Fast Spinning vs “Button Mashing”

[YumaParticipant]

I understand the want to speed up the play by fast spinning (time=money), but wonder about the frequent use of “over-fast spinning” (for lack of a better term) – that is hitting the button so fast and furious that you are overtaking the response time of the machine. At that point, you aren’t getting any additional benefit of time, but could be drawing more attention to yourself, and possibly also increasing the casino’s interest in flagging you (and possible AP in general) as increasing damage to the machine? Surely this flies in any advice given here and elsewhere of trying somewhat to stay under the radar, no? (And yes, I know that degens bang up the machines as well (and sometimes even more) – but this looks very different if anyone is watching)

[Short Coin CharlieParticipant]

Personally, I play my games just like I shave my face in the morning, and also how I drive to the casino – that is to say I speed and take chances.

But in general, I agree you should play as fast as possible without drawing unnecessary attention to yourself. There’s also no EV in giving yourself carpal tunnel syndrome with your playing style. But if you can find some way to make it look like you’re really stuck and desperate to get even, that would probably be a good thing, but a lot of behaviors probably look alike to anyone who is watching.

[Ben RosenthalKeymaster]

It’s something I should be more cognizant of, as I agree it looks painfully obvious to anyone paying attention.

Some of it is habitual, since I’ve been doing it years before casinos started to pay attention and do stuff about advantage play on slots.

I’d attribute some of it to nerves as well, as in, I’m often banging away on a long-run machine (i.e., volatile). I kind of want to get the pain (spinning) over with as quickly as possible.

But, as you also point out, sometimes the manic spinning is too fast for the machine to even process.

So, yes, good point and worth being more careful with.

[NickelsParticipant]

There are games that I think are fine to play slower, for example…saving time on the 2 spins of the Ocean Magic or Scarab you found isn’t really doing a lot for you.

But man…I’ve played 6 different Hexbreaker middles this month, including 3 in the last three days. I’m not slowing down on those, that’s how you turn a 2-4hr play into an all-day nightmare.

That said, you can speed-spin without damaging the machine. I can’t stand the people who take their speed-spinning to the level of actually slapping the button (I just had a great VP cabinet put out of commission by someone ruining the button, matter of fact). You can get the same speed with finger pressure alone, and a lot of these games, like Hex and Regal, you can play fast with the touchscreen, which reduces stress on your fingers and on the button. Fast never has to equal violent mashing.

As far as comportment goes…yeah, I get it, to anybody who knows what to look for, the guy speed spinning the +EV machine is very obviously an AP…but not everybody recognizes that the game is in a +EV state. I will slow down if I notice someone watching me play though, whether it’s a patron or a staff member. In fact, depending on the game, I’ll stop playing altogether than waste their time with cashing out the ticket, putting it back in. Pretending to take a call, etc…until they go away.

[Ben RosenthalKeymaster]

Also good points, and I know I’m agreeing with both sides of this. Yes, there’s no chance I’d ever not fast-play a Hex, though a middle Hex is also the extreme end of long games. Perhaps there’s a middle ground on some of the other longer-run games.

For sure agree on the other points made: You can fast-spin without being an animal about it. And like always, it’s worth being aware of your surroundings. Gotta have that gut feeling, natural instinct, intuition…whatever you want to call it. That’s something you’ll develop over time.

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