slot machine payoff percentages?

Question

I just came back from Vegas and discovered penny machines
The question is that In a 9 line 5 reel slot machine you can play for 1,2 ,5 or 10c per game and use 1,2,5,10 or 20 coins and also choose 1 to 9 lines . How much if at all do the percentage paybacks differ when you increase the 1 cent feature to10 cents or the 1 coin feature to 20 coins? The investment per pull can vary hugely from a low of 9 cents up to $18. Are there payback percentage differences in the program to allow for the higher totals ?
Anyone out there know how to evaluate what the differences are and how to calculate them?

Answer 1

It's difficult to nail down a specific percentage because the payback percentage varies by machine and varies by casino.

For those multi-line penny slots, some machines benefit greatly from the extra lines and some don't. It's really difficult to nail it down how much they help. But I tend to think that the number of lines you bet doesn't affect the reel patterns - just whether or not you win.

As a general rule though, when playing slots, play the maximum amount if you can afford it. The difference is that with maximum credits, there's generally a significant bonus when you hit the biggest prize. If you play less than maximum, if you happen to get lucky, you'll settle for a much smaller jackpot and reduce your payout percentage greatly.

For example, on some slots, you may get 1000 credits for a jackpot, 2000 if you play 2 coins and maybe 5000 if you play all 3 (maximum credits). In other cases, you'll miss out on a big progressive jackpot.

Remember that when the casino state their payout percentages (like in the ads "99% payout!" or "Loosest slots of the Strip" etc) they are stating a theoretical number that would occur if you qualified for the biggest jackpots (i.e. played the maximum amounts every single time). This also holds true for the line buy-in. Since the payout is calculated with every single line bought, having those 5 7's line up on a line you don't buy will still contribute to their pay-out percentage (although not your wallet).

Another general rule is that as the denomination goes down, so does the payout percentage. Penny slots, even with their dozens of lines, pay out a relatively low payout for a pretty big investment per pull.

Answer 2

Nope, you may as well just chunk your pennies out into the street and let the bums fight over them, that would ensure a level of zero payout but maximum entertainment, especially if you throw in a few dimes or nickels for increased shininess.