Picking the Best Type of Slots
Let us look at three different slot machines. We should examine the pay boards on the front of the machines. We are going to look for a machine which accepts two or more coins, and which offers proportionate paybacks.
Machine 1 "Double Diamond" 1 Coin / 2 Coins 800 / 1600 80 / 160 40 / 80 25 / 50 10 / 20 5 / 10 2 / 4
Machine 2 "Double Diamond" 1 Coin / 2 Coins / 3 Coins 800 / 1600 / 2500 80 / 160 / 240 40 / 80 / 120 25 / 50 / 75 10 / 20 / 30 5 / 10 / 15 2 / 4 / 6
Machine 3 "RED, WHITE & BLUE Progressive" 1 Coin / 2 Coins / 3 Coins 2400 / 4,800 / $ 12,864 1199 / 2,400 / 5,000 200 / 400 / 600 150 / 300 / 450 80 / 160 / 240 50 / 100 / 150 40 / 80 / 120 25 / 50 / 75 20 / 40 / 60 10 / 20 / 30 5 / 10 / 15 2 / 4 / 6 2 / 4 / 6 1 / 2 / 3
There is one more criterion we will look for. We want a machine which has several paybacks in the range from 20 to 100. Let us take a closer look at Machine 1.
Machine 1 looks promising. It accepts two or more coins, and the paybacks are proportionate. This looks like an acceptable machine. However, before we start playing this machine we spot Machine 2.
This machine is very similar to Machine 1. The paybacks are almost proportionate, the only exception being the top payline where the payoff for 3 coins is 2,500 coins instead of a proportionate payback of 2,400 coins. We decide we can live with the paybacks on this machine. So, do we play on Machine 1 or Machine 2?
We should pick Machine 2, because the ability to play a third coin gives us more flexibility on how many coins we can insert in the machine. With either machine 2 or 3 we can play any number of coins without having a penalty for not inserting the maximum number of coins. However, we would prefer Machine 3, because of the additional flexibility we gain from the ability to play from one to three coins.
Now let us consider Machine 3. We first notice that this is a progressive machine. Notice that the payoffs for both the top payback and the second highest payoff penalize the player who inserts less than three coins. If we decided to play this machine, and vary the number of coins played, we would be at a disadvantage, because it is not a proportionate multiplier.
There is one final thing we look for the payback schedule. We look for lots of paybacks in the range of 20 to 100 coins, with one coin inserted. Machines 1 and 2 offer paybacks for one coin play of 25, 40, and 80 coins, and meets our criteria.
Machine 3 offers a range of paybacks with one coin inserted, including payoffs of 20, 25, 40, 50, and 80 coins. However, it fails to meet our tests of proportionality.
We would select Machine 2 from this group of slots, because paybacks are constantly changing, and because the paybacks vary, even on machines with the same name. At the end of it, no machine can be given the highest recommendation for winning, because luck and good timing rule the day.