Casino Comps
Comps, or complimentaries, are the ‘freebies’ casinos offer players. A land based casino may offer you free rooms or meals, or even free play at the tables or slots in return for your patronage. An online casino usually offers cash back, with or without wagering requirements, or an exclusive bonus.
Why Casinos give Comps
Do they do this because they love you? Sorry… it might feel like it if the host is very good at their job, but they really do it to keep your business - to keep you playing at a particular establishment. Now we knopw their motive, let’s examine ours… to get the best comps available for our style and level of play; on land or online.
For the ‘Whale’ or heavy bettor, it’s a no-brainer… just bet big and someone will pay attention to you. They’ll give you jet rides to tournaments, offer you the grandest suite in the house, and cater to your every want and need - onland. Online, you’ll need to draw some attention to yourself before you deposit… but let’s leave the one percenters to take care of themselves, eh?
Casino Players Club key to Comps
Rule number one for gamblers in a land casino… join the player’s club! Go to the information kiosk, any casino employee will point you to it. Sign up and most importantly use your player’s card for every bet you make! A player’s card is like a credit card and it records all of your wagering. SImply insert it in the video poker or slot machine before you start to play at and take it with you when you are done at that machine. All casinos will give you a stretchy cord to clip between your card and a beltloop or even around your wrist so you never leave the card behind.
Many superstitious players will not use the card, imagining that the casino is tracking their play to steal from them when they are winning. If you think casinos cheat, it’s time to stop gambling! Every wager recorded on the card is earning the player comps, if they don’t use the card they are only short-changing themselves.
Casinos don’t need to cheat, they have something called the house edge, or house advantage. This simply means that they will make money off of most gamblers most of the time. Take the American Roulette wheel for example. In its simplest form it is red or black/odd or even… but wait.. what’s that green area up top, the zero and double zero? You guessed it, the house edge! There 18 possibilities to hit red, 18 possibilities to hit black… it’s not a 50/50 proposition because there are two possibilities to hit green and all red and black bets lose! Every casino game has a similar ‘losing proposition’, called the house edge.
As gamblers, we want to take part of that house edge back, we want them to bet on us to lose by giving us comps in the hopes that we will bet more and lose more. We’ll never beat them at their own game, or not all of us will, because without bonuses and other comps, we are simply at a disadvantage, but we can do our best and fun in the meantime hoping for he big one!
Improve Comps for Casino Table Games
For table players on land, always show the croupier or dealer your player’s card before you begin to wager. You may even ask him to rate your play. Without going too deeply into bankroll management here, we’d suggest that you bet fairly heavily, within your means, for the first hour of play… if you are playing blackjack with basic strategy, and have a bankroll of $500 certainly don’t bet more than $10 per hand. The most ruthless bad luck could wipe your bankroll out at 50 hands per hour, but it isn’t likely. More likely - if you are playing basic strategy well, and the math gods are in your favor, you will have lost $25 in an hour and wagered $500. If the dealer is rating you, expect to be treated as a player that loses at least $25 per hour and you should hit the first tier of the comp program, depending on the casino.
For slot machine players, again, simply record every wager by using your card for every spin.
Comp programs can be very confusing, and the best way to know is to ask another player ‘in your league’ how they are doing, etc. Half the fun of gambling in a casino is the time between games, isn’t it? Just chatting and mixing with all the different people who have at least one thing in common… gambling.
Casinos
Best Slot Machines
To find the best slot machine for a particular session there are a few things to consider. You’ll want to know the payout percentage for that slot; this can be very hard to determine at most casinos. One option would be to contact customer service and ask. At some casinos this information is available in the ‘help’ menu from within the game. Most casinos only offer overall payout percentages; these can be seen at a Microgaming casino by clicking on the eCogra seal at the bottom of the page.
The next thing you’ll want to determine is the variance, or volatility of the game. This can be divined to some degree by studying the pay table. On a classic or three reel slot, the paytable is right there on the slot, for video and bonus slots you will need to click on ‘see pays’, ‘paytable’ or ‘help’ and it will bring up a screen.
As a rule of thumb, a high variance, or high risk slot machines will have at least 10,000 coins for the highest winning combination of symbols, and a bonus or feature round with at least 15 free spins with 3x multipliers, or a similarly sizable bonus round. It will also offer much smaller prizes for the other winning symbols, like 5000 for the second, 2500 for the third, and 1000 on down to 100 for the lowest paying combinations such as 9, 10, J, Q, K, A, etc.
Medium variance can be seen as around 7500 coin return for highest symbols, and a low variance game will have far less, as well as not as much difference between the second or third highest paying symbols and the highest.
So after researching things a bit we are either at a casino with a slots payout percentage at 96% or better, or we know the payout percentage of the particular slot we are going to play. We now know if it is a high risk slot or a low risk slot and can decide how to proceed from there.
