Slot machines often get a bad rap from gambling writers. But the truth is, slot machines are the perfect gambling activity for certain types of people. They’re easy to understand, they’re easy to play, and they offer the possibility of big winnings.

• How To Find Loose Slots In Vegas
• How Do I Find Loose Slots

The unicorns that most gamblers are looking for in the casino, though, are the loosest slot machines. What does that mean?

Over the years, players have developed a number of theories about finding loose slot machines. Casinos place loose machines near the entrances, for example, so passersby can see players winning and are enticed to enter the casino and try their luck. On the other hand while players are likely to find loose slots near high traffic areas it is doubtful that they will find them near the gaming tables like black jack or keno. Listed below are just a few ways to find the loose slots. Look for a slot machine that is visible from many directions. A loose slot machine increases your chance of winning and helps if you want to know when a slot machine is close to hitting the jackpot. Below you will find a list of things to look out for when determining if you have found a loose slot machine.

When a gambler describes a slot machine as “loose” or “tight,” she’s usually referring to the payback percentage for the game. Slots with a higher payback percentage than average are loose, while slots with a lower payback percentage than average are tight. Loose slots usually have a higher hit ratio than tight slots, too.

The first tip that will help you to increase your chances of hitting a jackpot is to time the machines. Some slots in casinos are programmed to a 99% payback, while the others may be programmed at just 90%. Programs differ and it depends from the casino you go to. Even if you find a loose slot, you cannot expect to win every time. Take your time and try not to get frustrated even if you don’t win right away.

You’ll find plenty of inaccurate information about how to find the loosest slot machines in the casino. I try to avoid most of those inaccuracies in this post, but I do want to begin with a warning:

The probabilities involved with slot machines are “opaque.” That means you don’t have any way of knowing what the payback percentage for any particular slot machine game is. The random number generator that determines the outcomes is programmed to have each symbol come up with a certain probability, but there’s no way of knowing if that number has been set to 1/6 or 1/60. Even observing a large number of spins only provides limited insight into these probabilities.

How To Find Loose Slots In Vegas

You do know what the payouts are for the various combinations. But since that’s only half the equation, you can’t really know whether a game is loose or tight except anecdotally. I’m going to assume that anecdotal evidence has some value, but in terms of math, science, and statistics, anecdotal has no value at all.

1- Look for the Loose Slot Machines in the Locations Where Loose Slot Machines Are Found

Casino mapping is a real thing, but it’s not as simple as some gamblers would have you believe. If finding the loose slot machines were as easy as just playing the games located nearest the walkways, everyone would play those games to the exclusion of the other games.

That being said, it might be worth giving those games a try if they look like fun. They’re not more likely to be tighter than the other machines than any other game on the casino floor.

I’ve read that some areas in the casino have lower payout machines than others, and it might be wise to avoid games in those areas. These might include:

• The main slot machine floor. These games probably see the most action, so it would make sense for them to have lower payback percentages.
• Near the table games. These games see more than their fair share of action, too. The same reasoning would apply.
• Near the poker room. I’ve seen some gamblers swear that these are the worst machines in the casino. You have to wonder about a poker player who spends a lot of time playing slots, though.

Of course, there are other locations where the loosest machines might be located. Depending on whom you believe, these might include:

• Anywhere that gets more traffic than usual. For example, if a slot machine is located near the elevators, it might have higher payouts to attract play from someone who might not otherwise play.
• Anywhere that another gambler recommends. This is, of course, the classic mistake—relying on anecdotal evidence. It’s possible, though, that you might find a slot machine player who’s been paying close attention and knows where the loose machines are.

In fact, that leads me to my next point…

2- Don’t Be Afraid to Ask

The obvious person to ask about the location in the casino of the loosest slot machines is someone who works there. This isn’t a guarantee that she’ll be able to direct you to a loose machine, but she might have some insight based on her observations. Depending on how long she’s worked at the casino, she’s probably seen tens of thousands of even hundreds of thousands of gamblers over her career there. She might have noticed that a lot of them seem to be winning on slot machines in a certain location.

