Heavy's Axis Power Craps Forum

July 26, 2011




Remember these buckets that they gave you to hold all of your coins that came out of the slot machines? I really miss those machines. I loved it when I heard the sound of all those coins come flying out and hitting the tray. "PLINK, PLINK, PLINK." There was something thrilling about that sound. How many buckets did you fill up?

One day while I was playing craps, my friend and I saw this guy playing two $5 sit down machines at the same time. He had "5 full buckets" completely filled with coins. He had so many buckets that he didn't know where to put them and he still kept on winning. It was amazing to watch. He was lucky that he was sitting right next to the cage so he didn't have very far to carry all of those buckets filled with $5 coins.


$5Bill

Years ago I used to swing by the hosts desk at my local joint and pick up the list of slots that had jackpotted in the last 24 hours. I'd take that info and enter it into a spreadsheet I kept on my laptop. I was looking for trends as to when certain progressives tended to pop and to identify whether or not one machine was more likely than others to hit. I never really got enough info to say conclusively that I could predict anything with the slots, but I did start getting "luckier."

I use a combination strategy on slots that I derived from John Patrick and my pal Roadrunner. Patrick's method calls for you to find a machine that the previous player left on a win - then play a specific number of pulls. As I recall Patrick recommends six pulls. If you don't get a win of some sorts in those six pulls you move on. Roadrunner's strategy was similar, but was played on high-limit slots. A $5 machine would bet $20, or 4 one-coin pulls. If you don't get a hig in 4 pulls you move on to the next machine. Sooooo, what I look for most of the time is a non-progressive $5 - $10 machine that was left on some sort of win. "Winner paid 40 coins" is fine. I'll put $100 in and play single coin pulls. I will typically give a $5 machine 4 - 5 pulls before abandoning it. On a $10 machine it's 3 - 4 pulls. If no hit - move on to the next qualifying machine. Since adopting this style of play I've scored a half-dozen or so jackpots in the $2000 - $6000 range. That puts me WAY ahead of the game on slots.

As many know i play slots as a supplment to my craps. It generates the vast majority of my comps and especially my Caesar's Diamond Status-which comes in very handy. I have studied and played hundreds of slots, mostly dollar variety over the last 20 years and I especially like the older reel type Double Diamond (IGT) and Blazing7s(Bally). These machines have indiosyncracies that are peculiar to the individuel unit and can be spotted by study and intelligence reports. Case in point.


Two weeks ago today i drove from home in Alabama across Mississippi and Louisiana to Bossier City,LA for the APC Get Together. At lunch I stopped in Vicksburg and went to a casino i have never seen, the Diamond Jacks. After about an hour of exploring i sat down at the two bank Double Diamond( Dollar) 2 unit progressive. i played a couple of machines, about $40 each and on the third try moved to the oblong bank selecting machine #2 from the left end on the backside (toward the water). The machine started showing red cherries, then $10 lines, then $20 lines, then" BAM!" Double,Double Diamond Red 7s for $680.
I cashed out at $750.

On the way home on Monday I found myself at Vicksburg at noon so stopped in at the DiamondJacks . The DoubleDiamond carosels were being vacuumed out. I watched as they cleaned the inside of the machine I had previously won on, while I played on the other carosel. I had no liuck. When they finished vacuuming I asked if i could play my favorite machine and was told sure. I put in a hundred dolllar bill. Several pulls later the first red cherry appeared paying $4. Then the $10 pay line. Then the $20 pay line. Remembering what had happened the previous Thursday,I began to play as fast as possible. Then "BAM" Double, Double Diamond Red 7s. Payoff for $680. I cashed out at $700. My net take of the two play sessions, was $1200 with no taxes taken out. I departed the casino.

The machines (especially the reelmachines) do talk- you just have to watch and listen (sometimes through sight) to their language. And just like little R2D2 in Star Wars, those sounds and signals mean something-if you can interpret them!!!

