Ever since slot machines were invented in 1895, players have been making mistakes. But some slots mistakes stand out above others because people have been making them since the early days.
What are these gaffes? Let’s find out by looking at 7 timeless mistakes that you should avoid on the slot machines.
1. Not Researching Slots Payback Percentages
Generally speaking, your odds of winning improve when you play slots with the highest payback. That said, you should stay off any online slots that pay less than 96%, or any land-based machines that pay less than 90%.
2. Falling into the Slots Trance
We all have ideas of how long we should play slots and when a good time to quit is based on bankroll considerations. But slot machines have a way of lulling you into a trance thanks to the sounds and lights. Set your phone alarm every 20-30 minutes to break yourself out of this trance.
3. Being Tricked by Partial Wins
Another slots trick includes offering partial wins, where you earn a small win that’s less than your original bet. Here’s an example: you bet $1 total on 20 lines and net a $0.30 win. Logically, we know that this is a $0.70 loss. But you need to account for this during a session too so you aren’t making one of the biggest slots mistakes ever.
4. Failing to Take Breaks
For general health reasons – not to mention your bankroll – you should get up from slots once every hour and walk around for a while.
5. Playing Too Fast
We all hope to win in slots. But the odds are against us, and you don’t want to play too fast because this drains your bankroll quicker.
6. Not Signing up for the Slots Club
This slots mistake is strictly related to land-based casinos, where players must sign up for the slots club to get rewards. Unfortunately, many people start betting without first signing up and taking advantage of rewards.
7. Thinking that Slots Run Hot and Cold
Slot machines do run hot and cold – but not be design. The random number generator (RNG) ensures random results on every spin. And sometimes the RNG goes in your favor for a period (hot), or it goes totally against you (cold). But the truth is that you can never predict when this will happen based on past results.