How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos

  1. How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos Real Money
  2. How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos Slot Machines
  3. How To Pick A Casino Slot Machine
  4. How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine
  5. How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos No Deposit
  6. How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos Near Me

Slot machines with video reels might look impressive but they pay less than the normal machines. There is a reason why such slot machines pay less. Videos take long to display and while this is going on, the casino is not making money. This is the reason that such a slot machine is designed in a way that takes the money from players who are. Since this type of slots is mainly found across the Native American casinos and racinos, which are not required to report their payout percentages, there is no exact info on this matter. Of course, these machines cannot brag of high RTPs seen in Las Vegas or across online gambling platforms. Today, while playing at Turning Stones' little spin off casino, Yellow Brick Road Casino, I had the opportunity to see what percentage they are paying out (at least on the machine I was on). The attendant asked if she could look at my machine real quick (a Lock it Link).

No other segment of the gaming industry has benefited more from the technology revolution than the slot machine. Once considered the ugly stepdaughter placed on the gaming floor to appease the spouses of table players, the slot machine has been transformed into the fairy princess of the gaming world. With her, she has brought a dowry of riches no one would have imagined for the casino and a few lucky players as well. Over twenty years ago the slot machine accounted for 30 percent of the casinos' profits. Today it accounts for about 70 percent. Computer technology and the ability to play with little to no gambling knowledge makes it possible to offer life-changing jackpots big enough to turn a pauper into a king.

However, the fact that it doesn't take much gambling knowledge to play means that most people don't understand the inner working of the slots -- which makes it easy to explain a loss or a win with some false logic. Like any other 'wives tales' these are passed from person to person until they become gospel. Most of these myths and misconceptions are harmless but they can add to your frustration and take away some of the enjoyment of your casino visit. Let’s take a look at a few of the most popular myths and the truth behind them.

Myth #1

Someone hit a jackpot on the machine you just left -- so you would have won that jackpot if you kept playing.
This is probably one of the most common notions about slot machine gambling -- but it's patently false. The slot machines have a computer chip inside that runs the Random Number Generator (RNG). The RNG is continuously cycling through numbers even when the machine is not being played. These numbers correspond to the stops on the wheel that display the winning or losing symbols that you see when the reels stop. When you hit the spin button or pull the handle, the RNG picks the combination at that given microsecond. If you had stayed at the machine, it is highly unlikely that you would have stopped the RNG at the exact nano-second to display that same combination of numbers. In the time it takes to talk with a friend or sip your drink the RNG has cycled through thousands of combinations.

Myth #2

You can tell the odds of winning by counting the symbols on each wheel.
Actually, you can't. The RNG generates a number for each spin. There can be hundreds of virtual stops on each wheel even though you only see a few symbols. For example, you may see 20 symbols on each wheel of a three-reel machine. You figure 20 x 20 x 20 = 8,000 combinations and your chance of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 8000. In reality, the computer chip may program 256 stops for each wheel which makes the odds 256 x 256 x 256 =16,777,216 combinations. Being able to generate millions of combinations is the reason that slots can offer large paybacks.

Myth #3

Casinos can loosen or tighten the slot machines with the flip of a switch.
In actuality, the slot machines have a computer chip in them that determines the payback percentage. These are preset at the factory. In order for a casino to change the payback, they would have to change the chip. In most jurisdictions, there is paperwork that has to be filled and submitted to the Casino Control Commission for each machine if the chip is changed. It's time-consuming and the chips are very expensive. For this reason, it is more economical to decide on the payback percentages before purchasing the machines and having the factory ship them with the proper chip.

Myth #4

A machine that has not been paying out is due to hit.
There is no way to determine if a machine is due to hit. Each spin is a random occurrence and has no bearing on what has happened previously. Don't ever play more than you should because of this misconception -- it will be devastating to your bankroll if you do.

Myth #5

The temperature of the coins played will affect the way a machine pays.
Unfortunately, the machine is not affected by temperature. It doesn't matter if you play hot, cold, old or new coins. The coin slot is a mechanical device and has no feeling.

Myth #6

If you use your slot club card the machine will pay back less.
This may well be the most damaging myth of them all. There is no link between the card reader and the RNG, but by not using your player's card you are denying yourself valuable comps and sometimes cash back from the casino.


Return to player (RTP) is very important in regard to the long-term chances of winning with slots. RTP (a.k.a. payback) refers to how much slot machines are programmed to pay out in the long run.

Higher payback means that a game gives you a stronger chance of winning. Therefore, you’ll do well to know the RTP behind any game that you play.

You’ll discover that it’s really easy to find payout percentages for online slot machine games. A simple Google search will produce the RTP for most internet games.

Unfortunately, you’ll have a much tougher time figuring out the RTP of land-based machines. In fact, this information is rarely available.

Is there still a way for you to determine payout percentages for slot machines in brick-and-mortar casinos? I’ll answer this question by covering more on the difficulties of finding RTP for land-based slots and if it’s ultimately possible.

Why Isn’t RTP Available for Land-Based Slots?

Unlike with many online slots, you can’t just find the RTP for land-based slot machines through Google. Your efforts will turn up little to no results.

The problem with slots in brick-and-mortar casinos is that they don’t have uniform payback across every casino. Instead, game developers allow casinos to select payout percentages based on a list of options.

Here’s an example on how this works:

  • WMS is offering Monopoly Party Train slot to Vegas casinos.
  • They feature the following RTP options: 92.5%, 93.5%, and 94.5%.
  • Caesars Palace orders this game at 93.5% payback.
  • The Venetian orders Monopoly Party Train at 92.5% RTP.
  • Treasure Island orders this slot at 94.5% RTP.

