Sixth Sense in Slot
Do some slot players possess psychic powers?
By Frank Scoblete
What if a player—time after time—gets that “feeling” about a win they’re about to experience, or a particular machine they should play, and time after time, that person wins? Could that truly be some form of ESP?
While I think there may be some kinds of ESP – or at least the appearance of ESP – I am a total skeptic when it comes to finding winning slot machines based on one’s intuitive powers. For example, a hundred players can feel that tonight is the night they will win big. That they will pick just the right machine, a machine that calls to them “across a crowded room,” as the lyrics from “Some Enchanted Evening” say.
These players believe they have that “other sense” and when they go into a casino, one or two of them might indeed have big nights. Sadly, the rest might have mediocre, poor or downright awful nights.
The two players who have the good nights think to themselves, “I felt it. I knew it. I could sense I was going to win!” They may even feel that the hand of fate was in their corner and allowed them know in advance what the results would be.
What are the other players feeling? First, not so great; then, they tend to forget they ever had that special feeling. It floats away into the ether. They don’t tell any stories about the amazing psychic experience they just had. “Jenny, you can’t believe it. I knew I was going to hit it big and guess what? I lost! Isn’t that something? I can’t wait to tell all my friends.”
How many times have you been thinking of someone, and just like that (snap of the fingers here) they call your phone? Wow! That must mean something, right? That must be some form of ESP. But wait a second. How many thousands, perhaps millions, of times have you thought of someone and that person didn’t call? And how many times do you remember that this someone didn’t call? Probably never. What appeared to be ESP turns out to be nothing of the kind.
Still, what if a player – time after time – gets that “feeling” about a win they’re about to experience, or a particular machine they should play, and time after time, that person wins? Could that truly be some form of ESP? Or is that merely an outlying event – still based on probability, however extreme it seems? I’ll let you decide that issue.
Here’s a letter I received from a woman who clearly thinks she has something psychic going on when she plays the slots. Unlike many letters I receive on this topic, this woman is a clear and competent writer, and I think what she has to say will be of interest to you.
Dear Frank,
My husband and I moved to Pleasantville, New Jersey last year. My husband is a numbers man and has been a retail manager for 30 years. He enjoys gambling, especially Pai Gow, which has some nice advantages for players.
Since I am intimidated by the possibility of getting lynched by fellow players at a gaming table, I have stayed away from everything but Pai Gow. But we don’t play table games much in Atlantic City because the betting is too expensive. So we stick to slots.
My husband now plays slots with me.
I firmly believe there is an intuition or “sixth sense” involved. I like to understand how things work, so I have been researching slot machines today, as well as what others experience in the way of a sixth sense.
When it comes to my sixth sense, I have noticed that I need to be well rested, alert, and happy to pick the best machines at a casino. I fret over losing 20 dollars, which is why my husband wins more than I do. He is willing to risk more, and has a very positive attitude. He is willing to stay at a machine longer than I am, as well. I should keep track of our wins and losses to see if his style works better than mine. Once I become upset or stressed about losing, I can no longer feel which machines will hit.
Over the last week, I’ve had machines call me from across the room. These are machines that I would normally never play. My husband likes goofy machines with animals or cartoon characters, and I tend to like pretty machines with fairies and such. I will actually resist playing on one of these urges if I know the machine gives poor payouts. I felt that I needed to play such a machine the other night but I was on my last 5 dollars. I played for 4 spins and then moved to the machine next to it and hit a 78 dollar bonus in 50 cents. Sometimes it seems that my intuition is not precise, but local; at other times, it is very direct and correct.
We have noticed timing is important as well. We do best between the hours of 7-10 pm and 12-4 am. If a casino is too busy we can’t get to the right machine, but I have walked into large and empty casinos and find I can’t feel any good machines. Perhaps I am intimidated by the rows and rows of choices. I am hoping I can develop my intuition further.
We will be moving in the fall so I don’t have much time to do this, but it is an interesting project.
I’d love to hear more about other people’s experiences.
Janice Wilson
So do you think Janice is on to something with her “sixth sense,” or do you think she’s just fooling herself?
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.
Do some slot players possess psychic powers.
