Slot Watchers
My idea of a sensible “diet” for slot players
By Frank Scoblete
Weight Watchers allows you to eat anything, as long as you don’t exceed your daily points. So how should I structure “Slot Watchers” program to achieve basically the same thing?
Slot Watchers
I have been fat for 20 years now. Oh, yes, I work out every day and my heart rate is 55 beats a minute; but I am fat. I am 100 pounds over my fighting weight of 40 years ago!
So I decided to go to Weight Watchers to lose several generations of body lard. I have been going for a month now, and the process does work. I’ve lost weight. I am now less fat.
Weight Watchers has a system of points based on the types of foods you are eating. You are told each week, “This week you can have 28 points per day” or such. You are even given extra points so you can occasionally eat somewhat more. I use those extra points for a few drinks.
Everyone is different, so how many points you can have per day will vary with the individual.
At my meeting this morning (I am the only male in a class of 50 overweight females), a thought struck me; why not have a point system for slot players based on their own individual needs, bankroll and temperament? I could call this my “Slot Watchers” point system. It will help slot players lose less, and perhaps win more, while still being allowed to play all the machines they like.
Weight Watchers allows you to eat anything, as long as you don’t exceed your daily points. So how should I structure “Slot Watchers” program to achieve basically the same thing?
Some foods, such as pasta and rice, have an outrageous number of points. You must eat those foods in very small portions, or you’ll use up your point total quite quickly.
So which machines are the “rice and pastas” of slot play? Obviously, the multi-casino progressives such as Megabucks are loaded with points. The house edge is huge on those machines, coming in at around 15 percent. That means a loss of $15 for every $100 you wager. Therefore, a lot of points would be assigned to these machines.
Which machines are the lowest in points? The best machines are the stand-alone machines that do not give you an extra reward for playing full coins/credits. These are called “equal pay” or “equal distribution” machines. Here, you can happily play one coin which means very few points in your “Slot Watchers” notebook.
Equal distribution machines are merely multiples of the first line. So if one coin wins $200; two coins will win $400 and three coins will win $600.
So now, let’s make a list of the slot points based on the continuum between interlinked casino progressive machines at one end, and the stand-alone equal-pay machines at the other end. But first, let’s figure out how many points you wish to use in a day. Here, I will be arbitrary.
You will be allowed 5,000 to 10,000 points in one day—and you must not exceed that amount, though you can happily go under those 5,000 points if you wish. You must base this on the following table:
- 25 cents is one point
- 50 cents is two points
- 75 cents is three points
- $1 is four points
- $2 is five points
- $3 is six points
- $4 is seven points
- $5 is eight points
- $10 is nine points
- $15 is ten points
Here comes the difficult part: You must multiply these points by the type of machine you are playing.
- Interlinked casino progressives multiply by four (therefore a 25 cent bet equals 4 points).
- In-house progressives multiply by three
- Full coin reward machines multiply by two
- Equal distribution machines multiply by one
You’ll note that the smaller the number of points, the greater the number of spins.
Now, I have not worked out the full dimensions of this system and it might have some serious flaws. However, its purpose is to limit total exposure to the worst machines; increase your betting on better machines; and also give you a range of machines you can play, and how much to play them for.
Can you mix and match? Absolutely; you don’t have to stick to one type of machine. If you wish to use some of your points on those interlinked progressives, feel free. Your spin count will go down, but your potential for big wins will go up. But you must not pass the total number of points for any given day.
As for those of you who can afford to play $25, $50, $100 and $500 machines, you can consider yourselves “slot skinnies,” and won’t be in need of my “Slot Watchers” point system.
Frank Scoblete’s newest books are Slots Conquest: How to Beat the Slot Machines, which features advantage-play slots; Casino Craps: Shoot to Win, which comes with a DVD showing controlled throws. Cutting Edge Craps: Advanced Strategies for Serious Players and Beat Blackjack Now are all available from Amazon.com, or at your favorite bookstore, or by mail-order by calling 1-866-SET-DICE. You can also call that number for a free brochure.
Slot Watchers
