Buffalo Gold Slot Machine Pay Table
Buffalo slots is one of Aristocrat's 'Xtra Reel Power' games that features 1024 possible ways to win (not one of the traditional video game slots with pay lines), and has wild card symbols that turn into multipliers in the bonus rounds that create the big wins.The best paying symbol is the Buffalo symbol, and if you were to fill the entire. Buffalo is a hugely popular slot machine that takes you out on to the American plains. Here you will encounter all kinds of wild creatures. The original Buffalo slot proved so popular in live casinos that it has spawned several exciting sequels. These added progressive jackpots, wheel bonuses and unique features like a ‘stampede’ that added more high paying symbols and expanded the reels. Players prefer to play free Buffalo slot machine games, which is available in the format of 5 reels and 4 symbols spinning per each reel. The machine is specific for its 1024 ways to win (fixed paying lines), and the changeable feature is the number of reels, while it is usually the other way around in video pokies.
Every gambler looks for a way to trick casinos and make the most out of their slot machines. The tough part is sifting through the bad advice and good advice available. Online slots may come down to chance, but like all casino games, there are always some tips and tricks you can apply to help you maximize the odds of seeing a payout. Whenever you play slots in a land-based casino, a mobile casino, or an online casino like CoolCat, some things should be factored in before you start playing them for real money. This guide will show you the simplest ways to trick the slots and the system, to give you the best return on your playtime.
But first, let’s get started with the basics.
What is a slot machine?
Slot machines are gambling games with three or more spinning reels. The reels display symbols that spin and land randomly to form potential winning combinations after a player places a bet. Wins are determined when certain symbols line up in a sequence; these are the paylines. An amount is awarded according to the size of the wager, the type of winning combination, and the number of paylines that hit. Slot machines come in a variety of forms, from online slots, classic three or five-reel slots, and the most popular of all, video slots.
How a slot machine works?
Regardless of the type of slot that you choose to play, they all function according to the same principles. You place your bet and initiate a spin, while this takes place an internal computer chip in the machine randomly determines whether you win or lose for each spin.
These computers are random number generators or RNGs. An RNG cycles through thousands of number combinations and stops the moment a player hits the spin button. The results are displayed for the player after the reels stop spinning. RNGs are always tested and certified by third-party agencies to make sure that they are fair and reliable, and that outcomes are not rigged.
Many times in a casino you will hear players say whether certain tables or slots are running hot or cold. However, because slot machines operate on RNGs, no amount of luck or perceived hot or cold streaks will impact the outcome of each spin. Each time a player hits a button to spin the reels or pulls the arm of a machine, the result is a unique event. Slots machines and online slots games are therefore never due to hit regardless of what someone might tell you. Streaks and payouts boil down to a matter of pure chance, even multiple jackpots can occur for a single machine.
Regardless of what you choose to play, and whether or not you’ve gambled before, these top 15 tips can be applied to any kind of online slot machine, be it a 3-reel, 5-reel, 3D slot, or a classic layout. Implement these into your slots strategy, and you’ll already be well on your way to becoming a pro and winning yourself the biggest rewards.
1. Get to know slots and how they work
Slots aren’t exactly complicated — you select your betting amount, hit spin, and the machine essentially does the rest. However, since game developers started to include more features in these games, like multiple reels, paylines, and symbols, the layout and mechanics may seem a bit overwhelming to beginners. Give yourself time to get familiar with the rules and inner workings of a game before you start playing for big bucks. That way, you’ll get to know what combinations are needed to win, what symbols trigger certain bonus rounds and features, and what you should place as your bet amounts.
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2. Find a slot that suits your style
As slots come in thousands of different themes these days, it never hurts to have a good look around to find one that matches your mood and motivates your playing style.
Most online casinos have all sorts of different slots that are centered around your favorite celebrities, movies, animals, places, and hobbies — so you’ll be completely spoiled for choice and always able to select a new theme that coincides with your style and bankroll.
