A new year brings hope and promises of new beginnings, new opportunities and hopefully a better year than the one before. The conclusion of one year and the beginning of the next is a time for reflection, and for resolving to correct certain bad habits and focus on new goals—and if you’re a frequent visitor to casinos, there are a number of vows you can make right now to get the most out of each and every trip.
#1 Ranked Online Casino Site Button Layout on the Machines. When playing in a live environment most machines will usually have two lines of buttons. The most important slot machines tip we can give you for playing slots, either online or in a live casino. Extend Your Session. 10 Tips to Win Playing at Slots. 5 – Small Jackpots. This point may run counter to the two above it but it’s actually just a different strategy. More people will play the machines with the larger jackpots. Increase your odds of winning by heading to less-popular machines. 10 Tips to Win Playing at Slots.
This year, we’ve got some important advice for you: fill your resolution list with easy, good-for-you goals and resolve to play smarter in the casino. By doing so, you’re likely to make it your best year at the casinos yet. Here is a list of resolutions that will help motivate you in year 2020 and help you have more fun, excitement, and satisfaction you experience in the casino.
1) Set aside a few extra dollars each week to spend on casino visits.
Even if you don’t know the next time you’ll be visiting the casino, now is a great time to start setting aside a few dollars each week into a casino fund. This way, you will have the money on hand if you receive a great promotional offer, or if you just want to get away for a trip to the casino.
2) Always use a players club card.
Not using your players card is the equivalent of turning away free money. The casinos give you comps for your play, and the only way they know how much to give you is by tracking your play. If you don’t use your card, the casino can’t track your play. Using your card does not affect how the machine will pay out, as some players falsely believe. It does, however, affect the amount of comps that you earn.
3) Keep a gaming log.
Smart players keep a log book. The law allows you to deduct gambling loses up to the amount of your winnings. You can only do this if you have documentation of your losses. Keeping a diary or logbook is the way to do this, and with the beginning of a new year around the corner, it’s the perfect time to start your log. There is even an app named “Gamblers Anonymous” that will let you keep your log on your phone.
4) Take advantage of casino promotions.
Casinos are constantly running promotions to attract players. These may include special drawings, tournaments or double point days. Taking advantage of these promotions is a smart way to get a little something extra.
5) Learn a new game.
Table games have a lower house edge than slot machines when you learn to play based with the correct strategy. If you’re a slot player, why not give a table game a try? If you prefer to stick with slots exclusively, then try a new, exciting slot title for a change of pace.
6) Play only the best-paying video poker games.
Not all video poker games are created equal. Resolve to locate and play only the best games. Gone are the days when 100 percent and greater payback games were common. There are still enough very good paying games to make it worthwhile to seek them out. There are positive games such as 10/7 Double Bonus (100.17 percent) and full pay Deuces Wild (100.76 percent) available in selected locations of some casinos. When these games aren’t available, look for games that return at least 99 percent.
7) Learn the correct video poker strategy.
Video poker is one of the best games you can play. The house edge is low if you learn to play the correct strategy for each particular game. Many players sit down and rely on hunches for playing their hands, which increases the house edge. This year, resolve to learn the playing strategy for one or more of the best games. In order to maximize wins—or minimize losses—not only must you choose the best game(s), you must also play that game properly. To do that, you must learn the proper playing strategy. Strategies are available in books, software or even online. Pick one, two, or three games and learn the strategy or strategies perfectly.
8) Play only with a pre-determined bankroll.
Bankroll is critical for any casino trip. In any random game, there are fluctuations. You may win more than you lose for a while and then lose more than you win for a while. Sometimes you lose a lot more than you win and sometimes you lose more than you win for a very long time. All of these happenings are part of the natural flow of a random game. To enjoy your trip to the casino you must have enough money to last through the losing times. Make sure you have enough, and make sure it isn’t your next mortgage payment you are using. A losing streak doesn’t have to end at any particular time, so make sure you can afford to lose whatever you are bringing to the casino.
9) Play only while rested and sharp.
Playing after you become tired, or after a few too many drinks, can cost you money. It is natural to want to continue to play when you’re having a good time, or thinking the next hand will be a royal flush. However, if you become tired, stop playing. If you find you are not thinking clearly due to consuming a few drinks, stop.
10) Have a game plan.
