Max Bet On Slot Machines
If the table has a maximum bet then the casino can ensure their edge stays intact. Example: Let’s assume we played at a table with a minimum bet limit of £1 and a maximum bet limit of £1000. Bet 1 £1; Bet 2 £2; Bet 3 £4; Bet 4 £8; Bet 5 £16; Bet 6 £32; Bet 7 £64; Bet 8 £128; Bet 9 £256; Bet 10 £512; Bet 11 £1,024. One of the general rules of thumb while playing a slot or poker game is to bet the maximum amount possible. Furthermore, the maximum bet for the slot machines is 100 coins. But why is it preferred to bet the max? Well, this is basically because of the jackpots and bonus payouts that they offer to bet parties. Beyond those examples, though, max bet is usually just a proportionally higher win or loss compared to a lower bet. So if min bet is 30 cents, and max bet is $3, you can expect a 10x win or loss, barring any specific differences in the paytable. On many slot machines, including nearly all games with three mechanical reels, you get a higher payback percentage if you bet the maximum number of coins the game allows. Here’s a sample pay table: Note the disproportionate jump in the top jackpot.
When you are playing video poker games or slot games the general rule of thumb is that you should always bet the maximum amount that the machine will allow you to make. There are a few exceptions to this rule but we will explore those later in this article. For video poker games, the maximum bet is usually anywhere between 5 and 20 coins. For slot machines, the maximum bet can sometimes reach over 100 coins.
The main reason why wagering the maximum amount is smart is that most slot games and video poker games tend to offer bonus payouts or jackpots to those who do so. If you do not bet the maximum amount and you hit one of the jackpot hands or spins, you will not be rewarded with the jackpot prize. This is one of the worst feelings in the world and it is totally avoidable.
This bonus money adds a little bit of value to each spin and you will be missing out on this value if you fail to bet the maximum amount. Your goal as a gambler should be to scoop up as much value as you can so that you can gamble for longer and ultimately have more fun.
Common Excuses
There are a lot of common excuses that people have for why they are not betting the maximum bet each spin or hand. Most of these excuses are based on a misunderstanding or a superstition that can easily be debunked.
We will now take a look at some of these excuses and explain why they are flawed so that you can consciously avoid having these types of thoughts. The best way to maximize the amount of fun that you have per every dollar that you spend is to make the maximum bet and get the highest returns possible.
Excuse #1: “I Can’t Afford It!”
The most important thing that you need to do is make sure that you have a big enough bankroll to cover the maximum bet for a large number of spins or hands. If you do not have enough money to play the maximum bets then you should not be playing on that machine.
One of the best ways around this dilemma is to simply play at lower stakes so that you can comfortably make the maximum bet. If you are already playing on the lowest stakes that your machine has to offer and you still cannot afford the maximum bet, then you should try looking on different machines.
If the casino that you are playing in does not have any lower stakes machines then you are likely to find some at a different casino. There are many casinos that let you play stakes as low as 1 cent per coin, and if this is too much money for you then you probably shouldn’t be gambling at all until you get some more money.
Excuse #2: “I Just Hit a Big Score!”
Some people think that just because they recently hit a huge score that they should avoid making the max bets in anticipation of a cold streak. This way of thinking is based on the “gambler’s fallacy” which incorrectly assumes that if an outcome occurs more frequently than expected over a certain period of time that it will occur less frequently in the near future.
The truth is that the random number generator which controls the outcome of each hand or spin has no idea whether you have won recently or not. Even if you are on the exact same machine where you hit a jackpot, the odds that you will hit it again on the very next spin remain the same as they were before you hit it the first time. Therefore, you should continue betting the maximum amount on every spin no matter what has happened to you in recent hands so that you can scoop up that sweet value.
Excuse #3: “I Want My Money to Last Longer!”
Best Bet Slots
Some players have more than enough money in their bankroll to comfortably bet the maximum amount of coins every hand or spin but they avoid it because they want their money to last longer. In their eyes, this is the safe way to play but in reality, it is the wrong thing to do.
The funny part about this misunderstanding is that betting the maximum WILL make your money last longer in the long run. However, if we are talking about a timeframe of just one day then anything can happen so you should keep in mind that we are talking about a very large sample size of hands or spins.
The reason why your money will last longer if you bet the maximum amount per spin is that you will be losing less money per spin. The extra bonus money which you receive on your jackpot wins will give you more money per spin over the course of millions of spins which means that you will be losing slower.
Excuse #4: “I’m Not Lucky Enough!”
Out of all of the excuses on our list, this one is by far the silliest. Every player has an equal chance at winning in slot machines, and every player who knows the correct strategies for video poker has an equal chance of winning as well.
The only way to actually prove that you are somehow less lucky than everyone else would be to complete millions of spins and compile the data so that you can analyze it. Most people have not come close to playing millions of spins and are basing their luck off of a very small and meaningless sample size.
