As in any game of chance, there are plenty of rumors floating around that promise to be the key to certain victory over the slots. Here are a few of the most pervasive slot machine myths.
11-3-Fact-vs-Fiction-Yellow
Machines run hot or cold. This is untrue, as each spin of the machine is completely randomized and takes no bearing from any spin before it. Each round, you have an equal likelihood of winning and losing. So there is really no such thing as a “cold” machine that is likely to keep losing or a “hot” machine that will keep paying out.
Change machines after a jackpot – it’s not going to hit again for a while. This myth is similar to the last one, though incredibly pervasive. Again, because each spin is randomized, you have the exact same chances of winning each time you spin, regardless of how recently the machine last paid out.
Each machine is programmed to pay out set percentage of money bet, so after it hits a jackpot, it is going to pay out a smaller amount for the rest of the day. There is no such percentage – each machine has set odds that do not change regardless of past payouts.
There is a cycle of payoffs that each machine goes through – therefore, after it is completed, it will repeat the same pattern. Just as there was no percentage, there is no cycle. Each spin is random.
Sitting down at machines in high traffic areas – those by the doors or aisles – are the loosest slots in the casino, and will pay off better than machines in corners or in the middle of a bank. The reason behind this extremely pervasive myth is that the casinos want its customers to see people winning to encourage more players. However, it simply isn’t true that you’ll get a better payoff at a machine near the casino’s entrance.
Going into a casino during off-hours or slower days will give you better odds than you would get when the casinos are usually crowded. First of all, it’s just not that simple to change the programming on a slot machine manually. Usually, they need to have a chip manually replaced, which requires physically opening the slot machine. While, there are new slot machines that can be changed remotely, they are very rare, require specific circumstances to be legally changed and will display a notice after they’ve been serviced. Basically, the time of day you visit will have no effect on your odds of winning.