Many players simply go to the casino with a pocket full of money and jump from game to game until all their money is gone. You can have a much better time if you just spend a few minutes to make a plan for your next casino visit. Know ahead of time how long you will play, how much money you want to risk, and what other activities you will do there. And if a casino isn’t appreciating your patronage (and club membership), find another place to play. There are a ton of terrific properties out there which will welcome your action and give you a fair shot
Even with slots, a little strategy goes a long way
By Frank Scoblete
Even though the house has an edge on just about every slot machine and video poker game (with some few, hard-to-find exceptions), players can still play a tough game against the casino if such players use intelligent strategies in deciding which games to play and how to play them.
Pessimists might say that all slot and video poker players are doomed to forfeit their money to the house edge, and they are right, except that how you forfeit the game against the house is where the gambling pleasure comes into the picture. In short, don’t just give the casino your money by playing the worst games with the worst strategies. Instead, play games where the contest is close to even or at the very least as even as you can get. Give the casino a real run for your money.
So let’s take a look at slot machines to outline some general rules to follow if you want to play the strongest possible game against the casino.
Analyze the slot return percentages in this magazine and you can see clearly that not all denominations return the same percentages. Right o the bat, this tells you something important; not all slot machines are the same. Some are better for your bankroll; some are worse. The smart player picks the better machines to play. Do most slot players know to do this? No.
Slot returns by denomination are not the only story. Within denominations the returns of different types of machines vary. Let us say that you have a traditional one-dollar machine and you decide to play one that has a progressive jackpot or a progressive jackpot that is linked with other casinos, you should know that the return percentage is often far less because those big progressive jackpots must be paid for sooner or later by the casino. Because of that the machine will hold a greater percentage of the money you put in.
Take Megabucks as a specific example. The odds of hitting the “big one” are just about 50 million to one. The return percentage of the machine is usually around 86 percent. You are facing a big house edge on such a machine.
Now take a look at a stand-alone non-progressive machine and you will see the difference in returns. If you follow the percentages of one-dollar returns, you know that they are averaging in the 90-92 percent range across the country. So the 86 percent return of a linked progressive such as Megabucks is made up for by the larger return of non-progressive machines. So which machines give you the greater chance of being ahead on any given day? Obviously the non-progressives; they could be coming in with returns in the 95 or higher percentages. Take that to heart.
So the wise advice is to play a non-progressive machine if you want a better chance of coming home with some money. I admit that those huge progressives are fantasy machines but, sadly, most of our fantasies in life do not come true.
I tend to differ with many slot-machine writers in an important area. On those non-progressive machines, it makes no sense to play full coin in order to have a chance at the top jackpot which is, I admit, larger using full coin. The increase in that jackpot is not worth the extra risk. These jackpots only increase the return on the machine by a fraction of a percent; yet you are betting quite a bit more in money to get only a fraction of a better return. The cost is a waste of money in these cases.
To be specific, if you play, say three coins, you aren’t getting three times the value. You are getting a fractionally higher return but spending three times to play the game.
Think of spending a night playing three coins spin after spin after spin—how much money are you putting into the casinos’ craw doing that? On a three-coin traditional machine, playing one coin over four or five hours cuts your risk significantly compared to playing three coins per spin. That’s a big savings over time.
What Is A Good Strategy For Playing Slot Machines Required
In today’s new-fangled slot world, there are many types of machines and payouts all over the landscape. Traditional machines now compete with fabulous video machines, multi-play machines, multi-coin machines, multi denomination machines and the like. How should a wise slot player approach these machines? Are there better or worse ways to play?
Of course, of course!
The question most asked of me is simple: Do penny machines and nickel machines return good percentages if I play, say, twenty lines (give or take)? In fact, they don’t. A nickel machine pays a nickel’s return and the more money you dump in the more those larger nickel percentages eat at your bankroll. Don’t waste your money. If those nickels add up to (let us say) a quarter, you are playing a quarter machine; if they add up to a dollar, you are playing a dollar machine but you aren’t getting a quarter machine or a dollar machine’s return.
If you want to put in enough nickels that they add up to a dollar (or a quarter) you are much, much better off just moving to a dollar or quarter machine.
What Is A Good Strategy For Playing Slot Machines To Play
[Read Frank Scoblete’s books I Am a Card Counter: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Blackjack, I Am a Dice Controller: Inside the World of Advantage-Play Craps and Confessions of a Wayward Catholic!All available from Amazon.com, on Kindle and electronic media, at Barnes and Noble, and at bookstores. Visit Frank’s web site at www.frankscoblete.com]