PLAYERS TALK

PROGRESSIVE BONUS PICKS

Do Your Picks Matter Or Are Outcomes Predetermined?

Hello,

First off, I love your gaming guide! I have a question pertaining to the bonuses on slot machines. Generally speaking, I think I understand how the RNG works. However, my question is regarding the bonuses you get during slot play, assuming you’re lucky enough to get one!

For example, if you get the bonus that has you picking to win the “mini”, “minor”, “major”, etc., where you have to pick 3 matching symbols, is the outcome of that predetermined? So, that no matter what you pick, it’s going to be whatever the computer has already picked/decided?

Or, do you really have the chance of picking the “major” [with your luck] or using some sort of strategy thinking that the "major" symbols are going to be scattered on the screen, or some other “picking” strategy?

Or is it just predetermined that you are going to get the bonus and once in the bonus it is truly up to you and what you pick?

Appreciate the clarification, Lori Bailey—via email

Lori, thank you so much for your kind words and for being an AZ Gaming Guide fan. We appreciate it very much. Your question is an excellent one, especially since all slot manufacturers have designed these progressive games and they populate the casino floors!

Unfortunately, there is a lot of incorrect information out there. Between a “know-it-all’s” opinion at the casino and the “knowit-alls” with a site/channel/feed/blog about slots (wait, isn’t that all passé because of the newest social media flavor of the month?!?!) it all gets very confusing, and mostly wrong. Trust me, we’ve been forced to look at the ugly stuff out there. It’s bad and wrong. And did I mention, wrong!

Let’s cut to the chase. Legalized casino gaming is regulated. Here in Arizona, the Tribal-State Gaming Compacts force all gaming devices to follow the GLI Standard #11 – Standards for Gaming Devices, currently in Version 3.0. So, instead of guessing or acting like all those “know-it-alls” out there, we will quote that standard here.

4.4.1 Game Information and Rules of Play. The following requirements apply to the game information, artwork, paytables, and help screens including any written, graphical, and auditory information provided to the player by the gaming device: a) Player interface and player interaction device usage instructions, paytable information, and rules of play shall be complete and unambiguous and shall not be misleading or unfair to the player.

4.4.1 m) All game symbols/objects shall be clearly displayed to the player and must not be misleading.

4.5.1 Game Fairness. The following requirements shall apply to the fairness of the game: a) Games that are designed to give a player the perception that they have control over the outcome of the game due to skill or dexterity, when they actually do not (i.e., the game outcome is random and the illusion of skill is for entertainment value only), shall fully disclose this fact within the game help screens;

Essentially, a slot can’t cheat a player. A slot can’t mislead a player. A slot can’t provide an illusion of control over outcomes. Unless information about perceived skill is clearly explained in the slot’s help screen.

Our immediate advice to all our readers is to always read the help screen on any slot you choose to play. Always. That way, everyone knows what they are up against. Frequently, the help screen will contain a sentence similar to: Player input does not influence outcome.

Now, because of the requirements (see above) imposed on slots, most mini, minor, major jackpot pick bonuses, as you’ve described above, are usually predetermined. That is, once the bonus is triggered, regardless of if it’s randomly triggered because a “pot is full” or if symbols landed on the reels to initiate the bonus, your selections do not matter. Stick to a “strategy” that is yours and yours alone (we like to always pick the rightmost

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(Continued from page 6) objects until the bonus ends).

Why is this the case with slots? Why would a bonus be predetermined?

As you know, the difference in the values of the jackpots is large. The mini may reset at $10.00, the minor resets at $100.00 and the major resets at $1,000.00. The average value of awarding the pick bonus under fair circumstances (equal chance to win any jackpot) is a whopping (10 + 100 +1000) / 3 = $370.00. That’s pricey for slot math models. It would be a lot cheaper on the slot’s math model if the value of the pick bonus was $77.50. The only way to make that happen is to assign weights to each jackpot. That is, the chance of awarding the mini is 15 in 20 (75%), the minor is 4 in 20 (20%), and the major is 1 in 20 (5%).

But if the slot’s math model is weighted, it’s no longer fair. Displaying three items on screen and saying pick one to win isn’t a fair representation of what is going on with the game at that moment. Asking players to select from a field of nine items and match three to win is also not an accurate representation of what is going on.

What a slot could do is display 20 items and pick one to win. That would be fair, using our example. But, $77.50 as an average award is generally still too expensive! So, the assigned weights to the three jackpots could add up to 1,000 (mini has a weight of 950, minor has 49, and major has 1, for an average bonus value of $15.40, can you say “Cheap?”), or even more. And making a player pick from a field of 1,000 items at once will indicate to the player just how hard it is to find and win the major jackpot! Plus, it becomes tough to display 1,000 items, or more, on a screen.

There is an exception! If at the end of the bonus the objects that were not chosen “reveal” what was behind them. This style of bonus informs a player that had they picked differently, they would have won a different progressive. And all outcomes are equally likely. This is called a fair bonus.

With fair bonuses, there still isn’t a strategy. Just create your own strategy and stick with it. Don’t deviate from it. At least you’ll know the game is fair.

However, occasionally we’ve encountered slots which reveal the location of jackpots behind onscreen objects, yet constantly award the lower progressives. That generally means the jackpots are weighted, representing an unfair game. So, anytime we’ve come across these slots, we report them to the Arizona Department of Gaming (ADG). And, wouldn’t you know it, the slots are removed from the casinos! If you’re suspicious about a slot, let us or ADG know immediately!

Just one final but extremely important thought. There is one bit of strategy advice we can share with you regarding the linked jackpot pick bonuses, where the slots are all connected to the same jackpots. Pick fast. You want to finish the bonus first before other players. In the event two slots trigger the bonus at the same time and end up awarding the same jackpot, you want to win the current jackpot amount and not the lower reset value! $

Thank you to our readers for your questions and comments, we appreciate you! Write us at Editor@AZGamingGuide.com or by mail at Editor, AZ Gaming Guide, PO BOX 20636, Mesa, AZ, 85277.

STRATEGY ALERT!

You don’t want to be the player who could have won the current value but instead was awarded the lower reset value