Whether you consider yourself a lucky person or not you should still make the max bet on every spin or hand. Even if you were less lucky than everyone else is, it makes sense to bet a little bit extra so that your average return per coin will increase.
Exceptions to the Rule
1. The Max Bet Is Higher Than the Bet Amount Where the Bonus Payout Becomes Available
Anyone who is a frequent video poker player will know exactly what we are talking about here. Most slot machines do not normally have any options that are higher than the bet amount where the jackpot becomes available to the player.
For example, if you are playing in a Deuces Wild game you might notice that the Royal Flush payout increases dramatically from 1000 coins to 4000 coins when you up your bet from 4 coins to 5 coins. However, some machines will allow up to 20 coins per spin and there are no more dramatic increases to be found between 5 and 20 coins.
If you happen to be playing on a machine like this, then you do not have to bet the full 20 coins every time. In fact, you don’t need to bet more than 5 coins per hand. There is no extra incentive to do so unless you simply feel like betting more money per spin.
2. Games With No Extra Bonuses
Another exception to the rule occurs when you are playing in a game where there are no extra bonus payouts for betting the maximum amount. These games are actually pretty scarce these days compared to games that offer extra bonus payouts for a max bet.
Due to the lack of a payout bonus for max bets, you can bet whatever amount you want to since the whole point of betting the max amount is to take advantage of the bonus payouts. There is no mathematical difference between betting one coin or betting the maximum amount of coins in these games.
We recommend avoiding these types of games if you are the type of player who likes to bet the maximum amount every hand. Your willingness to make these large bets will serve you better in games where there are bonus payouts rewarded to any max bets.
3. You Don’t Care About Winning
This might seem like a joke, but there are definitely some people who are so rich they don’t care if they win or lose. Some of them even enjoy the act of losing because it barely makes a dent in their bankroll and it makes them feel invincible. There are a plethora of alternative reasons why people don’t care about winning or losing slower, but we don’t want to turn this into a psychology paper.
If you are one of these particular human beings then be our guest and do not make the maximum bet on every spin or hand. This will ensure that you lose more money per spin in the long run, which is exactly what you were hoping for!
What to Remember
You should always make the maximum bet in a video poker game or a slot game as long as you have enough money in your bankroll. The only logical exceptions to this rule are when the specific game that you are playing does not offer bonus payouts on a max bet or if the bonus payout is achievable by paying less than the maximum bet.
Ignoring this rule is going to ensure that you do not get the maximum value out of every coin that you bet. Anyone who hates money will be happy to hear this, but everyone else should be excited about taking advantage of some extra value by making the maximum bet.
Even though the jackpots are rare, claiming this extra money from time to time will allow you to lose less money per spin over the long run. This contributes to the ultimate goal of having as much fun as possible while gambling by allowing you to play for more time per deposit, on average.
It does not matter if you think that you are an unlucky person, or if you think you already used up your luck by hitting a jackpot on a previous spin. The random number generator that decides the outcomes of each spin or hand in slot games and video poker games does not care about who you are or the results of your previous rounds.
The only control that you have over your fate, other than learning a proper strategy for the games that require one, is to make sure that you make the maximum bet for each round. By doing this you will give yourself a chance at hitting a jackpot while simultaneously knowing that it is the logical and mathematically correct play in the long run.
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Should You Play Max Bet On Slot Machines
Betting the max on slots is not always the right move
By John Grochowski
For decades, players have been told that, when it comes to slots, they should always bet the max to get the best payback percentage. That’s still the case on most three-reel stepper slots, and on a small percentage of video slots.
But getting the highest payback percentage isn’t the only goal of slot play. It’s also important to protect your bankroll and avoid betting money you can’t afford to lose. Like other casino games, slot machines have house edges built in through math, and bigger bets bring bigger average losses.
That’s no different than in blackjack, where the vast majority of us who are not card counters will lose more money if we bet $25 than if we bet $15, and more if we bet $10 than $5. It’s the same deal on craps, baccarat, roulette, three card poker or anything else – average losses are lower when you bet less, and lowest if you don’t bet at all.
Of course, we’re not going to skip betting altogether. The winning times make it all worthwhile, and the fun built into modern machines at least gives us a day’s entertainment when the wins don’t come.
Instead of asking “Should you bet the max?” it’s usually better to come at it from a different angle. The question can be, “When your bankroll can’t stretch to the max, should you choose a different machine?”
The answer to that question depends on the type of game.
THREE-REEL NON-PROGRESSIVE
The reason you get a higher payback percentage for betting the max on such games is that a max-coins bet brings a disproportionate jump in the top jackpot.
For example, a one-coin bet might bring a top jackpot of 1,000 coins, which rises to 2,000 with a two-coin bet. Instead of a proportionate rise to 3,000, the payoff jumps to 5,000 with a three-coin bet.
Betting only one or two coins will lead to a lower overall payback percentage. How much lower depends on both size and frequency of jackpots.
There’s no way for a player to know the jackpot frequency designed into the odds of the game. However, we can make up an example to show you the effect.