CrimsonTide

Of course, some folks are of the opinion that the only way to talk to a slot machine is with a ball peen hammer.

I am a Blazing 7 man myself.

GC

I am the Son of a couple of slot players. My Mom, (now gone) had about 10-15 of those little pic magnet frames to put on the fridge for her big wins. The most I saw her hit was for $6,000 at the old Desert Inn. Dad nailed $25,000 in Joliet one time. My personal biggest was $2,700 on a 50 cent double diamond. In vegas with the Family I hit +$1500 on a nickel machine.......+ 30,000 nickels.

They will suck the life out of you mostly, but hit a biggie and life is good again.

Later

I was a Video Poker/Double Up ADDICT!!! No kidding... If I could rewind the clock and go back about 8 years, they had std video poker machines with the Double Up feature as a choice in the operating system. The trick was finding the highest payback % VP games that had the Double Up enabled. Back then the Double Up feature used the same payout % as the entire machine. That meant you could take a 5 qtr win (Jacks or Better) and turn it into a 320 qtr win in about 7 seconds. 10 qtr win (2 Pair) goes to 640 in the same 7 seconds.

I kid you not. This was a design flaw that wasn't caught for a couple of years. Plus there was a technique to Double Up on certain machines that was almost fool-proof. I pulled $5000 from 2 machines at Sam's Town in Shreveport one evening. Then the next month pulled $6000 from the same 2 machines! Plus in Vegas at the Four Queens, they had 3-5 machines like Sam's Town. Pulled about $1500 on one trip out there. All using the same technique...

But now they have different set up commands when the Double Up feature is enabled. I've watched them go in and program them. It used to be a simple Enable/Disable option. Now they have to select a Double Up payback % from 70% to 85%. The ones I was playing were set at 98%+ . That change is the main reason I started playing Craps. I really can't stand VP without the Double Up feature...

Tex

Funny to read. I used to play the double up thingy a lot. You don't find them too much anymore. At one place you could push the button for an attendant and ask them to turn the double up button on. No problem sir. I did see a player beat the hell out of a machine one night. It seemed like he couldn't lose.

Golfer

Yo... Carbon-Based Units........

At my local Indian Casino..." THE PALACE.COM " ...... I was playing at a $5.00 BJ table next to a max. bet 3-quarter " Wheel of Fortune" Machine and the damn-thing would NOT stop ringing. It was getting on my nerves so I went over the the machine.

A young kid was leaning up against the facing bank of machines...standing there, all alone. They had put yellow tape around the ringing machine. I asked him how much he had put in the machine ?

He said his whole paycheck....+$800.00 went into that .75 cent max. bet machine.

He did not seem elated at all. I looked at the tall machine and he had HIT IT it for....... + $335,00.00 !

I congraded him ( nobody else was ) and went back to my BJ.

He was subdued and he almost seemed ... " non-interested " in his massive win

I thought to myself....hummmmmm ?.... I wonder if he had help from the slot-tech. ?

It sure seemed like it to me ?
It has happened before !
It made the cover of the local newspaper.
Jim

I'd take that hit!

Heavy,
When you play 4 pulls and win, say 5 units do you continue or cash out?
Thanks,Michael

Depends on the win. If I am getting what I refer to as "tease" hits - say 4 - 20 coins - I'll continue to play as long as I'm getting some sort of hit every 4 - 6 pulls - up to 50% or so of my win. On the flip side, if I hit one for 200 coins - $1000 on a $5 machine - I'll play it down to an "even" number and then cash out.

One time Roadrunner and I were hanging out at Fremont and I was playing a favorite $5 machine of mine (and Green Chip's) when I hit it for something like $120. I cashed it out and Roadrunner said he thought it had more to give and slipped in $100. By the time I got back from the cage he had hit it for $240. Classic case of stopping too soon when it's in pay-off mode.

