We’ve talked about how stopping the reels doesn’t change anything when it comes to the chances of a slot machine. But what about the money count ups?
Is it better to let the wins (bonus or line hits).. play through or just hit the button to continue on faster?
Denise
This is another neutral thing from an odds perspective. You may be changing your timing, but you won’t know if that timing change is good, bad or indifferent.
However, speeding up the count-ups has another effect – it makes the next spin happen sooner. And as you do more spins, you’re putting more money at risk against the house edge of the game. The casino is more likely to win, and win more, the more spins you complete.
So casinos love this and most games will let you move past the count up quickly. Ainsworth games in many cases will even move on to the next spin if you hit the button – why waste time?
A study done about a decade ago by a slot manufacturer looked at the ways slots were evolving. Key changes included higher volatility, higher bets, but also faster spins. Being able to speed up how long it takes for a spin to complete means the next spin can happen sooner.
Other changes are shaving time off in other ways too. For instance, Light & Wonder has games with new count-up music that’s much faster than some of the music they’ve had in the past, so the game will be set for the next spin that much faster.
More games are dispensing with the end of bonus count-up in favor of just having the balance sitting in the display at the bottom. We noticed this on Quick Hit Link, a new Light & Wonder game. IGT added speed settings to some of its slots (it’s had this on Video Poker for some time) to allow slot spins to come to a stop faster without having to hit the button.
All of these things allow you to get to the point quicker, but for the bean counters it also helps increase how much money is wagered on a slot, making it perform that much better for the casino.
So, is hitting the button to speed up a count-up going to hurt you? No, but over time that additional money you’re betting could make it harder to leave the casino with a profit, or even some of your bankroll, simply by putting more money at risk in a given visit.
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