Debunking Slot Myths

I always get a good chuckle when people inevitably tell me all their rock-solid theories about slots.

In the earlier days of advantage-play slotting, I think that helped me and others blend in a bit. After all, people rubbing the screen and hopping from machine to machine wasn’t all that uncommon, so APs were able to slide under the radar a bit. We looked like that wacky lady clutching her rabbit’s foot and speaking in Parseltongue to the slot.

Here are some of the more common slot conspiracy theories I’ve heard over the years. To be clear, all of them are nonsense:

1. Some machines get “hot” or “cold.” (There may be some unintentional validity to this sometimes, depending on whether it’s an AP machine at the top of its build, but there is no such thing as a hot or cold streak otherwise.)
2. Spinning slowly or fast will change the outcome.
3. Using your players card or not using one will change the outcome.
4. You have a better percentage chance of winning or losing at certain times of the day or week.
5. Turning up the volume on a slot machine will help it pay out better.
6. Cashing out a ticket or switching bets will usher in some wins.
7. Touching the screen in any way, sometimes verging on sexual in nature, will lead to profits.
8. If you’ve had a few “near-misses” in a row (close to a bonus, let’s say), you’re going to hit something soon.
9. Placement of slot machines matters. If they are by the entrance or a busy area, they will pay out more since a lot of people will see all that winning and feel compelled to gamble.
10. Casino staff can change the odds.
11. New machines will pay out better than average because they want to suck people in for the future.
12. If you just won on a machine, don’t forget to give a “backup spin” to make sure it hasn’t finished paying out.
13. Using the lever is better than using the buttons.
14. If I max bet, I’ll give myself better odds. (This one isn’t total nonsense, as bigger denoms are sometimes set to a higher RTP, the percentage of the bet returned to the player. But just max betting won’t change your odds substantially on a random machine.)
15. Native American-owned casinos pay worse.
16. When you’re in a bonus, it matters what you pick. As in, maybe you’re looking to match three symbols to get a mini, minor, maxi, major, or grand. You’ll often be one away from the grand…if only you chose the top left corner instead of the bottom center! (In fact, that is all predetermined, and it doesn’t matter what you click on.)
17. If the casino is dead, you’re less or more likely to win a jackpot.

How do all of these wild theories, and many more, gain any traction? Let’s call it Small Sample Size Syndrome. Sure, maybe someone had good luck three Thursdays in a row at 6:49 a.m. Maybe someone hit a jackpot at a machine right by the entrance of a casino. And wait, that same person lost heaps when playing in the middle of the casino.

Possible correlation?!

Not at all. Now, this is where things get interesting. Because there are so many theories running wild out there, the real-deal way to beat slots often gets lost in the noise. It gets lost to fellow gamblers and even to those who work in casinos and have for many years.

As mentioned above, the actual way to beat some slot machines—which often comes down to knowing the numbers and symbols and basic pattern recognition—blends in with the crazy lady’s theory of tapping the screen three times and saying a little prayer.

I explored a couple of other fun ones in the video, and I’m sure I’m forgetting a few.