When Brian Christopher bets big, sometimes players notice that some of the wins don’t quite reach the same mark. Take this example, left as a comment on a recent video:
A $2.50 win on a $25.00 bet. Have the game manufacturers lost their minds? Sherry S.
Sherry S.
No, they haven’t, and this isn’t unusual. This would be the same as getting 5 cents back on a 50 cent bet. And this isn’t unusual on a single line on a lower paying symbol on many slots.
Back when slots used to have less lines, it would be unusual to have a win that was much less than the bet – many times the bet sizes were 2 or 3 credits, and you can’t pay fractions of a credit. But as the amount bet was spread across an increasing number of lines, or on any combination for all ways pays, the concept of a false win wasn’t unusual to see.
A false win is one where you “win” but you get less than your bet back. This becomes more possible when you have 40-50 lines and maybe you only win on a couple of them. So scale that up to higher bets and it’s not unusual to see on higher bets either.
But they do play a part in smoothing out a game. All the wins can’t be big, or there wouldn’t be that many of them and players would go many spins without seeing one. Smaller wins help balance things out, make the game feel a bit more complete, and do still provide some help to your balance than if you never won anything but the occasional big win.
So while on the surface it does feel a bit weird, there’s a purpose to those smaller wins, and it’s not because manufacturers aren’t paying attention – if anything, slots are overly analyzed and tested to strike a balance that will be appealing to players.
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