Gaming Guru

Long-Term Paybacks on Three-Coin Machines

On a three-coin machine, how is the payback percent calculated? It seems to me that if you don't play the max, the payback percent would be lower.

You're absolutely right. The long-term payback on a three-coin machine can be lower when you play one or two coins instead of three. Whenever the amount paid for a winning combination changes from one coin to another, the long-term paybacks for the two coins will be different.

The par sheet for a three-coin machine -- or any multi-coin machine, for that matter -- will list the long-term paybacks for each number of coins you can play on the machine when the long-term paybacks differ.

Best of luck in and out of the casinos,
John

Send your slot and video poker questions to John Robison, Slot Expert, at slotexpert@comcast.net. Because of the volume of mail I receive, I regret that I can't reply to every question.