High variance games give fewer wins, but the wins are far greater. You will either get lucky and cash out soon at a profit, or go broke. Risk = reward. This is the kind of slot to play if you’re looking for big wins.
Low variance games give many wins, but they are usually smaller. You can play a good long time on a small deposit, but may never win thousands of dollars. As the risk is lower, so are the potential rewards. These are the games to play when you want to play as long as possible and don’t mind giving up the potential of a large win.
Some will like to stick with one game throughout the session, and others like to move around a lot. New games come out all the time and some say they are ‘looser’ when they are first released; others haven’t found this to be true at all and prefer to go back to a few favorites every time they play. It’s really a personal choice as neither style has a basis in confirmable facts. The most important point is to have fun and play smart by knowing all you can about the game you play.
Slot Machines Risk and Variance
The word ‘Variance’ essentially refers to risk-over-time on a slot machine. In a nut shell; a low variance slot will give you a longer play time, at lower risk, than a high variance slot. BUT the chances for huge wins are quite slim. Whereas a high variance slot may not give as much play time, as each wager is higher risk, but the wins it provides can be staggering! There is the middle road as well – medium variance; on these slots you can play for a good long time (depending on your bankroll and bet size) and still stand the chance to make a crushing spin.
Find the Variance of a Slot Machine
One way to get a feeling for the variance of a game is to play it for a while in fun mode. If after a hundred spins or so you have gotten many small returns and your balance hasn’t decreased much – it is probably low variance. If on the hand your balance is depleting rapidly OR you have had a crushing win – it is probably high variance.
Another way is to look at the paytable for that game. The button to view it is labeled differently within each casino software, but with the game open; look for a button named, ‘Help’ or ‘Pays’, or ‘Paytable’.
If the pay for getting 3 of a kind is not much less than it is for getting four or even five of a kind, it is most probably low variance.
If four and five of a kind pay a lot more than three of a kind, it is most likely high variance. If four or five scatters pays several hundred times your bet or five wilds pay 7500+ coins it is probably medium to high variance. If there is a bonus round with triple or even four times pay during free spins it is probably not a low variance game. Some games just have to be played to know for sure.
Create your own Slot Machine Variance
If you have a favorite slot and you determine that it is a low variance game, but you wish to play high variance now and then, you don’t need to look for another game – you can create your own variance! Lets say you normally bet 20 lines at .05 each for $1.00 spins (this will work for any sized wager) to increase your risk as well as your possible return (increase the variance) and still bet $1.00 per spin, all you have to do is bet five lines at .20 each, or ten lines at .10 each. (Many slots have numbered lines alongside the reels so you can just click on the number you want. Many also have – and + signs or up and down arrows on the coin selection so you can do this with ease)
The winning combinations are just as likely to occur on line one, or seven, or twenty. The point is that you are increasing your risk to get a greater reward. As you are still betting $1.00 per spin (or whatever your usual wager is) but have increased your risk on the lines you have bet, you will get a greater return on each winning line – and this can be significant – if a certain combination pays 100:1 your previous payback on a one-line win would only return $5.00 whereas if you have reduced your lines to five lines and increased your wager per line to .20 it will now pay $20.00
Bonus rounds that are based on total bet will not be affected. Free spins bonuses may be – for better or worse… it’s all in the variance.
Play Slot Machines for High and Low Variance/Risk
For a leisure evening and a small bankroll – low variance is the way to go – you’ll get lots of spins for your money, many small wins and plenty of playtime. If you want to go for the gusto, all or nothing, and hope for a crushing win now and then – high variance is your game.
An example of high variance slot machines would be progressive slot machines where slot players can win the jackpot which is usually in the millions. While a low variance machine would be a 3 reel slot machine that generally has smaller payouts but a player will win on a more frequent basis.
Progressive Slot Machines
The first rule for playing a progressive machine (other than Mega Moolah) is to make the maximum bet. If you bet less than maximum you won’t be eligible for the prize! Imagine only betting one coin and getting the winning combination that pays a few hundred dollars when a couple of more coins would have given you a million dollars or more.
The only exception that I know of to still win a progessive jackpot and not having to bet the max is Mega Moolah progressive slot machines. You can bet pennies per line (125 coins) and still enter the bonus round where you will have the same chance as a nickel bettor of winning the prize! The difference is that someone betting .05 will have a five times better chance of getting to the bonus round. If your bankroll is small, bet 1.25, if you’ve got deep pockets, bet 6.25
How Progressive Slot Machines Work
Progressive jackpots start out at a certain set payout and the jackpot goes up a bit every time someone wagers on the game, and they just keep growing until some lucky player hits it. The payout percentage for regular line wins is lower on most progressives than on regular video slots, so they’re not the game to playing unless you are willing to lose a lot in hopes of getting a big win.