Our hypothetical game has the paybacks listed above, and the jack- pot occurs an average of once per 20,000 spins. Assuming a three-coin bet, then per 20,000 spins you wager 60,000 credits. At 95 percent return – on the high end for dollar machines – your return is 57,000 credits, with 5,000 coming from the jackpot and 52,000 coming from other spins.
Now assume a one-coin bet, making the total risk 20,000 credits. Your average return is 1,000 credits for the jackpot and 17,333 credits on smaller pays – one third of the 52,000 you get on small pays with max bet.
That’s a total return of 18,333 credits. Divide that by your 20,000- credit risk and multiply by 100 to convert to percent, and you get a 91.3 percent return. A two-coin bettor also gets that payback percentage.
That 95-percent game becomes a 91.3-percenter when you bet less than the max. However, your average total loss of 3,000 credits when you bet max drops to 1,167 credits when you bet one credit at a time.
A player on a limited bankroll may find it worthwhile to accept the lower payback percentage and bet less than the max on three-reel step- pers. However, note that the 91.3-percent return takes the payback into normal range for quarter machines. Betting the max on a quarter machine usually will be as good a play on a percentage basis and a better play on a dollars-and-cents basis than betting one coin on a dollar game.
The bottom line is for players on a budget, betting less than the max isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it’s even better to drop to a lower coin denomination.
Max Bet Slot Machine Videos
THREE-REEL PROGRESSIVES
The situation is similar to three-reel non-progressives, except that a big- ger share of the overall return is concentrated in the progressive jackpot. Let’s take the dollar machine above and make it progressive. Now lining up three jackpot symbols brings you 1,000 credits if you bet one credit, 2,000 if you bet two and a progressive pot if you bet three.
The money to fund that progressive pot has to come from somewhere, and where it comes from is you. A portion of each bet is added to the pot. The tradeoff is that you get less in smaller pays.
Let’s say you get one percent less in smaller pays and that money goes to the progressive pot instead. Then instead of the one-coin bettor getting 17,333 credits in smaller returns, he gets 17,160.The overall payback for a one- or two-coin bettor drops to 90.8 percent. If smaller pays are reduced by two percent, the overall return drops to 89.9 percent, and so on.
On a dollar game, the return to a one-coin bettor quickly drops below the normal return for betting the max on a quarter machine.
In a nutshell, if you have a big enough bankroll and want to chase the big jackpots, go ahead and bet the max. But players on a budget should avoid short-coin play on three-reel progressives. If you can’t afford to bet the max, change machines and pick either a non-progressive machine or a game at a lower coin denomination.
VIDEO NON-PROGRESSIVES
It’s always worth checking the pay tables to make sure, but video slots in the usual five-reel configuration almost always have proportionate pay all the way up the pay table. There is no bonus for betting the max. The payback percentage is the same regardless of whether you bet one coin per line or bet the max.
The situation gets a little trickier if side bets are required to activate game features such as pick’em bonuses or free spins. If you don’t make the side bet, you’re left with a game with no bonuses. We have no way of knowing the payback percentage on such games if the bonuses are not in play, but aren’t the bonuses why most of us play video slots in the first place?
On most non-progressive video slots, there is no penalty for betting minimum coins. One-coin-per-line customers can enjoy to their hearts content, while those who want to take a shot at multiplying winnings can bet more if they wish. However, if a side bet is required to activate bonus features, players whose budgets won’t stretch to the extra bet should choose a different game.
VIDEO PROGRESSIVE
There have been video slots with progressives that give a big jump in the top jackpot with a max bet, just like three-reel progressives. However, these are rare. Should you find one, the situation is the same as on three-reel games: If you don’t want to make the required bet to be jackpot-eligible, choose a different game.
The most common video slot progressive formats have multi-tiered jackpots, with levels named mini, minor, major or grand, or bronze, silver, gold, platinum, or some other combination with names corresponding to jackpot sizes.
The smallest are designed to occur frequently and might be only a few dollars. These are rapid-hit jackpots, there to hold your interest and keep you involved in the game. The top level can be hundreds, thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
Two common formats for multi-tiered progressives are mystery jack- pots and separate-bet jackpots.
In mystery jackpots, all players are eligible for the same jackpots, regardless of how much they bet. Those who bet more will win more frequent jackpots, because the bigger bets give them more chances to push the jackpot up to the mystery trigger. However, that’s offset by the bigger risk of bigger bets.
On video progressives with side bets, you must make the extra bet to be eligible for the progressives. With the frequent-hit small pays being an important part of keeping you in the game, you want to be eligible for the progressives.
If you’re playing video progressives with mystery triggers, there is nothing wrong with making minimum bets per line. However, if a side bet is required, you should either make the extra bet or choose a different game. Too much of the game’s fun and payback is tied up in the progressives to play without jackpot eligibility. If you need to conserve bankroll, choose a game where the extra bet is not required.