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- Virginia Skill Based Slot Machines
- Skill-based Slot Machines Newsletter
- Pennsylvania Skill Slot Machine
People that play slot machines typically think that these games can’t be beaten in the long run. After all, they have some of the highest houses in the casino.
Slots in land-based casinos are especially bad. They carry anywhere from a 5% to 15% house advantage.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) A New York firm hopes to be the first in the world to install skill-based slot machines on casino floors in which the main determining factor in how much a player can win. Jackpots and joysticks Casinos want to add skill to slot machines. Reports that its handful of skill-based slots rake in as much as traditional ones. Fruttis, a matching game akin to Candy. Skill-based slot machines put a touch of Las Vegas at the local bar Queen of Virginia skill machines at New York Deli in Carytown. (Photo by Benjamin West) (Source: Capital News Service).
More recently, though, slots providers have been rolling out skill-based slot machines. They give you the chance to win more money based on your skill level.
But can you earn long-term profits with skill-based slots? I’m going to answer this question by covering more on how these games work and if they can ultimately be beaten.
How Does a Skill-Based Slot Machine Work?
You may have difficulty distinguishing a skill-based slot from a traditional machine. After all, they basically operate the same way.
You insert money, spin the reels, and wait for luck to do the rest. The only difference is that a skill-based game has bonus rounds that require skill to win.
With some of these games, you don’t necessarily have to play the skill-based round. You may be given the option between an interactive bonus and free spins.
Assuming you choose the former, then you’ll be taken to a second screen to play a skill-based game. The goal is to boost your profits by playing well.
- You’re playing a racing themed slot
- You trigger the bonus room and choose the skill-based bonus
- You need to race against other cars
- Your finish will determine the size of your payout
Again, these games don’t differ much from regular slot machines. However, they do stand out due to their unique bonuses.
What Makes These Games Worthwhile?
For decades, slot machines have been based on pure luck. You can’t do anything to influence the results after spinning the reels.
Instead, the random number generator determines whether you win or lose. The only thing you can really do is pick slot machines that offer a high return to player (RTP).
However, skill-based slots are a departure from traditional machines. They actually give you a chance to boost your profits with skill, much like blackjack or video poker.
Of course, you can’t use your skills throughout the entire game. These slots are mostly like traditional games, aside from the bonus rounds.
Nevertheless, the fact that you can use some degree of skill is an interesting change. If you like playing video games, then you’ll appreciate the opportunity to win more money based on how well you play the bonuses.
What Are the Chances of Beating Skill-Based Slot Machines?
Skill-based slots are somewhat deceiving. Your skills can result in more money, but not enough to earn guarantee profits in the long run.
The biggest problem is that even if you’re an expert at the bonus round, you won’t raise RTP enough to guarantee winnings. These games are still programmed to give the house a large enough advantage to beat the average player.
- A game features 92% base RTP
- The bonus rounds make up an additional 2–5% of payback
- Even with expert play, you can only expect to earn 97% RTP
Does this mean that skill-based slots are impossible to beat? No, you can still beat them just like a regular slot machine.
The drawback, though, is that they’re not like blackjack (card counting) or certain video poker variations, which can offer an edge over the casino. The bonus rounds just don’t make up enough of the RTP for this to be possible.
At best, you can play well enough during the bonus to earn higher payback than with the average slot machine. But you’ll still need luck to beat these games in the end.
Should You Still Play Skill Based Slots?
You might not like how skill-based slots aren’t as skillful as they may appear. But you can still have a good time playing these games.
The main thing to consider is what type of gambler you are. Are you looking for unique slot machines? Do you wish there was more interactivity with the average game?
If your answer is “yes” to both, then you should appreciate these slots. They’re fairly new to the industry and offer something different from the norm.
However, you shouldn’t play a skill-based slot machine if your main goal is to win profits. Better games exist for this purpose.
