Here you can also find the best online casinos offering penny slots. Play'n Go – Hugo Goal Slot – $.05 Minimum Try this game at Slots Magic casino with a 100% up to £/$/€ 100 + 50 Spins. WR: 30X D+B 60X Spins winnings. Hitting it big on the penny slots at 90% slots player play penny slots, as it is easy to play and you can win big. Why people play. SoCal's Best Slots. Play thousands of slot machines spread across two stories of slot mechanical reels, video reels, video keno, in-house progressive jackpots, wide-area and Mystery.
Ask any retiree who visits Las Vegas regularly about their favorite casino game, and you'll invariably hear about the fabled penny slots.
These slot machines take their name from their low coin denomination, ditching the nickels and quarters typically wagered on each spin for a single penny. Or so the story goes anyhow…
In reality, the advent of payline-based slot gameplay ensures you'll almost always be playing for more than a penny per spin. That's because you need to pay one penny for each payline in play, so a standard 30-payline machine would charge $0.30 each time you let the reels fly. Despite this deceptive misnomer, however, the penny slots reign supreme in Sin City.
And that discrepancy occurred even though Nevada is home to far less penny slots (54,754 machines) than multi-denominational games (70,658 machines).
Indeed, just like your grandparents have reported, the penny slots are by far the most popular game on any casino floor. A major casino might spread a dozen blackjack tables in the pit, but the penny slot parlor will be chocked full with hundreds of machines from dozens of manufacturers. And when you run the numbers, it's easy to see why.
Slot machine players can expect to put in between 300 and 800 spins per hour, depending on their dexterity and willingness to spin at a faster pace. At that rate, the penny slot player will deposit between $3 and $8 into their favorite machine, and using the average payback percentage of 90 percent, they'd being back between $2.64 and $7.04 per hour.
That equates to an average expected loss of between $0.36 and $0.96 per hour, amounts which won't threaten to bust your bankroll anytime soon. But when you up the stakes to $1 per spin, those 300 to 800 spins per hour can cost between $24 and $64 every 60 minutes.
With these figures fresh in your mind, it's easy to see why so many players are flocking to the penny slots – especially folks working with a limited bankroll. When you only have a small stake to gamble with, the ability to play – and hopefully win – for a few pennies at a time is invaluable.
Nobody likes to lose, but there's something about blowing through a few hundred bucks in a matter of minutes that stings just a little bit more. By sticking to the penny slots, casual players can limit their losses, all while chasing that elusive jackpot dream.
The casinos bank on casual players ignoring this fact while focusing on the inexpensive cost of entry. And sure enough, as the NGCB data mentioned earlier makes clear, most players don't bother thinking about the nuances of penny slot play.
If you're a slot player nursing a smaller-sized bankroll who is searching for ways to improve their penny ante action, look no further. The guide below will cover four essential tips and tricks for successfully navigating the world of penny slots.
You'll learn why the old maxim about always betting the max doesn't apply, the value to be gained by leaving tourist hotspots behind, the modern systems casinos use to deploy their machines, the importance of payback and hold percentages, and how to avoid the most common myths and misconceptions about slot gameplay. When its all said and done, this page should leave you better prepared to maximize your limited bankroll while minimizing your liabilities and losses.
The first strategy tip most slot players learn offers the following advice – always bet the maximum number of paylines and coins.
On a typical quarter slot, the machine offers anywhere between 1 and 5 coins per spin. That equates to $0.25 for minimum bettors, and $1.25 for folks playing the maximum.
And on a quarter machine which includes bonus rounds, free spin rewards, and a progressive jackpot, that strategy makes perfect sense. After all, most games are designed to provide those perks only if the player has bet the max, so playing for anything less removes much of the game's inherent value.
Free online keno games with bonus. As the old saying goes, 'why play for a progressive jackpot you can't even win?' But for penny slot enthusiasts, that bit of wisdom can be tossed out the window.
For one thing, these games usually ditch the massive progressive jackpots for fixed awards – and these can be won at any wagering level.
Secondly, even the more modern penny slots usually eschew in-game bonuses and side games for standard spinning. That is to say, you'll be competing for the game's primary pay table prizes, rather than a chance to spin the wheel, play memory games, or earn free spins.
Jean Scott – a veteran casino player and author of the popular 'Frugal Gambler' series of strategy books – captured this sentiment perfectly in a blog post for the Las Vegas Advisor:
'Now I well know the problem with slots. The negative EV (the house edge) will eventually put players in the loser category and sometimes very quickly. The fun factor can disappear very quickly if you are losing more money than you can afford.
