AboutC.J. Expertise If you would like to understand spinning reel slot machines, video poker and multi-line video slot machines, I can help. Can answer most questions on odds, math, trends, myths and realities related to gaming devices at licensed casinos in the US. I have no winning "systems" to offer. Please limit questions to slot machines in licensed casinos. Please do not ask about table games, or how to fix a machine!
Experience Work for a major manufacturer of gaming/slot machines, which are sold strictly to licensed casinos.
Expert: C.J. Date: 6/23/2008 Subject: Games inside the Game: FACT OR MYTH
Question QUESTION: I have heard that people do not understand or comprehend what game they are playing within the machine. For instance...are you playing the 1 coin game, the 2 coin game or the 3 coin game etc.
If this Game inside the Game idea is true... This negates one of the psycological edges the casion uses. "I wish I was playing more. I would have won more."
Question: So. If this is true for the reel slots, would it also be true for the video games that have 20 plus options of play. In my experience it is true with the video games. Especially those with the extra play option. Quite often the extra play game is dead cold and the only game paying is one of the other play options without the extra play.
Thank You, Jae
ANSWER: Jae,
I have read your question multiple times, and really don't understand what it is you are asking. Please re-state the question, and I will try to help.
CJ
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QUESTION: A couple of years ago we lived in Omaha. I asked a friend there who built gaming machines if there was any one tip he could tell me about the machines that would influence how I play. He said, "to know what game you are choosing to play on the machine you want to play and be satisfied with the outcome or make a decision to move on."
If I am playing quarters and the payout is for 1 coin, 2 coins or 3 coins...he said that I had a choice to play 1 of the 3 coin games that machine offered. The 1 coin game was independent of the 2 coin game and so on. If you spin the highest position pay out...Don't think you would have won more if you were playing 3 Coins instead of 1 Coin. You were playing the 1 coin game.
I had not even been in a Casino then. Here I am years later a frequent player and wondering if there was or still is any validity to his "tip".
Thank You, Jae
Answer Hi Jae,
The random number generator (RNG) in a slot machine is incapable of knowing how many coins you have played. Its function is to generate an outcome. Reel combinations are not determined by the number of coins played. However, the payout can differ.
Paytables differ from game to game. The vast majority of spinning reel games are multipliers. In other words, the for each coin played, the top award is multiplied proportionately. i.e. 1 coin/2000, 2 coins/4000, 3 coins/6000. When playing this type of game, it makes no difference how many coins you have played, as your win will be proportionate to your bet.
A second type of game is a bonus multiplier, where a bonus is paid for playing max coin. i.e. 1 coin/2000, 2 coins/4000, 3 coins/7500.
A third type of game is a buy-a-pay, where for each coin played, you "buy" certain symbols. i.e. 1st coin buys bar symbols, 2nd coin buys bars and 7s, and 3rd coin buys all symbols. When playing a buy-a-pay, if you have just one coin in, and you receive 3 7s, you would win nothing, regardless of an apparent winning combination appearing on the reels.
A 4th type of game is now gaining popularity. It requires an "ante" bet for bonus rounds, such as free spins.
