away winners, without

increasing their risk.

And that’s what 47 Ways To Beat The Slots is all about. You’re going to findout how to sharpen your playing skills. You’ll be “playing for playing

money”. Most folks, after they get ahead and accumulate some winnings, get

greedy and end up giving back all their gains plus all the money they

brought with them.

How often have you heard someone boast: “Boy, I hit a $1,000 jackpot on thefirst day.” Then ask them how they did for the entire trip and if the

answer is: “I was only down $500”, That’s a winner??

I’ll show you ways to ensure that you’ll actually go home with some of theloot. Remember, you’re a winner only if you leave the casino with more than

you came with, or at least with as much as you came with.

It may seem that some statements contradict each other. For example, oneline says “Play the highest-jackpot progressives”, while another advises to

“Go for smaller jackpots”. Both are correct, depending on your priorities.

You can play conservative, by going for more frequent, but moderate wins or

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aggressively pursue a big jackpot.

It’s important to select the appropriate machine for your goals. Slots withrelatively low jackpots pay smaller amounts more often, whereas those

offering huge jackpots are extremely stingy. Secondary payouts are smaller

and less frequent.

1 Play with a sharp, clear mind.

You need to feel rested, relaxed and confident that you can win, Don’t gonear the machines if it doesn’t “feel right”. Playing slots when you’re

over-anxious, tired or tipsy can lead to costly mistakes. Only a sharp,

clear mind makes rational decisions.

2 Play at a big casino.

Large, high volume casinos can afford to offer more generous paybackpercentages than small, slots-only places. Fewer machines usually translate

into low payout percentages. For that reason also avoid machines in

airports, bars and other non-casino locations.

3 Play “certified” slotswhenever you can find them. Some casinos, especially in Las Vegas and other

highly competitive regions, advertise machines that are certified to pay out

98% or better. If you have a choice, why play any others?

4 Play high percentage slots..

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But be aware that the “97.5% payback” sign above a bank of slots does notguarantee that all machines in that grouping will return that much. Possibly

only one of them is set for a long-term payback of 97.5%.

5 Play a popular machine..

Red White & Blue, Double Diamond and Wild Cherries are among the most-playedmachines around the country. Perhaps they’re the most popular because they

pay the best?

6 Play centrally located slotsthat are highly visible from other slot aisles. Casinos want winners to be

seen by other players. It follows that they’ll place the better paying

machines where they’ll attract the most attention.

7 Slots to avoid for sureare the ones very near the table-game area and machines in walkways heavily

traveled by non-gambling hotel guests. Almost no one can resist a couple of

spins, as they pass by. Casinos don’t place their better machines in such

locations.

8 Read the directions.

Before you start playing, look for any special information relating to thepaytable. I once inserted a single dollar and was excited to see three

casino-logo symbols come to a stop on the payline, but no win! Had I played

three coins, I would have collected $100. Always read the instructions!

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9 If you choose multi-paylinemachine, be sure to bet maximum coins every hand. Multi-line slots require

from three to five coins to activate all the lines. You don’t want to see

the jackpot combination appear on a line that’s not lit because you didn’t

insert enough coins to activate that line!

10 Play maximum coinsif a single-line machine pays a bonus for doing so. For example, if the top

prize on a 2-coin machine is 600 coins with one coin inserted and 1,500

coins if you wager two coins, then it’s prudent to bet two coins every time.

11 Play one coin at a timeif it’s a machine that pays, let’s say, 800 coins for a single coin wager

and 1,600 coins for a two-coin bet. Since the second coin only doubles the

payout, but doesn’t offer anything extra, there is no real advantage to

playing two coins.

12 Always play maximum coinson progressive machines. You’d never forgive yourself if you missed out on

collecting a progressive jackpot because you didn’t have the maximum number

of coins inserted.

13 Play within your comfort zone.

Don’t play bonus jackpot or progressive machines of a higher denominationthan what you can comfortably afford. Instead of feeding a $1 machine, one

coin at a time, when you should be betting maximum coins, move to a quarter

machine and assure you’ll qualify for the jackpot.

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14 Play the highest-jackpot progressiveyou can find. In a bank of individual progressives all the machines are

usually of the same kind, but the size of the jackpot differs from machine

to machine. Be sure to pick the machine with the highest jackpot amount..

15 Know your goal.

Are you going after the life-changing super-jackpot, or would you be happywith a modest, but realistically attainable sum? Choose your machine

accordingly.

16 Mega-jackpot machinesare a losing proposition for millions of people. They eat up your money

quickly because smaller wins are few and far between. Play the lottery, your

chances of winning are about the same.