Players with small bankrolls know that they need to play minimum bets so they can extend their fun time.
Hit those buttons with higher level bets and, yes, your bonuses may be more frequent and jackpots bigger, but you will very likely go broke before you can gain this advantage!'
And using a simple table devised by John Grochowski – a longtime professional gambler and strategy writer – you can see exactly how upping the ante increases your bankroll requirements:
| Slot Type | Bankroll Needed for 3 Hours of Play |
|---|---|
| 50 lines, 1 penny per line | $125 |
| 50 lines, 5 pennies per line | $625 |
| 30 lines, 1 penny per line | $75 |
| 30 lines, 5 pennies per line | $375 |
| 20 lines, 1 penny per line | $50 |
| 20 lines, 5 pennies per line | $250 |
| 10 lines, 1 penny per line | $25 |
| 10 lines, 5 pennies per line | $125 |
This table is especially informative, because it shows just how differently maximum stake players must approach penny slots. When you're working with a smaller bankroll than most, $125 is probably a sensible amount at which to limit your losses. Thankfully, that's the exact amount you'd need to play a 50 payline game for one penny per line. But if you found the same machine and decide to bet the max with five pennies per line, you'd need to bring a whopping $625 with you to survive three hours of action.
Best Penny Slot Machines To Play
Unless you're stuck on the idea of playing for progressive jackpots, the penny slots simply don't require a maximum bet to have fun – and hopefully, collect a steady stream of smaller payouts while you do.
This piece of advice is counterintuitive to most recreational players, especially those who haven't yet experienced the sights and sounds of famous Las Vegas Strip.
But while The Strip can be quite the entertaining experience for tourists, gamblers are preyed upon like sheep by the wolf-like casinos.
Take a look at the data below, which was compiled by the NGCB as part of the regulator's annual statewide slot machine survey:
Las Vegas Slot Machine Payback Percentages by Location
1¢ Slot Machines
- The Strip – 88.45 percent
- Downtown – 88.66 percent
- Boulder Strip – 90.42 percent
- N. Las Vegas – 90.71 percent
5¢ Slot Machines
- The Strip – 91.84 percent
- Downtown – 92.08 percent
- Boulder Strip – 95.73 percent
- N. Las Vegas – 95.38 percent
25¢ Slot Machines
- The Strip – 90.59 percent
- Downtown – 94.48 percent
- Boulder Strip – 96.39 percent
- N. Las Vegas – 96.58 percent
No matter which slot games you prefer, playing on The Strip inherently increases the odds against you. The percentage figure listed next to each location reflects the average payback rate – also known as the return to player (RTP) rate – offered on average by all slot machines in that area.
And as you can see, playing on The Strip always provides players with the worst possible payback rates. As a penny slot specialist, you'll be up against an 88.45 percent payback rate while playing on The Strip. That equates to a house edge of 11.55 percent, making penny machines in the heart of Sin City a moneymaking monster for the casinos.
But take your action to the Boulder Strip or North Las Vegas, and that payback rate bumps up all the way over 90 percent. That may not seem like all that much of an improvement, but when you factor in the rapid pace of play found on slot games, padding your expected return by a full 2 percentage points is a massive improvement.
And it doesn't matter if you're playing true penny slots, or the nickel and quarter variety, as the pattern holds true across the board.
Another benefit of playing off the beaten path is the discounts and perks off-Strip casinos tend to lavish on their players. For the big boys like MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment – two casino conglomerates that control almost all properties on The Strip – enormous profits are practically ensured. They have a steady stream of tourists walking in the doors, so these venues can offer lower paying games and skimp out on the comps and perks.
But as Lucas Peterson – author of the 'Frugal Traveler' column in the New York Times – recently discovered, venturing outside of the tourist traps offers a vastly different experience. Peterson visited the tiny Ellis Island Casino, located just east of Las Vegas Boulevard on Flamingo Road.
While the Ellis Island may lack the amenities and ambiance of a Strip establishment, this joint sure does know how to treat its customers.
Here's how Peterson described his experience playing penny slots at Ellis Island:
'All casinos have rewards programs. You sign up, get a little card with a magnetic strip, and as you spend money you collect coupons for freebies and discounts.
At Ellis Island, they'll give you that cheap steak dinner (normally $12.99) if you play just $5 worth of slots. But isn't that just breaking even?
