|
|
|
|
Let's take a shuffle through my e-mailbag, with readers asking questions about the slots:
Q. I'm told that you've written that "slot players need to decide what they want out of the slots, and choose the games and denominations that are best for them." Just what are the differences between machines, and how should players go about picking the right one?
A. For starters, the most important considerations in choosing a slot machine, whether you're gaming online or offline, are bet size and the player's bankroll. Higher-denomination machines return a higher percentage of wagers to players--in the long run, $5 games pay more than $1 games, which pay more than quarter games, which pay more than nickel games. However, a game that keeps 5 percent of dollar wagers is also holding more money than one that keeps 10 percent of a nickel --- 5 percent of a dollar is 5 cents, 10 percent of a nickel is half a cent. So your chances of winning are greater on higher denomination machines, but average losses are also much bigger.
Players who can't afford the risk shouldn't play the high-denomination games, even if they do offer a better shot to win.
Beyond bankroll considerations, players need to decide whether they want to chase a big jackpot or whether they want a game with more frequent, smaller hits. Games with big top jackpots typically will yield fewer small wins and be very streaky. So much of the machine's overall payback is tied up in the top jackpot that it can't return as much to players in lesser hits.
On the other hand, some machines have smaller jackpots and more frequent small payoffs. Most five-reel slots are like this. So are some three-reel games, such as Blazing 7s. It may well be that both the game with the big jackpot and the game with the small one return about the same percentage to players in the long run, but the way they do it is different. Players have to decide if the fun is in chasing the jackpot or if it's in getting a longer run for their money.
Q. Lately I have enjoyed playing video keno, trying to outguess the numbers. If I was clairvoyant, I could win every hand. But then I thought, suppose the numbers are irrelevant, hitting on a win percentage like the slots. In that case, I just have to sit there till it is time for a hit. How are the machines set? Are they random (fun), or do they have predetermined hits (boring)?
A. Keno is programmed more like video poker than like reel slots. The draw is random, with each number having an equal opportunity of being drawn. Just as in video poker, you can calculate a keno game's long-term expected payback percentage by applying the odds of the game to the pay table.
To use the simplest example possible, let's say you're playing one-spot keno. If your number is among the 20 drawn, you win; if it's not, you lose. Since there are 80 numbers and 20 are drawn, any given number will turn up an average of once in every four trials.
If you bet one coin per trial, your wagers would total four coins per four trials. Then, if you receive four coins whenever your number hits and zero when it doesn't, your average return is four coins per four trials--the same as your wager, meaning the payback percentage is 100 percent. If you get only three coins when your number hits, the payback percentage drops to 75 percent, and if you get only two coins, the return falls to 50 percent.
Calculations become more complex when you play more spots and you get payoffs on several possible outcomes. Let's say you're playing a six-spot game in which you get nothing if zero, one or two of your numbers is drawn, one coin if you hit three numbers, four coins for four numbers, 95 coins for five numbers or a 1,500-coin jackpot for all six. The expected payback percentage is about 73 percent. Raising the payoff for three numbers from one coin to two will bring the overall percentage to 86 percent.
Unfortunately for keno players, there is no handy-dandy table or commercial software available to calculate payback percentages, as there is in video poker.
|
| |
<< back to articles |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Win an iPod Nano MP3 Player |
| Register for Casinocoinage.co.uk's Newsletter |
 |
| Register now |
|
|
|
