For certain bet levels, some casinos will have slot machines that achieve that level both within and outside the high limit room. So a player asks:
Are the odds of winning better in the high limit room compared to the rest of the casino when playing with a lower bet such as $5 to $10?
Lisa A.
Generally speaking, it’s less important where the machine is located, and more important the denomination on which you’re playing.
When looking at the publicly reported payback information many casinos provide, one consistent aspect when looking at the data is payback percentages almost always increase as the denomination increases. Each step might be a percentage point or so, but when you compare a one penny denomination machine to a one dollar one, the difference becomes more compelling.
So, if you compare a penny denomination machine where you can do a $5 or $10 bet, vs. a high limit machine in the high limit room where you can do a $5 or $10 bet on a quarter or dollar denomination, you’ll see a pretty big difference over the long run.
Of course, “the long run” is the key words here – you could hit a jackpot on the penny denomination machine, and lose your shirt on the dollar denomination machine, within a single session. Slots are sufficiently volatile to ensure a single session can go in any direction. But play these machines long enough, and it’ll slowly average out that the higher denomination machines will treat you better in the long run.
That’s why we tend to advise players to mix in higher denomination play whenever it makes sense for your budget, and what you want to play. A higher payback percentage won’t guarantee a win – it’s designed to make money for the casino, after all. But a higher payback percentage can mean losing less over time, or making your casino budget last longer, and that can be a real value for players seeking out gambling as a form of entertainment.
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