17 Go for smaller jackpots.

Machines with a top prize in the 1,000 to 10,000 coin range pay smaller winsmore often. You have a more realistic chance of coming out ahead..

18 Beware of Specialty Slots.

Referring to so-called “second-event” slots, like Piggy Bank, Wheel of

Fortune and similar machines, one casino industry executive boasted: “Theconcept is how to make losing fun”!

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19 Payback percentages are important.

Nationwide, the average payback percentages, as reported in a recent issueof Casino Player magazine are: Nickel machines: 90.3%, Quarter machines :

92.3% , $1 machines: 94.4% , $5 machines: 95.9%

20 Pick the highest denomination machineyou can afford to play. As you can see from the above. Overall, quarters are

2% better than nickels, dollars are 2.1% better than quarters and $5

machines pay another 1.5% more than dollars.

21 Maximize your potential returnby playing one coin at a time on a next-higher denomination machine. Instead

of three nickels play one quarter on a 25-cent machine or, instead of three

quarters play a single coin on a dollar slot. But do this only if it’s a

single-payline machine that doesn’t offer a bonus for lining up the jackpot

combination.

22 Don’t be in a hurry.

Take it slow, enjoy the scenery. Look at what others are doing. Play at aleisurely pace, You’ll extend your playing time without risking more money.

Slow down, the machine won’t rush you.23 Set your “win goal”.

Successful gamblers quit when they’ve reached what they set out to win. Have

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realistic expectations. Once you’ve won half as much as what you started

with, QUIT. At least for a while. Experience how it feels to walk away a

winner!.

24 Limit your losses.

More important than deciding on a “win goal” is to set a loss limit. Vowthat you won’t risk more than a certain amount and don’t disappoint yourself

by breaking your promise!

25 Don’t try to force a win.

If things don’t go right, keep your cool. If you let yourself getaggravated, you’re liable to make dumb mistakes. Better to collect your

coins and take a break until you feel more rational again.

Chapter Three Making Your Money Last

Anytime you read anything about playing the slots, the subject of “moneymanagement” is usually included. Personally, I don’t like the term “money

management”, it sounds too pretentious. I’d rather talk about “making your

money last”.

The first thing you need to understand is that knowing how to “manage” yourgambling money will not make you a winner by itself . What it will do is

ensure your bankroll lasts until you finally hit a winning streak, or at

least until it’s time to head home.

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Happy slot players have three characteristics: They’re optimistic, alwaysstriving to win. They’re realistic, accepting that they won’t win every

time. And they’re disciplined enough not to exceed their win and loss

limits. If you have those three attributes, you’ll enjoy playing the slots

without getting into serious trouble.

Here are my suggestions on how to allocate your slot budget. Use this methodof making your money last and your casino visits will never again become a

regrettable experience:

26 Decide how muchmoney you will risk on slots before you get to the casino. Make this

important decision in the sane surroundings of your home, not in the wild

and crazy, inane atmosphere of the gambling house.

27 Do not risk yourentire stake at once. Dropping your whole bankroll before your casino visit

is half over can lead to temptations you’ll painfully regret later.

28 Promise yourselfyou will not get more gambling money from the ATM and you will never, never

get a cash advance on your credit card. If you succumb to the temptation

your slot-playing excursion is bound to end up a regretful experience.

29 Divide your moneyinto the number of days you plan to stay. Then divide your daily allotment

into four or five equal amounts. If your total for the day is $200 and you

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split it five ways, you’ll have $40 for each of five separate playing

sessions.

30 Play in “sessions”.

Splitting your day into several playing sessions has a twofold purpose. Itassures you won’t run out of money before the day is over and if you don’t

get on the plus side the first time around, you still have several more

chances to get a winning streak going.

31 If you loseall of your session moneys for the day, do not borrow from the next day’s

allowance. Conversely, if you finish the day on the plus side, don’t add

that amount to tomorrow’s bankroll. Put the winnings aside, not to be

touched again this trip.

32 If your daily stake isunder $100, stick to nickel machines; play quarters if you have between $100

and $200. Consider the dollar slots if you have more than $200.

33 Play each session until.you’ve won at least half as much as what you started with, or until your

session money is all gone. If you lose all, quit! Do not “find” more money

and continue playing.

34 Win or Lose,take an extended break after each session. Go for some fresh air, do some

shopping, or sit in the coffee shop. Get away from the machines and reflect

on your play.

