How Much Does It Take to Win on a Dollar Machine?

John,

I always enjoy your articles as they are both informative and educational. My questions have to do with a couple of slot machines I recently encountered at Casino Niagara and at Seneca Falls Casino in New York. One was a 9's or better and the other was 10's or better. Never having seen either before in any other locations, I was sure there should be a different strategy than the standard in Jacks. Briefly, could you highlight what the major differences are? Also, since neither machine was seeing a lot of action while I was there, did this indicate that they are a bad choice?

Thank you,
Joe

Dear Joe,

Thanks for the kind words about my articles.

I'd need to know the full paytable to be able to develop a strategy for it and highlight the differences between it and a particular Jacks or Better strategy.

I've never seen a 9s or Better paytable, and the one 10s or Better I saw was not a very good game. There may be some good 9s or Better and 10s or Better paytables out there, but I've never seen them.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

My husband and I go to Reno every summer and we have never hit a jackpot. We play mostly the Double Lucky Sevens and the Blazing 7s because we have found out that they do pay. I have hit combination on these two machine [sic] but I want to hit a jackpot. Which ones should we play?

Thanks,
Shirley

Dear Shirley,

Play whichever games you enjoy playing most. Without knowing how the machines' virtual reels are laid out, there's no way to know which one is more likely to hit a jackpot.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Recently on a Holland America cruise I played a slot game called Big Tipper. It was great fun but nobody seems to have heard of it.

Is there somewhere I can find a listing of games available at a casino? Or do you know of any land-based casinos carrying this game?

Thanks!

Big Tippers is a video slot from WMS Gaming.

Your best bet for finding out if a particular casino has this game is to call a casino directly. Call the toll-free number and explain to the receptionist that you'd like to find out if the casino has that game.

I don't know of any listings of games available at casinos. With so many machines in each casino and so many changes on the slot floors on a daily basis, it would be impossible to keep the list up-to-date.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

I hear over and over that each machine runs the RNG to create random "hits" yet the casinos are able to "order" looser or tighter machines. What else enters into this type of "order"?

Thank you,
Art

Dear Art,

The only other thing that enters into the order is the denomination of the amchine. The casino says how many of each denomination of each machine they want and what payback program (long-term payback) they want for each machine.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

How much does it usually take to win on a dollar machine?

How much do I need to put in one to hit anything?

Someone said one time put $100 in and play max down to $50. If it's going to hit, it will by then. Is this true?

Thanks.

That's nonsense that if a machine is going to hit, it will hit in the first 15 or so spins. A machine may hit on your first spin. It may not hit for tens of spins. I once played a low-hit-frequency machine that didn't hit for 90 spins.

I can't answer your other questions. There is no "usual" amount it takes to win on a dollar machine. There's no way to know how many spins it will take to get a hit.

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. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't send a reply to every question. Also be advised that it may take several months for your question to appear in my column.