Dispelling Slot Machines Myths

Few subjects warrant as many myths and superstitions as does casino gambling. People have formed countless beliefs about the topic of casino gaming  and some believe they are destined to win big money if they wear a lucky shirt or only place wagers on certain days. But many gaming myths and superstitions go deeper than just an article of clothing or day of the week.

Some of them revolve around specific games and have even become common beliefs among gamblers. And perhaps no casino game carries more myths-turned-truths than do the slot machines. Here are some of the most common myths surrounding casino slot machines and what the realities are.

Playing a certain machine for hours is sure to yield a jackpot.

Everyday there is someone in a casino who asks a friend to watch their slot machine seat because they need to go to the bathroom or get something to eat. That’s because these people believe if they keep playing the same casino machine for enough consecutive hours then the jackpot is bound to be theirs. In fact, it happens quite often where a person will leave one casino machine to go try another only to have someone else hit the jackpot on their old machine.

This leads them to believe that they would’ve won the jackpot if they had still been playing on that machine. But the truth is that winning a slot machine jackpot has nothing to do with how many consecutive turns a person plays. Instead, winning the top prize is dependent on the exact moment the button is pushed or the lever is pulled. There is no way to prove that the previous person would have made their wager at the exact same time as the jackpot winner.

Never play a slot machine that just paid out a jackpot.

Not playing a slot machine after it made a casino jackpot payout is in the same vein as thinking that staying in the same seat is sure to earn you a large payout. This belief stems from believing the machines have to make up for a previous jackpot by not allowing people to win for a while.  And these same gamblers will only play the machine after other people have been on it for a while.

However, slot machines are actually set to make casino payouts based on percentages over millions of turns. In short, people have the same chance of winning a jackpot after one has already been paid out as they do before it has been won.

Slot machines allow people to win more often when they play one coin at a time.

Another slots myth is that the amount of coins played during a turn affects the percentage of casino payouts a machine makes. This is why some people will sit there with a bucket of coins and only play one at a time instead of making the maximum wager and going for the big jackpot. Obviously you have more chances to hit small payouts because you get more turns with one coin.

However, slots are not designed to change spin patterns or payout percentages just because a certain amount of coins have been put into the machine. Each turn yields the same chance to win no matter how many coins are bet on a turn. 

Casinos change machines to make jackpot payouts during busier times.

A number of people who have seen jackpots hit during a casino’s busiest hours believe that this happens because the casino has changed the odds. And if all of these people see a jackpot hit then they are supposed to get slot machine fever and keep playing slots at that casino.

Commonsense will tell you that this isn’t true though because there is obviously just a greater chance of a jackpot being hit when there are more people in a casino. If only 300 turns are played on a machine during a less crowded day, but 900 turns are played on a busier day, then there is obviously a greater chance of a big payout.