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35 Be sure to quitwhen you’re ahead by at least 50%. If you started with 80 coins and have won

40 or more, end the session. Continue playing and, 99 times out of a

hundred, you will end up with nothing,

36 Credit meters are deceiving.

The amount on the meter is money, not points. It’s your cash! Don’t playuntil the meter reads zero. Casinos count on people playing off their

credits, because that number on the meter doesn’t feel like real money.

37 Take the money home.

After each and every winning session, convert all the coins into papermoney, put the bills into an envelope, seal it and stash it away. It’s your

insurance that you won’t go home broke.

Chapter Four More Winning Strategies

“Quit while you’re ahead.” How often have you heard that phrase? Now stopand think and then answer these questions: Quit, for how long? Ahead, by how

much? Analyze this carefully, then find answers that suit your psyche and

circumstances.

My philosophy is to “play for playing money” until I hit a jackpot of atleast a few thousand dollars. Smaller wins give me staying power, so I can

keep coming back without risking additional new money. And when I do catch

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that big win, I’ll invest the money in something tangible. What I won’t do

is give all of it back to the casino.

38 Expect to win.

Always start out with an optimistic outlook. There are no guarantees, but ifyou go to play slots expecting to lose, you’re beat before you start.

39 Find a loose machine.

Your chances of winning will always be better if you make an effort to finda machine with a better than average long-term payback percentage. But

realize that even the loosest slots go through periods when they don’t pay

well.

40 The best-paying machinesare located where they can be seen by the greatest number of slot players.

The idea being that all the excitement around winning players motivatesothers to keep trying, in the hopes that they too will be lucky.

41 Ask the change person.

She or he is around those machines for eight hours a day and should have agood idea which machines are paying better than others. A small tip could

bring big dividends!

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42 Befriend the regularsor locals. Find out if people play in that casino regularly and which

machines they like. Chances are they know which ones are worth playing.

43 Look for winners.

Not someone who just hit the jackpot, but people with trays or buckets fullof coins. If they’ve been winning slow and steady, their machine could be a

loose one! Grab it when it becomes available.

44 Test your machine.If after five or six spins you haven’t had even one small payout, move on.

Chances are that machine is in a cold cycle or worse, it’s a tight slot tobegin with.

45 Have a plan of attack.

You know that no slot player can win all the time, because an infalliblesystem doesn’t exist. However, you will have a better chance of succeeding

if you start out with a plan. Here are two good strategies:

46 Nickels To Dollars SystemIf the casino doesn’t have any nickel machines, start at the quarter level.

This system works best if you can start with a session stake of at least$50.

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a) You’ll be playing four, hopefully, loose machines, one in each

denomination, nickels, quarters, half-dollars and dollars.

b) Change your entire session allotment into rolls of nickels. Play all the

nickels through a machine once only. Let the payouts collect in the tray or

accumulate on the credit meter.

c) After you’ve played all your nickels through the machine once, collect

all the paid out coins and exchange them for quarters.

d) Now go to the 25-cent machine and play all of your quarters in the same

manner. Collect the winnings and convert them to 50-cent coins.

e) Repeat the process on the half-dollar machine. Take the

winnings to the coin redemption window and exchange them for dollar

tokens..

f) Go to the dollar slot and play all of your dollar coins once

through that machine. After that, whether you’ve won or lost, QUIT!

The advantage of this system is that it stretches your playing time. To play$50 worth of nickels through a machine takes quite a while. And once you

reach the dollar level, a relatively small payoff can put you ahead, even if

you didn’t hit anything big while playing the lower denominations.

47 The Carousel System

This system is best played in the early morning hours. You’ll have a muchbetter chance of getting at all the machines when the casino is least busy.

The size of your session stake determines which denomination of machines you

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should choose. Play nickels slots if the amount is $20 or less, quarters if

you have more than $20 but less than $100, consider dollar machines if your

bankroll is more than $100.

a) Find a bank or carousel of promising machines, preferably a

group where the sign above proclaims a high return percentage.

b) Divide your session bankroll by the number of slots in the

group. Now you’ll know how many coins you’ll have for each

machine.

c) Get two coin buckets. Your starting bankroll goes into one and

your winnings are collected in the second one. Be careful not

to get them mixed up, once you have coins in each.

d) If there are 10 machines, one tenth of your money is played

through each one. Ideally you should have at least 15 to 20

coins per machine.

e) Supposing you’ve allocated 18 coins for each machine, count

out that number and play them through the first machine, but

only once. Now see how many coins the machine paid out..

f) If you have fewer coins than you started with, put them in your

“win” bucket and move to the next machine. If you have more,

put the number you started with in the win bucket and replay

your profit, but quit and move on as soon as you get three

non-paying spins in a row.

g) Keep repeating this process until you’ve covered every

machine in the group. Be sure to remember which ones gave

you the better payoffs, they might be worth going back to,

later.