After Playing craps for a while yesterday, I roamed around and finally sat down at my favorite slot machine, the Triple Diamond Slot. I thought it would make a cool picture for a screen saver so I got out my camera and took a picture of it.

Darn Bill, I was hoping you had hit that machine for the big jackpot.

Hi Dylanfreake

No I didn't win anything on the slots. I was just taking pretty pictures.

$5Bill

Okay, I've posted my "slot strategy" in the past. Let's hear from the rest of you guys - assuming you play slots at all. How do you choose a machine? How much do you feed it before moving on to the next one? Do you play max coin in or just feed one coin at a time? Inquiring minds and all that . . .

.
The most winning person I have ever met is Bones Brother In Law. That man is a human winning slot magnet. He seems to concentrate his efforts on ONE CENT & TWO CENT machines.........

His precentage of winners is beyond the MATT,and the actual pay outs seem rich $$.

My Bride enjoys slots and has mixed results..........

I do O K on my newly included " OTHER GAME " Video Poker

At that I play Dueces Wild or Jacks Or Better machines 25 Cent Machine.
$100 at 5 coins $1.25 a hand gives 80 hands.

At times I play the 5 Cent machine... $20 gives 80 hands ( 5 coins= 25 Cents )

Takes a mix of skill and luck.

On the 5Cent machine at a Plus 15 % which is $3 win I cash out. Wait a few moments and risk a second $20 bill.........

On the 25 Cent machine using the same guidlines 15% = $15.

I know this sounds anemic compared to REALLY BIG $$$ MONEY $$$ wins.

Considerprinting then running a stack of WINNER tickets through the Ticket Payout Kiosk Machine
after 30-45 min sit down play. Hit several STRAIGHT FLUSH ,FOUR OF A KIND, FOUR DUECES not to mention the ever so elusive ROYAL STRAIGHT FLUSH and you are buying in at the CRAPS TABLE with "recently won Currency"

The Big Screen Virtual / Video Black-Jack/ 21 machines are nice also.
If you know Basic Stratergy or carry a BASIC STRATERGY CARD to this sitdown game with you,there is a high probility of walking away as a winner of enough $ Currency to "Grub Stake "
a BUY IN at the CRAPS TABLE..........
There are several good B J - 21 books and video instruction to instruct those who wish it.
Also there may be some STRONG B J /21 players on this boaed willing to offer HOW TO tips

You will most often win when the DEALER BUSTS and I have seen with a STRONG PLAYER ON THIRD BASE this occures frequently and the entire table wins.

I like my choices when waiting for an over crowded Craps Table to thin out or for a closed table to OPEN.

Just Me Saying

W C

I was wondering also if it is better to jump around from machine to machine, or to stick with one only.

Well, I guess that will depend on who you ask. I am of the opinion that the typical machine will pay-off two to three times in a relatively short period of time - then go to sleep for the next few weeks before waking up and repeating the cycle. That's why I look for a machine that someone left on a win. I'll feed that machine a very limited amount of action. If it does not reward me in fairly short order I move on to the next "qualifying" machine.

As long as I'm on this subject, I might also mention that the "locals" always seem to know when the next progressive is supposed to hit. I recall walking into the old Harrah's property in Shreveport (now Sam's Town) many years ago and every machine on one particular stretch of progressives was filled with blue hairs who were spinning the reels like a slot tournament was going on. One of the floor gals pointed it out to me and said the progressive would pop somewhere between $10,500 and $11,500. Sure enough, within the hour the lights and bells went off and someone collected their hand pay. Meanwhile, the rest of the machines in that line emptied and the blue hairs scattered like roaches.

One of my Vegas pals used to track the progressives in all of his favorite casinos. When certain ones got close to payout time he'd cruise over, pick his favorite machine and run a few hundred through. Worked very well for him. He picked up several progressives that way through the years. At $10K or so a pop - it doesn't take many to set you up well ahead of the game.