Sometimes, because of the way a slot machine is designed, it will tell you something before it happens. This is something we call Slot Machine Tells (clever, right)?
Sometimes, the tells are intentional, such as the shaky shaky. Sometimes, the tells seem a bit less intentional, but because of the way the game was designed, they can give away that something’s happening due to the way they are constructed.
So, with the concept of Slot Machine Tells established, periodically we’ll share ones we’ve tripped across or are aware of. Let’s begin with a popular game, and one we see less often but has a tell we recently spotted.
Mystery of the Lamp
We’ve been writing about Mystery of the Lamp a lot lately, and no wonder – it’s one of the games players ask us about a lot. And it’s also one where a Slot Machine Tell exists.
In fact, Brian Christopher mentions the tell in the above video, but then forgot to tell the tell – that’s one of the reasons why we’re writing this piece today, in fact :)
On this game, when a gem lands, it flies up to the pot. The pots can sometimes explode, indicating a bonus, but it usually takes a moment for that to happen. Of course, often the pots don’t explode, and they can try to throw a player off by growing instead.
But the surefire way to know if a bonus is coming before the pot explodes is if the gem moves after it lands. The way you know it’s triggered a bonus is the gem will zoom in, then back out. You can see it in the clip we included above.
UPDATE June 12, 2024: After some players reported that they were not seeing this happen on some machines, we checked with IGT and confirmed an update was made to the game. We aren’t sure if it’s a setting, or if it was just removed altogether, but this would explain why some machines are no longer offering this. We would anticipate the series’ new themes to similarly do away with it or be optional, depending on how it was updated.
Butterfly Rise
We don’t play this one often, but on our most recent session we discovered a small tell about this AGS game.
In it, butterflies can appear on the reels and are linked to triggering the bonus. Getting 6 guarantee a bonus, and getting 1-5 can trigger a bonus.
One way you know this is that it displays language about it above the reels. But the tell is around that language. It only appears on spins where butterflies are going to land. And it appears right as the spin starts, so it basically gives away that there will be butterflies.
The first time we noticed it, the intentional shaky shaky tell appeared right after we noticed what was happening with the language, and six landed for a bonus. They’ll appear if less than six land, which doesn’t guarantee a bonus, but you’ll know upfront if butterflies are even in play.
Hi!
I am a fan of your videos and love the challenges you explore. I have a question for you and I’m not sure you’ve already trialed this or not but here goes: Do you get quicker and better bonuses when you start a game with a $100 bill vs a twenty dollar start? My impression is I seem to do better on a slot machine if I start with the $100 bill.
Btw, my husband and I met you a few years ago when you were at Seneca Niagara Casino!
Thanks for the question Kathy! This post is just for you:
https://fliptheswitch.com/does-putting-in-a-bigger-bill-yield-better-bonuses/
I watch your videos all the time. I often wonder if you ever get tired of slots. My husband loved them. He could play for hours and hours. I guess I wonder if it ever becomes a “job” for you. Your videos look like you are always having fun but I would worry about the money all the time and it would be hard with those big bets to have fun.
Thanks for your question! Brian answered it as part of a recent blog post:
https://fliptheswitch.com/brian-christopher-on-big-win-goals-cruise-casinos-security/