Pokies and Slot Machine Information

Predictable wins on pokies

A user brought to our attention a posting on a pokies related site which is to the effect that slot machines have payout cycles. That is, they have runs of wins and losses which are not random. Advice may be given that if your machine is ‘paying out’ that you should continue to play it, as it is on a ‘roll’.

This is not the case. Every spin on a pokie is independent of every other spin. The random number generator in a poker machine is turning over hundreds or thousands of times per second. Its when you press the button that makes a difference – only then is the final random number selected to provide the outcome for that spin.

There are also books available which boast of offering winning ’strategies’ for playing pokies. We won’t comment on particular titles, but in our opinion, steer well clear. It is possible for you to win playing slot machines but over time the odds are very clearly in the favour of the venues providing them.

Ask yourself – if someone knows how to win consistently on slot machines – then why are they writing a book about it. Surely they’d be travelling from casino to casino – winning all the while.

Pokies attack in Brisbane

A nasty story from what you would assume to be a very safe gaming venue:

“A SMILING thief walked calmly out of Brisbane’s Treasury Casino moments after he viciously attacked and robbed a woman as she played the pokies.”

News Article full story

The venue is not to blame. The only way they could possibly have prevented the problem was to station a security guard at each machine. Pokies make a lot of money, but not enough to afford that.

Casinos have complex layers of security, including huge numbers of security cameras. The layout of Treasury casino is a bit odd, with numerous small nooks with pokies installed.

There is a lesson to be learned here for players. Always keep your cash stash secreted away. Don’t assume that you won’t be attacked simply because you are in a large well protected venue.

Lets hope this smiling thief won’t be smiling when he is located.

>>>Update. The thief turned himself in and is being processed.

Pokies regulation tightens in New Zealand

The regulation of pokies in New Zealand has historically been quite poor. Perhaps not realising the potential for misuse of gaming machines, the New Zealand Government has allowed tens of thousands of pokies into the country but with very little regulatory oversight.

Compare this situation to Australia, where all machines in most states are linked into central mainframes and every event, down to the tiniest change or gameplay, is logged.

One pokies venue in New Zealand is not happy about the changes, claiming its machines are too old to upgrade:

“RSAs are being forced into debt to pay for government-ordered electronic upgrades of their poker machines, which many rely on for welfare payments to old soldiers”

Stuff NZ

The one time upgrade will ultimately be worthwhile for all venues. At the moment charities in New Zealand are large beneficiaries from pokies turnover. In Australia it is the various governments pocketing most of the profit.

It almost makes you wonder whether the ultimate goal behind the forced upgrades is to put in place a suitably tight audit environment so the New Zealand Government can increase its take. Every time it looks across the Tasman it must be highly envious of the billions of dollars of pokies tax revenues garnered by the states here.

Alternative way to win on pokies

A new way has been discovered to win on the pokies! Its somewhat painful and may optionally involve the loss of a limb or two, but as an American punter discovered recently – it works. A large part of a slot machine cover fell onto her foot:

“It wasn’t because she hit the jackpot but because, in a sense, the jackpot hit her.”

STL Today

The description of the injuries is interesting. Who knew slot machines could be so vicious?

Its not just pokies which have the potential to harm. If you’ve ever looked up over the roulette machines in Australian casinos, you’ll often see a roof mounted plasma or LCD television with a live feed of the roulette table action.

They are very securely bolted to their frames, but if something untoward were to occur and they fell, it could mean a large payout for players or dealers in the fallpath. Ouch.