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Gaming Guru
Do slot machines hit less frequently on free play?2 February 2009
Dear Dan, Thanks for the kind words about my column. The RNG doesn't care — or even know — if you are playing on the free play or with your own money. A key phrase in your letter is "it appears to me." Let's apply the scientific method and get some hard evidence. The next time you play you take advantage of a free play promotion, keep track of the number of spins and the number of hits you get from the free play. Then, play the same number of spins on your own dime and, once again, keep track of the hits. Calculate the hit frequency (hits divided by number of spin) for the free play and for your money. The two frequencies should be very close. The same outcome selection process is used for the free spins and the paid spins. You might need to repeat this a few times on the same machine until you have 1,000 or more spins. I think you're the victim of selective memory. Your hypothesis is that the machines hit less frequently and for smaller amounts when they do hit when you're playing with the free play than when you're playing with your own money. As a result, you tend to remember the times that you don't hit much on free play and forget the times that you did. That's why we need to keep track and not rely on impressions. Please write back with your results if you're able to conduct the experiment I described. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Recent Articles
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