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Ask the Slot Expert: Only highest winner paid15 January 2025
Have you seen the notice on a slot or video poker machine saying something like "Only highest winner paid?" Even though I've seen this notice on many (all?) slot machines, I can't think of an instance in which it is relevant. Well, let me take that back. I sat here for about five minutes trying to think of a situation in which the notice comes into play and I finally thought of one. Say you're playing a traditional 3-reel spinning slot machine. Three single bar symbols land on the payline. Two paytable entries apply to that combination: single bars, of course, and any bars. You get paid for the single bars because that is the highest-paying paytable entry applicable. Drop me a line at my email address below if you can think of any others. The notice comes into play more often on video poker. Say you're playing a Jacks or Better paytable and you're dealt this hand: J♣ J♦ J♥ Q♣ Q♠. You immediately think "Yippee. A full house." The hand could also qualify as a 3-of-a-kind or a high pair. The full house pays more, so that is what you get paid for. A similar situation exists between a straight, a straight flush, and a royal flush. A more interesting situation can occur if you are playing a wild card game like Deuces Wild. Say you are dealt this hand: 2♣ 4♣ 7♦ 7♥ 7♠. You probably immediately saw the three 7s and decided to use the deuce as another 7 and collect for 4-of-a-kind. But you have another option. The deuce could stand in for another 4. Then you would have a full house. Again, the highest winner notice pertains and the machine pays you for the quad -- even on NSU, where the quad and the full house pay the same. I suppose it considers it 4-of-a-kind because 4-of-a-kind is higher in the paytable. Moreover, if you've played a game without wild cards, getting 4-of-a-kind is much more exciting -- and usually more profitable -- than getting a full house. Come to think of it, the deuce could also be considered another rank besides 4 and 7, but that would be silly. You would be left with only a 3-of-a-kind. On a video poker game with wild cards, the paytable determines the rank and suit that a wild stands in for. If you would like to see more non-smoking areas on slot floors in Las Vegas, please sign my petition on change.org. Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert™, at slotexpert@slotexpert.com.
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