Every site I've ever seen about slot machines always has the same advice regarding always playing max coins on the game. I always assumed it was true, but I'm reading Michael Shackleford's book Gambling 102, and he makes an interesting point about why this isn't always as true as some of the gambling experts might have you believe.

The logic behind always playing max coins is that you can't win the top jackpots on some machines by playing less than that. So this logic probably holds true for some progressive slots games, and it's definitely true for video poker games. But here's a consideration. If you can afford a max bet on a nickel slot machine game fo 5 coins, then you can also afford to bet 25 cents on a quarter slot machine game. And since higher denominations normally have a better payback percentage than the lower denomination games, it would make sense to play the machine with the better payback percentage.

In fact, the chances of hitting a progressive jackpot is so small that the difference in expectation is so insignificant that you might be better off just playing the single coin on a higher denomination even in that case. Of course, it depends on your goals too. If you're willing to accept a lower overall payout percentage in exchange for a chance of winning a huge life-changing jackpot, then you should do it.

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Slotty McSlots