Stretching Hour Money At The Slots

Machines that display a higher paytable usually have a greater number of symbols on each reel. For example, the older, three-reel slot machines have 20 symbols with 8,000 possible combinations (20 x 20 x 20), which means your odds of hitting the jackpot are 1 in 8,000. Likewise, a four-reel machine has odds of 1 in 160,000. The odds increase even more dramatically on a five-reel video machine: With 20 symbols, your chances of hitting the highest jackpot are about 1 in 3 million!
Having more reels and symbols doesn’t necessarily make a machine any better or any worse. It just creates more potential combinations. You hit the jackpot more frequently on the three-reel machines, but the amount of money you win is typically much less than a jackpot on a five-reel machine. So which type of machine should you play? In the long run, it hardly matters. The casino has a sizeable edge over you on every slot machine in the house.
With literally hundreds of machine choices, perhaps the most difficult decision is which one to play. You want to choose the game that offers the highest theoretical return. Unfortunately, finding the best machine in a sea of slots can be a difficult task - and a bit like comparing apples to oranges. For example, one machine may pay 5,000 coins for its jackpot while another pays only 1,000. But the jackpots are only part of the equation: Your total return also depends on the other winning combinations and how frequently they hit.
Although you can’t do much to change the odds of hitting the jackpot, you can take steps to extend your gambling bankroll. Think of it this way: When you make your money last longer, you’re maximizing the value of your entertainment dollar at the slots. This section helps make your slot experience more memorable by explaining what you can do to make your money last longer.