Exploiting Slot Machine Payout Schedules and Payout Percentages

In any betting endeavor, it is the gambler who garners and utilizes the most accurate information that holds the greatest edge. This is true when it comes to casino table games, poker and slots. There are two types of information that bettors can exploit to increase their chances of winning. These are slot machine payout schedules and percentages.

Slot Machine Payout Schedule Basics

The payout schedule tells the player what combination of icons will result in a payoff. The schedules are arranged with the best paying combination on top and the lowest paying combo on the bottom.

Let's look at the payout schedule for a popular slot Cash Cow.

With this machine, which is a three-reel multiplier taking anywhere from one to three coins, the combination of three cows pays either 2,000, 4,000 or 10,000 coins, depending on whether you wager one, two or three tokens. On the low end, any one Cash icon gives back your investment.

How to Exploit the Payout Schedule

The chances of winning the top three to five prizes on any machine are often astronomical. More often than not, you're going to win cash when the lower to mid-range prizes are hit. Those will be your bread and butter. Thus, gamblers should play machines that offer ample opportunity to win low to mid-range pots.

Cash Cow has just one major prize. It then affords gamblers the opportunity to win four prizes that are in the middle and three on the low-end. A game such as Cash Cow pays off when you match two Cash icons and even when one comes up. It also pays when a Bar is exposed and when lines of one, two and three bars come up. The payouts are not huge, which means they are relatively easy to hit. You have a lot of chances to win on a machine such as this one.

Slot Machine Payout Percentage Basics

Payout percentages on all slot machines are predetermined by the casino and programmed by the slot manufacturer. The lowest payout percentage allowed is 75% and the highest is 99%. If a machine has a 75% payout rate, then that means for every $100 wagered, $75 will eventually be given back to the bettor. Likewise, if a slot pays out at 99%, it will give $99 of every $100 wagered back to the gamblers. How to Exploit Payout Percentages

Payout percentages are tougher to exploit than payout schedules. That's because percentages for individual machines are not made public. However, many online casinos do publish independently verified statistics regarding the payout percentage of all of their machines for a given period of time. Although not all online casinos provide this information a wealth of them do. The first thing any gambler needs to do is to frequent only cyber casinos that offer this statistic. You'll find slot payout percentages at individual casino sites.

Once high-percentage casinos have been identified, then bettors need to play machines that have minimum wagers of over $1. This is because it's been shown that slots taking bets greater than $1 have the best payout percentages.

Combining Payout Schedule and Percentages

You'll be way ahead of the game if you do the following. First, find casinos that have overall slot payout percentages of 95% to 98%. They are out there. Take some time and do your homework in this area. Once you've secured a site with a high payout percentage, then locate machines on that site that provide you with plenty of opportunities to win prizes that are low to middling. By the way, although machines with more than three reels are attractive due to the fact that they come with a range of high-end prizes, it is much harder to win on those machines. Stick with three-reel slots.

Once you've done that get to know the slot machine by using play money. Keep track or how much you spend and win. After a few hundred pulls of the virtual slot machine arm, calculate the damages or winnings. If the machine looks like a winner, then go for it with real money. Using the techniques outlined above will increase your chances of winning. Remember that very few players hit the big prize but many people stand to make cash on slots by exploiting some basic information related to how they can win and how much a machine pays out.

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