- The payoff display
will tell you exactly how many coins you win when various symbols appear
on a pay line. Modern slot machines have a great variety of symbols but
don't let that confuse you. The machine is programmed to pay out a certain
number of coins for each possible combination of symbols. The payoff determination
is made the instant the reels are engaged. See section on symbols.
- Maximum coin play is indicated on
the display pannel. The ususal number of coins varies from machine to machine
but the standards are; two coins, three coins, and five coins. Some machines
take up to eight or more but these are the exceptions. Three coin machines
are the most prevalent.
- COIN PLAY VALUES range from 5 cents
through 25, 50, 1$, 5$, 25$, 100$ and yes in some high roller casinos even
500$ machines. This is heart attack country for the average player. Nickel
machines are fun, twenty five cent machines can take a few bucks out of
your pocket but for most people, still affordable. Fifty cent and dollar
machines start to get a bit heavy and can relive you of mucho coin. Five
dollar machines are enjoyed by a lot of people, they can get very expensive
but if you hit and walk they can be OK sometimes. Anything beyond the fiver
is not for the faint of heart, nor is it wise for anyone less than very
wealthy to try these high end slot machines. The great majority of players
play in the 5 cent, to 5 dollar slot range.
- The number of pay lines on a standard
slot machine is one, a center line , meaning that there is only one winning
line and the symbols must all be on the center line to win. A single line
machine will accommodate from 3 to 5 coins. The next most popular machine
is the three liner. Symbols may be aligned on any one of the three lines
in a winning combination, occasionaly these three liners will line up winners
on two of the three lines and each one pays off. Three liners take three
coins and should always be played with three coins. The first coin pays
on the center line, the second coin pays on the top and center lines and
the third coin pays on all three lines. The other standard variation is
the five line machine. This has three lines the same as the three liner
above but also has two diagonal lines making a total of five pay lines.
If you are going to play these you should play the maximum five coins.
- Most machines have three reels but
there are exceptions. There are novelty machines with two reels, and the
odd four reeler. The big berthas usualy have from three to several reels
and are normaly in the dollar range of play, taking up to three dollars
at a time. These should not be taken too seriously. A recent innovation
is the single line diamond pay out. If the proper symbols appear in a diamond
shape on the face of the machine you win. A good thing to remeber, machines
hardly ever miss paying out the correct number of coins. In over twenty
years of playing slots I have not experienced it. They may tilt or malfunction
when paying off but the attendants will always see that you are paid the
correct amount.
- The symbols on slot machines are
just too many and various to detail them in any fashion. Suffice it to say,
though there are many, the odds are precisely the same no matter what the
symbols are. There are some symbols worth noting and they are the special
ones. Wild symbols that represent any other symbol when appearing on the
right line (s). There are symbols that represent double payoffs, triple
payoffs and five times payoffs, there seems to be no end to the variations.
There are customized symbols made to the casinos specification and provide
a large jackpot payoff when realized. Don't hold you breath for these payoffs.
They are rare indeed. The reason for so many symbols is variety of choice.
If certain symbols prove unfavourable to the playing public they will be
changed. Casinos are constantly experimenting with a large variety of symbols
some prove more popular than others. They try to make them exciting, I often
play a slot simply because I like the symbols. I'm human too.
- Popular slot Machines like most
things, come and go. Some current favourites are, Sizzling sevens, Double
diamonds, Triple Diamonds, Red white and Blues, Magnificent sevens were
very popular but seem to be dissappearing from many casinos. My personal
experience is that all of the above have given decent hits every so often,
I've enjoyed them. Again I must caution you don't expect to win in any consistent
way, just have fun.
- The control panel has a number of
buttons and each has a specific function. Usualy the one on the extreme
left is the change button, when pressed a light comes on at the top of the
machine and a change person will be summoned by it. Next to that is the
cash out button for machines that record your winnings in credits, if you
have credits be sure to press this button before leaving the machine, the
coins will cascade out the bottom.