Blackjack, Texas hold’em, sports betting, and video poker are examples of games that you can conquer with the right skills and know-how.
Skill-based slots, unfortunately, don’t fall into the same category. You still need some degree of luck to win profits.
Now, this situation could very well change in the future. Developers might eventually create games that can offer profits to expert players.
But for now, skill-based slot machines are like regular slots in terms of RTP. The only difference is that some may offer high payback when you play the bonus well.
What Type of Slot Machines Can You Beat?
One little-known fact about slots is that certain types of games can offer long-term profits. Below, you can see three categories of slot machines that can give you an edge.
Accumulator Slots
An accumulator slot machine features a bonus meter. You gradually fill this meter by collecting special symbols throughout the game. Once the meter is full, you’ll trigger a bonus.
You can actually make profits by consistently playing accumulator slots when the meter is almost full. In these cases, you’re benefiting from all of the bets made beforehand that pushed the meter.
The key challenge in earning money with these games is finding empty seats.
You need the right combination of a nearly full meter along with someone who gives up their seat right before triggering the bonus.
The latter doesn’t happen most of the time. Therefore, “slots vultures” try to trick players into leaving games.
Vultures hang around slot sections and look for bonus meters that are almost full. They’ll then approach players on these games and ask something like, “This is my lucky machine, can I have it?”
The problem with this strategy is that you need the nerve to actually ask players to get up from their machines. Some gamblers won’t willingly oblige and may get hostile if you persist.
In the end, accumulator slots are one of the worst ways to make gambling profits. But you still might be interested in these games if you have no trouble asking gamblers to vacate games with nearly full bonus meters.
Mystery Jackpot Slot Machines
A mystery jackpot slot features a jackpot that pays out at a predefined point. For example, a game may deliver its top prize at exactly $500.
Much like with accumulator slot machines, you can win guaranteed profits by consistently playing these games at the right points. Namely, you want to jump on a mystery slot when a progressive jackpot is nearing its payout.
Some gamblers will leave these machines close to the point when a jackpot is about to hit. They may leave because they’re tired of playing or simply because they run out of money.
Whatever the case, you can profit by taking advantage of these situations again and again. But you won’t find an abundance of perfect opportunities.
First off, vultures also like to scout out mystery progressive slots. Second, these games aren’t widely available on casino floors.
Progressive Jackpot Slots
A progressive slot machine features a jackpot that grows with each bet. These games take a small percentage out of each wager to fund the top prize.
Every progressive slot has a base jackpot amount. For example, a game’s top prize might start at $10,000 and continue growing until it’s finally won.
These slots also feature base RTP, which indicates how much the game is set to pay back at the starting jackpot value. However, the theoretical RTP increases along with the jackpot.
Assuming the top prize gets large enough, then you’ll technically gain positive expected value by playing at this point. Of course, the key problem is that your chances of winning a larger jackpot are very slim.
Even with a theoretical advantage, you must rely on lots of luck to hit a jackpot worth thousands or millions of dollars, but maybe you will want to check first this blog where we explain how to make a profit playing progressive slots.
Conclusion
The term “skill-based slot machines” is fairly misleading. True to their names, these games do feature some degree of skill. However, they mostly revolve around pure luck like other slot machines.
The only skill involved is in the bonus rounds. You play mini games where your performance will determine the payout.
Some of these slots can offer solid RTP if you’re skilled enough. For example, you may be able to push a game with 92% RTP to 97% payback with a great performance.
But are these games going to deliver profits if you’re good enough? No…at least not guaranteed profits.
The reality is that you’ll still need luck to win. Your skills in the bonus round will only cut down on the random chance.
In the end, skill-based gaming is just another fun way to enjoy slots. I highly recommend that you look for and try these games if you haven’t done so already.
But you shouldn’t expect to gain a long-term edge with these machines. They just don’t feature enough skill.
Assuming you’re desperate to win profits with slots, then you might try accumulator, mystery jackpot, or progressive jackpot slot machines.
