Avoid these Common Slots Mistakes
Playing slots whether at land based or online casinos is quite simple, all you have to do is put some money into the machine and start playing. Yet, even though slots are easy to play, many players still make some common mistakes.
If you're wondering what mistakes one could possible make playing such an easy game, then perhaps you're making them too! Below we take a look at some of the most common mistakes players make when playing slots so that you can be aware of and avoid them in future.
Randomly selecting slots
Very few players spend any time researching slots before they play because after all they reason, what is there to know? So they play whichever slot strikes their fancy at the time.
The fact of the matter however is that if you put in a little time you may reap huge rewards down the line because slots payouts differ from one machine to another and being aware of and playing the better paying machines will definitely make a difference to your bottom line. So take the time to read a few slots reviews and examine the paytables of a few machines to find the best one before you play instead of selecting games based on their pretty colours or theme. This way your money will go further.
Believing that Slots are hot or cold
One of the most widely held slots conspiracy theories and myths is that certain machines run hot or cold. Modern slots are governed by Random Number Generators (RNG's) which ensure that all results are completely random so a machine running either hot or cold is impossible. Nevertheless many players still keep pumping their hard earned cash into machines that they believe to be "hot" or jumping from one slot to another because they think a game is "cold".
While superstitions beliefs and slots conspiracy theories don't hurt anyone, they can and do harm your bankroll at casinos. Even if a slot pays out on what seems to be a hot streak, this is nothing more than luck - also known as variance. So always play with your head and not your heart.
Playing multiple lines on supposedly cheap penny slots
Penny slots are extremely popular at casinos thanks to the fact that low rollers can enjoy hours of gambling without spending huge sums of money. This does however mean that you need to be playing on a true penny slot as many of the new generation penny slots are multi-line machines which require you to play every line, resulting in them costing you just as much as quarter or dollar slots do with the added insult of offering lower payout rates.
So only play penny slots if you can find the old fashioned traditional variants of this game, and avoid multi-line versions altogether.
Playing without a predetermined Bankroll
The majority of new players simply play casino games with no plan this doesn't last long unless you are rich enough to blow money without worrying about. For the rest of us however, a predetermined bankroll not only allows us to curb over spending at the casino, but is also helps us to keep track of what we spend versus what we lose, making for a more enjoyable experience.
We're often asked what a good bankroll amount is and the answer will depend upon your financial situation and the time you plan to spend gambling. If you're looking to play slots for around 4 hours you will probably make around 400 spins per hour and if you bet $1 per spin on a slot with a 95% payout rate you will need around a $200 bankroll.
Blaming losses on casinos "rigging" machines
If you're going to play slots or any other casino game for that matter, then you have to make peace with the fact that in the long term the casino has an advantage. There will be days when you win big and other when you lose all of your money pretty quickly. When you lose you can't blame the casinos for "rigging" their machines, they aren't. If you are playing at a reputable, licensed online casino, they are monitored and audited by various governing bodies and licensing jurisdictions, not to mention that if anything ever got out about suspected rigging of games, they would be out of business. All in all it's just not worth a casino's while to cheat players in such a manner.
That said you have to take the losses with the wins, and realize that it all comes down to which side of the machine's variance you land on at a particular time. So even if a slot offers 93% payback over the long run you may end up on the low end of the variance and face a 75% payout rate at a particular time. This is not a result of rigging but rather luck not being on your side. Over the long term though, it all evens out.
While there are a few other mistakes that can be made when playing slots, these are by far the most common and avoiding these will definitely improve your game and experience.