3. Check the software provider
The best slots and most high-efficiency casino games are developed by companies like Realtime Gaming, NetEnt, Microgaming, and other leading names in the industry. If you can clearly see a slot game is backed up by one of these brands — it’s bound to be a reliable one. This quality alone will make a huge difference to the gameplay and how likely you are to see a return on your bets. Shoddy slots will only let you go so far with a game and may only payout during a bonus feature. The best slots give you the chance to hit the jackpot and have loads of fun at the same time.
4. Take advantage of no deposit bonus codes
Here’s the dirty little secret with online bonuses: if you know where to look, you can get a lot for free; meaning bonuses with no deposit needed.
These deals are always given to new players when they sign up to a casino, and most continue to dish these out to players on a weekly and monthly basis even after they’ve signed up. Common bonuses you can utilize on slots include no deposit bonuses, match bonuses, and free spins bonuses. These are all great offers that can provide more to play with during your gaming sessions.
Slots strategy is about giving yourself as many slots advantages as you can. A lot of playing the slots comes down to chance, which is why the best strategies are about seizing whatever opportunities you can to get ahead.
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5. Don’t play the slot; play the online casino
Thanks to U.S. gambling policies, Americans are able to claim some of the best value Casino bonuses of any players in the world. If you’re in America, taking advantage of this can double, or even triple your bankroll, with surprisingly few strings attached.
One of the best slot machine tricks is to look for bonuses with low wagering requirements and no maximum cash-out limits. Many casinos trick new players by offering a large bonus and hiding that you’ll need to bet a huge amount before you can redeem it.
What to look for in a good bonus: first, find wagering requirements of 10x or less. Many Casinos have wagering requirements as high as 50x, which means that on a $100 deposit, you can’t get your money until you’ve made $5,000 in bets! Also, avoid bonuses that come with a maximum cash-out. Find a bonus that doesn’t limit how much you can win from it (nothing worse than winning a jackpot and getting $100…)
The CoolCat Casino 330% Welcome Bonus has only a 5x wagering requirement (compare that to any other bonus online), and no maximum on how much you can win while using it. Plus, it comes with 50 Free Spins on our popular game, Popinata. So you have some spins to warm up (and win), and your $50 becomes $165. That bankroll will give you the breathing room you need to jump-start your slots streak. Just make a free account at CoolCat Casino, then claim your bonus at the cashier by entering the code COOLWELCOME.
6. Find the loosest online slots
If it has been a while since you had a winning spin then it really might be time to consider changing the machine you’re playing on or switching to another online slots game. Even though this might sound crazy, it’s actually true. Slots vary in how easily they pay out, and according to industry insiders and leading experts, major gaming centers avoid placing loose slot machines close to each other. The best option when you’re on a losing streak is to move on to an adjacent slot machine or try your hand at a completely new online slot game. Remember, each spin is a completely unique event, so feeding more coins into a losing machine in no way increases your chances of finally winning.
I’ve done this myself on a number of occasions and found, much to my surprise and delight, that by the time I had moved on to a second or third online game, my luck had returned and bonus spins were racking up. If the machine is cold, walk on into the light. This is one of the slot machine tricks that simply increases your chances of finding a loose machine as well as extending your playtime and jackpot potential.
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7. Know your limits and manage your bankroll
Before you start playing, it’s important to set a loss limit. It’s easy to let the excitement of the casino floor take hold, but you may end up with more spills than thrills if you don’t know when to stop. Everyone loves to win, and if you find yourself way up, it’s a good time to stop. Statistically, the longer you play the better the chances are that you will lose your money. If your bankroll is heading towards a slump, be sure to stop once you’ve reached your loss limit. Never chase losses.
Gambling is a phenomenal form of entertainment and can grow your bankroll exponentially, so have fun, but always play responsibly. Although you are just as likely as the next person to win big on a slot machine, or perhaps a coveted jackpot, be smart and don’t overdo it. Slots can take patience because a big hit can occur in ten seconds, ten minutes, or heaven forbid ten hours. As long as you have your loss limit in mind throughout your rounds of play, you’ll be in good shape if the going gets tough.
In addition, bonuses do endless favors for your bankroll, but keeping a watchful eye on your funds is the key to success in gambling. We never advise risking more than you can afford to lose, so managing your bankroll should be a top priority. Bankroll maintenance can be as simple as placing reasonable deposit amounts and not opting for bets on games that will deplete your funds too quickly.
