Buffalo Question

**plumasgal** · 03-17-2011, 06:28 PM

This is really bugging me.

Buffalo is my favorite game so I play it wherever I can, which, in reality has only been in 3 different casinos, one in CA the other two in Nevada. The rest of my experience comes from seeing on-line pics and videos. In the 2 Nevada casinos, and on older and newer machines alike, only ONE buffalo ever appears in the first column. And the eagle is right above it. At my NA casino there are up to 3 buffalo in the first column and I forgot what appears above the buffalo but it isn't the eagle. These "one buffalo" machines seem much stingier than the others.

Have any of you seen this difference in the Buffalo games you play?

**knagl** · 03-17-2011, 08:16 PM

I haven't played the game enough to notice this, but you could be observing a difference in the payback percentage program in use. In order to obtain a different payback percentage, the symbol order and/or frequency of the symbols on the reels need to be altered. It's quite possible that the "three buffalo" machines you've seen have a higher payback percentage program installed in those machines.

**NorthStar** · 03-17-2011, 08:58 PM

Suggest you look at some of the bonus rounds on you-tube. I think "3 buffalo" on reel #1 are not rare but I don't know how to tell old from new machines.

**OHBoy** · 03-17-2011, 09:50 PM

Don't know if this answers your question,
but this was in Valley View this year.

0301111553.jpg

Originally Posted by plumasgal

This is really bugging me.

Buffalo is my favorite game so I play it wherever I can, which, in reality has only been in 3 different casinos, one in CA the other two in Nevada. The rest of my experience comes from seeing on-line pics and videos. In the 2 Nevada casinos, and on older and newer machines alike, only ONE buffalo ever appears in the first column. And the eagle is right above it. At my NA casino there are up to 3 buffalo in the first column and I forgot what appears above the buffalo but it isn't the eagle. These "one buffalo" machines seem much stingier than the others.

Have any of you seen this difference in the Buffalo games you play?

**plumasgal** · 03-17-2011, 10:30 PM

Very nice hit OHBoy, but I think knagl has it right, that it's a matter of programming to a lower payback %. It isn't a matter of old vs new machines because some of these machines are brand spankin' new while others are small and dingy looking. Never thought I'd say it but my local California NA casino buffalo machines pay off much better.

And it just looks weird to have the eagle above the buffalo because the dark head of the buffalo disappears into the dark body of the eagle....however that could be seen as a tip-off that you're playing a lower payback machine! I'm just wondering if anyone else has seen this type of programming on their Buffalo slot?

**Humphrey B.Bear** · 03-18-2011, 02:04 AM

There are two buffalo games, a different one in Nevada to just about everywhere else in the USA. The Nevada regulations are different to most other places in the USA, which means the manufacturers have to change the game to fit the regulations. It has different reel layouts, different paytable. The player return on the games will be very similar but the game pays you back in slightly different ways. After playing both I think the pay frequency of the Nevada version is more often but the pays each time are slightly less, so you don't always hit the massive win in the nevada version but may get more slightly bigger wins as a whole over a play period. But then again you can get no wins out of both versions, that's why it's called gambling.

**kdk** · 03-18-2011, 02:06 AM

I think that is correct, that the Nevada Buffalo games may only have one buffalo on the first column. I know that the Buffalo games there have a different pay scale than they do at the NA casinos in AZ and in other states. I looked at some photos in my phone of Buffalo hits when I was in Las Vegas last and I never got more than one buffalo in the first column on any of them.
Keep in mind though that since they have a different pay scale, they aren't necessarily lower payback machines. In Nevada, they pay out something for two eagles, wolves, etc where as they don't in AZ, so they just really pay out differently, and its likely that buffaloes would show up more in general with only one in the first column to make up for the smaller "big hits"

**plumasgal** · 03-18-2011, 10:44 AM

Thank you so much for clearing this up for me! It just didn't feel like the same game to me, but it's true what you say about paying out for 2 eagles, wolves, etc. I guess I just notice the bigger wins compared to lots of smaller ones (using the term "lots" loosely). Plus, once I realized only one Buff ever showed in the first column I was playing with prejudice, which can skew perception (not that that stopped me!). That, and the fact that I've yet to win much on the Nevada machines compared to the ONE California casino I've played this game at. But now I can go back and give it another try without wondering if I'm playing some counterfeit or otherwise weirdly tweaked version of the game. Thanks again for taking the time to share what you know with the less knowledgeable!

**rikelme** · 04-06-2011, 11:06 PM

Can someone please explain, how is total bet calculated when playing 4, 16, 64, 256 or 1024 ways? I didn't have chance to play Buffalo yet, nor any game which offers 1024 ways to play, so I'm intrigued how the bet is calculated. I figured that for 1024, total bet is multiple of 40, since on all videos posted on YouTube players play at 1024 ways...
Thanks !

**plumasgal** · 04-07-2011, 01:33 PM

Hi rikelme - maybe you should post your question as a new thread. I'm not sure Buffalo is one of those 1024 ways to win type of game, like White Orchid is.