Ten Play Rule

January 28th, 2018 by

I have posted a few blogs related to Las Vegas, mainly places to stay (here & here) or how to get around. So I decided to post one related to an activity that takes place in Las Vegas. Gambling.

Being someone who goes to Las Vegas regularly, I do some gambling. I am a relatively conservative gambler, and I have studied gambling, gambling strategies, and practiced strategies. My own strategy evolved due to my studies and based on experience.

Machines in Las Vegas no longer consist of slot machines or video poker, there is usually a bank or two of basic slots and video poker in most casinos. As computer technology has evolved, so has the casino and casino games. These days gaming machines make up the major amount of casino gambling activity. Gaming machines are based on various themes. Either a known property or a generic property. One of my favorite machines to gamble at, the last time I was in Las Vegas, was a machine based on Game of Thrones. There are machines based on Walking Dead, 1970’s Wonder Woman Show, Sons of Anarchy, Orange is the New Black, and various other shows. No Whammy!

Gaming machines have a multi-level play structure. You can play only one line, but you will not get bonus games or various other events related to playing a certain number of lines. In order to get bonus games or special events, you have to play a certain number of lines, and each line costs a certain amount of money.

You go to a penny machine. No longer does a penny machine mean you gamble one penny every play. You can do this, but see above paragraph. Most penny machines have 45 lines. You have to gamble one penny per line minimum to get the bonus games or special events. The reason gaming machines have so many lines, it is part of the deception that keeps you playing until you have almost no money.

The gaming machines are designed to incrementally take your money from you, give you entertainment while doing it, and when you suddenly realize you have lost, you somehow had a lot of fun doing it. You spent dollars, and walk away with pennies in return. Literally.

When you gamble 45 cents, you could win 20 cents. The machine chimes and beeps and acts like you have won something, in reality you just lost 25 cents. If you keep playing with the amount of money you put into the machine, and keep gambling, you will eventually end up with a few pennies left over. You can play those pennies one line at a time or cash out. You have to cash out if you play a nickel machine. Nickel machines by the way only have nine lines. So you still gamble 45 cents and could win 20 cents or 22 cents.

Because of this bit of deceit on behalf of the casinos, I developed a hard and fast rule. 10 PLAYS ONLY!

This rule is based on win/lose binary concept. You flip a coin, heads you win, tails you lose. You can flip a coin ten times and come up with half a dozen heads, and four tails or any combination of heads and tails. The more heads, the more you win. The more tails, the more you loose.

Gaming machines work on a random number generator. The second you press a button to begin play, you have locked in whether you win or lose. The event that transpires on the screen is the result. You either win or lose. When you win 20 cents after gambling 45 cents you have lost. No matter how much the machine tries to make you feel like you have won. Because it is a win or lose proposition, your machine can be in a cycle of generating wins or losses. After ten plays, if you are down money, playing any more will not get back your lost money or move you into the positive. Debate all you want about things, based on my own experience, I have plenty of experience, the odds are, if you keep playing, you will turn dollars into pennies.

Because there are hundreds of machines in a casino, and if you are in Las Vegas, thousands, you can go from machine to machine and find one that is in a winning cycle. After ten plays chances are high the machine will not move into a winning cycle. Too many people waste good money thinking if they stay at the machine, they will win. Because the machines incrementally work down the money, with occasional not really a win wins, people will stay. Old style electronic based slot machine players use even less plays to decide if a machine is a winner or loser.

One major win does not equate to the machine being in a winning cycle. If you have won a major amount of money over your initial amount due to a jackpot or special event paying out large amounts of money, keep playing out however many plays in the ten play cycle are left, then add five more plays.

EXAMPLE: You play a machine and after six plays, the machine pays out enough money in a bonus game to double the initial amount you started with. You play the remaining four plays in your 10 play cycle, maybe add five more plays after.

The reason for playing out the remaining plays in the ten play cycle is the machine may be shifting to a winning cycle. This could be an opportunity to win more. If you walk away right after winning big, you could have walked away from more money. Five plays after will confirm if it is a winning machine or not. After the five plays, if you have not gained any more money, you walk away. If you won a major amount during the last play of your ten play cycle, five plays after will determine as well if the machine is going to pay more. I have even done a second ten play cycle after a major win on my last play. You might have a little less winnings, but you still have won.

If a machine is in a winning cycle, you will get multiple special events or large wins, not just small wins, though those will be numerous. A large win is a win that doubles your initial bet or more, but is not a jackpot or special event.

EXAMPLE: You bet 45 cents, and you win 90+ cents on a play. That is a large win. You might win 46+ cents on a play, and that is a small win. Small wins are also the reason I have the ten play rule. You could very well make a little money after 10 plays if the machine pays enough small wins.

With small wins, if you end up on the plus side after 10 plays, cash out and walk away is my advice. Unless you feel like playing 10 more times to possibly find out if the machine is a winner or not. Based on my own experience you will lose your winnings as well as a little more. The only time you might want to play ten more times after accumulating a positive sum after the first 10 play cycle is if you are enough above your initial amount to bring yourself back even with the initial amount.

EXAMPLE: You start out with $20 dollars, after 10 plays, you have $25 dollars. You can play ten more times at 45 cents a play and if you lose every play, you are near even to the initial $20 bet. If your money is increasing slowly after a second cycle of 10 plays, you can decide if you want to go for a third 10 play cycle.

In a ten play cycle if you have more loses than wins, you definitely want to walk away. Chances are even with a large win or some small wins, you will not get back the money you played. Remember you will probably be playing 45 cents a spin. Ten spins equals $4.50. Winning 90 cents on the third spin even though you lost only 40¢ total on the first two might not mean you are going to break even. If you break even after 10 plays, walk away. Do not go for another 10 plays. Even is a lose.

If you are using a slot club card, like I do, the only real drawback to my 10 play cycle is I do not incur points on the slot club card quickly. Most casinos set a value of $20 or $25 dollars a point. Many slot clubs now keep track of money bet, and you do not lose that bet money if you stop playing at one machine and move to another machine. Check with the slot club people to make sure. This is why I do not incur points very quickly. Slot club play is geared toward someone sitting at one machine and playing an extensive amount of time or at least long enough to earn a point. Unless the machine is a winning machine I walk away after 10 plays so I am usually betting only $4.50.

Thanks for stopping by.