Ask the Slot Expert: If results are random, how can a slot machine be hot?

26 Oct 2011

By John Robison

John,

I think your statement about how long to stay on a machine is confusing. You said, and I quote, "If a machine is HOT." Then you said there are random number generators, which means any symbol can appear at any time.

If that is the case, how can a machine be HOT or cold?

This weekend I was playing a quarter machine (MAX Betting) at a casino in Charles Town, West Virginia for an hour and did not win a GD thing. The minute I got up a woman sat down and after two clicks hit a jackpot. Of course, I was pissed.

IEJ

Dear IEJ,

Just because the results on a machine are determined at random, that doesn't mean there won't be streaks. When you flip a fair coin, you will get streaks of heads and streaks of tails. When you play a machine, you sometimes get a set of spins in which most are winners. You also sometimes get a set of spins in which most are losers. And you even sometimes get a long streak of losing spins, like the streak of 40+ losing spins I once had on a machine.

Machines are always hot or cold in the past. We're talking about past performance. The mistake is using past performance to try to predict future performance. Nothing changes from one spin to another, so past performance tells us nothing about future performance.

If I'm playing a machine and I'm hitting something good every couple of spins and my credit meter is climbing higher and higher, that's a hot machine and I'm going to play for as long as it keeps paying.

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.

This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net.

Ask the Slot Expert: If results are random, how can a slot machine be hot? is republished from CasinoCityTimes.com.

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	Ask the Slot Expert: If results are random, how can a slot machine be hot? 26 Oct 2011 By John Robison <a href='https://ad.casinocity.com/adclick.php?n=a21efcd1'><img src='https://ad.casinocity.com/adview.php?what=-site:vendors/width:250/RON&n=a21efcd1' border='0' alt='' /></a> John, I think your statement about how long to stay on a machine is confusing. You said, and I quote, "If a machine is HOT." Then you said there are random number generators, which means any symbol can appear at any time. If that is the case, how can a machine be HOT or cold? This weekend I was playing a quarter machine (MAX Betting) at a casino in Charles Town, West Virginia for an hour and did not win a GD thing. The minute I got up a woman sat down and after two clicks hit a jackpot. Of course, I was pissed. IEJ Dear IEJ, Just because the results on a machine are determined at random, that doesn't mean there won't be streaks. When you flip a fair coin, you will get streaks of heads and streaks of tails. When you play a machine, you sometimes get a set of spins in which most are winners. You also sometimes get a set of spins in which most are losers. And you even sometimes get a long streak of losing spins, like the streak of 40+ losing spins I once had on a machine. Machines are always hot or cold in the past. We're talking about past performance. The mistake is using past performance to try to predict future performance. Nothing changes from one spin to another, so past performance tells us nothing about future performance. If I'm playing a machine and I'm hitting something good every couple of spins and my credit meter is climbing higher and higher, that's a hot machine and I'm going to play for as long as it keeps paying. 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. This article is provided by the Frank Scoblete Network. Melissa A. Kaplan is the network's managing editor. If you would like to use this article on your website, please contact Casino City Press, the exclusive web syndication outlet for the Frank Scoblete Network. To contact Frank, please e-mail him at fscobe@optonline.net. Ask the Slot Expert: If results are random, how can a slot machine be hot? is republished from CasinoCityTimes.com.