- The Credit indicator although designed
to remove you one step further from your money it can be used to your advatage.
Since the credit indicator tells you exactly how many coins you have accumulated,
it is wise "not" to play from your credits. You are much better
off to cash in the credits and play back the coins so you can keep track
of where you stand. For example if you run up 60 credits with a roll of
quarters you are 20 quarters to the good. If you cash in and play the 60
quarters while in the accumulated credit mode you will quickly know if your
are winning or not by the credits you rack up. If you play the 60 through
and wind up with less than 60 you know you're heading in the wrong direction.
If you play the credits you have a tendency to get careless and cavalier,
thereby losing track of what you're doing and where you stand. So use the
credit meter as an ally not an enemy.The credit button is also the cash out button and should be reset
when you cash out. You will know on your first hit which mode you're in.
If coins fall into the coin tray simply depress the cash out button and
the mode will change.
- Remember it's best to cash in credits
and play the coins
- Next to the cash out button is one
that allows you to play your credits one at a time up to the maximum for
that particular slot, it also provides a spin reel so you can spin after
one or more coins. Another "spin reels" button is usualy next
with a "play maximum coins" button beside it, this one will play
the maximum coins from your credits and spin the reels at the same time.
Most slots still have the arm at the side, the one that gave slots the name
"one armed bandit," some people prefer this method of spinning
the reels. Of course there is the coin tray at the bottom where your coins
are collected as they are released from the machine. Most are large and
roomy but some, and I have no idea why, are extremely awkward to get at.
Poor design.
-
The slot players card: The explosion
of computer technology has not gone unnoticed by the boys of Las Vegas,
in the last few years, the start of the nineties, most Vegas Casinos have
introduced a players card. You will see them at various places in most Vegas
Casinos. It's a plastic card designed by the industry to track your action, Casinos issue
cards exclusivcely in your name.
The card is placed in a slot usually near the top front right of the slot
machine, and acceptance is acknowledged or you are asked to reinsert the
card. Once the card is inserted, and accepted, all subsequent play is recorded
on the card.
-
Money ChangersThe last feature we
will discuss is the automatic changers mounted on almost all modern slot
machines. They too are mounted on the front end right hand side of most
machines. They will accept bills varying from 1$ to 100$ in some cases.
Simply feed the bill into the slot and you are credited with a like amount
of coins depending on the denomination of the machine. The coins are released
by pressing the "cash out" button. The count, incredibly, is never
wrong.
- Those Amazing Video Machines gaining
in popularity and diversification, these machines are hard to keep up with.
The technology seems to change almost daily as do the games. Trying to examine
these machines individually is a futile endeavor since there are just too
many of them and so we will deal with them in categories. I classify them
in general categories, Poker Video, Black Jack Videos, Keno Video, Multiple
game Videos and Symbol Videos. The first three are self explainatory, Poker,
Black Jack and Keno, the games are traditional with few minor variations.
- Muliple game Videos are players choice, you select the game you
want to play out of a selection of four or five different games on one machine.
Symbol Videos are similar to traditional Slot machines with up to five or
more pay lines. The odds of winning are no different on these machines than
on any other although many players swear by Poker, since they have a little
control over the outcome. Poker is presently the most popular of the Video
games and can be found in great numbers at most Casinos. Like the slots
they come in various coindenominations and usually have progressive Jack-Pots.
The Jack_Pots are associated with a Royal Flush, Ten to the Ace in the same
suit.
- Video Keno is also a very popular game, it seems that most of
the Casino games are popular. In Keno the player one to six coins and selects
a set of numbers, out of eighty numbers he can select one or fifteen. The
more hits the greater the win. I would like to provide more detail but it
would make this page far too long and onerous to read. For details visit
Keno.
In conclusion, these are the most
common aspects and features of slot machines. For openers, I believe you
have as much information on slot play as you probably need or want. A review
of these pages will at least make you familiar with some of the aspects
of Casino gambling.Good Luck
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