Playing Slots

When I first got into the casino business I was strictly a craps and blackjack player, because those games especially craps are the games that give the casino bettor the best chance to make some money.

I’ll be the first to admit I was never a fan of the online slot machines, I kept thinking “You just click a button, and you don’t do anything.” That changed after speaking with a regular slots player at one of the first online casinos in which I worked.

While I was redeeming the player’s bonus coupon, I suggested that she try out some of our other games as she had only played slots and in my mind, she had just slowly been losing her money over the past month or two. She politely declined and suggested I try playing slots to get a new perspective on the one armed bandits. I asked her why try the slots when I don’t have control over the decisions. She answered simply “How many $2 hands of blackjack have paid you $500 in one turn.”

I answered “Obviously none because the payout for a blackjack is 3/2, I would need to risk at $334 if I wanted to win $500 on a hand and that is only if I hit a blackjack.” Typically, if you want to win $500 betting on Blackjack you have to bet $500 per hand.

She responded with “Exactly, when I play slots I know the payouts are set at 97.5% I can enjoy the excitement of winning and losing just like blackjack but I don’t have to worry about making the right or wrong decisions. Even better I have the potential to win a lot more than my bet and I have a chance at a progressive jackpot.” She continued, “The odds are against me winning a progressive jackpot but as the slots spin, I dream about hitting that one spin that wins a progressive jackpot, really that’s what I enjoy most about slots is the possibility of a big win, I don’t get that playing blackjack or craps.”

After that conversation I was a slots convert, while I still play blackjack and craps most of the time, I’m more willing to spend an hour spinning the wheels and dreaming about the big payday.