The way it was explained to me once is that the spinning of the reels (whether physical or on a video screen) is pretty much completely insignificant window-dressing and feedback for the player. A slot machine has 5 reels and displays 3 symbols per reel (no spaces or 'empty' symbols). Payout can occur in a number of ways. A special diamond symbol appears 3 Lucky 7's app. Slot Machine Payouts. If you don't care what slot machine you play, picking one is easy. If you're an avid slot machine player, and you want to win the highest amount of money, then you might want to know the slot machine payout to which you are playing. Knowing the pay out percentages is one of the best tips a slot machine player could take heed.

Casinos are not able to change slot payouts, slot machines come with an already set payout percentage, when a casino places an order for a slot it specifies the long-term payout percentage it wants. Although, depending on the jurisdiction the casino may or may not be able to change the payback percentages at a later stage.

For example, in Nevada, casinos are able to change the slot payout percentages by ordering a new chip from the manufacturer, the chips in the slot machines are then swapped and it is only allowed when all the appropriate paperwork is filled with the state to inform them of the change. Some of the later model slot machines support downloadable software, should a casino request a change in payout percentages the software can be sent via a central server and the slot machine can be updated without physically being opened. Yet there are strict rules in place regarding software changes and the casino is unable to make these changes on any slot while anyone is playing on it.

The typical payout percentages on slots are easier understood when you first look at casino games in general, in blackjack, it is quite possible for card counters to gain a mathematical advantage over the game while strategy player can somewhat lower the house edge. Roulette players who prefer games featuring the double-zero wheel are faced with a 5.26% house edge, while a single zero wheel is 2.7%.

When it comes to slots the house edge or advantage is replaced by the payback percentage, these vary from one software supplier to the next and from one slot to the other. Some of the most popular online slots offer a payback percentage of 99%, which is much higher than that offered by land-based slot machines, which offer around 79% to 85% on average. It is most important to remember the theoretical payout percentage are calculated over an extended time-period.

So who pays for those Volcanic eruptions? Pirate Battles? Carnival Parades? and Glittering Showrooms? Slot Machines. 60-65% of casino revenue is generated by those bell-ringing one armed bandits that seem to multiply on casino floors like rabbits. So how does the average player gain an advantage and possibly win? Well... aside from cheating (which we really don't suggest you get involved in) the only way to gain some sort of advantage is to choose your slots with utmost care and discrimination.

Slot machines in Las Vegas are required by law to payout 75% of the money that goes into them, actual payout in Las Vegas is approximately 95%. Will you be the one that takes the money instead of gives it? That is up to luck, but with a little investigation one can easily learn to identify which machines are more favorable to the player than others. Slot machines are all about the payout... Red White and Blue, Double Diamond, Dick Fucking Clark, Cherry whatever. At the end of the day what every slot player needs to do is look at the pay schedule on the machine they want to play. Very often the same machine one row over will pay 5,000 credits on 3rd credit jackpot while you're playing on a 2,000 3rd credit machine. Plain and simple you're cheating yourself.

Slot Spotlights

A few notable slot machines we here at VT have found more playable, or more interesting, than the other nonsense out there like Leprachaun's Gold or Tabasco Slots or whatever.

We like machines that have the best payouts on the lowest winning spins. These will keep you going longer between larger wins and not enact the ATM-In-Reverse principle seen at many of the larger joints (Venetian being the worst we've experienced).

100 or Nothing
Red, White and Blue
Slot Machine Jackpots Photo Gallery
Wheel of Fortune
Wild Cherry

Slot Machine Payback Percentages

Below are the slot payback percentages for Nevada's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2002 and ending June 30, 2003:

5¢ Slot Machines
The Strip - 90.32%
Downtown - 91.50%
Boulder Strip - 93.03%
N. Las Vegas - 92.97%
25¢ Slot Machines
The Strip - 92.59%
Downtown - 94.83%
Boulder Strip - 96.47%
N. Las Vegas - 96.63%
$1 Slot Machines
The Strip - 94.67%
Downtown - 95.35%
Boulder Strip - 96.48%
N. Las Vegas - 97.21%

$1 Megabucks Machines
The Strip - 89.12%
Downtown - 88.55%
Boulder Strip - 87.76%
N. Las Vegas - 89.41%
$5 Slot Machines
The Strip - 95.33%
Downtown - 95.61%
Boulder Strip - 96.53%
N. Las Vegas - 96.50%
All Slot Machines
The Strip - 93.85%
Downtown - 94.32%
Boulder Strip - 95.34%
N. Las Vegas - 95.32%

The Math of Casino Slot Machines

For every dollar you wager in a slot machine, you will lose 100% - Payback% of that dollar. For example, you're at Bellagio playing the $1 Double Diamond slot, wagering Two Credits ($2) per spin. According to the table, for every $2 spin you will lose 5.33% of that bet... just shy of 11¢. Granted these 11 cents don't get extracted instantly... this is computed over time. So if your bank roll limit is $10 it will take you, on average 52 spins before your bankroll is toast (under $1) and you are out of credits.

How was this number derived:

How Are Slot Machine Payouts Calculated Money

STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = ...
Repeat calculation until the number gets below the minimum bet - if you play long enough, you're gonna go broke. THAT is a FACT. Slot machines are entertaining, relaxing, require little thought beyond pressing a button. IF you want to truly GAMBLE, you might want to look into Video Poker, and eventually Blackjack as other options.

Granted, sometime in there you just might hit that $500 win on the Wheel of Fortune, or The Elvis progressive might shake rattle and roll $1000 your way... but the math inside the machine determines that you will in fact lose a certain percentage of your wager on each spin, and the more you spin... the more you will lose despite short runs of successful jackpots. If you find you are UP... leave. Every spin of a slot machine generates a random number that has NOTHING to do with previous numbers. SLOT MACHINES do NOT run in streaks (even if you might wish to think they do). Don't expect to get any of the money you put into a machine out of it unless you learn to press the CASH OUT button.

Gamblers Library

How Are Slot Machine Payouts Calculated Per

VT fully recommends the following books to help you decrease the house advantage on casino card games.

How Are Slot Machine Payouts Calculated Jackpot

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