The Slot Expert's Guide to Winning at Slots and Video Poker

You can hear me give my slot and video poker tips live on The Good Times Show, hosted by Rudi Schiffer with Frank Scoblete, which is broadcast from Memphis on WMC 790AM Saturday morning from 10-12 CT.

When I was waiting for Frank Scoblete to join me in the casino at Treasure Island in Las Vegas recently, I sat down at a slot machine by his elevator bank. I noticed that the machine I sat in front of was a straight multiplier, a type of machine that I recommend people play.

Straight multipliers are machines that pay you a straight multiple of the number of coins played for each winning combination. A very common straight multiplier is a 2-coin Double Diamond machine. Every payoff when playing two coins is exactly twice that when playing one coin.

There is no reason to play any more than one coin at a time when playing a straight multiplier. When you play more than one coin, you don't activate any new paylines or winning combinations and you don't get a bonus on any winning combinations. In other words, you don't increase the hit frequency or the payback when you play more than one coin. The only thing you do, in fact, is increase your risk by playing more money through the machine in a given length of time. You can stretch your bankroll and not give up anything in payback or hit frequency by playing only one coin at a time.

This week's tip: Play one coin at a time on straight multipliers.

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

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