If you’re dealing with a cocktail waitress, it’s a good idea to tip generously. For that matter, no matter what they do at the casino, if they try to help you find a loose gambling machine, tip them. At some casinos, employees are forbidden from suggesting specific games. Sometimes you’ll find casino employees who just don’t want to be bothered with such concerns, too. Don’t be a jerk if that’s the case.

3- Don’t Play Slot Machines That AREN’T in Casinos

In towns like Las Vegas, slot machines are everywhere, in all kinds of businesses. Every bar in the city seems to have some slot machines. The airport is full of slot machines, too. You can even find slot machines in the gas stations and convenience stores.

We know one thing for certain about slot machine games in these non-casino locations:

Casinos, on the other hand, are competing with other casinos for the mindshare and hard-earned dollars of the casino gamblers. Since they’re in competition with the other casinos, they must offer payback percentages that are as good as their competitors’ or better.

This is one ironclad rule for finding the loosest slot machines in the casino:

ONLY play slot machines in a casino, not the slot machines in other businesses. That’s as good a starting point as any. The difference could be as significant as the difference between a 94% payback percentage and a 74% payback percentage.

Assuming you’re a conservative, low-stakes player, here’s the difference in predicted hourly loss between those 2 examples:

• Assume 400 spins per hour at $1.25 per spin, for $500 per hour in action.
• A game with a 94% payback percentage will see predicted losses of $30/hour.
• A game with a 74% payback percentage, though, will see predicted losses of $130/hour.

If that difference doesn’t seem significant to you, what are you doing playing penny slots anyway?

4- Look for the Plainest, Most Boring Games with the Fewest Paylines

Generally, the slot machines with lots of paylines have lower payout percentages. They’re able to compensate for this psychologically by having a high hit frequency. With 25 paylines, you might win something on almost every spin, even if it’s an amount lower than the amount you wagered in total.

For example, you might be playing a penny game with a max bet of 5 coins and 25 paylines. You’re betting $1.25 every time you spin the reels. Many times, 1 or 2 paylines might win, but the payout on those bets might only be 50 cents. That’s a lot compared to the nickel you bet on that individual payline, but you bet on 25 paylines, remember?

Since such games have no bonus features or bells and whistles, the casino can afford to have them pay out more than the big fancy games. I had a lot of fun on The Big Lebowski slot machines recently, but I can’t even imagine what such a big impressive game like that must cost a casino. The cost of the machine alone must be outrageous.

5- Stick with the Flat Top Slot Machines

How Do I Find Loose Slots

Slot machines can be broadly lumped into 2 different categories:

• Progressives
• Flat tops

A flat top slot machine is a game with a jackpot (top prize) of a fixed amount. This amount is usually 1000 times the size of your bet, give or take.

For that matter, you probably won’t get rich playing progressive slots, either. The odds of winning the jackpot are just terrible, comparable to playing the lottery. Sure, some people win the lottery. But I can’t imagine playing a game with a house edge that large repeatedly, hundreds of times per hour.

6- Play the Highest Denomination Game You Can Afford

You’d probably be surprised to know that penny slots are often as expensive to play (or even more expensive) than dollar slots. Here’s why:

Most penny slots require you to wager 5 credits or more per spin. It’s also hard to resist betting on multiple paylines. It’s easy to find a game with 5 coin bets on each line and with 25 paylines. Before you know it, you’re betting $1.25 on every spin.

But you could switch to a dollar slot machine and probably do a lot better. For one thing, you could just bet a dollar per spin on a single payline. Now you’re betting less per spin than you were on the quarter machine. But what’s really impressive is the difference in payback percentage.

Suppose you play 600 spins per hour on that penny machine. You’re putting $750 in action each hour–$1.25 per spin multiplied by the 600 spins per hour. With an 88.49% payback percentage, in the long run, you’ll average $663.68 back per hour. That’s an average loss per hour of $86.33.

No play those same 600 spins on a dollar machine, betting only a dollar on each spin. That’s $600 in action multiplied by 92.63% to get an average payback amount of $44.22. You’ll lose HALF the money on the dollar slot as you would the penny slot! That’s a significant difference, and one you should take note of.

Just be careful and read the pay tables. Slot machines vary a lot from one machine to another, and you should always play enough coins to activate the biggest jackpot. If the ratios change based on playing for fewer coins, you want to avoid that game or bet max coin. You might be surprised at how many slot machines DON’T require you to place a max coin bet, too, though.

