Bonus Games and Bonus Multipliers
March 19,
2010
Dear Mark: On
a slot machine that offers a "bonus," is
there any rule of thumb as to how long or
how much you should invest in that machine
if you have not been given a bonus? John M.
Most new machines today offer some
sort of bonus round which is usually
triggered by getting a certain combination
of symbols. But first, John, how about a
couple givens before I talk about bonus
machines and whether they are worth playing
at all.
Anytime you play
slots, know that you’re up against a
computer whose one and only purpose is to
guarantee a profit for the casino. Also, as
for “a rule of thumb” as to how long, or how
much, you should invest in a machine that
has not been bonus friendly, in essence, it
doesn’t matter, because the machine does not
arbitrarily predetermine what or when you
will win on the bonus round. Slot machines
operate randomly, so past performance is not
a guide to future performance. As to winning
or losing on any machine, the rear-view
mirror is not the place to look for your
destiny.
Now, let’s discuss
what bonuses are, a seductive carrot, and
what they are not, something-for-nothing.
Bonus games induce in players the
expectation they may get a little something
extra beyond what they are entitled to get,
but in reality, it’s more like you, the
rabbit, chasing an agile carrot. I use the
word chasing, John, because casinos know
these popular slot machines keep players
playing for longer periods of time in hopes
of reaching the bonus screen. Rumor has it,
the longer someone plays, the more money the
casino makes.
Which leads me
to, which tree does bonus money comes from?
It comes from the base game itself. There is
no secondary currency in reserve for
bonuses, so if a machine is programmed to
return 92 percent to the player, bonuses are
divvied out from that amount. But the return
on bonus machines can be far worse, with the
percentage being as high as 35-40 percent
coming from the base game for the bonus
feature. That means the amount of money the
machine is programmed to pay for winning
combinations outside the bonus feature
suffers dramatically.
Now that
doesn’t mean that a bonus machine can’t
offer a positive expectation on a
progressive like Wheel a Fortune when the
running tote shows a gazillion dollars, and
there’s no denying that they can be fun to
play, but dedicated slot players avoid these
attention-grabbing bonus games in general,
and stick to the traditional three reel game
like Double Diamonds, where there is no
bonus money taken out of the base game and
the player return is considerably higher.
Dear Mark: How do you
know when to play the full coin amount on a
slot machine? Ellen G.
Simply by eyeballing the pay table, Ellen,
and playing accordingly.
For
instance, with one coin inserted, if a
machine’s pay table shows payment of 1,000
coins for 7’s across, 2,000 for that second
coin, and 3,000 for three coins played, then
playing the full coin amount gains nothing.
Payment rate for coins played remains the
same. Such a machine is called a straight
multiplier, and you can play any amount of
coins.
If, however, the
machine operates like the multiplier except
that it offers a bonus when you play maximum
coins, you are playing on a bonus multiplier
and should play the full coin amount. For
example, collecting dust in my attic is a
Bally Mag 777 slot machine that with one
coin inserted pays 1,000 for 7’s across,
3,000 for two coins and 7,000 for that third
coin. This particular machine offers a bonus
for playing both the second and third coin
so it behooves you to play the full coin
amount, whenever you’re in my attic.
Gambling Wisdom of the
Week: "I think of how many
thousands of times I've played a slot
machine with nothing to show for it."
--Barry Meadow, Blackjack Autumn
