Ask The Slot Expert

I am interested in finding a book that gives basic strategy for Double Double Bonus video poker, single line and Triple Play.

I can't find one anywhere.

Thank you,
Barbara

Dear Barbara,

Sorry, I don't know of any book that has a strategy for Double Double Bonus. If any visitors to this site know of a book with the strategy, please drop me a line and I'll publish the name in a future column.

There is a strategy for a high-paying version of Double Double Bonus on Skip Hughes' site www.vphomepage.com, but that probably isn't the paytable you have available.

Note that the strategy does not change for Triple Play, Five Play, or even Hundred Play machines as compared with single line machines.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

John,

I have read a few books on slots and have not found the answers to a couple of questions.

How does playing one, two, or three coins affect the outcome of the spin? Is it like separate pool at a mutuel track or does the computer just adjust future payoffs if it paid a large jackpot with max coins?

Also, I like the machine Top Dollar alot. Does my choice of offer accepted affect future payoffs? Does the bonus symbol (Top Dollor or the little man on "Run for the Money") come up more often when you do not play the coin necessary for that bonus to try to convince you to play that extra coin? I always do play that coin, but sometimes it does not register and you hit the Spin button and bang, there it is.

Thanks,
Jim

Dear Jim,

Playing one, two, or three coins does not influence the outcome of the spin at all. The probability of any particular symbol landing on the payline is the same regardless of the number of coins played.

The outcome of each spin is chosen completely at random without regard for what has happened in the past. The computer does not adjust future payouts if it just paid a jackpot. The chances of hitting a winning combination are the same on every spin.

Bonus symbols do not appear more often when you don't play the coin necessary for the bonus. It just seems that way because you remember the times it appeared and you didn't play the coin. As I said before, the probability of any particular symbol landing on the payline is the same regardless of the number of coins played.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Hello,

I have been trying to find video slot TV games shows (Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, The Price is Right, Family Feud, Party Time) on the Internet. Could you please tell were I can go to play these games?

Thank you,
Diana

Dear Diana,

I don't know of any site at which you can play the games you mentioned. I suspect the reason is because licensing would have to be worked out with both the slot manufacturer and the owner of the game show.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Dear John,

When I go to a casino, I notice sometimes that all the machines' symbols come up the same on all machines. By that I mean they are set to roll around the same and come up the same on all machines. If you go to a casino play quarter, half-dollar, dollar and 5-dollar machines, the Double Diamond, the Triple Diamond and all 3-reel machines or 3-coin machines, the same symbols come up the same way most of the time. They are not the same each time, but you can tell they are set the same. Try it and watch and you will see what I mean.

Thank you,
Larry

Dear Larry,

The amount of time it takes for each reel to stop varies from spin to spin. Sometimes a reel will stop very quickly, other times a reel will spin for what seems like many seconds until it stops.

I don't know whether the program in the slot machine uses the RNG to determine the "stopping profile" for a spin or whether it just cycles through a number of different profiles.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net.