Well, in addition to it just being a little mindless Vegas fun, you can push it further: If you play $10 worth of slots instead of $5, not only do you get that discount on the steak dinner, Ellis Island also rewards you with bonus play money – a random amount between $10 and $500.'
In his case, Peterson's initial $10 play on the penny machines produced a $66 free-play reward. He used that to play for a little while longer, cashed out for $30 profit, all while enjoying a free steak dinner on the side.
In his words, the casino paid him to play (and win), while throwing in a comped meal to boot.
You just won't find customer appreciation like that on The Strip, which is why penny slot players on a lower bankroll should always get out of dodge to explore Las Vegas' outlying areas.
Spend enough time around the slot parlor and you'll inevitably hear players whispering about 'loose' machines.
While the concept has faded into the realm of myth in the modern age, the notion that some slots are programmed to be loose – paying out more winners more often than the baseline – used to be based somewhat in reality.
Back in the day, when the average casino only carried a few hundred slot machines rather than a few thousand, casino managers could carefully tailor the arrangement of their games. No, they couldn't control the actual outcomes (more on this to come in the Myths and Misconceptions section), but they could purchase a certain selection of higher paying machines before placing them in choice locations on the floor.
At the time, the idea was to get people standing in the lobby or by the buffet interested in playing slots because they kept hearing jackpot payouts and celebrations.
Today, however, the big casinos have thousands of slot machines under a single roof, making this level of management impractical. Rather than place certain games known to pay more often in select locations, casino managers simply stock their entire venue with games offering varied payback rates.
Here's how John Robison, author of'The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots,' summed the placement situation up in a post for the American Casino Guide:
'The last change in the slot floor that I want to mention is perhaps the biggest change of all.
Casinos used to have hundreds of slot machines. Now they have thousands. One slot director in Las Vegas said in an interview a few years ago that with so many machines on his floor, he didn't have time to micro-manage them.
He and his management decided the hold percentage they wanted for each denomination and he ordered payback programs close to that percentage for his machines. Furthermore, he said this was the common practice in Las Vegas.'
I've made mention of payback percentages many times now, and for good reason.
Casino games with free welcome bonus. What the house edge metric is for table game players, payback percentage – and its inverse, the casino's hold percentage – means for slot enthusiasts. Manufacturers and designers like International Game Technology (IGT), Scientific Games, Konami Gaming, Bally, and Aristocrat are all bound by strict gaming regulations which require games to have predetermined payback rates.
A popular themed game like The Walking Dead by IGT, for example, offers a generous 96 percent payback rate – good for a 4 percent house edge. But when you bring your bankroll to an older game like Mr. Cashman by Aristocrat, the payback percentage falls to 91 percent.
As it turns out, casinos rely on players not knowing their way around payback rates, as Steve Walther – senior director of marketing & product management for Konami Gaming – wrote in a 2017 column for the Las Vegas Sun:
'There are multiple schools of thought with regard to hold percentage and players' ability to determine the hold in an individual session.
Best Penny Slot Machines To Play 2016 Ford
As games become more complex, the types of winning combinations have grown exponentially. When old games only had a certain number of slots on a wheel, maybe it was easier. Now, being able to feel the hold in a single session could be very difficult.
However, other schools of thought are different for repeat gamblers and those schools say maybe they can notice.'
Fortunately, these companies are bound by law to publish their payback percentages, so you can run a quick Google search for your favorite games to check up. If the game is offering anything less than 90 percent, you should avoid it like the plague. Low to mid 90s are the norm for penny slots, while anything higher is a gift from the heavens.
On a final note, of all the gambling games under the sun, slots seem to give rise to mistaken beliefs more than most.
Maybe it's because players can't make decisions to influence the outcome, but superstition runs rampant in the slot world.
Olaf Vancura- who serves as vice president of game development for slot maker Mikohn Gaming, a subsidiary of IGT – offered his take on the most pervasive slot myths during an interview with the Las Vegas Sun:
'I guess the No. 1 myth is that slot machines keep track of wins and losses and will compensate to get to a win.
But in the U.S., this is is illegal. Slots aren't allowed to make adjustments.
They cannot and do not. Each win is a separate event.'
And Konami Gaming's higher-up Walther echoed those sentiments, warning players to steer clear of fallacies and misinformation about the casino's ability to control payouts from on high:
'There is all sorts of lore out there.
If you push buttons in a certain combination, if animals look at you funny, there are all sorts of myths.
And one is that there is a magical control center that can update games at a touch of a button.'