Playing Progessive Slot Machines Strategy
There are three good times for the average gambler to play a progressive slot machine beyond the occasional hit and run couple of spins. One would be to take a certain percentage of your session bankroll, say 10% and give it whirl - nothing ventured, nothing gained. It is a reasonable and responsible approach to playing a stakes game. Another is when you are at a profit and plan to cash out anyway once you get down to your original deposit amount. This can be seen as free chances at a major life-changing jackpot.
Online Progressive Slots Strategy
The third best time to play a progressive is with a good sign-up bonus from the casino. If the bonus is in the 100%+ range, you can make a modest deposit and basically double your chances! Playthrough requirements would be irrelevant if you won the big one, and if you lose your deposit and bonus you had a good run anyway, with twice as many opportunities. This strategy is best for Microgaming casinos or at an RTG where you have confirmed in writing that there is no max cash out provision attached to the bonus.
Just like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play; so by all means, give a progressive a spin or two now and then. I wouldn’t use my whole bankroll trying to win a progressive jackpot because they are usually in the hundreds of thousands or even millions for a reason (It takes quite a bit of luck to hit a jackpot). I would suggest players with a limited bankroll to play other slot machines like 3 reel slot machines or even most bonus video slots. Both types typically have better payouts.
Bonus Video Slots
Bonus slots offer some unique opportunities to vary the basic strategies.
Bonus Slots Frequency
On average free spins or another bonus round will occur within 150 bets… on some machines the average is 126, and some 175… The exact number is not important as the bonus will almost never occur at its exact average. They don’t occur every 150 spins, but in tens of thousands of spins it will happen on the average.
Bonus Slot Machines Strategy
One way to try to take advantage of this is to determine a minimum, average and maximum bet size based on your bankroll. Using the accepted standard of dividing a bankroll into 200 to 250, an average bet could be .40 or .50 for a $100 deposit. We’ll use .50 for this example. So, minimum bet .25, average bet .50 and maximum bet .75 (not withstanding playing with profits which we’ll address later).
I’ll want to start playing at my minimum bet. I’ll do somewhere around 100 spins, knowing that on average the feature will occur about every 150 spins. Now it could show up on my first spin… what harm is there in that, it’s still a win! And it may not happen in hundreds of spins, but the longer it takes (assuming some respectable sustaining smaller wins along the way) the better it will be!
Now, if the feature hasn’t occurred by a hundred spins or so I’ll increase my wager to .50 for another fifty spins. Free spins now with a multiplier or a decent bonus round based on my total wager for that spin could easily put me ‘over the top’ and into profit territory.
If I haven’t seen a feature or it didn’t pay much… less than $30-$50 I’ll increase my bet to maximum, or .75. The machine is not due to hit, but right now the law of averages are on my side, and I am betting my maximum.
Depending on my remaining bankroll (how many returns I’ve had a long the way) I’ll remain at this level for at least 25 spins and maybe more… I’ll choose an arbitrary ‘cut-off’ point or floor and not roll below that… something like $30.
Statistically I should have hit the feature by now, I’ve spun 175-200 times, and on average the feature occurs every 150 spins or there about.
If no feature has come up, I will return to my minimum bet size and may even recalculate my minimum, average, and maximum wager in hopes of staying in the game longer enough to hit.
Anytime in the process that I get 75-100x my wager returned, either from line wins or a feature, I’ll return to my minimum bet and start over. A session can be lengthened considerably by recalculating bet size based on my current balance, and of course a low variance game will make for a longer session overall, where as a high variance game will give a shorter session, whether to ruin or to profit.
Bonus Slots Profit Play
Playing with profits; there are two distinct schools of thought on this. One says to quit while you’re ahead and that is sound advice; the law of averages tells me I won’t hit the feature again for some time and the law of diminishing returns - playing against the house edge - tells me I will eventually spend all of the money. The other says that because slots are completely random, the next big line win or feature could happen at any time.
If I’m going to play with a profit, that’s exactly what I’ll do, not chase after an elusive win with my original deposit. If I’m up 20% or so, right then I’ll go into the cashier and cash out my original deposit. I’ll also ask them to ‘flush’ it or waive the reverse withdrawal period. Many casinos keep your money available to you for 24-48 hours to allow you to change your mind before they actually process the withdrawal. If I am not of iron will (and honestly how many of us are when we feel we’re on a winning streak?) I want that money made unavailable to me, and I only want to play with ‘their money’. Now, win or lose I can take some chances I wouldn’t take with my hard earned deposit!
I could repeat the process by dividing my current balance by 200 or 250 and bet pennies on fewer lines. Or I could go for the gusto and spin it off in a couple of ‘Hail Mary’ plays looking for a crushing win. I usually do something in between, Hoping to extend my play and get another good cash out.
