Slots

This is something to keep in mind when the player on the next machine over tries to tell you that the machines are looser on weekends and tighter on weekdays. The truth is that, if we assume that all the casinos are playing by the rules, the machines haven’t a clue what day of the week it is, or what time of the day.
The machines are allowed to have mechanisms that keep track of which player is on the machine—a credit system using the Slots Player Card. This mechanism can be attached to a clock and a calendar. Connecting the clock and calendar to the computer chip determining payoffs would be illegal, however.

On the boardwalk, for example, casinos are not allowed to routinely change the computer chip inside a machine. If they want to change a chip, they have to notify the gaming regulators. A specialist from the Division of Gaming En¬forcement will then come to the casino and observe while the computer chip is changed.
The regulations for changing computer chips are not as stringent out in the desert, but they still make the job pain¬ful for the casinos by requiring a plethora of paperwork. There’s also a regulation stating that a new chip can only be inserted after it has been approved by Nevada regulators.

You will need to make some adjustments to your normal lifestyle and schedule. Playing slots to win may require you to play at odd hours, because that’s where the pickings are good. For example, most people tend to crowd around the slots at dinner time, and just after. Bad time. Everyone plays then, and the selections are few and far between. If possible, play online slots free either very late at night, such as after midnight, or very early in the morning, such as from about 5:00 A.M. The best time to play slots is usually from about 3:00 A.M. until about 9:00 A.M. This is the time in between the end of the rush from the night before, and prior to the rush from the “normal” morning risers, who play before and after breakfast.

There are very good reasons for this kind of play. First, there will be fewer players. You will have better choices among the machines and therefore be able to make better selections. You will also get better service from the employees, because there are fewer people for them to look after. Second, the machines you will select are quite likely to have been given a lot of play the night before, and therefore will be more primed for your skilled selections and play. In fact, if you want to do this and can handle it physically, stay up for some hours during the busy times the night before and watch the machines you think you will want to play slot games the best. Don’t play, just watch. See which machines get the heaviest play and what, if anything, they have paid out. This kind of prior research can serve you well when you rise early the next morning and hit the machines before the day crowd hustles in. Of course, you may want to go to bed early so you can get up early. Fine. You can still get the information you want, by asking the employees. They may not know for sure, because they have just come on duty after the swing shift leaves at 2:00 A.M., but I can assure you that if there was any kind of a significant win on the previous shift, these people in that area will have heard about it. Although this is nothing more than some simple empirical research, and is only useful as a guideline, and just one more piece in the overall informational supply, it still provides a good gauge by which to modify your game selections.

As a general rule of thumb, try to play slots whenever other people are not playing. Stay away from crowds and times when machines are crowded. That’s not the time to play. That’s the time to watch, learn casino blackjack rules  and remember.

This very important skill can be acquired through the Knowledge part of these Keys to Winning. Notice that while Patience was an “art,” these are “skills.” Anyone can learn these skills. All it takes is the desire to be a winner, the ability to understand the information being offered, and the ability to apply that knowledge to gaming success.

Game selection includes several items. What kind of machine? Reel slots, video slots, video poker, other kinds of slots? In which denomination? What kind of game? As with all these skills, the answers to these questions are all part of the overall picture. Your success in playing slots depends on all of these abilities. Such answers will be supplied by yourself. The kind of machine, reel slot game, and denomination may be determined by your bankroll, interest, and win goal. Other factors will influence how you approach the other skills of game selection. Generally, you should select a machine that is easy to play and understand, and one that takes 2 coins maximum (reel slots), or can be played for the minimum per-line investment (such as 9 coins in a nine-line video slot machine), without penalty or disadvantage to your win expectation and potential jackpot and online casino bonus awards. This is the simplest and best advice to get you started. From this point on, your skills will dictate further advancements in your play.

Many people look down upon slot players. They say that slots are a waste of money and that you can only win if you’re lucky. To them I say, yes, I’m lucky - at least that’s how you can understand it. Those of us who play slots the smart way know that our luck is derived from the proper application of knowledge and the other Keys to Winning that I just mentioned, and will now discuss in greater detail. These are the same principles that most of us apply on a daily basis in all our lives. When you see one store advertise peanut butter for $1.25 and another store advertise the very same product for 89(2, you go to the store where the price is better for the same product, right? That’s applying your knowledge to your financial benefit. Those who buy the more pricey item either don’t care about money or are losers without knowing it. So if you are in a casino, and you see some slots with a sign that says: “Up to 94.7 percent payback,” and the casino next door has the same slots with a sign that says: “98 percent payback,” where would you play? If you’re a smart slot player who wants to win, you’d go to the one that says “98 percent payback,” because you know that advertising which says “up to” doesn’t mean that all the machines pay that much. You also know that 98 percent is better than 94.7 percent. Put those two together, and you have made a knowledgeable decision about where to play.

This will be affected by your general lifestyle. Most people get up in the morning to go to work at 9:00 A.M., come back after 5:00 P.M., then have dinner, and so on, and so to bed. This schedule defines the kind of lifestyle they lead. Coming to a casino, most people entirely forget this and start to act as if there were no need to sleep, rest, or do anything other than indulge in total abandonment. That is okay, believe me. There’s nothing better than to become that free. For a while, that is, and without losing your head, and your money, while doing it, wins the Jackpot. Unfortunately, many people get so wrapped up in this sudden freedom that they forget their rational mind. That is bad. If you want to have this “mad time,” it is perfectly okay to do so. Just be aware that it will cost you money, and that it can cost you your well-made plans as well. Once you interrupt your routine, you will become trapped in paradise, and you can easily lose sight of even the most basic human reason. If this happens to you, you are lost, at least for the duration of this trip. But fear not. It can be overcome.

When you plan your trip to the casino, regardless of whether you happen to live next door to the casino or have to plan a vacation to fly or drive there, remember that you will become enthusiastically enthralled in the experience. Plan for it, greatest Slot. Plan for the mad time, and that way you will be able to allocate time, resources, energy, and bankroll to these experiences. Make that part of your casino plan, and you will have a great time enjoying it. Then, when you tire yourself out, remind yourself that it’s time to get rest, regain your composure and reason, because now it will be time to go and play to win. Playing to win requires a clear head and a rested body.

To be continued…

Every slot player knows what “that certain feeling” means. It’s that itch, that tingle, that gnawing at the back of your mind or hand, that “absolutely” indicates that this slot machine is about to pay! We’ve all had that feeling. Walking into a casino we are suddenly and mysteriously drawn to a particular machine, or a particular kind of machine, hearing the ringing and seeing the jackpot even as we reach for the money to put in the slot.

Are such “mysterious” or “psychic” moments real, or is this just a coincidence - the kind of “blind luck” which strikes some of us while leaving most of us untouched? I confess that I’ve had such feelings myself. I’ve even acted on them. I’ve seen other people act on them. Did I win? No. Did they win? Sometimes. Was it because of “that certain feeling”? Realistically, no. Was it just a sudden strike of pure luck? Mostly yes.

So, my friends ask me, how do you win? Is it luck? Sure, I am lucky, sometimes. But mostly it is knowledge, patience, bankroll, selection, discipline, and win goal - the Keys to Winning. Put all those together, and apply them correctly, and you become lucky. At least that’s what people will say when they watch you hit the jackpot and wonder how you did it, or how you can do it that often.