Slot machines you can actually beat

6 January 2015

By Frank Scoblete

I am going to share with you some of the machines that my fellow Casino City Times columnist Jerry “Stickman” and I discovered to be player-favorable at certain times. What do I mean by “player-favorable”? Simply that the slots player can get a real mathematical edge over the casino if he plays these machines correctly.

Yes, these are called advantage-play machines and are excerpted from my book "Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines!"

With each machine I will explain when the machine becomes favorable to the player and how much money to have in your bankroll to play the machine.

Full disclosure: Atlantic City had no advantage-play machines. However, casinos in Nevada, the Midwest and Mississippi did when we scouted these territories. Some of these machines are somewhat rare. In short, you must go to a casino and check out the floor to see if any are there. OK, so you have to do some work! Certainly, most casinos will not have these machines but it is still worth looking for them.

Before I get into individual machines, some important thoughts:

This type of advantage slot machine is similar to progressive slot machines in the sense that something builds. It is not a jackpot dollar amount though. Instead something else builds. It could be coins, hats, gems, fruit or even firecrackers. It can be almost anything.

The pool of items builds when a special symbol or some combination of symbols appears on the reels. This can be one particular symbol, a combination of symbols or even the absence of symbols, sometimes called blanks or ghosts. For example, if a cherry appears in one of the nine positions that are visible on the reels, a cherry is added to the corresponding section of a pie. Each different machine has its own criteria for saving.

Once a certain combination of symbols appears or a section of the collection area is filled, a bonus is paid that is proportionate to the number of hats, gems, fruit or whatever symbol has been banked. For example, a diamond is added to one of three columns corresponding to the reel that contains a diamond. When a column is filled with diamonds, a bonus of 10 credits is collected and the column is emptied.

The more things are in the collection, the better chance the game might be positive. And I will show you which games can become positive as well as when they become positive. It will give you the best method to play them and let you know how much money you should have available once you decide to play a given advantage machine. A proper bankroll is absolutely necessary to give yourself the best chance to win.

Once you have found a game that has a positive expectation, there are certain rules you must follow to maximize your wins. Some may seem obvious, but it is amazing how quickly one can forget about discipline when one is playing and winning. The following rules for play are not suggestions — they are requirements. They must be followed if you are going to maintain an advantage.

1. Only play when you have an advantage. This rule applies while playing any casino game. You must recognize that playing without an advantage negates any wins you might have in the short run. If the house has the edge then you will ultimately lose your money. It is hard work to win money from a casino.

2. Have the required bankroll in your pocket. Once you have determined that you have an advantage at a machine, you must play until you collect the bonus or jackpot. Lady Luck can be fleeting. It may take a long time before you hit the right combination to collect — but collect you must or you will have wasted your money.

3. Once a machine becomes positive, it remains positive until someone collects the bonus and then the collection is reset and the positive machine is no longer positive. Generally, the more you play the more positive the machine becomes. Can you imagine your frustration if the following happened? You deposit the last $20 you have in your pocket (or purse) into a positive game. You play and play and you don’t collect. You play the entire $20 and still don’t collect. Grumbling, you get up from the machine; go to your room to get some more money. When you return to the machine you find that the jackpot has been collected. It is no longer positive. By not having sufficient money in your pocket, you not only lost your chance at the bonus, you blew $20. If you left to get more money before playing, someone else may have still gotten the bonus, but it would have cost you nothing!

4. You must play until you collect the prize and if you don’t do this then you are purposely giving up your advantage. Make sure you have enough money with you — in your pocket! This is not like playing a regular slot machine where you flee once you have started to lose a good portion of whatever your session stake is. Not on these machines. You should have the proper amount of money to ensure that you win the game.

5. Quit playing when you no longer have an advantage. If you try to build up the symbols, instead of letting the average slot player build them up, you are just a regular slot player yourself and you then will have no advantage.

6. Once you collect the bonus, verify if you still have an advantage. There are times when you will continue to have an edge even after collecting a bonus. You should know these times on which machines. If you do not have the edge then quit playing and move on. Most games lose the advantage once you collect the bonus -- most, but not all. When you collect, look at the game. Do you still have an advantage? You will have a strong urge to continue playing — but don’t, unless the machine is still positive.

Six simple rules that you must follow to ensure you are playing with an edge and playing properly with that edge.

Next week: The Machines to Play!

Frank Scoblete is celebrating 25 years as a casino player and he wants to share the fun with you. E-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net and he will send you a free copy of his nongambling book "The Virgin Kiss."