As the major myth associated with slots, many people will swear up and down that the casino's 'control room' has direct access to the reels spinning on their screen. Fortunately for players who enjoy fair play, Vancura clarified that this is simply an impossibility:
'Some people believe a slot director off in a back room somewhere is sitting at a computer and can change the machine right out from under you.
So if you are playing a good machine that you were doing well at, someone can tighten it down and you will run into a cold streak.
It's not possible for the casino to pull the rug out from under you.'
And according to Vancura, another commonly heard myth – that players can 'vulture' jackpots by waiting for a machine to be primed by previous play – just doesn't hold up to technological scrutiny:
'Today's slot machines don't work that way. They are based on RNGs or random number generators.
Different manufacturers have different rates. But a good rule of thumb is that the RNGs are running hundreds of times per second.
So unless you had initiated that same spin at precisely the same instant, you would not have won the jackpot. If you're even a tenth of a second off, you will get a completely different outcome.'
Penny slots can be a great way to enjoy the casino experience on the cheap, but only when you know how the game is really played. Using these five tips, you should be able to get your coins behind the best bets only, while avoiding the pitfalls that ensnare uninformed players.
So you want to learn how to win at penny slots?
If you already know how to play penny slots, this article will show you a more advanced penny slots strategy. These tips will help you whether you're playing slots at a casino or online. If you're looking for a winning strategy for online slots machines, you may want to try the advice in our new online slots strategy article.
Slot machines are generally the most entertaining games you'll find at the casino. My goal is to help you win more at slots. But since all slot machines are completely random, there is no system that will change your odds of winning.
On the other hand, there are several things you can do to maximize our return-on-investment (ROI) while playing penny slots. In this article, I'll share valuable tips and advice that will help you win more and have more fun while playing your favorite video slots.
Tips for Beating Penny Slot Machines
Take advantage of slot clubs and online casino slot bonuses. Casinos offer slot players some great bonuses. Taking advantage of slot bonuses is the easiest way to gain an edge on the casino. This is the best part of being a penny slot player. Land-based casinos reward slot players handsomely with complimentary rooms, meals, slot play, invitational slot tournaments, and more. Online casinos reward players with deposit bonuses, monthly reload bonuses, and cash back programs.
To get involved in a land-based casino's rewards program, simply go to that casino's players club and sign up for a player's card. Make sure to use your card EVERY time you play penny slots or other casino games.
Manage your money wisely
Always decide in advance how much money you are willing wager in a given session. While it feels bad to walk away with a loss, it's even worse to continue playing in order to 'get even'. Also, you should always gamble with money you can afford to lose.
Look for penny slots with the highest payouts
In land-based casinos you should look for signs that advertise a high payout percentage. Some penny slots in Las Vegas may sometimes advertise up to 99% payback.
If you like to play online, then you should to choose a casino that offers high payback percentages, like Slots Galore Casino, which has Vegas Technology slots or Box24 Casino where you can play games from Rival Gaming
Understand the machine you're playing
Bonus penny slots are a lot of fun, but you want to be sure you read the rules first. Some slots may require that you play the max bet to qualify for the bonus or progressive jackpot. Most penny slots however, allow you to play bonus rounds by betting as little as 1 coin per line.
Play all lines available
More lines means a higher hit rate. Playing all lines doesn't change the payout percentage of the machine, but it does give you more frequent wins. This increases the fun of playing, plus gives you a chance for a big win in the bonus round. Be careful about the number of coins you bet per line though, as it can get expensive fast.
On a 20-line machine where you're playing all lines,
• 1 coin per line = $.20 per spin
Aria slot machine. • 5 coins per line = $1.00 per spin
• 10 coins per line = $2.00 per spin
As you can see, playing the max bet can get quite expensive.
If you're winning increase your bet - if you're losing decrease it
This may sound obvious, but a lot of people will increase their bet when losing in order to try and hit a big win. Instead, base your bets on your how much you're winning and your comfort level. For instance, if you start with $20, play the max lines with 1 coin per line. If you get that up to $50 plus, move up to 2 coins per line. If you get to $100, move up again, or if you go down to $30 or so, move down. This increases the amount you might win, increases the excitement, and limits your amount of risk.
Don't waste your time at a cold machine
While there is no way to predict when a machine will pay off, it's frustrating to spend all your time on a machine that's not hitting anything. Whether online or at a live casino, changing machines will help you feel more in control and have more fun.
For another great page on winning at penny slots, check out this penny slots strategy at How Gambling Works.com.
More Slots Articles of Interest:
