Most people look at the vast array of slot machines at the casino and think they are all alike. They see a handle, coin slot and flashing lights and figure one is as good as another. What they are missing is a lot of valuable information that can help determine if and how they play a certain slot machine. Not all machines are the same and the way to separate one machine from another is to learn how to “Read” a machine by looking at the pay out schedule on the front. Let's take a look a typical slot machine and see what information can be found.
First of all you will find the denomination of the coin needed to play that machine. I don't know how many times I have seen a person drop a quarter into a machine only to get a confused look when the coin drops through and back into the tray.
Upon closer observation they discover that they tried to put a quarter in a dollar machine. This is the first thing you should look for. There are several types of machines that you need to be aware of:
Multiplier: This machine has a pay out for a certain symbol and the number of coins played multiplies it. If the machine pays 5 coins for three lemons when you play one coin, it would pay 10 for the second coin and 15 for three coins played. This machine does not penalize you for not playing maximum coins. If you plan to play only one coin at a time, this is the type of machine you should look for.
Bonus Multiplier: This machine operates the same as the multiplier except that it offers a bonus when you play maximum coins and hit the jackpot. Three 7's may pay 1,000 for one coin, 2,000 for two coins and 10,000 for maximum coins. You need to decide if the bonus is worth playing the extra coin.
Multiple Payline: These machines have more than one line of play. Each coin activates a particular line. If you hit a winner on a line that is not activated, you will not receive anything. The older machines used to have three lines but the newer video slots can have up to nine lines.
Buy-a-Pay: These are the most misunderstood machines in the casino. Each coin activates a different pay out. You need the maximum coins to receive the largest jackpot. One example is the “Sizzlin 7's” machines. The machine will pay on cherries, bars and sevens. The sevens pay 1,000 coins. If you play one coin you can collect only on the cherries. If you play two coins you can collect on cherries and bars. You need three coins in to collect on the Sizzlin 7's. If you hit the jackpot with one coin in YOU WILL NOT WIN ANYTHING!!! Do not play this machine under any circumstances unless you are playing the maximum coins.
Progressive Slots: The progressive slots take a certain percentage of the money played and add it to a pool for the top jackpot. “Megabucks” or “Quarter Mania” are examples of machines from several casinos linked together to offer a life changing jackpot. Keep in mind that the percentage of the payback on the lesser wins is lowered to allow for the big prize. Some casinos have machines linked together within their own casino to offer mini-progressive jackpots. NEVER PLAY A PROGRESSIVE WITH LESS THAN MAXMIMUM COINS!! There is a story circulating that a lady hit the “Megabucks” when the jackpot was 20 million but because she only had one coin in she collected only $5,000. While this is an Urban Legend there are other cases of people losing out on lesser progressive jackpots because of short coin play.
All of the slot machines have the information you need posted on the front. Before you sit down to play, take a minute to “Read” the machine. This will make you a knowledgeable player and help you determine which machine is best suited for you.
Got Your Poker Face On?
Most poker players never learn the REAL SECRETS and techniques for playing online no-limit Texas Hold'em Poker. They may learn a few tricks or two on TV from the World Series of Poker… or maybe they think they know how to read a 'poker face' from their Saturday night home games with friends and neighbors… but there are literally HUNDREDS of winning secrets and methods that YOU can use to gain an advantage at the online tables..
And speaking about the World Series of Poker, did you know that more money and pots are shifting hands online before and after the big tournaments? This is where the real pros literally steal pocket-change from all the new poker players online dreaming about winning a seat to the World Series!
I Can Show You The Secrets To Winning But Do You Have The Discipline Needed To Be A Pro Online Poker Player?
The following example will reveal if you have the discipline needed
Play poker
You hold pocket aces in late position, put in a raise at the first opportunity, and find yourself against a small enough field to feel like your aces have a chance. The flop comes 8-4-2, a safe enough flop, you figure, since your foes are unlikely to be in there with 8-4, 8-2 or 4-2, and while small sets are a possibility, you judge that to be a remote possibility — especially when it's checked around to you and then just one subsequent player calls your bet. You put him on a good eight or an overpair; you're not scared, nor should you be.
But here comes the turn, an offsuit 7. He checks. You bet. He raises . Now you have that familiar sinking feeling: You've been trapped by a slow-played superior hand. Could he really have been lucky enough to hit his set or second pair? Could he have been boneheaded enough to call your initial raise with two disconnected low cards? Maybe he played a 5-6, drew to an inside straight and got there. In any case, you are now in the midst of a familiar situation: You're stuck on the hand and there's no way out. You're going to call his raise on the turn because, hey, you might pair up or ace up on the river to beat him — unless your pair gives him a boat, or unless he's already on a made straight. In any case, you're committed… committed to losing two more big bets because you feel, fatalistically, that there's no way out.
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Is this true? Is it really true that you can't escape further damage? After all, why not fold? Why not save those two bets for a time when they'll do you more good.
Sure, you reckon, he might be bluffing. But for the sake of this example, let's assume that you know he's not. You've never seen him check-raise bluff, but you have seen him check-raise trap many times. Nor is he the kind of player who might put you on overcards and think that his ragged eight is the best hand. No, he's just another straightforward, unimaginative player who just barely knows how to check-call the flop and check-raise the turn. For the sake of this example, let's assume that you're 100% certain he has you beat. Yet you call. Why is that?
Could it be that you feel you're owed? We all know how rarely pocket aces come around. When they come our way, we naturally anticipate winning with them. Why not? They're the best possible hand, and we're good people. We deserve to win. Thus burdened by this feeling of entitlement, we tend to underestimate the strength of our foe's hand, and overestimate the chances of beating him on the redraw. Our thinking is skewed by the emotional attachment we have to those beautiful bullets. We want them to win. We need them to win. If they don't win, it's a tragedy and a shame, but not so big a tragedy and a shame as folding now. That would be just unfair…
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You see this sad rationalization in at least one other circumstance: when a player holds pocket kings and there's an ace on the flop. He raised pre-flop, driving off (he assumes) all hands except premium ones. Well, what's a premium non-pair hand? A hand with an ace, of course. But when that ace hits the flop, our holder of king-king suddenly loses all perspective. He puts his foes on underpairs or draws, even when his foes start raising like flags. Why? Because pocket kings come along as rarely as pocket aces, and he feels like he's owed!
My friend, discipline in poker means more than having rigorous starting requirements. It also means getting away from hands when you're beat. If you can't fold aces when you know, with every fiber of your being, that they're just going to cost you bets upon bets, then you don't have discipline. If pocket kings leave you vulnerable to the stealth ace, you don't have common sense.
All you have is a feeling of entitlement, and this feeling, even if it's justified (which it's not), puts your focus on entitlement instead of perfect play. This can only hamper your perceptions, warp your decisions and degrade your results.
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