Page 6 - December 2007 • Southern California Gaming Guide

About Gambling with Bill Burton
Page 6
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
December 2007
Bill Burton: About Gambling
KInow Your Slot Machine
remember when slot machines were simple. All you had to do was put in a few coins and watch the reels spin around until they stopped on a single payline. e winning combinations were listed on the front of the machine and it was easy to tell what they would pay.
is all changed with the advent of video slot machines with their multiple lines, scatter pays and special winning symbols that can appear at random. On many of these slots the payouts for winning combinations are no longer listed on the front of the machine. Many players sitting down to play a machine are not even sure how the game pays. Spend a few minutes before you play a slot to know the type of game you are playing. Nothing is more disappointing than to think you have won a jackpot only to nd out you didn’t have a winning combination after all. Here are a few tips to keep in mind before you play any slot machine.
Determine the Type of Slot
Most slots will fall into one of four categories. You can determine the type of slot by looking at the pay schedule for each winning combination. On some machines you will nd these listed on the front panel of the machine.
Multiplier: is slot has a payout for a certain symbol and the number of coins you play multiplies it. If the machine pays 5 coins for three lemons when you play one coin, it would pay 10 coins for two coins played and 15 for three coins played. is machine does not penalize you for not playing maximum coins. If you plan to play only one coin at a time, this is the type of machine you should look for.
Bonus Multiplier: is machine operates the same as the multiplier except that it o ers a bonus when you play maximum coins and hit the jackpot. ree 7’s may pay 1,000 for one coin, 2,000 for two coins and
10,000 for maximum coins. You need to decide if the bonus is worth playing the extra coin. In most cases you will want to play the maximum number of coins in this type of machine.
Buy-a-Pay: ese are the most misunderstood machines in the casino. Each coin activates a di erent pay out. You need the maximum coins to receive the largest jackpot. One example is the Sizzlin 7’sTM
machines. e machine will pay on cherries, bars and sevens. e sevens pay 1,000 coins. If you play one coin you can collect only on the cherries. If you play two coins you can collect on cherries and bars. You need three coins to collect on the Sizzlin 7’s. If you hit the jackpot with one coin in you will not win anything! Do not play this machine under any circumstances unless you are playing the maximum bet.
Progressive Slots: Progressive slots take a certain percentage of the money played and add it to a pool for the top jackpot. Megabucks® is an example of slots that linked together with those in other casinos o er a life-changing jackpot. Keep in mind that the percentage of the payback on the lesser wins is lowered to allow for the big prize. Some casinos have machines linked together within their own casino to o er mini- progressive jackpots. Never play a progressive with less than the maximum bet!
Read the Help Screen
On many video slot machines you will have to look at the help screen to determine the pay schedule and winning symbols. All you have to do is push on the help button to bring up the information.
e rst screen of the help menu will usually show you the paylines for the game. Some of the new games have twenty or more paylines. is screen will also explain how the symbols must line up for a winning spin. Many of the new video slots require that the winning symbols must start on the left reel and go to the right. You may line up three or four symbols in a row, but if they don’t start in the rst reel on the left it is not a winner. You need to know this so you won’t be confused as to why you did not win even though you had multiple symbols. e screen will also tell you how many coins you can bet on each payline.
e next screen you want to look at is the pay table that shows how much each symbol pays. Slot makers try to make the hierarchy of winning symbols easy
to understand. For instance a silver coin on the reel would be worth more than a bronze coin and a gold coin would be worth more than the silver one. Some of the games have themes that make the value of the symbols easy to understand; however some can really be confusing so it is always best to check the pay table, before you start.
If the machine has a bonus round the help menu will explain what symbols activate the bonus portion of the game. e game may also have a special symbol that acts as a wild card for a scatter pay bonus. is will be explained as well.
Check the Denomination
Many new slots are multi-denomination machines allowing you to play pennies, nickels, quarters or dollars without switching machines. When you sit down to play always go back to the main screen and push the button for the denomination that you want to play.
Have Fun!
Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes... Knowledge Stays Forever.”
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Guide and columnist for the Internet portal About.com, located at http://casinogambling.about.com. He is the author of 1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets and Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold’em available online at www.billburton.com. He is also an instructor for Golden Touch Craps, http://www.thecrapsclub.com.