In previous articles and shorts, like this recent reel, I share that playing a higher denomination is better because of the long term payback benefit. This reader had a follow-up question:
Question, so if max bet on penny or 2c is 5-10 dollars, and min bet on 10c-1 dollar denom is 5-10 dollars.. you’re choosing the higher denom in hopes you land a progressive? I feel like when I get bonus’ on max bet on lower denoms.. my bonus pays waaaaay higher than the min bet higher denom. If i min bet higher denoms and get a bonus, I usually get tiny balls like 1x-2x bet sized balls and rarely see a word.. and there’s less lines involved on higher denoms. I swear I’ve heard opposite advice before haha, will the goat reply!?
Joe H.
So a couple of things are going on here. The first is I’m not choosing a higher denomination to get a progressive. That’s because progressive chances are generally based on bet size, not denomination. So if you’re doing the same bet size on different denominations, your chances of winning it are the same, because your overall bet size is the same.
So let’s look at the non-progressive prizes. The Mini and Minor can generally work one of two ways. The first is the Dragon Link/Lightning Link model, in which the prize stays the same at all bet levels within a denomination.
So on penny denomination, Mini would be $10 and Minor $50. But max bet is $5. So a Mini at max bet is 2x your bet – of course they’d show up a lot! A bunch of Minis are a bunch of 2x prizes. So your example of higher denoms and 1x-2x balls is being borne out at a $5 1 cent bet with a bunch of mini balls… which are 2x. This is an example of a way slot makers want you to get excited about a ho-hum win.
So now we do the same $5 bet at dimes, and that Mini becomes $100 and the Minor $500 – much more exciting! But now the Mini is a 20x prize. So it would not come out as often for that reason.
On the Lightning Link/Dragon Link model, Mini and Minor are just substitutions of words for what would be credit prizes. They’re not actual prizes to win, and are just there to create excitement for a prize that would’ve been listed there either way.
The reason you hear the opposite advice is people think playing higher denomination means chasing a bigger Mini/Minor. But they don’t factor in the concept that the odds of winning them goes down. Winning a 2x prize on a slot will always be easier than winning a 20x one, and that goes for the Mini and Minor as well.
The other model for these static prizes is best seen on games like All Aboard or Devil’s Lock. The value of the Mini, Minor, etc. change with your bet amount. But the prizes are the same when the bet is the same, regardless of denomination. So a $5 bet on All Aboard would yield a $60 Mini value, regardless of which denomination you’re playing.
In that way, the Mini has a purpose within the payout structure, but your denomination doesn’t make it any more or less likely to win. That’s because the prize size is always the same as a proportion to your bet, so the odds of winning it remain the same regardless of bet level.
So, no, progressives and Mini/Minors are not why I go to higher denomination. I go to a higher denomination because, on average, higher denominations on slots pay out better than lower denomination ones. It’s not because of progressives, but because casinos often set higher denomination games to a higher payback percentage that leads to a better outcome over time.
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