A couple of days ago we shared Brian Christopher’s new high water mark in terms of a casino win on a single wager. In the video, he promised that he would play a higher bet if successful, which he clearly was.
The next day, Brian was back at Super Hot Flaming Pots, betting max bet:
Lightning didn’t strike twice, and Brian lost the $10,000 stake in that video. As a comment on that video, someone asked about the idea of a “take mode” on a slot machine:
“Machine was in take mode because you hit that Grand. Prove me wrong.”
Mike W.
The concept of “take mode” is no different than the concept of hot/cold slots or loose/tight ones. They’re generally an opinion formed by a player based on a small window of time based on what happened, vs. what can or will happen, or even what is happening.
The House Edge Ensures No ‘Take Mode’ on a Slot is Needed
First, it’s important to remember that slots have a built in house advantage by default. That house advantage includes the ability to pay those big progressive jackpots, such as the Grand in Brian’s case.
When players are playing and don’t win the progressive, they’re expected payback is lower because only one person will win the 1-2% of overall payback that Grand is accumulating for however long.
So a game set to 90%, for instance, might really be 89% for the most part, because that progressive jackpot is out of reach for most of us. While the average will be 90%, one player will win significantly above, and most of us a bit below.
So slots don’t need to have a take mode – the house edge takes care of that issue.
Gaming Regulations Don’t Allow It
But for a more formal answer, a quick look at how a slot machine is required to work will confirm a ‘take mode’ would violate gaming regulations, and games designed with such a feature wouldn’t be approved to appear on casino floors.
Here’s an example of a regulation from Pennsylvania. It’s typical of what’s found in slot machine regulations in jurisdictions all over the United States:
Each possible slot machine combination which produces winning or losing slot machine outcomes must be available for random selection at the initiation of each play. Pennsylvania Gaming Regulations
Regulations like this define what are known as independent events. Each spin must be independent events of each other, meaning what happened on the previous spin cannot influence what happens on the spin or spins that come after.
By having any outcome be available for random selection at the initiation of each play, this means you can get a bonus back to back. You can even, however remotely the odds, win the Grand on back to back spins.
That forbids a notion of a ‘Take Mode’ to offer losing outcomes right after a really big winning one. The built in house edge instead will ensure the casino makes money over time.
What Really Happened
Moving to a $390 bet and a $10,000 stake means about 40 spins to get a bonus. Super Hot Flaming Pots is not a game known for its generous line hits, so all of the real oomph is in the bonus. No bonus, no success.
This game can easily go 40-50 spins without a bonus, regardless of whether a Grand was won just before or not. Brian even commented on how tough the game can be at the start of the very video where he won the Grand.
Take Mode is an excuse made up by players looking for a bogeyman to blame. Slots are plenty profitable just with the house edge they have, without needing to do anything else. If you don’t trust them, you probably shouldn’t play them.