Set yourself a loss limit, then stick to it.
8. Know where not to play slots
It is no big news that it is easier to win on loose slot machines — the hard part is finding one. These machines are placed all over the casino quite strategically and in a meticulous way. Physical placement revolves around the fact that the casinos want everyone to see a big win. It encourages others to play, so often loose machines are to be found in highly visible areas.
On the other hand, there can be pitfalls to visibility. Airport slots are highly visible, but people are coming and going at a frantic rate. These slots are known to be some of the worst to play at any gambling destination. It’s far better to wait until you’re actually in the casino. Scope out a spot with a wide range of machines so you can move on if you hit a cold streak, but one that’s highly visible without being a major rush transit area like reception by a restaurant buffet with a lot of motion or an airport mall.
For even better chances to find loose slots, look no further than your computer. Online slot machines generally pay out more than slots on the Las Vegas Strip. Having a constant stream of players makes it possible for real money online casinos to offer slots with the best odds yet.
9. Play slots with random or progressive jackpots
Another notable feature of slot machines is the jackpots. There are two categories: fixed and progressive. Slots machines with a fixed jackpot will have a maximum payout/jackpot amount that does not change. Whereas for progressive machines the jackpot increases the more people play on them. A fraction of their bet falls into the jackpot pool, and the jackpot will continue to increase until won. Progressive machines usually come with an indicator that shows the player that the maximum payout can change based on how many people play that particular machine, therefore making the jackpot progressively higher or lower.
Whether or not one should play on progressive jackpot slot machines is a hotly debated issue among casino gamers. Though some would say that progressives are the only true way to strike it super-rich at the casino; many claims that it’s quite the long shot, even as difficult as winning the lottery. Whatever the case, playing on progressive slot machines is a lot of fun. If you manage your bankroll well and pace yourself, you just might find yourself entering the millionaire’s club.
One school recommends avoiding progressives. While a life-changing win may be uber tempting, with high potential rewards comes, all too often, low payout rates. I mean, that mega jackpot has to be built up somehow and it’s not usually by being liberal in the payout department. If your playing philosophy is to spend a lot of time having a lot of fun and picking up pleasant but not exactly earth-shattering winnings, then you should avoid progressives.
The second school of thought says that progressives are really the only true way to strike it super-rich. With odds similar to those of winning the lottery, it’s a long shot but playing progressives is a lot more fun. If you’re able to manage your bankroll properly, pace things, and not get too carried away, progressives do offer the chance for you to walk into the casino as a poor nobody and walk out a member of the millionaire’s club. And I mean, come on, there is a certain thrill to the prospect.
Beyond that, it’s not hard to find a large random jackpot worth tens of thousands of dollars. The real trick is that random jackpots like Achilles and Caesar’s Empire are actually won daily, while progressive jackpots can stick around for years.
10. Practice your strategy and play slots for free
Another thing you can find to spin things to your advantage (pun intended) is to find exciting online, free slots with free spins and try out a game, and hopefully, start building your bankroll for free. It’s an easy way to learn a game, plus a free chance to win.
Many bonuses come with free spins to use already, but there is often the chance to trigger bet multipliers and free spins during the bonus rounds in slot games. This can be achieved by lining up a certain combination of Scatter or Wild Symbols on the reels. Not all games have free spins, but you’ll get even more chances to hit a payout without dipping into your bankroll if you find any games that do.
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11. Betting slot machine tricks
“Bet Max” is what a regular gambler hears all the time when playing on slot machines. There is a common misconception that if you do not bet the maximum bet every time you will always lose to the casino in the long haul. However, that’s not quite how it works. This strategy can actually increase the odds for you on some specific machines.
Any seasoned slot enthusiast will tell you to stay away from the penny and nickel slot machines because the payouts are very poor. Fortunately, this isn’t really an issue for online slots. All you need to do is to choose whether to bet the minimum of maximum coins. You could spend hours wasting away in front of a nickel or penny slot only to find out that the jackpot you hit is not worth the effort. It isn’t half as rewarding as hitting it big on a machine that has higher bet minimums and larger jackpots or prize multipliers. Up the ante and avoid those $0.01-0.05 machines in order to win really big.
