We continue to respond to comments left as part of a reel discussing the same bets and different denominations we posted with Brian Christopher on our Facebook and Instagram. Here’s another comment left disagreeing with Brian’s statement:
Very not true. Payouts are in alignment with several factors. Amount bet at the top. Not based on denomination you choose. $25 bet on 1 cent is seen as the same as a $25 bet on quarters. It’s about revolutions and other factors.
Dale C.
Here’s the problem – the vast majority of slot machines do not have any design that factors in the specific bet amount when it comes to the payback. But virtually all slot machines let casinos set payback by denomination, and so what you’re stating doesn’t hold up based on how slot machines are designed.
Casinos are generally given some number of payback options within a specific game, somewhere in a range of 85-98%. Casinos are also given the option to set the payback level for each denomination.
Some casinos will choose to set them basically the same at all denominations (these are the less generous casinos). So if you have a machine with 1 cent to 10 cent denominations, they’d all pay roughly the same over the long run. In that specific example, payback on any denomination would be similar over time, so there’d be no direct benefit to stepping up in denomination.
But some casinos do choose to increase the payback as the denomination increases. Kevin Sweet, a casino executive who used to oversee the slot floor at Cosmo, once shared an example on a message board where a game with four denominations would have higher payback on the top two denominations. The thinking is that higher denominations tend to get played at a higher overall bet amount, and so players should be rewarded for that.
More indirect proof can come from the publicly reported payback information, where multi-denomination machines tend to have a higher overall payback than single denomination machines at levels like 1 cent and 5 cent denomination.
The public data in virtually every casino market also shows a general trend upward in payback each time you step up in denomination. There’s the occasional exception, but it’s consistent enough for players to consider stepping up denominations when their budget allows, all else being equal.
So we tend to recommend the following stack from best to worst, presuming the same total bet amount:
- Higher limit variation of a particular slot
- Higher denomination choice on a lower limit variation
- Lower denomination on a lower limit variation
So on games like Dragon Link or Dancing Drums where you could bet the same amount as either minimum bet on a high denomination version, or mid to max bet on a low denomination version, the higher limit version is always the better choice because the expectation is the casino has that one at a higher overall payback.
Revolutions and “other factors” – well, we didn’t even get into it as there’s no other factor. Casinos select a payback option per denomination and that’s about all they can do. The random number generator does the rest of the work.
The array of outcomes that the slot can deliver, cumulatively added up, is how it reaches its payback over time – the idea is each outcome will come out about as often, given the randomness.
So, sorry Dale, but Brian’s right here – denomination does play an important part in long term payback, and the dollar amount bet almost not at all. There’s certainly exceptions based on a specific game’s rules – must bet X to qualify for a payout, for instance – but these are more the exception than the rule nowadays.
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