Regular viewers know that I often choose higher denomination machines when I play slots. A recent player inquiry wonders why:
I don’t understand when you play say $100 and you can choose 1 cent vs 10 cent. How does that work out? It seems Brian always chooses a high cent. Thank you.
Debbie B.
Thanks for the question Debbie! First, let’s review what a denomination is – it’s simply what a credit in a machine is worth. So if the machine’s denomination is 1 cent, a credit is worth 1 cent, and a $100 bill in the machine gives me 10,000 credits. But if the denomination is 10 cents, that’s what a credit is worth, and $100 in the machine gives me 1,000 credits.
Your wager on a slot machine is always defined in credits. So if 75 credits is required as the minimum bet on a 1 cent slot machine, that’s 75 cents. If you switch to 10 cents, the minimum bet might only be 50 credits, but because each credit is worth 10 cents, $5.00 is the minimum bet on that denomination.
I choose higher denominations for a couple of reasons. The first is because I tend to prefer to do bigger bets than most 1 cent denomination games offer. A 1 cent denomination max bet might be $5 or $10, whereas with dime denomination it can get closer to $50 a spin. There are exceptions, such as Tiger and Dragon, which goes up to $30 a spin on 1 cent denomination, but that tends to be rare (at least for now).
While I might not always do $50 a spin, I often do more than $10 a spin (I’d say $25 a spin is my most comfortable bet nowadays), so going up in denomination on multi-denomination machines unlocks that potential for me. I will sometimes skip slots that don’t have multiple denominations if they’re fixed to a penny denomination and a max bet that’s lower than I enjoy playing (unless I’m doing some fast spinning to try to get a bonus).
The other reason, and most importantly, is historically, casinos have offered better paybacks as you move up in denomination. That’s because the range of bets available mean you’re going to likely bet more per spin at 10 cent denomination vs. 1 cent denomination. If I can’t bet more than $5 on 1 cent denomination, but the least I can bet is $5 on 10 cent denomination, that average bet level goes up, and casinos generally reward that over time with a slightly higher payback percentage.
Many jurisdictions publish payback reporting, and it’s pretty consistent from one market to the next that you’ll see a bit of a step up with each denomination increase. So, another benefit for someone like myself that plays a lot is that I will generally see a better payback percentage over the long term, meaning for the same amount of wagers on one denomination vs. another, I should see a little bit less in losses at the higher denomination.
Now, this doesn’t mean every player should play high denomination slots – if your entertainment budget puts them out of reach, you shouldn’t bet bigger just because of a slightly higher payback – you could easily run out of money before you get to a bonus because you’re betting more than your bankroll can afford. This is why I always tell players to only bet what you can afford to lose, aka play with an entertainment budget, and to keep it fun to ensure your bets fit your bankroll.
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