If you have noticed a progression in anything in the world of gaming and slots in particular (especially online slots), you will have noticed how slot games have developed from a single-line game with 3 reels and one arm which you yank (like the old Pub Slot Machines), to the modern all singing and all dancing multi-line video slot like the Iron Man 2 Slot with all the bells, whistles, wilds, scatters and what have you thrown in.
But are these fancy slots any better than the single line fruit machines that you used to play down the pub or on the pier? Or are they a fancy way for casinos to Disguise Losses as Wins? Some, like the Lobstermania slot are not too complex. Others, like Avalon 2 start to feel like you need a manual when you are playing them.
The aim of a casino is pretty clear. They want your money. Your aim is also clear. You want their money. It’s a head to head confrontation.
And slot machines are one of the more popular games in the casino, and certainly online. Especially as the progressive jackpots have got so huge (if the Internet is good at one thing, it’s networking. And networking players to feed huge jackpots is child’s play for online casinos).
Read our article on How to Play 5 Reel slots for further thoughts on these newer games.
But just be aware of all the tricks. This is what this whole section is about (“Casino Insights”). It’s our attempt to get you thinking like the casino does so that you can try and turn the tables on them. Know your enemy!
Slots have got fancy because, yes, they are far more entertaining to play (nothing wrong with that), but bear in mind that the reason the casinos do this is so that you have a ball and continue to play longer. The graphics that you find on games like the Game of Thrones Slot Machine, with all the video clips from the TV series, are just more entertaining than the old games.
Today big slots like the Great Blue slot are all sophisticated multi-line machines (and yes they do have a higher “win-rate,” to keep your adrenaline up). BUT! Careful- the extra amount won is not so much greater than your traditional fruity, and it is more than compensated (in most cases) by people playing for longer (because the slots are so much fun to play).
So, as we have explained in another section, the casino has more time to win your money as you churn it through the machine.
As we always say, if you get an early big win, stop there and then (you decide what is a big win for you at the beginning of your session and don’t change the goalpoast mid way through).
A study by researchers at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, found that multi-line machines are more effective for the casinos than their single-line cousins at taking money from players by sweetening losses with wins.
Casino slot machines these days are lead by multi-line machines, which allow you to bet on a number of combinations: up, down, diagonal, rather than the boring old single line where you wait for 3 cherries to line up across the middle on single-line fruit machine. While that’s great, it’s also a way for the casino to blind you with the science- it’s tougher to work out the odds on these multi-line slots.
If you are an online slots fan, by all means play the multi-line slots. There’s no doubt that playing Thunderstruck II or Iron Man II is more exciting than playing a 3 reel single line pub fruity. Just bear in mind that they are fancy slots so that you’ll stay longer at the machine. So use a watch! And if you win early, quit while you are ahead. Unless, of course you are just playing for the entertainment value. In which case set a budget before you start and never bet more than you can afford to lose.
When I head out to play my favourite slots like the Gladiator Slot or The Lord of The Rings Slot (I do love a movie theme slot), I stop playing when one of 3 things happens (or more)
I spend by budget
I hit my profit target (50% of my budget normally)
I have been playing for 1 hour (sometimes 40 mins)
OK. OK. I admit, I have breached these rules when I have been on a roll, but normally if I make more than 50% profit. And you know what? 7 times out of 10 I end up drifting back to 50% from say 130%, and mutter to myself “you schmuck!). But hey, I try and stick to them like glue. You should too.