The truth is that on the great majority of slots, your chances at winning are absolutely the same whether you bet minimum or maximum. The difference is simple: the more you risk, the more you can win on a lucky spin. This is particularly true when it comes to online slots with special features and bonus rounds.
All slot machines have a set “volatility.” A high volatility slot machine doesn’t pay out as many wins, but when it does, the wins can be huge. In order to take advantage of the exponential size of the multipliers on these high volatility games, it can often be a good idea to bet high.
On the other hand, low and medium volatility slot machines pay out a large amount of smaller wins, and a few big ones. These machines are more about slow and steady winning the race, so you won’t feel the need to bet as high as you can to hit that one huge payout.
But what about those gigantic progressive jackpots? I mean, who doesn’t love the idea of becoming a millionaire in the blink of an eye? From everything I’ve been able to glean, there are two schools of thought on this one (yes, it’s a double-edged sword) depending on your playing philosophy.
High bets can also be beneficial when you’re playing a game like Fucanglong, which has incredibly powerful bonus features. When you trigger a Feature on any slots game, you get a number of Free Games to play at the value of your bet. So if you’re swinging big with $15 bets, and you hit a Feature like the Dragon Pearl … watch out baby, watch out.
12. Pay tables matter a lot!
It is very important to always check on the payout rates of every single slot machine you decide to play and most importantly, you must check on this before choosing a slot machine. Each slot machine has its own set-up with different payouts, and the outcome can really make a difference.
The paytables hold key information in slot games, such as the rules and features, plus the RTP (return to player percentage) or hit frequency. The RTP is the percentage you’re likely to get from playing a slot game over time, so if, for example, a slot had an RTP of 97%, this means for every $1 you spend, you’ll get an average of 0.97 cents back in winnings. Note that the RTP doesn’t mean you’ll get this amount back after every spin — it’s just how the winnings are calculated over the long term when playing a slot.
For online slots, the pay tables can be found under the help and rules menu of each game. Pay tables and the number of paylines can vary widely by game, so taking the time to do a bit of homework and select the games with the best pay tables, advantageous paylines, and most bonus features. This simple step can go a long way to making you a big winner.
13. Practice your strategy and play slots for free
There’s nothing like a test drive. One of the biggest perks about playing slot games online is the fact you can try them all out for free before putting any money on the line. Most online casinos offer you the chance to play for free before you switch to real money and CoolCat is no exception. CoolCat Casino has a free, no download, instant play feature that allows you to give your favorite slots (and many table and specialty games) free spins to your heart’s content.
This isn’t an option in land-based casinos, which is why we always encourage players to use freeplay mode if they aren’t too sure about how a slot works and want to get some experience before playing for real money. Give yourself time to build up your slot playing skills and switch to real money mode once you’re ready.
Simply put, this is an excellent way to study the pay tables, paylines, and bonus features of the slots that pique your interest before going for the gold with real money on the line. In all honesty, I spend a lot of time using the instant play function, especially when new games come out, sussing out the ones with the best bonus features likely to give me more bang for my buck. Create an account today and play for free.
14. Keep an eye out for even bigger bonuses
The best way to make your bankroll go farther is to take advantage of the huge promo offers that occasionally pop up. Sometimes it’s a seasonal thing, sometimes the casino is just ready to push a new offer, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you can sometimes snag some incredible deals.
One of the many incredible benefits of playing slots online or at a traditional brick and mortar casino is signing up for casino bonuses. The various bonuses that casinos offer will reward players with serious benefits, based on how frequently they play and how much they wager and deposit each time. These rewards can be substantial. So, if you’re going to spend your money gambling, why not utilize the bonuses when signing up? New players can expect excellent welcome bonuses simply for joining, and weekly promotions or holiday specials can keep players coming back.
