Slot machine advantage play

[lazydeuce]

Alpax, Keep an eye out for S&H Greenstamps machines and Golden Monkey machines. Play the Stamps at 500 stamps already accumulated, or greater, and always opt for the free spins when you fill the entire book of 1200 stamps.

NOTE: The higher the amount of your bet the more the stamps are worth when they appear on the reels during play. For instance, when you double your bet, the stamps will accrue at double the rate.
A nice feature of Green Stamps machines is that the free-spins awarded are always awarded as max-bet free spins, whether you bet 1 penny per spin or $2.50 during your normal play.
The free spins have a value of $2.50 each and you'll get 5 spins per entire book of 1200 stamps filled, up to 25 free spins for all 5 books. But, you'll mostly be playing for just 5 free spins because most gamblers will leave the machine only partially filling just the first book before leaving the machine.

Another Note: When it's decision time to opt for the free spins, you'll need to look at the screen above the reels....or the screen which shows the green stamp accumulation.
And, when it's time to cash-out you'll also have to look to that above screen to make the decision to cash-out or keep playing. This confuses many people. I can't tell you how any times I've helped players trying to cash-out by pointing them to the top screen.

As far as the Golden Monkey machines....Max-bet at 2 steps accumulated or greater, with one exception...Do not play if only 3 steps are accumulated.
A Golden Monkey appearing on the very last reel adds another step, but only on a max-bet of either $1.25 on penny machines or 2.50 on 2-cent machines.

The reason that 3 steps is a borderline bad play is that you'd need to accumulate 3 more steps to reach your next decision point, which is at 6 steps. The 6-step decision point will offer you the choice to keep saving or take 2500 credits. Always take the credits.
When you find the game with 2 steps accumulated, the next decision point is the 3rd step, which will offer either 1200 credits or the option to keep saving. When you find a game with 3 steps accumulated, the previous player opted to keep saving and then quit the game shortly after.....which is a bad misplay usually done by a novice gambler.
Also, accumulated steps are lighted-up in a tan color with an upward-facing arrow within the step.
The game has 10 steps in total.....and if you find one with 6 or better steps, then you'll want to go for all 10 steps and play for 1 out of the 5 progressive awards, which range from $20.00+ thru $1000.00+ on penny machines or $40.00 thru $2000.00 on 2-cent machines.
NOTE: The bonus round of 15 free spins can be quite lucrative, especially if you catch a multiplier with the spins. Good luck, and let me know your results.

[alpax]

I have seen both S&H and Golden Monkey games at a different casino, San Manuel Indian Bingo and Casino. Located in Highland, CAI got bad luck with the S&H game, if I remember correctly one time I spent a lot to get 15 spins worth, came out very little. I've seen people get the top line hit with just the standard 5 spins.I have not been there for two years, but for sure I've played on those the last time I was there. Their machines are tighter in terms of payout compared to the other 2 local places, so I've avoided there. They have a ton of slots, not sure if those games are there anymore. I do not plan on making a visit there anytime soon unless something comes up.

[lazydeuce]

All banking machines, including S&H Green Stamps, generally play more negatively than non-banking machines......because the banking feature accounts for a good chunk of the payback percentage. The key is to play them at the right starting point...and then quit when the banking feature is exhausted.

[alpax]

Ideally I usually played S&H game until I collected enough stamps to at least get 5 free spins, but once you are nearing that amount, I notice the stamps hardly come out. I do know that increasing bet will get you more stamps, but that did not matter either. I had one or two decent wins, but I've seen people win hundreds of dollars on that bonus round, the base game does not pay well without the multipliers offered in the bonus round. Not many people forfeited their existing stamps, so I always start collecting them from an empty status.

In general, I've been unlucky with the game for about the three months I've tried. If I ever go back to San Manuel, I'll look for that game again. Their slots are noticeably tighter, there is a SlotsBoom user who posts videos on Youtube with various live slot play from San Manuel, but I am sure the person lost a significant amount that makes those wins meaningless.

[olds442jetaway]

The only slots I have had any luck on are the penny machines that have the select line and amount per line option. I think most were from the 1990's, but there are still some around. I would start with 3 lines at 1 cent per line. After losing 5 or 10 times in a row which is very common, I would go to 4 lines or 4 cents and wait again for the losses. Then start at 5 lines and so on. When I would get to the max lines which on some machines is 20, I would go to say 10 lines and 2 cents per line. Eventually, I would hit something pretty good and cash out. Sometimes making 10 bucks for the twenty put in. I find that if you don't cash out however when you are ahead, they will go into horrible dud cycles and eat up that twenty like a stray dog that you just gave some food to. Fun once in awhile for a diversion. I use them to get a few bucks for tips.

[alpax]

Your martingale style of play applies to everything olds! I read a while back on the American Casino Guide that to get the most optimal EV out of a slot machine that does not have the best long run EV to begin with, is to bet the maximum number of lines (now and days there would be 100 lines) at 1 times the bet. When winning combinations land on a line you did not purchase, it would have a detrimental affect to the return. So it is similar to video poker, except you have to wager 5 folds the denomination to get the royal flush bonus. Slots require the MAX bet to qualify for any running progressives.

[alpax]

   Alpax, I've looked at some of those and saw no advantage.....but it bodes well for you that the Morongo seems to like Spielo brand machines.

I'm wondering if you might tell me more about the Reel Edge games(Blood Life and Falling Stars). How many games, the denomination, etc.?

Also, how many trigger tiles, wild-stays and cash eruptions?



I was at Pechanga casino today, and I spotted a bank of 6 Spielo games all different.

The Jungle Wild Tiles, Icarus the Great, Alexander of Macadonia, Jackpot Blast, Icarus the journey, Wild Unicorn

I did not have much time to look at the entire casino floor, because the casino is too big.

They do have an infomercial about the ReelEdge games, I do not know if they still exist there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oay78ONwRhk

The slot club return is 0.10%, if you wish to also play VP, it is best to play here. Otherwise Morongo has a great slot club return at 0.33% if you do not care about playing VP at the same time.

[lazydeuce]

Thanks, Alpax. The next time I take a trip to Las Vegas, I'll have to incorporate a road trip through southern California.

Keep your eyes open for Sinbad(by Aruze). If scanning from a distance, look for a huge screen with lots of yellow. It's a fun game with plenty going on. You'll get into a small bonus round every 8-9 spins or so, but most of the payouts are expectedly small(average of maybe 3,4X the bet).
It also has a banking feature......look for how far along the journey Sinbad is, both by the number of steps remaining and a corresponding vertical bar meter on the sides of the screen. Play at around 25 steps to go or less.
Another thing which makes this game a play would be if 2 out of the 3 fighting challenges have been won(this is shown on the screen)....AND the one remaining challenge can be seen in the near future on the upcoming steps. The player can see several steps ahead on this game, to see what is coming up. You can give this game even more leeway if 2 out of the 3 won challenges includes the gargoyle, because the gargoyle is the hardest to kill(20% chance or so, while the other 2 are about 50%). Good luck.

[alpax]

I'll keep an eye for the Sinbad game, I might go to the casino this weekend.

I know for sure there are some Aruze games at both of the local casinos I go to. I think Rich Life was at Morongo at one point but is now gone. I distinctly remember since people did not like how loud it was, can be heard half-way through the casino, those slot technicians said it was not possible to lower the volume.

Not entirely sure, but looking at the website, Rich Life might have played similar to the Sinbad game you are referring to.

[Vman96]

Most Aruze games are loud as hell. Now I have the words "Paradise Fishing by Ah-Roo-Zay!" in my head now. Constantly yelling at you every 15 seconds when it's idle.