
Some games, like Dancing Drums, give you a choice of bonus when you trigger one. How does that choice factor into the final outcome?
Dancing Drum slot machine, When you get the bonus of 3 or 4 drums and you have options of how many spins, does it really matter which one you pick ? Or is the outcome the same?
Shirley W.
Yes, your pick absolutely matters in cases like this, and here’s why.
In the long term, each of these bonus options will eventually even out to the same payback percentage. But in the short term, a single bonus can go in all sorts of directions.
When you pick the 3×5 with 15 spins, you’re picking the least volatile choice. You’re basically asking for a smoother ride – more hits, smaller hits, over the course of more spins.
As you start to move to the 5 or 3 spin choice, you’re swinging for the fences – you’re trying to get a really big hit in a few spins, which as we all know may or may not happen.
And mystery is the most wild ride of all – you don’t even know how tall the reels will be or how many spins you’ll get – it could be better or worse than the baseline choices.
In a single bonus, those mystery bonuses could be massive – or microscopic. The choice on an individual bonus comes down to risk appetite – how risky do you want to go for a big win? If you’re getting beat up, do you want to take a chance at a massive comeback, or improve the chances of some payback so you can get back in the game? If you’re ahead, do you want to take a risk, or just pocket some more wins in a smoother fashion?
Some people wonder if the payout will be the same, regardless of the bonus chosen, and to that, the answer is no – on a traditional slot machine, the random number generator is at work, so it is random outcomes being selected based on your choice.
Given lots and lots of bonuses, your pick won’t matter over the long term. But most of us only get one or a handful of bonuses in a single session, so those picks matter a lot more on an individual basis.
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