For those of us that have been to a land based casino, the tagline “Loosest Slots” is very familiar. They all boast having the loosest Slots but how can they guarantee such a thing and on second thought, what exactly does that mean? Drive along the road and out of nowhere you may see a billboard advertising a casino with the loosest slots. Does it compel you to drive straight there or does it may you roll your eyes and keep driving?
Casinos try to lure us in by flashing signs that they’ve got the highest and most frequent number of payouts compared to the others. Many players are naturally drawn to the casinos with more payouts. More payouts equals more winners and of course we want to be one of them. Should gamblers follow the signs or fluff off such proclamations? Let’s go over the ins and outs of the concept of a loose Slot.
How Are Loose Slots Determined?
When you think about a loose slot you associate it with lots of wins and the number of jackpots paid out. There really isn’t a device specifically designed to measure a loose slot so how can a casino make such a statement? It doesn’t mean that there isn’t some truth in what they’re marketing to the public. The payout percentage and frequency is the basis for such a bold statement.
Payout Percentages
Players will often find the payout percentage posted on a Slot machines especially if it’s high. The casino wants to attract your attention to it. Players are more likely to be drawn to a machine that pays out 97 percent of the time than one that pays out 75 percent of the time.
Slots are typically preprogrammed to payout somewhere in the range of 80 to 98 percent based on the amount of the total wagers that players feed into the machine. This is where things can get a bit sticky because this does not mean that you can count on this percentage in terms of a return on your bet. The payout percentage is based on the entire lifetime of a Slot. So in other words if the Slot machine has a shelf life of 12 years it will pay 80 to 98 percent of all the bets made over the course of its life. Since this is the case, players also need to consider the amount of the bet they’re placing. You’d have to wager more for the chance at the full benefit of a higher payout machine.
The payout percentage is within the software programmed into the Slot before it leaves the factory; however this does not mean that it cannot be altered once it reaches the casino floor.
Frequency of Payouts
Payout frequency refers to how often a Slot pays. Paying and gaining anything are very different. If you are spinning at $1 per spin and you get back 20 cents you, that’s not a very good return but hey, the machine is frequently paying out though isn’t it? A Slot can return a penny of your bet on every spin so technically it pays frequently. It’s this and the combination of the payout percentage that casinos use to bolster a loose Slot.
Myths Surrounding Loose Slots
Just as we may believe that the concept of the “Loosest Slots” is a myth, there are several other myths related to such machines.
First off, some players believe that looser Slot machines are located in specific remote areas of the casino. If you wanted to draw people to these machines why would they be placed in a dark corner somewhere? Placement makes sense if you consider the paying Slots are located where there is a lot of traffic through the casino. The more players that pass by the more that will see the lights and sounds of winning.
Another false belief is that a Slot will not pay another jackpot soon after a major win. The Random Number Generator (RNG) is responsible for the randomness of each and every spin so if this were true, the entire concept of RNG would go out the window. It absolutely can happen! If you win a $2,500 jackpot, your odds of winning another soon after are just as good as not winning. So then next time you pass up a machine because someone just hit bit on it think twice.
This one is a spinoff of the last. Just because a Slot has not paid out in a long time does not mean that it will hit big soon. When progressive jackpots are involved we can see the trend of how often they were won but not with any game. We’ve all seen that person that dumps more and more money into a machine when it’s not paying on the premise that it’s got to. Again, RNG rears its head. There’s no telling when a significant win will come along. It’s random so there is nothing built into the machine that determines that it’s your turn to win based on how much you’ve personally wagered.
Other myths surrounding Slots that are debunked based on RNG include:
- Casinos control when a Slot awards a jackpot.
- Stopping the reels or the speed in which the spin button is pressed will affect the outcome.
- Casinos increase payout percentages during Slot tourneys.
Go Hunting
There may be a machine that pays pretty well in a casino near you and all you’ve got to do is find it. If you were on the casino’s management team where would you place the hot Slots? They don’t always pay as we’ve gone over but there are definitely some that like to pay. You’d place these Slots in areas where they will be seen, right? Hot spots would be entrances, exits, in front of restaurants, down main aisles and around bar areas. When you’re in a casino that’s crowded and you see a group of Slots where no one is playing, there’s a reason for it. The locals know what to play and what not to play.
drtheolen
3 years ago
WaroftheGods, if you search the forum, you will find many of my lengthy posts about the matter, where I go in detail, but here are couple of things again: Testing randomness of slots can be only done by independent bodies who have the license to do so and who are able to inspect the code behind the games. In the case...