7- Try Online Slot Machines

Since online casinos don’t have all the brick and mortar expenses of land-based casinos, their games sometimes offer higher payback percentages. You must balance this with the trustworthiness of the casino, though. Some internet casinos are notoriously hard to cash out of.

Of course, if you stick with the casinos recommended on this site, you probably won’t have to worry about that. Our team of casino reviewers and researchers has thoroughly vetted the properties we list here on our site.

And if you take how competitive they are as a measure for how loose their games must be to attract customers, you’ll find that the casinos on the web are even more competitive than the casinos in Las Vegas.

8- Track Your Results and Make Some Assumptions

I recently visited a casino and tracked my results carefully on a machine. Of course, there’s nothing especially scientific about 200 spins on a machine, but you’re still operating from more data than most players if you do this.

It’s not hard to project a payback percentage, either. Start by writing down how much money you put in the machine. Then count how many spins you make on that machine. When you cash out of the machine, take a note of how much you’ve lost. You multiply the number of spins you made by how much you were betting per spin. You divide the total amount of money you lost by how many spins you made. Then you know the average loss per spin and can convert it into a payback percentage.

In my case, I was betting $1.25 per spin, so I put $250 in to action over 200 spins. I lost $50, which amounts to 25 cents per spin. 25 cents divided by $1.25 is 20%, which is the house edge. The payback percentage is the amount you get to keep—in this case, 80%. (You just subtract it from 100%.) Your goal is to find a payback percentage that’s better than average. Tracking your results this way also makes playing slot machines more interesting, because you have something to pay attention to.

Gambling at a casino—especially on slot machines—should be considered an entertainment expense. Budget for it accordingly, and if you occasionally win, great. But don’t count on it.

• I asked if San Manuel had a 5 cent Cave Man slot and it went all around but did not answer my guestion . Thank you you were informative play for fun .

If you fit into the majority of casino visitors, you’re probably at least an occasional slot machine player. As you’ll know from reading various articles on this blog, I’m not a huge fan of slot machines – not because they’re not fun and entertaining to play, but simply because they fall outside of my “acceptable games to play in a casino if you want to have a chance at taking some money home in the long term”. Generally, I consider any casino game with a house edge of more than 2.5% to be a risk simply not worth taking (in the long term). And slot machines typically take between 4% and 15% dependent on denomination and game type.

That said, if you are going to play slot machines, you’ll want to find “loose” games to play. What’s loose? Simply, a machine that has a high payback percentage – the amount of money you get back for every dollar or pound you put into the slot machine. In general terms, I’d consider a slot machine loose if it paid back 95% or more. Slot machines which pay less than 90% I’d consider “tight”. Slot machines which fall somewhere in the middle band (90% – 95%) are simply “average”.

There’s been a lot of strategies / formulas ideas published over the years (some free, some chargable “systems”) which claim to tell players how to find a loose machine. General tips from these formulas / strategies (most of which I consider to be a total waste of time, and certainly not worthy of any money investment) are:

1) Look for slot machines near the ends of aisles – casinos put “loose” slot machines there so that people will see lots of winners and want to play the slots. REALITY: casinos got wise to this years ago, so don’t expect to find the machines there anymore. They might be in the middle of a slot bank, they might be at the end, they might be near a bar or restaurant, or they may simply not exist at all. All are possible.

2) Look for slot machines that have a “wobble” in the reels when they spin – they’re due for a jackpot. REALITY: The “wobble” proves nothing. It might just be that the slot machine in question needs maintenance – or has a fault developing, or simply that the plastic wheel has worked itself a bit loose. Besides, the vast majority of slots these days are VIDEO SLOTS that don’t have “reels” – so the whole wobble theory is pretty much redundant in any case.