I’m not a big fan of hanging out in casinos and trying to beat these games. But they all can deliver profits, with accumulator slots and mystery jackpot games being the most-feasible options.
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Skill-based slot machines, the subject of much buzz and speculation over the last couple of years, have officially arrived in a Las Vegas casino.
The first skill-based slot machines in Las Vegas can now be played at Planet Hollywood, and we’ve got all the details about what casinos are hoping will help deal with “The Millennial Problem.”
Welcome to Las Vegas, you sexy, skill-based vixens, you.
The Millennial Problem, of course, is the belief on the part of casinos and slot machine makers that traditional slots are “losing their luster,” especially with younger customers, specifically, millennials. While the number of millennials visiting Las Vegas is going up (roughly 34 percent of the city’s 43 million visitors in 2016 were millennials, an increase of 24 percent since 2015), casinos cite a decline in slot machine play as evidence millennials raised on video games don’t find traditional slot machines compelling.
There’s some debate about whether The Millennial Problem actually exists, but damn it, casinos are out to solve it whether it exists or not. That’s where skill-based slot machines enter the picture.
Why, look, here’s one now. This is one of three skill-based slot machines at Planet Hollywood.
If you’re a millennial, your nether region should be throbbing right about now.
Of the three games being tested on the casino floor at Planet Hollywood (the machines have to pass a field trial before regulatory approval can be granted), two are Gamblit Poker and the third is a game called Cannonbeard’s Treasure.
The first distinctive thing you notice about these skill-based games is you can’t play with yourself. Yes, we know how that sounds, we are a snark-based Las Vegas blog.
The machines can accommodate up to four players each, but not individual players.
It should be noted the machines currently won’t take loyalty club cards, in case you’re into that kind of thing.
Here’s how they work.
Gamblit Poker is a variation of (wait for it) poker. Players “grab” cards from a common pool of cards, building a hand of five cards. The player with the best hand wins the jackpot, the amount of which is determined by the machine.
Cannonbeard’s Treasure is a variation of blackjack. Players, again, grab cards from a pool of cards. The cards are added up, and the player whose card total is closest to the target number (without going over) wins the pot.
Here’s a look at how the simulated game play looks on the machines, courtesy of us risking our neck to get video of how the simulated game play looks on these machines.
A key element of skill-based machines, and what differentiates them from traditional slot machines, is customers aren’t playing against the machine (or a dealer), they’re playing against each other. The outcome is based upon skill, rather than chance alone.
Mind, meet blown.
So, let’s dig a bit deeper into the pros and cons of Gamblit Poker and Cannonbeard’s Treasure.
First, a big pro of these games is the low price to play. There’s a $2 Gamblit Poker and Cannonbeard’s Treasure is also $2. There’s also a $5 Gamblit Poker.
Second, the competitive and social aspects of skill-based games are undeniable. Traditional slot machines are solitary endeavors. With skill-based games, you can hang out with friends and do your best to relieve them of their hard-earned cash.
Observing people play skill-based slots, it’s easy to see how one’s competitive instincts can kick in, keeping players engaged and playing longer than they might otherwise.
Interactivity certainly does seem to be more appealing than staring blankly at a screen while repeatedly hitting a button.
This is Cannonbeard’s Treasure. They had us as “each player gets not one, but two, cup holders.”
The biggest twist in this whole story, though, is millennials aren’t actually the ones playing skill-based games, at least not the ones at Planet Hollywood. Millennials are curious about the machines, but they’re hit-and-run looky-loos, rarely playing more than $20 a pop.
Truth be told, we didn’t see a ton of play on these machines at all. But when people played, they weren’t millennials. Who’s playing skill-based slots? Slot players. That’s right, older players who already enjoy slot machines. A representative of Gamblit confirmed millennials aren’t the majority of those playing skill-based slots.
That ought to give casino operators more than a few restless nights.