The benefits become even greater if you take advantage of loyalty, club member, or VIP programs. They come in a variety of forms, such as bigger than normal match bonuses, free spins, and more. So make sure to look for ones that suit your style of play. Land-based casinos will offer “slots club” cards for instance, and keep track of the amount you play on slots every time you enter.
Playing online has various opportunities that will be beneficial to you and your pockets. Some casinos will even give you points back as cash, or extend certain offers revolving around birthdays, holidays, or special events. These on top of managing your budget properly will stretch your gambling buck even further. Be sure to be registered as a club card member, valued player or have signed up for bonuses before you take a spin on the slot machine. Even if you don’t win, you can still get credit for every time you play.
Promo offers can include bigger than normal match bonuses, free spins, and more. If you’re interested in receiving exclusive offers, sign up to hear about our latest bonus offers. Once a member of a casino like CoolCat, you will get regular bonus offers by mail as well as updates regarding special new game promotions, seasonal promotions, and weekly, sometimes daily promo offers. Rather than just playing with your $30 deposit, you’ll be able to turn that into an impressive bankroll with the help of some of the other offers that come around (remember, you should now know what to look for when picking your bonus).
15. Be mindful as you play
A sensible approach to playing any game is not to have too high expectations. Having this mindset will do nothing but set you up for disappointment from the very beginning and cause you to make hasty decisions that could leave you worse off than before you started. Smart gambling isn’t always about putting huge chunks of cash on the line; it’s about taking your time with a game, being strategic and precise with your bets, and utilizing bonuses wherever possible.
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In conclusion, these few, simple slot machine tricks can take a bit of the randomness out of random, increase your odds of winning and definitely help you have more fun over a longer period of time with you given bankroll. And heck, you never know, I guess that’s why we all love to play slots, you may walk away with a win so big your life will never be the same again! As far as I’m concerned, the thrill of that all too real possibility makes playing slots well worth the time.
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Some people might want to know how to find the payout percentage on a slot machine. Sadly, it’s not something that’s printed on most games — at least not here in the United States.
This post is for them.
Understanding this topic involves some rudimentary understanding of probability as it relates to casino gambling. You’ll need to understand three separate concepts thoroughly:
- Payback percentage
- House edge
- Return to player
This post explains each of those in enough detail that even a beginner should understand what they mean.
Some Basic Facts Related to Probability, the House Edge, Payback Percentage, and Return to Player
Probability is the branch of mathematics that deals with how likely an event is to happen. If you want to measure how likely you are to win a jackpot on a slot machine, probability is the way to figure that out.
But the word also refers directly to that likelihood.
In other words, if I say the probability of getting heads when I flip a coin is 50%, I’m not talking about that branch of mathematics. I’m talking about the actual statistical likelihood of that event.
You should understand a few things about probability in general.
Probability is always a number between 0 and 1. An event with a probability of 0 will never happen, and an event with a probability of 1 will always happen. The closer to 1 the probability is, the more likely the event is to happen.
Probability can be expressed multiple ways. It can be expressed as a fraction, a decimal, a percentage, or as odds. The probability of getting heads on a coin flip can be expressed as 1/2, 0.5, 50%, or 1 to 1.
An event’s probability is the number of ways it can happen divided by the total number of possible outcomes. When you’re discussing a coin toss, you have two possible outcomes. Only one of those is heads. That makes the probability 1/2.
The probability that an event will occur added to the probability that an event won’t occur always equals 1. Therefore, if you know the probability that something will happen, you also automatically know the probability that it won’t happen, and vice versa.
The house edge is a statistical measure of how much the house expects to win (on average, over the long run) from every bet you make on a game. The house edge is a theoretical number that accounts for the probability of winning versus the probability of losing AND the payout if you win.
All casino games carry a house edge. In the short run, it doesn’t matter much, but in the long run, it’s the most important thing.
If I say a game has a house edge of 4%, this means that over time, you should average a loss of $4 for every $100 you bet on the game. This is a long run statistical average, though. In the short run, you’re unlikely to see results that mirror the house edge.
The return to player and the payback percentage are the same thing. Some writers use one to refer to the statistical expectation and the other to refer to the actual results, but most writers use these terms interchangeably.