3) Ask the slot attendants. They know which slot machines are due for a jackpot. REALITY: They’ll take your tip money if offered, but they have no better clue than you do about whether a particular machine will pay out today. Why? Machines are RANDOM devices that could pay out 3 jackpots in a row, then none for 3 months – or one a month for 3 months, or one then nothing for 5 years, etc. There is no way to know when a machine will pay out – the Random Number Generator in a slot machine is generating random numbers all the time, and it’s when the number is chosen that signifies a “jackpot” that you’ll get the jackpot. Not before, not after. (Note: UK Readers – UK Fruit Machines (Crazy Fruits, Bar X, Barcrest machines etc) DO work on a cycle of sorts… don’t confuse these with true “slot machines”).

4) Watch the machines, and when the little old lady who’s been playing for 2 hours and exhausted her slots budget finally gets up, go to her machine and play it. You’re going to win! REALITY: See 3) above. Slot machines are random. There’s no guarantee that you’ll get a slot machine jackpot / payout just because somebody lost who was playing it before you. Slot machines are never “due” for a jackpot. The odds of most jackpots are always about 1,000,000 to 1 or more – similar odds to some of the higher payouts on a lottery ticket.

There are many more theories like these, destined to become gambling myths. Let me share with you now my version of REAL observations that I believe CAN help you (they HAVE helped me over the years – and you’ll know that the main reason for writing this blog is to share my knowledge so that you too can Beat the Casinos!):

1) The higher the denomination of the slot machine you’re playing, the higher the likely payout percentage. If you play 5c / 5p machines, expect a payout percentage of about 88% or thereabouts. If you play £1 / $1 machines, expect a payout percentage of 92 – 93%. And so it goes on. This runs true in almost ALL casinos.

Why? Every slot machine takes up floor space in a casino, and each slot machine is expected to make a certain amount of revenue. Casinos will pay higher payback percentages on a higher denomination, because the AVERAGE BET on those machines is higher than on a lower denomination machine. In the long run, most of the machines, despite denomination, will likely produce similar revenue figures for the casino, because of this percentage payback formula.

2) Dumpier casinos tend to have better paying machines. This is not always true, but in general terms you’ll find (for example) better payouts in dumpier Downtown Las Vegas or in Las Vegas North etc rather than on the glitzy Las Vegas Strip. All casinos have overheads / running costs, but the glitzy casinos have more money to recoup from their building costs, more money to make to cover their better trained staff, more money to make to cover their nicer buffets / restaurants. It makes sense that if there’s more profit that needs to be made to cover running costs, that it needs to come from somewhere – and most likely, that will be from slot players. (Note: regardless of where you play, ALWAYS join the Players Club – get points and comps based upon your play, which helps you to get a little of that edge back).

3) Casinos with competition tend to have higher paying machines than those without. Again it’s not guaranteed, but you can expect areas like Las Vegas, Reno, and Atlantic City to pay higher than a US Indian Reservation (Tribal) Casino etc. The more casinos there are in an area, the better it is for players. Casinos know that they want to get a reputation as the “highest payouts” provider in any area, if they’re intending to stay in business, and attract loyal long term players.

4) Online (Internet) casinos tend to have machines that pay very well across the board – sometimes as high as 98%. The lower running costs of an online operation are often passed on to you, the player. Furthermore, considering 3) above, there is nowhere on the planet hotter than the INTERNET for casino competition – there’s THOUSANDS of online casinos available to us all, at the simple click of a mouse.

Importantly, online casinos WANT you to become loyal players. Did you know that Internet casino players typically play MORE OFTEN than those players visiting casino areas? Why? Because the Internet is available 24 hours a day, regardless of where you live/are at the time. But here’s an interesting observation: Internet casino players generally LOSE LESS (per betting session) than real casino visitors – because the games are often “looser” – and because of the impact that “bonus cash” / “free money” / “comps” have online.

Talking of bonus cash, all of the casinos I promote (and have personally played in) offer bonus / matchplay cash for first time players – which can (generally) be used to play slot machines! Give yourself an advantage by playing with the casino’s money as well as your own – there’s a great chance for you to win.

Don’t forget about my January 2008 promotion in which I’m PERSONALLY giving you FREE cash when you join any of these casinos via the blog and meet the signup requirements (see the top of ANY page in this blog for full details). Your joining of the casinos also helps to support this blog and keep it FREE for all. That’s a nice thing to do!

I hope this article helps you to find many loose slot machines, that you can empty! Do let me know what you do with your winnings!