Virginia Skill Based Slot Machines
While play on the machines appears light, there’s obviously going to be a period when awareness of the games has to be raised. At Planet Hollywood, a small sign tells customers they can actually gamble on these tables. Most would mistake them for similar interactive, touchscreen tables like those in several Las Vegas lounges like Ignite at Monte Carlo, Encore Players Lounge at Wynn and iBar Ultra Lounge at Rio.
The new games are simply lost among the crop of current slot machines, many with massive vertical screens.
Not gonna lie, we’re missing you a little right now, Quark’s Bar.
Those who did play the games seemed to spend a lot of time just sitting and drinking and talking. Which is great if you’re trying to increase revenue from drinks, but not so much if you’re trying to make money from gambling. At a table game, dealers and other players keep the pressure on to make more bets. The social aspect of skill-based games actually distracts from the gambling.
A critical downside to these games, though, has to do with perceived value.
As players make bets, the machine serves up the amount of the jackpot they’re trying to win. In the vast majority of cases, the jackpot is less than the players are contributing.
For example, we saw a couple sit down to play Gamblit Poker. They each bet $5, for a total contribution of $10. The jackpot was $7.50. They had fun playing, but the next pot was the same, ditto the one after that. It didn’t take the couple long to realize they were getting dinged a $2.50 “rake” with each passing hand.
The rake accumulates, similar to the jackpots in progressive machines. Part of the rake goes to the machine manufacturer, and the manufacturer has a revenue sharing agreement with the casino. We’ve yet to see any published information about the house edge for these games.
Skill-based Slot Machines Newsletter
While the potential for larger jackpots is there (the max jackpot on the $5 machine is $1,200, $480 on the $2 machine), the couple cashed out and dashed. A Gamblit rep says the biggest jackpots happen several times each hour, but the perception problem means many players won’t be sticking around that long.
Pennsylvania Skill Slot Machine
Presumably, though, the more play the machine gets, the more frequently the larger jackpots (considerably more than what the players are betting at any time) will hit.
There are some other peculiar aspects to these skill-based games.
For starters, we were told there will always be an attendant with the games. Why? Because they have to monitor the play to avoid collusion and bullying. We were told there’s the potential for experienced players, or teams, to take advantage of novice players. Essentially, there’s room for cheating.
A smaller annoyance, but one that’s undeniable, is the table surfaces require constant cleaning. Nobody wants to touch a screen that has hand smudges all over it, so attendants have to continually spritz and wipe the screens. High maintenance is right.
Gamblit calls these skill-based slot machines “ModelG.” Find the ModelG spot near the Pleasure Pit, if you get our drift.
Overall, these new skill-based slot machines are a great conversation piece, and any “first” is a great PR opportunity.
It’s premature to say, though, skill-based slot machines are going to halt or reverse the decline of slot revenue trends. In fact, we’re going to venture they’ll have little or no effect on those numbers. Oh, yeah, we’re putting our naysaying right out there.
Gamblit officials have said they’re happy with the early results of their field test, but honestly, what would you expect them to say?
Here’s the bottom line, and it’s something you won’t hear often.
The fact is millennials are smarter than previous generations.
Millennials know more about gambling than their parents or grandparents ever did.
They know casinos have been gradually increasing the house edge for 20 years, and what millennials aren’t particularly interested in is being screwed. Shocker.
Millennials aren’t a thing, they’re people. People who happen to be technologically adept. People who value experiences. They’re people who know when the deck is stacked against them, and know when they’re being squeezed. They want value for their entertainment dollars, just like the rest of us.
Here’s how you solve The Millennial Problem. Lower the rake. Lower the minimums. Bring comped drinks more frequently. Let people take photos in the casino to share with friends.
The Millennial Problem isn’t a slot machine problem or a disposable income problem. It’s a perceived value problem.
And here’s hoping casinos are listening, because giving customers, young and old, better value and remarkable experiences is the solution. All due respect, Cannonbeard.
