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Gaming Guru
Video Keno, Progressive Slot Machines28 August 2003
Dear Kathy, Video keno machines use an RNG to determine which numbers will be selected in a game. It really doesn't matter which numbers you select, because each number is equally likely to be drawn in any particular game. I think your host misunderstood something he or she was told. Changing the payback on a machine usually involves sending some paperwork to the local gaming commission. Casinos do not change paybacks on machines on a whim. Video poker machines do use an RNG to shuffle the electronic deck from which the cards are drawn. Video poker is a game of skill because a player has to hold the combination of cards with the highest expected value in each hand in order to get the highest long-term payback possible from the machine. On modern video poker machines, the cards needed to replace discards are not drawn until you press the Draw button. But even if the machine chooses them at the beginning, it wouldn't matter. Before you start the game, each card is equally likely to be used as a dealt card or a drawn card. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, * * * * * * * * * * Dear Pam, I'm afraid that the only casino I've been to in Louisiana is the old Flamingo Hilton boat in New Orleans. Steve Bourie's American Casino Guide website (www.americancasinoguide.com) has slot payback information from every jurisdiction that reports paybacks. Louisiana doesn't release numbers by property, but you might be able to get some insight from what they do provide. Another thing you can do is check each casino's video poker offerings. Casinos with high-paying video poker usually have high-paying slots as well. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, * * * * * * * * * *
Dear Bill, Thank you very much for this information. I admit that I only have knowledge of and experience with Las Vegas-style slot machines. John * * * * * * * * * * How can you tell if a slot machine is a straight multiplier, a bonus multiplier, or one of the other types of slot machines? Dear Varlisa, You can tell what type a machine is by looking at its paytable. If it's a straight multiplier, all two-coin payoffs will be exactly twice the one-coin payoff, all three-coin payoffs exactly three times the one-coin payoff, etc. Most multipliers are bonus multipliers. On a bonus multiplier, one or more combinations pay a little bit more than they would if the machine were a straight multiplier. For example, a three-coin Double Diamond machine that pays 800/1600/2400 for the top jackpot would be a straight multiplier. One that pays 800/1600/2500 is a bonus multiplier. Another type of machine is a buy-a-pay. Paytables on buy-a-pay machines are divided to show you which combinations are bought by playing each coin. Blazing 7s is a buy-a-pay machine because the first coin buys only the bar combinations, and the second coin buys the 7s combinations. Best of luck in and out of the casinos, * * * * * * * * * *
Dear Earl, When the machines are part of a wide-area progressive network (e.g., Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy), all machines are identical. When the machines are not part of network, they may or may not be the same. I know of one slot manager who had a carousel of Five Times Pay machines. At first, all of the machines had the same payback program. He decided to try an experiment and he put a slightly lower payback program in two of the machines to see if they would still get as much play as the other machines in the bank. They did and players never realized that those machines paid back a little less than the others. 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. 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. Related Links
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