How is a pay table created?

" Payout frequency is designed for psychological manipulation. " Just one reason why penny slots are often
described as the " crack cocaine " of gambling.

Quote: buzzpaff

" Payout frequency is designed for psychological manipulation. "

Of course. In other words, if it feels shitty to play, no one would play the game.

Quote: buzzpaff

Just one reason why penny slots are often
described as the " crack cocaine " of gambling.

What is on one hand described as "desirable, or a value" is often described as "crack-cocaine like." I will say that THIS is the psychological manipulation.

I mean, if you walked into an auto dealership, and a salesman showed you a car with better mileage, better styling, better reliability, AND at a better price, you can also say, "Aha! I cannot resist this offer! I can easily afford this! - How DARE you offer me the crack cocaine of car deals - you BASTARD!! (where do I sign....)"

I imagine a good designer has pay-tables to be easy for the dealer to handle (and remember). Some of the more popular bets seem to have a pay-back of some sort between Evens and 3/1 while keeping a chance of a 25/1 or better payout. Beyond 100/1 and the casinos run scared and don't allow a reasonable bet or the same value as the basic game bet.

The most popular side-bet I see in the UK seems to be the Pair-Plus on 3-card poker (1 4 6 33 35), and the second "Perfect Pairs" (5 12 25 or 5 10 30 or similar) on Blackjack. Note that these both can pay >=25/1 (UK odds).

So my recommendation is to have some action which keeps the player going with regular wins whilst maintaining a long-shot chance that players DO see happen. Also set a reasonable house edge and ensure it is easy to understand. As to jackpot type bets, the problem is that these bets tend to run the player dry and so even with a reasonable run on the main game, results in a loss on the evening.


There was some discussion about house edge - I think the best design has an edge that the player feels is fair. Personally I think 1% is too generous as it might be prone to some kind of counting and over 5% is a rip-off. 1-2% seems very fair, but 2-4% is the norm. WoV advises against playing "Pair-Plus" (that'll teach US casinos to set bad odds), if it had a lower edge then more people would play it and more money be made by the casinos! However as it is reasonable odds (2.7%) in the UK, and easy to play, the bet has proved very popular here.


Why are US casinos so mean compared to UK ones?

Another obvious case is roulette in the UK (with single-zero) which remains the most popular game, whereas in the US (with double-zero) it isn't so popular. I cannot understand why US casinos don't adopt single-zero. Contrarily I have seen a few double-zero wheels appear in the UK and am told, as they also have lower table limits (50p not £1), are very popular on Friday night (presumably with students etc).

" I mean, if you walked into an auto dealership, and a salesman showed you a car with better mileage, better styling, better reliability, AND at a better price, you can also say, "Aha! I cannot resist this offer! I can easily afford this! - How DARE you offer me the crack cocaine of car deals - you BASTARD!! (where do I sign....)" "

Having actually been a used car salesman in my youth, I rememeber salesman fighting to get out the door sometimes. It was when when a guy got out of his car with Moma and the kids. He was there to buy a car, not look. LOL

Quote: charliepatrick

Why are US casinos so mean compared to UK ones?

Another obvious case is roulette in the UK (with single-zero) which remains the most popular game, whereas in the US (with double-zero) it isn't so popular. I cannot understand why US casinos don't adopt single-zero. Contrarily I have seen a few double-zero wheels appear in the UK and am told, as they also have lower table limits (50p not £1), are very popular on Friday night (presumably with students etc).

I suppose you could push a double zero on $5 for single number, $10 on groups of 4, $15 on groups of 6 or 8, $20 on groups of 12, and $25 on groups of 18. It would give the smaller betters some incentive to increase their bet, if they see other people getting pushed.

Quote: charliepatrick

Why are US casinos so mean compared to UK ones?

Another obvious case is roulette in the UK (with single-zero) which remains the most popular game, whereas in the US (with double-zero) it isn't so popular. I cannot understand why US casinos don't adopt single-zero. Contrarily I have seen a few double-zero wheels appear in the UK and am told, as they also have lower table limits (50p not £1), are very popular on Friday night (presumably with students etc).

I suppose you could push a double zero on $5 for single number, $10 on groups of 4, $15 on groups of 6 or 8, $20 on groups of 12, and $25 on groups of 18. It would give the smaller betters some incentive to increase their bet, if they see other people getting pushed.