WaroftheGods, if you search the forum, you will find many of my lengthy posts about the matter, where I go in detail, but here are couple of things again: Testing randomness of slots can be only done by independent bodies who have the license to do so and who are able to inspect the code behind the games. In the case of Pragmatic Play, that would be GLI (Gaming Labs International). In addition, in order to get Malta or UK license, and Pragmatic Play has both of them, games also need to be inspected. Provided the games are indeed genuine Pragmatic Play games (yes, there is such thing as fake games, and we do check if the games are genuine for the brands that we work with in order to protect the players), you can be sure that results of your bets are truly random. As for going and testing yourself randomness of games, I really have no idea how you would possibly be able to do such thing. You would probably need to make millions of spins (actually, I think the number is more like hundred million) and write and analyze results, which you will agree, is impossible for one player in one lifetime. That being said, you cannot influence outcome of the slot spin by manually stopping the reels. Random number is selected the moment you press spin button, and everything else can be considered "cosmetic", the animation of reel spinning, stopping the reels and anything else you do is NOT interactive, because server already generated your outcome. So to conclude, you and I cannot provide the proof you would like, but you can trust the government of Malta body or UK gambling commission who are issuing operating licenses for Pragmatic Play, or GLI who is independently testing the games. One more thing to mention, is the existence of provably fair games, you can read more about here - https://lcb.org/banking/cryptocurrency/provably-fair I think perhaps it may be just the thing for you
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WaroftheGods
3 years ago
I try so hard to believe that every spin is as random as the one before and the one after, no matter how you play the current spin. Slam or stop the reels, in a certain spot or when you see a favourite symbol or whatever your superstition may be. But I just can't lol I find that with the higher bets I win less often than...
I try so hard to believe that every spin is as random as the one before and the one after, no matter how you play the current spin. Slam or stop the reels, in a certain spot or when you see a favourite symbol or whatever your superstition may be. But I just can't lol I find that with the higher bets I win less often than if I bet the minimum bet. One providers games all seem like they play the same for me, all random and good if I just hit spin and let everything drop where it drops, no trying to manipulate where they land, just leave it alone and just hit spin. But as soon as I start to stop the reels and manipulate where the reels will stop, it doesn't matter how I play after that, I don't seem to win hardly anything during that session no matter how long I play. I'm not saying the provider is playing dirty in any way, every spin is random , I know this to be true, I just have a hard time believing it to be true. The provider I spoke of above is Pragmatic Play. Go try it, and please come back and reply to this when you prove me wrong here, I'm begging for the proof lol???
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thesassmachine
3 years ago
Wow this is a great article thanks for the realtalk ???
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Christy17
3 years ago
Thanks
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Faith Hannar
3 years ago
Wow i really appriciate the info this will see help me out in t he future when i v is it my local casino or even any other casino i might Vance walking into thank you so much!
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Frosty1
6 years ago
Thank you for the light this article has shed on the myths cause it sure cleared up some of mine.
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Leon21
8 years ago
Despite my rational mind and better judgement. I still can't help have all these conspiracy theories of what effects the feature trigger. when 2 scatters are shown. Then '(nothing to support this theory with) but then its 'hot' and I increase my bet expecting it to be more likely to trigger. Also, and this might be a previously...
Despite my rational mind and better judgement. I still can't help have all these conspiracy theories of what effects the feature trigger. when 2 scatters are shown. Then '(nothing to support this theory with) but then its 'hot' and I increase my bet expecting it to be more likely to trigger. Also, and this might be a previously discussed topic. But there are definitely winning streaks and losing streaks. And easy to adjust bet accordingly. If this theory is false and its 100% random then there is still no harm in this strategy
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cheztwins
8 years ago
i have yet to find a loose slot....other than at a casino playing with a bonus that os not cashable. i think the key thing players need to remember is that the casinos are in it to make money. at the end of tje day the casino always wins.
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april13
8 years ago
Many of us are skeptical about machines. Especially if you have tried few times to play and always loosed! I am one of players that prefers live games, but the more I am reading, I am becoming convinced that it is a fair game! I'll be most convinced when I will be payed out Jackpot. Hopefully!
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catapultaudio
9 years ago
Absolutely! Here in the UK most people who dont know a great deal about gambling think slots are basically the same thing as a fruit machine and without a doubt, everybody tells you that they are stealing your money and are blatantly rigged, its so frustrating!
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jade
9 years ago
I myself have never encountered a loose slot. I mean that I've seen times when a certain slot is paying out for sometime, sometimes into the next day. But a slot that pays out all the time, even if its just a little bit, no.
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Sommi
9 years ago
Nice article! :) wscalley's comment remind me my beggining with gambling - I used to be pretty young, went to a bar with my friends and there was a fruit machine. We always were just sitting,drinking beers and waiting for someone to play and lose some cash before we even tried it - it was the best strategy to get paid....
Nice article! :) wscalley's comment remind me my beggining with gambling - I used to be pretty young, went to a bar with my friends and there was a fruit machine. We always were just sitting,drinking beers and waiting for someone to play and lose some cash before we even tried it - it was the best strategy to get paid. :D
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yapro123 9 years ago
Yes, this is typical things for all players, and to be honest some time ago i am also believe in things like that. But since time passed and i am become a bit more experienced in online gambling, of course i understand that slot can not be hot or cold.
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wscalley
9 years ago
Many of the myths listed above are common beliefs here in the UK because of peoples earlier experience with AWPs, fruit machines etc, games which do rely on previous input and are not truly random. Its a nightmare trying to convince people they are wrong, infact!
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