The Loser's Guide to Slots

You may think that slots is such a simple game that all you have to do is drop in a couple of coins, give the lever a good yank, watch the reels spin and hopefully wait for your turn to win the pot. Although that is pretty much a good description of the game of slots, you need to know a bit more than that if you're one of those teary-eyed guys who always say "I never win at slots."

First of all, you need to choose the slot machine that is right for you. Sure, they all look and sound the same, but there are several slot machine variations, like multi-line, single-line, five-reel, three-reel, video slot, bonus slot, progressive slot, and a host of others. Given these many variations, the most sensible thing for you to do is to see which of those many variations will match your bankroll. If you have $300 to play with, then you can afford a dollar slots. But if you have only $20 or $30, then perhaps you should stick with quarter or nickel slots to get the most spins for your money. After all, the payout for these denominations is not bad.

Secondly, inserting your money into the slot machine is not that simple. Believe it or not, many slots players have never gotten over the experience of hitting on the winning combination in progressive slots only to find out later that they won't even be able to see a dime of the million dollar jackpot because they did not play the maximum amount of coins. Never play in progressive slots unless you're willing to play the maximum coins. In traditional slots, you can play single coin to stretch your budget, but if you hit a winning combination, the payout will be much smaller.

Thirdly, spinning the reels often times determine how long you'd be playing on the slots floor. Some players just love to see the reels spin and wait for these to stop, so they use the slot machine's auto spin feature that spins the reels a certain number of times when fed with a specified amount of coins. Others prefer to push the spin button while some love to give the old one-armed bandit's arm a good yank to spin the reels just like they used to in the old days. But not many players are aware that this old fashioned way of spinning the reels slows down their play and consequently strengthens their staying power on the casino slots floor.

Lastly, when you play slots remember to always play for fun. This is not to say that you should resign yourself to losing because the slot machine's random number generator is so unpredictable that your play could turn out either way. If you win, that's a bonus for the fun but if you lose, that's your entertainment expense.