Slot Machine Myths

False assumptions which gamblers have about slot machines.

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Not that "myth" in the context of casinos, gambling and slots does not have the same meaning as "myth" in its general and original sense. "Slots myth" suggests something that is widely (though not universally) accepted, but which is wrong.

If you read any length of time about slot machines, you'll come across "slots myths". Here's a number of the prominent ones you'll find in slot machine books and tips on online slot machine sites. If you want some examples of the "slots myths" you'll read about, let me give a few of my own. As a matter of course, these myths will come with information that punctures the slot machine myth, such as I've provided along with the myths below.

Tight Slots Myth

Casinos switch the payback percentage of slot machines from minute to minute, making some looser and other tighter. This isn't true. To change the payback on a slot machine, a casino has to replace a computer chip in the machine. To do this, the casino has to file the proper paperwork and get the chip shipped to them from the slot machine factory.

Even if the casino was going to change a slot machine's computer chip, there are laws which keep casinos from changing the odds on a slot machine while someone is playing it. In Nevada, a casino cannot change the odds on a slot machine four minutes before or after a player has played on that machine. The potential penalties for breaking this law is so high, and the damage to the credibility of a casino would be so high if caught, that no casino would risk breaking this law. The fact is, casinos make huge profits without having to stoop to such tactics. The risk/reward on a casino shutting down your odds of winning on a slot machine dictates they will not cheat you.

Slots Club Myth

If you use a slots card, the slot machine pays back less than if you don't. This simply isn't the case. Once again, slot machine computers do not work that way. If they did, everyone in the industry would know it and the laws would be changed.

Cold Slots Myth

Machines that haven't hit in a while are more likely to give a jackpot. The spins performed by Random number generators are totally independent from one another. What happened on the last spin has nothing to do with what happens on the next one. In the age of RNGs, slots reels do not "line up". This means the Zigzag Method is a slots myth, too. Completely ignore the zigzag method and distrust the advice of anyone who suggests the zig zag works.

Also, if you walked away from a slot machine and 2 hours later, someone else walks up and hits the jackpot on the next spin, you did not walk away from the jackpot. Random number generators in slot machines continually spin through number combinations, even when players are not playing, so you would have had to play for 2 more hours to have a chance to hit the jackpot.

As you see, there are many slots myths, far too many to go over here. These should be a good indication of what slots myths are and how they depend on casino players' ignorance.