Now can also be a good time to switch to a progressive machine, what would be better than putting ‘their money’ into a slot and taking down half a million dollars or more? Not much.
Find more strategy for slot machines like 3 reel classic slots.
3 Reel Slot Machine Secrets
Classic or 3 reel slot strategy is probably the easiest to practice, but will still take some thought. Ideally you’ll want to play as long as possible by betting low enough to make your bankroll last, but high enough to garner some sizable wins.
3 Reel Slot Machine Strategy
Deposit/Bankroll
One widely accepted strategy is to simply divide your deposit by 200 or 250; so a $100 deposit should see you wagering no more than .40 or .50 per spin.
Two Bucket
There are a lot of variations on that theme. First is the ‘two bucket’ strategy that comes from the days when we actually put coins in the machine for every spin. You would start with your session bankroll in one bucket and feed the machine from it. Any coins that came out of the machine you would put in your second bucket. This way, if your bankroll was $100, you would play through it once, win or lose, and what came out of the machine was taken to the cashier to convert coins to cash. It’s a sure way to get 200-250 chances at a jackpot and still walk away with some money in the end.
To apply it to online or ‘ticket in ticket out’ machines, simply set your bet size and count your spins. A hand held counter/clicker works for this, or you can use the ‘autoplay’ feature on many online classic machines.
Average Bet Size Strategy
Another method is to determine your average bet size… in this case .40 or .50. Some players like to ‘get a feel’ for the slot and bet more or less depending on the mood. This is mathematically impossible, but sometimes it really ‘feels’ like it works. If my average bet is .50, I might do five or ten spins at .25 followed by one or two at .75 or $1.00 if I feel the machine is ‘due to hit’. Of course it’s not due to do anything as it is completely random, but in random there are clumps of wins and clumps of losses and sometimes a player gets lucky and hits them when the bet is higher. My session will last just as long because my average bet will be the same .50 - and though some hits will happen at the lower bets rather than the higher, that’s okay as I’m still winning!
Be sure to check the paytable, it’s right on the front of the machine. If one coin gets you 200, two coins nets 400 and three coins nets 600 it makes no sense to bet the maximum coins or lines, it will just deplete your bankroll faster. If the paytable has a tremendous leap for between two and three or between four and five for a five line, 3 Reeler, it is always advisable to bet the maximum in order to be eligible for the top prize. To do this simply lower the denomination of the coins you are playing. Many online slots allow .01, .02, .05, .10, .25 etc.
Slot machine tips to keep in mind while playing:
1. Don’t play with more than you can stand to lose.
2. Divide your bankroll into optimum bet size.
3. Make the best bet for the slot you are playing.
4. Quit while you are ahead.
Slot Machines Secrets
When you first walk into a casino you are surrounded by hundreds of slot machines to play. Picking a slot machine can make or break your casino trip, we have a series of articles to help you find the best slot machines for your bankroll and style of play.
Types of Slot Machines
3 Reel Slot Machines also known as Classic Slot Machines
5 Reel or Video Bonus Slot Machines
Find the Best Slot Machines
Finding slot machines that have high payout percentages and a low variance can help you become a winning slots player. Read the Best Slot Machines article to find out more.
Best Las Vegas Slot Machines
Double Diamond
Best Slot Machines
Sitemap
Slot Machine Strategy
Casinos
Slot Machines
Find and Play The Best Slot Machine Games
Our mission at Slot Report is to teach you how to play slot machine games for long periods of time and get the most out of your money. You may even get a big win! We can’t make any promises but we will teach you the slot machine secrets that every player should know.
We’re not trying to sell you a slot machine system that will make make you millions or tell you that we know something that others don’t. The free slot machine secrets that this site will teach you are simple things that can help you find the best slot machine odds at your local casino, Las Vegas or even an online casino.
We use secrets and strategy interchangbly on the site because they are the same thing. There are no magical slots secrets that will make you a winner but using strategy can!
Slot machines can be great entertainment and for more than a 100 years casino players have enjoyed the thrill of playing slots. Slot machines have been improved since they were invented in 1899 but the game has remained similar in objective. Pull the lever (or push a button) to spin the reels and if the correct symbols line up, you are a winner. It is a relatively simple game and that is one of the biggest attractions for casino slot players. There is actually some strategy or what I like to call “playing smart” and this site will help teach you to play smart.
Slot Machine Games
Not all slot machine games are created equal. There are many tips that players need to be aware of when picking a slot machine to play. A couple quick points are: slot payout, minimum bet for jackpot, progressive machines and 3 reel slots vs 5 reel video slots. This is the tip of the iceberg but if you aren’t well versed in those topics then you should definitely take the time and investigate each.