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The carousel system gives you an opportunity to test all the machines in agroup with the goal of discovering which is the loosest of the lot. This

would be extremely valuable information for future sessions.

Chapter Five Slot Clubs - Benefits Galore

These days practically all casinos have a slot club. If you play themachines at any casino, no matter where, sign up for the slot club before

you put even one nickel into a machine. Never say you don’t play enough to

make getting a card worthwhile.

Membership is free. All you do is fill out a form and you’ll be issued aplastic card the size of a credit card. Even if you play very little,

valuable offers can come in the mail. Just recently I received a coupon for

three complimentary room nights from a casino where I played once for a

couple of hours, and that was a few years ago.

You can get on the “comp gravy train” even if you’re just a $100 a-dayplayer. Show the casino that you’re a steady, frequent customer and you’ll

be surprised how many special deals they’ll offer you. If you have a modest

gambling budget, don’t spread your money around. Stay and play at the same

casino all the time. Find a place you like and let them get to know.

All slots are equipped with a device into which you insert your membershipcard before you start to play. Having your card in the reader enables the

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casino to track your action. How long you play and how many coins you bet

determines the number of points you accumulate. Don’t forget to take the

card with you as you move from machine to machine.

Most slot clubs let you redeem points for meals and merchandise. Some alsohave cash-back programs, rebating a tiny percentage of all the money you

wager. Always insert your card in the machine. It’s surprising how quickly

the points add up. Exactly how many points you need to get specific items is

usually summarized in the slot club literature. If it isn’t, ask at the

booth.

Perhaps of more value than the tangible benefits mentioned above are theunofficial extras that you can receive from a slot host, or that will come

in the mail. These additional perks include free or discounted rooms,

invitations to slot tournaments, birthday gifts and other rewards that are

not advertised to the general public.

To what extent you receive comps is determined by how much money you runthrough the machines, not whether you win or lose. The more often you can

recycle the same money, the more truly free benefits will come your way.

Just realize that casinos operate slot clubs for only one reason. They wantto entice customers to wager more and play longer. Don’t fall into that

trap!

You wouldn’t invest in an airline ticket just to get more

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frequent-flyermiles, unless you were planning a trip. The same goes for slot clubs, don’t

“buy” points. Take advantage of everything you’re entitled to, and more,

because you played, but never, never play just to earn points.

Chapter Six Practicing What I Preach

My slot-playing money for one particular day was $200. Since we were goingto a show after dinner, I opted to split my stake four ways. $50 for each of

four sessions, two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

Doing research for this book, I wanted to compare paybacks on machines withjackpots ranging from modest to significant, so I decided to blend two

session amounts into one and play a modified version of my Nickels To

Dollars System.

Starting with $100, I picked five different nickel machines and played $20(400 coins) through each. To keep track of how well a machine pays, I

hand-inserted coins rather than playing from the credit meter. Only by

hand-inserting coins could I keep an accurate count of how many coins went

in and how many the machine paid back.

Also, by not playing credits, I slowed down the game and stretched myplaying time without increasing the risk. If the machines accept bills, I

simply inserted $20, pressed the cash-out button and collected 400 coins in

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a bucket. If not, I bought rolls of coins.

My first machine was a three-coin Double Diamond with a top jackpot of 2,500coins ($125). At three coins per spin, it took me 22 minutes to play 130

hands = 399 coins. I cashed out 351 coins. 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 collected322 coins, which worked out to 80.7%, meaning 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 coins in, 355 coins out, this machine 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 coins. This one paid back only 75.25% of all the coins I fed it.

For my last 5-cent machine I selected a three-coin Ten Times Pay slotdangling a carrot worth 25,000 coins ($1,250) as a top jackpot. It devoured

263 of the 399 coins I put into it. This machine kept a whopping 65 .66% for

the casino and paid out a measly 34.34%!

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These results clearly proved that the higher the jackpot, the riskier thegame. If you want to make your stake last and would be satisfied with a

relatively modest win, don’t select slots displaying super-large jackpots.

On the other hand, if only a really big win would make you happy, take theall-or-nothing approach, go for that colossal prize, but realize that you

might face an early exit.

It took nearly two hours to play 400 coins through each of five different5-cent machines. When I cashed in my three buckets full of nickels, I

collected $73.25. Collectively the hold percentage for those nickel slots

was a very steep 26.64%. But then, we know that nickel slots have the worst

payouts.