The payback percentage added to the house edge always equals 100%. The payback percentage is the amount of each bet that you get back, and the house edge is the amount of each bet that the casino wins. Again, these numbers are on average over the long run.
A game with a 4% house edge has a 96% payback percentage.
In the United States, slot machine payback percentages are impossible to calculate and not posted on gambling machines. To calculate the house edge or the payback percentage for a casino game, you need two pieces of data:
- The probability of winning
- The amount of money you’ll win (the payoff)
Slot machines include their payouts on their pay tables, but they don’t include the probability of achieving any of the winning outcomes.
In some countries, the payback percentage is posted on the machines, but not in the United States.
To make things even worse for a slot machine player, the random number generator program can be set differently even if the slot machine is identical to the one next to it. You could be playing The Big Lebowski slots at Choctaw Casino in Durant, Oklahoma, and your buddy could be playing the identical machine right next to you.
The payback percentage on his machine might be 94%, and the payback percentage on your machine might only be 88%.
The difference comes from how the probabilities are weighted for each symbol. On one game, the bars might show up 1/4 of the time, but on the next, they might only come up 1/8 of the time.
This has an obvious effect on the payback percentage.
The payback percentage would be easy to calculate if you knew the probabilities. The payback percentage is just the total expected value of all the possible outcomes on the machine.
Let’s assume you have 1000 possible reel combinations. Let’s also assume that if you got each of those in order, from 1 to 1000, you’d win 900 coins.
The payback percentage for that game would be 90%.
You’d put 1000 coins in, and you’d have 900 coins left after a statistically perfect sampling of 1000 spins.
If you knew the payback percentage and house edge for a slot machine game, you could predict your theoretical cost of playing that game per hour in the long run. You’d only need to multiply the numbers of bets you made per hour by the size of those bets. Then you’d multiply that by the house edge to get your predicted loss.
Most slots players make 600 spins per hour. Let’s assume you’re playing on a dollar machine and betting three coins on every spin, or $3 per spin. You’re putting $1,800 per hour into action.
If the slot machine had a 90% payback percentage, you’d lose $180 per hour on that machine. You’d have $1,800 at the start of the hour and $1,620 at the end of the hour — assuming you saw statistically predicted results.
In the real world, though, where you’d be seeing short-term results, you’d see some hours where you won and some hours where you lost. If you played long enough, the Law of Large Numbers would ensure that you’d eventually see the statistically predicted results.
But in the long run, the math will ensure that the casino will win a net profit.
How You Could Calculate a Payback Percentage Based on Actual Results
Of course, you have some data that you can directly observe when you’re playing slot machines.
But tracking this data and calculating the payback percentage on a specific session can add to your enjoyment of any slot machine game. It can make you more mindful because you’ll be paying more attention to what’s happening.
Here’s how to do it.
Start by tracking how many spins you’re making per hour. This is easy to do, but it takes more effort than you might think. It might help to get one of those clicky things people use to count stuff with. You will probably also need a stopwatch of some kind. I just use the timer function on my phone.
Make a note (mental is fine) of how much you’re betting per spin. It helps to bet the same amount.
Also note how much money you started with so that you can calculate how much you’ve won or lost. The slot machine will convert your money into credits. The easiest thing to do is to keep up with how many credits you had at the beginning of the session and again at the end of the session.
Now, let’s do the math using a hypothetical 45-minute session.
I made 300 spins in 45 minutes. I was betting $3 per spin, and I started with $600.
After my playing session, I had $500 left. At times I was up, and at times I was down.
But my net loss was $100. (My starting bankroll was $600, and I finished with $500.)
Over 300 spins, that means I lost an average per spin of 33 cents. $100 in losses divided by 300 spins is 33.33 cents per spin.
How much was I betting per spin?
Since I was playing a $1 machine, and my max bet was three coins, I was risking $3 per spin.
33 cents is 11% of $3, which means my actual loss was 11%. The machine paid back 89% for the session.
Does this mean that the payback percentage for the machine is 89%?
Probably not.
In the scheme of things, 450 spins is a small sample size. To have any confidence in your statistics, you really need to have at least 5,000 spins under your belt.
