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Indian casinos in Wisconsin and Minnesota
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Slot Strategy – How to leave with money
in your pocket
August 26, 2007
By: A.Retlick
Disclaimer: The author is not responsible for any negative feelings
derived from reading this document. The contents herein may not be
used in any form without written permission from the author.
First off, I’m going to tell you that there is no such thing
as a slot machine strategy that can guarantee a win every time. The
odds are in the casino’s favor. The more you go to the casino,
the greater your chance of having a non-winning experience. Compared
to other casino games, slot machines historically have the worst odds.
Yet, we still love to play them. The colorful flashing lights and
enticing sounds make playing slot machines a fun and addictive experience.
My first experience with slot machines was back
in 1984 on a trip to Las Vegas. At that time I didn’t know anything
about gambling. I think I won forty dollars in quarters on that trip.
It wasn’t until ten years later, when Indian casinos began to
appear in Wisconsin, that I had another opportunity to play a slot
machine. Even then, it wasn’t until about 2002 that I started
studying gambling strategies and visiting casinos more frequently.
I have yet to win more than $200 on a slot machine
payout, but my girlfriend did win $1200 last year. Unfortunately $1200
isn’t going to change your life, and if you gamble as a hobby,
that money is only going to be around until the next time you go to
the casino. That’s why you need a strategy for keeping some
of that cash in your pocket. It’s always nice to leave the casino
with more than you went in with. That’s what I consider a winning
experience.
The first step is to set a budget. How much can
you comfortably afford to spend on this type of entertainment? It
is best not to think about what you could buy with the money, but
to think of it as working material. The goal is to generate more working
material during the time you are there. More on that later, right
now lets decide on how much we need to work with. My budget is usually
around two or three hundred dollars. Some of you will consider this
a lot and some will not. Some of it depends on how long you plan on
playing and which machines you want to play. I usually play quarter
and dollar machines with progressive payouts.
Unless I have planned an overnight stay at a casino
hotel, my visit to the casino is about three hours long. That gives
me two hours of playtime and an hour for lunch or dinner at the buffet.
The longer you stay at the casino, the more money you are going to
need. That sounds like a losing strategy, but remember; if you stay
too long the casino odds will get the best of you. So you have to
decide ahead of time how long you are going to stay at the casino.
The following three decisions are interrelated:
1. How long am I going to stay at the casino?
2. Which slot machines am I going to play?
3. How much money should I take with me?
There has been a lot written about which slot machines
are better than others. Some people say that machines that are located
in high traffic areas have better payouts. Some people say that the
old mechanical machines are better than the new video slots. The fact
is that any slot machine has to potential to give you a jackpot on
the next spin. The unseen variable has to do with how frequently the
casino has programmed the machine to payout. Some machines do have
the potential to payout more often than others. Unfortunately, this
information is a closely guarded secret.
One good thing is that casinos group similar slot
machines together. So for example if I am looking to play a dollar
machine, I will have a row of them to choose from. The reason you
want a group of machines to choose from is because you are looking
for one that is in a winning cycle. Have you ever played a slot machine
that seems to give you something back on every spin? That machine
is in a winning cycle. Similarly, machines can have a losing cycle
where they payout little or nothing for a long time.
Finding a machine in a winning cycle will be your
biggest challenge. The only way to do this is to test the machine
by playing it for a while. Set a limit, lets say $20. If you lose
the $20, move on to another machine. If at anytime while you are playing
on the $20, you win at least 50 percent more than you started with,
cash out and put in a fresh $20. Keep doing this until the machine
goes into a losing cycle. Then try another machine. There is still
a chance that you will use up your budget testing machines, but at
least you are not placing all your hope in one machine with a low
payout percentage.
Here is an example playing max payout on a dollar machine:
I used nine twenty-dollar bills ($180) and got back
($226). At this point I’m ahead by $46. This is typically how
it goes. These small wins can be used to keep the process going, and
hopefully at the end of the time you have set for yourself, you will
have more money than you came in with.
Here are some more tips:
Always play the maximum payout level. There are usually
three or more payout levels on a slot machine. Be sure that you can
afford to play at the level that pays the biggest jackpot.
Don’t go to the casino during a big promotion,
if you want to use any strategy. You may have to wait for a slot machine
to become available or settle for one you don’t like, if the
casino is too busy. It is more fun to play a machine that you are
familiar with than one that no one is playing in a crowded casino.
If you double your money before it is time to go,
you should either stop playing, or put some of your money in a pocket
where you won’t use it. The temptation to keep playing and trying
to add to your winnings will be too hard to resist. Quit while you’re
ahead (if you can).
Always take a break after playing for an hour or
so. Plan your trip to the casino so that you have lunch or dinner
between playing sessions. Take this time to regroup and decide which
slot machines to play next.
Good Luck!
-AR-