After a 20-minute break in the coffee shop, I divided my $73.25 into threelots, two $25 (100 coins stakes and one lot of $23.25 (93 coins) and went

searching for good quarter machines.

My first pick was a two-coin Double Diamond model with a modest 1,600 coin($400) jackpot. 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).

The next 25-cent machine was of the two-coin Wild Cherry variety, offering a

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5,000 coin ($1,250) top prize. Here, after about ten minutes of play, I

collected only 85 coins, a loss of 15%. This machine returned 85%.

I took my final $23.25 (93 quarters) to a three-coin Red White & Bluemachine featuring a 10,000-coin ($2,500) jackpot. At three coins per spin, I

didn’t have to wait long for the result, the payout was a paltry 27 coins =

the machine kept 71%. Not only was it a tight machine, it must have been in

a cold cycle as well.

My $73.25 had shrunk to $57.50. After a short break I found a bank of50-cent machines, each with it’s 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 even one had

reached the $600 mark.

These were three-coin slots and to have a chance of collecting the jackpot Ihad 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 machine where the sign read $511.

At three coins per hand, my $57.50 bankroll gave me only 19 three-coinspins. If I didn’t hit anything quickly, my morning session would be all

over soon. 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.

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Now it was decision time. Should I wager the whole bundle on dollarmachines, or pocket my original $100 and take only my $78 profit to the

dollar slots? I compromised and put exactly half, $89, at risk. $45 on one

machine and $44 on another.

I spotted a two-coin Double Diamond machine paying a jackpot of $800 forone-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. The result? I cashed out a very disappointing $12.

For my last try, I selected a two-coin Wild Cherry model that also did notoffer 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 table players

don’t want to hear the clanging of coins.

Since it was my last hurrah for this session, I decided to bet two coinsper spin and go for the $5,000 jackpot. Well, I didn’t get it, but I did

cash out $58, $14 more than I put into this machine.

By now it was more than three hours since I started the session on thatfirst nickel machine. There were still two important stops to make. First I

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went to coin redemption and exchanged all the coins for paper money. I had

my $100 session money recouped plus a $59 profit for a total of $159. Those

bills would go into an envelope, sealed and stashed away. It was money not

to be touched again this trip.

Then I visited the slot club booth to see how many points I had accumulatedthat morning. Of course, I never play without first inserting my slot club

card into the machine. It turned out my play entitled me to a complimentary

buffet lunch, besides it added a tiny sum to the cash-back percentage that I

always collect at the end of our visit.

The points I earned that morning probably also contributed towards elevatingmy long-term 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, but not least-important topic of this booklet:

Chapter Seven Tournaments—Fun and Good Value

Slot tournaments are not like normal slot play. Instead of trying to winmoney from the machines, you play for points. You want to accumulate more

points than any of the other people who participate in the tournament. The

slots are adjusted for play without money, therefore your risk is limited

only to the cost of the tournament entry fee.

If the cost is not too steep and two nights accommodation, a welcomecocktail party, breakfast every day and dinner on awards night is included,

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slot tournaments can be good value, even if you don’t win any money. Most

major tournaments are played in several rounds over two or three days.

The best events to enter are those where the machines are pre-loaded with acertain number of credits and every participant plays at his or her own

speed until all credits are used up. The person who drew the loosest machine

ends up with the most points. The luck of the draw determines the winner.

Everyone has an even chance.

Other tournaments limit play to a specified amount of time, usually 15 or 20minutes per round. Here, it’s of utmost importance that you keep tapping

that spin button, don’t let anything distract you. Every fraction of a

second can add a few more points. I was in one tournament where only three

points separated first and second place winners. .

Slot tournaments often have a prize structure of $25,000, $15,000 and $5,000for the top three winners. Even if you’re number 150 on the list, you might

still collect $100. If there are 300 entrants, you have a one in 300 shot at

$25,000. No slot machine offers odds that good.

For the final paragraph I was going to recap the essentials of skillful slotplay, but I couldn’t decide which are more crucial than others. All are

equally important.. I suggest you simply re-read the whole booklet.

I have given you much more than 47 Ways To Beat The

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Slots. Playingaccording to the instructions is the first priority. Re-read and remember

them, but understanding the philosophy behind the rules is equally

important.

Knowing how to choose the right machine and how to allocate your money isone part of the equation, the other is knowing when to quit. If, on a day to

day basis, you can be satisfied with small wins, you have staying power. And

staying power allows you to keep chasing that big jackpot without having to

Dig deep into your pockets every time you go to the casino.

Keep recycling those small profits, take advantage of the entire slot clubBenefits and sooner or later that gigantic payday are bound to materialize.

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