OK….first understand the nature of the slot machine. This is where casino’s make the majority of their money. The odds of winning on a slot machine are the lowest of any wager you can make in a casino. This is compounded by the fact that the lower the credit amount, the lower your odds are. Most penny or “nickel” slots have payouts about 6% compared to 90+% playing the $100 slots.

However, if you insist on playing the nickel or penny slots, here’s the way it works. You will have to make two decisions in most cases:

1. How many lines do you want to play? Each line represents one “payline” or configuration that matching symbols must appear on to cause a “win.” You always want to play the highest number of lines possible. Nothing would be more disheartening I think than hitting a jackpot on a non-played line.

2. How many credits do you want to play per line? This determines the multiple of the payout you will receive when you hit a prize. Three cherries might earn you 10 credits with 1 coin per line played, but will earn you 100 with 10 coins per line played. In most cases the payout will be proportional except for the max. Most machines require you to play max credits in order to receive the jackpot.

It is correct to say that you always want to play the max. This is the only way that you will be able to win the progressive jackpot on most machines. Also, many slots have “bonus” games where the payout is multiplied by the number of credits played on the lines. By playing the max, you maximize your bonus potential.

As far as determining how much you are spending on each pull, you simply have to do a little math. In the case of 5 cent machine, take the number of lines played multiplied by the number of coins per line, times 5 cents. Therefore as an example, if you are playing a game that has 15 lines and you can play 10 coins per line, then a max bet is equal to $7.50.

This is certainly misleading then to consider this slot machine a “Nickel” slot. If you are always playing the max, it is more like a $2.50 slot in terms of your dollars spent and your odds of hitting a winning combination.

For those looking to spend a lot of time without losing a ton of money, try playing the max number of lines with only one credit per line. This will make the experience last longer, even it if it does decrease your chance of winning significantly.

The best advice I can give on slots is to avoid them entirely. Learning to play a table game such as blackjack or craps has a much greater chance of being profitable, and can be exciting as well. In any event, best of luck to you, and I hope that this has helped answer your question!

it is a trick to get you to spend more money faster
sometmes you can bet $5- $10 a spin if you do not pay attention
would you play a $10 slot?
it is the same with dime slots and even penny and 2 cent slots

a worker at a casino told me recently that casino’s are phasing out quarter slots for that reason and if you have been to a casino lately you can see the increase in 1-2 -5-10 cent slot machines
evn with a $1 slot the max bet is usually $3 where a 10 cent machine max bet can be $10

Slots are a rip off generally. But nickel and penny slots are the worst.

To figure out the max bet is, look at the buttons. There will usually be a series marked LINES and then another that specifies how many credits per line. So if the largest line number is 10 and you can bet five credits, a max bet is going to cost you:

10×5x5c = 50×5c = $2.50. Not such a bargain is it? That $20 will be gone in 8 quick losing spins!

The better odds tend to be on the quarter machines and up. You can find plenty of machines that have three credit play on one line that cost 75 cents to spin. That’s at least 26 spins for $20. Better value.

As a rule video slots are not a great deal. Nickel and penny slots are a rip off. Either play quarter machines or better, or look for specific areas of the casino that advertise a 97% or better payout rate, and play those machines.