You can see the obvious challenge in trying to provide payback numbers for such games. A website could list Monopoly Party Train at 93.5% RTP, which is middle ground.

But this figure will only be true for the casinos that have selected this amount. Meanwhile, it’ll be false across all of the other gambling establishments that choose a different pay schedule.

Most online slot providers differ because they offer their games at a uniform RTP across every casino. For example, Rival Gaming will feature Spy Game with 95.1% payback at each online casino it serves.

Some exceptions do exist in the online gambling world. RealTime Gaming (RTG), for instance, allows its casino clients to choose 91.5%, 95%, or 97.5% RTP for a given game.

You can’t find payout percentages for RTG games either. Nevertheless, you can still learn the payback for the vast majority of internet slots.

How Can You Figure out the RTP?


You won’t be able to find the exact payout percentages for most land-based slot machines. But you can at least get a good idea on the matter through a few different methods. Here are some ways to learn the RTP for brick-and-mortar casino slots.

Make General Guesses Based on Coin Denominations

Casinos like to reward gamblers who are willing to risk more money per bet. Therefore, they order higher RTP for games with larger coin denominations.

Here’s an example on how this works:

  • Penny slot machines = 88% to 90% RTP
  • Nickel slot machines = 91% to 94% RTP
  • Quarter slot machines = 93% to 95% RTP
  • Dollar slot machines = 94% to 96% RTP
  • $5 slot machines = 95% to 97% RTP

Penny slot machines are almost always the worst games with regard to payout percentages. Larger denominations ranging from a nickel to $5 are all closer in terms of payback.

How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos Real Money

Your theoretical losses will be higher on nickel games and up just because you’re betting more per spin. Nevertheless, you can still get more value per dollar wagered with the higher-denomination machines.

Read State Gaming Reports

Rather than making generalizations about coin sizes, you can always check out state gaming reports. These reports show the average payout percentages (or house edges) for each coin denomination within a given state’s casinos.

For example, you might look at a Nevada Gaming Commission (NGC) release and see that dollar slot machines are offering 94.79% RTP on average.

Interestingly enough, the NGC reports specific payout information for Megabucks. This IGT product is the most popular slot in all the popular Las Vegas casinos and warrants more detailed info.

Largely speaking, though, these reports only give general information about each coin denomination.

You won’t find the exact payout percentage for an individual game, but you’ll at least have a better guideline with these reports.

Email a Casino and Ask

How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos

One more option involves emailing a casino directly and asking them about their RTP for a specific slot machine.

The problem here is that customer service will often state that they don’t have this information available. But in certain cases, you may actually receive a real answer.

You shouldn’t count on this method majority of the time. It’s at least worth trying, though, if you’re desperate to find out the RTP for certain slots.

Paying

What to Avoid When Searching for Land-Based Slots Payback

You can see that there are a few different options for determining the payback for land-based slot machines. But there are also measures that you want to avoid on your payback-finding quest, including the following.

Relying on Signs Inside of Casinos

Many casinos hang signs above a bank of slot machines that will read something like, “Pays up to 99%.”

These signs are very effective at drawing players to slot machines. After all, who wouldn’t want to play a slot that only has a 1% house edge?

Unfortunately, these signs are also very misleading. Only one of the machines within the section has to offer 99% RTP.

The rest could pay as low as 90% RTP and still make the sign valid. Therefore, you can’t rely on much information that the casino supplies you with.

Furthermore, you have no real way of knowing which of the machines offers 99% payback. The only way to make a solid determination would be to play each game for a long time and judge their payout percentages.

Using One Good Session to Determine Quality Payback

Slots are extremely volatile games that may pay a lot one session, then offer very few prizes for the next five sessions. Therefore, you can never use any single outing to judge how a game pays.

Many gamblers still make this very mistake. They’ll have one hot session with a game and believe that it offers a high payout percentage.

It would be great if finding RTP for land-based slot machines was really this simple. The reality, though, is that it’s anything but.

Blindly Believing Ads for the “Loosest Slots”

Pick

I’ve seen plenty of ads for loose slot machines when driving on the interstate. These billboards suggest that a given casino features slots with high RTP or frequent payouts.

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However, “loose” is a broad term that doesn’t really mean anything. State gaming laws don’t put parameters on what constitutes a loose game.

Casinos can make this claim, regardless of whether it’s true or not. That said, you should take any such advertisement with a grain of salt.

Conclusion

You may think negatively about land-based casinos upon being unable to find RTP for their slots. After all, you don’t have to spend much time at all finding payback for online slots.

However, providers are the ones who choose whether to or not to release payout percentages. They can’t accurately do this with slot machines at brick and mortar casinos, because providers feature different RTP options.

One casino may order a slot at 93% payback, while the next orders it at 95% RTP. Developers are therefore unable to offer a uniform payout percentage for each slot.

The good news, though, is that you don’t have to give up hope. Instead, you have a few options for finding general RTP figures.

How To Pick A Casino Slot Machine

The easiest method is to make generalizations based on coin denominations. Simply put, the higher coin denominations usually offer better payback.

How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine

You can also read state gaming reports. These releases show the average amount that each coin denomination pays out within a given state’s gambling venues.

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Finally, you can always email a casino directly and ask about a specific game. You won’t get the desired answer most of the time, but it’s worth trying.

How To Pick A Paying Slot Machine At Native Casinos Near Me

In summary, finding the RTP for an individual land-based slot is impossible in most cases. But you’ll still have a general idea on how much these slots pay by following the previously covered tips.