Ask the Slot Expert: Does the amount I bet affect the outcomes on a slot machine?

Hi,

Say I played $2 on a penny slot and got five progressive symbols, which paid $500. There's a $4 bet button and the combination pays $1,000 with a $4 bet.

If I would have hit the bet $4 button at the precise time that I hit the bet $2 button, would I have won the $1,000 or would it have been a different outcome based on the amount of bet?

Another question: On the picking bonuses, does it matter which choice I make or does the machine already know what it is going to pay you for that bonus?

Thanks,
Jon

Dear Jon,

A jurisdiction's slot-enabling legislation usually prohibits Random Number Generator (RNG) functions from being influenced by the amount bet, so the amount you bet wouldn't have affected your outcome. We'd have to look at how the machine was programmed to know for sure, but if you had hit the bet $4 button at exactly the same time that you hit the bet $2 button, you probably would have gotten the same combination on the reels.

As for the picking bonus games, the machine assigns values to each of your choices. You win the amounts assigned to the items you pick. The machine has not predetermined what you will win in the round.

Note that my comments apply to Class III slot machines only. Class II machines may or may not operate in the same way.

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.

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