Even then, depending on how volatile the game is, your actual results might be wildly different from the mathematically expected payback percentage.
Here’s another example that will prove that point.
My friend Leo went to the Winstar last weekend and played the $5 slots. He started with $3,000, and when he left, he had $4,800, which means he had an $1,800 profit for the day.
He played for seven hours.
I’ve watched Leo play. He’s slow, but not much slower than average. He makes about 500 spins per hour.
This means that he made about 3,500 spins.
$1,800 in winnings divided by 3,500 spins is an average win of 51 cents per spin.
Since he was betting $5 per spin, his return was 10.3%.
His actual return for the trip on that slot machine was 110.3%.
I have friends who design slot machines for a living — more than one, in fact. They’ll be happy to tell anyone who asks that the algorithm is never set up to have a payback percentage of more than 100%.
What About the Casinos That Advertise a Specific Payback Percentage?
Some casinos advertise a specific payback percentage. This is almost always stated as an “up to” number.
So you might see an ad for a casino that says, “Payback percentages up to 98%!”
They’re almost certainly telling the truth, too. They probably have one slot machine in their casino that has a payback percentage of 98%. Of course, it isn’t labeled, so you don’t know which one it is.
And in the short run, which is what you’re going to be playing in as an individual gambler, there’s not much difference between a 98% payback percentage and a 92% payback percentage. You could walk away a winner or a loser at either setting.
Also, keep in mind that the games aren’t designed to tighten up after a win and loosen up after a lot of losing spins. That’s not how it works at all.
The machines are designed to allow you to win a certain specific percentage of the time because of the probability. Then there’s an average amount that you’ll win based on the payout for the specific combination of symbols that you hit.
But every spin of the reels on a slot machine is an independent event. You can hit a jackpot on a spin, and your probability of hitting the jackpot on the next spin hasn’t changed at all.
What About the Denominations and Location Reports I See Advertised on the Internet?
Buffalo Gold Slot Machines
You’ll find websites like Strictly Slots and American Casino Guide which post payback percentages for specific denominations and specific casinos. These are AVERAGES.
These averages have little bearing on the machine that you’re sitting in front of.
For example,
you might be looking at a casino that reports an average payback percentage of 94% on its dollar slot machines. That casino might have half their machines paying off at 90% and the other half paying off at 98%.
And you won’t be able to differentiate between the two because the hit ratio might be the same from one of those machines to another.
What Do Hit Ratio and Volatility Have to Do With It?
The hit ratio is the percentage of time that you can expect to hit a winning combination on a slot machine. Something like 30% isn’t unusual, but it can vary 10% or more in either direction. The casinos want you to a hit a winning combination often enough that you won’t lose interest in playing the game.
But hit ratio is only part of the equation. The average size of the prize amounts is also important. Volatility takes this into account. A game that hits less often but has higher average prize amounts might have the same payback percentage as a game that hits more often but with lower payouts.
Either way, in the short run, it will be all but impossible to discover this number, too.
If you wanted to, you could track how many spins resulted in wins for you and calculate the percentage, but you’re facing the same obstacle you are with the overall payback percentage of the machine.
You just don’t know what it’s programmed to accomplish in the long run.
Online Slot Machines
Some online casinos post the payback percentages for their slot machine games. I think this information is of limited use, but I also think it’s fairer to the gambler than not providing them with that information.
After all, table games are transparent. You can calculate the house edge for any casino table game there is because they all use random number generators with known quantities — cards, dice, and wheels.
There’s been a push to label food, both at the grocery store and at restaurants, with nutritional information that includes caloric amounts.
Requiring casinos to provide similar information about their gambling machines only makes sense.
We’ll see if it ever happens, though.
Buffalo Gold Slot Machine Wins
Conclusion
You can’t find the payout percentage on a slot machine — at least not in the United States.
I’ve heard that you can get this information on slot machines in Europe, but I’ve never seen an actual photograph of this kind of labeling.
You can, though, have some fun calculating actual payback percentages in the short run. This at least gives you something to keep track of while you’re playing slots, which is honestly one of the more mindless activities in the casino.