One-off plays (Progressives)

[Short Coin CharlieParticipant]

Disclaimer: this picture is not interesting, but it is of the same machine I describe below. (I forgot to take a picture at the time I played).

Feels like it’s worth sharing that if you keep your eyes open, some plays might appear for which there are no available strategies.

Here we have an uncapped progressive with meters for Mini, Major, Minor, and Grand, in a bank of four machines all linked together (playing for common meters).

Looks like the Mini resets at $5 and the Minor resets at $10. Now, with games like these, I can become interested if I find a situation where the Mini has overtaken the Minor, or something that appears highly unusual.

A couple weeks ago, I came across this game with the Mini at $50 (10x reset) and the Minor at $20 (double reset, and lapped twice by the Mini). I decided to play until it hit.

If my hunch is correct, and this is +EV, then I want in. I read the game rules, and they say betting higher increases your chances of winning the progressive meters. So noted. Will max bet and take a second seat if one opens up.

If I’m wrong…there are mitigating circumstances at work here.

• How hard can it be to win a thing that resets for $5? This shouldn’t take forever
• Things should move along faster with three other machines in use, even if I’m the only one max betting
• This is a perfect opportunity to put a card (or two cards) in, and demonstrate a little ploppy action to the slot club algorithm
• It’s not like this is going to be a leak in my game (like wandering off to the craps table), I don’t figure this machine will be in this state again any time soon

Results: turns out it can be much harder to win a $5 prize than I might have guessed, but at least I was the one who won it (taking a bit of a kicking in the process). The jackpot award game played out as one of those “pick until you match 3” deals, I was glad to get the Mini for a change…

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[Ben RosenthalKeymaster]

Good points. There’s certainly a point where a game such as this would become +EV (along with the card misdirection).

I had an entry on a game called Gold Bonanza that I recently removed because I didn’t want to confuse anyone. I may not have even fully understood the game anyway. A game such as I Love Jackpots Sizzling Sevens would be similar, and I’ve had mostly positive results chasing inflated minis, ideally paired with an above-average minor too.

I will say, depending on the game, it’s sometimes not as easy to hit a mini as you might think (as you unfortunately experienced). It might also be a small component of the game. I remember some bad runs on that aforementioned Gold Bonanza, where once I was down $400 or so while chasing a $65 mini.

But it’s worth keeping an eye open, as I’m sure the majority of people who play advantage slots wouldn’t bother with this type of game.

[Author]

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