Bigger Bet or Two Machines?

I normally play $1 and $5 Double Diamond Deluxe with a single coin bet and I do okay.

On my next trip to Foxwoods I'll have a significantly larger than normal bankroll and am considering stepping up to the $10 machines as they tend to have a slightly lower house edge.

But then it occurred to me that I might be better off playing two $5 machines simultaneously, rather than one $10 machine because I'll have twice the chance of an RNG hitting the jackpot.

Thoughts?

Looking at the possibilities, I'm inclined to say that:
Playing 2*5 and 1*5 for twice the duration is identical, except for the amount of time spent. (Are drinks free at FW?)
Playing 2*5 vs 1*10, the 2*5 is a losing proposition since the edge is greater... however, you have (nearly) twice as many opportunities to catch a lucky break on variance. Given that we're working with finite durations and, unfortunately, decidedly finite amounts of money, I'd prefer staking my money on more shots at variance than the minimal statistical advantage the 1*10 offers.

Incidentally, this feels similar to a question I asked recently about multi-hand BJ and I'm intrigued as to how different my thought process is on slots.(https://wizardofvegas.com/forum/gambling/blackjack/14285-impact-of-playing-multiple-hands/#post249123)

Personally, I would play two $5 machines. My reasoning on this is because it always seems like the person playing next to me wins.

If you take it to absurdity, playing all the machines in the casino versus betting all the money bet in the casino on one spin.
The casino doesn't want to be gambling itself and would rather you play 2 machines rather than one. There is more risk on one machine, but the rewards are greater when luck goes your way since it isn't diversified. It really depends on the goal of your BR and how much you are willing to lose and how fast. Betting hard and lucky for the short term is the best chance to win money if you're willing to lose a set amount and not chase potentially making it a completely miserable day. You can never run from the house edge. The math will find you no matter where you go or what you do.

Quote: Aahz

On my next trip to Foxwoods I'll have a significantly larger than normal bankroll and am considering stepping up to the $10 machines as they tend to have a slightly lower house edge.

Thoughts?

When levels get this high, this isn't always the case. It really depends on how the individual machines are set. I wouldn't be surprised if the settings between the $5 and $10 machine for the same game are the same. Most machines only have settings that change payouts by 1% or more.

As for what to do? Eh, depends on how much you really want the big win chance. If you want that, play the one $10 machine. If you want to be pressing buttons tons and seeing more spins, play two $5's at once.

And yes, you'll have about twice the chance to hit the jackpot with the $5's machines, but each jackpot will be half as much, so it terms of the math, it doesn't matter.

Quote: goldengreeke

Personally, I would play two $5 machines. My reasoning on this is because it always seems like the person playing next to me wins.

Welcome GG.

Quote: goldengreeke

Personally, I would play two $5 machines. My reasoning on this is because it always seems like the person playing next to me wins.

are you describing my losing sessions?

I like higher denom, usually because of the better payback. But sometimes there is no difference.

On the other hand, sometimes depending on a game, it can knock you into generating W-2s, and maybe you prefer not to generate one unless you hit something really big.

Quote: rxwine

I like higher denom, usually because of the better payback. But sometimes there is no difference.

On the other hand, sometimes depending on a game, it can knock you into generating W-2s, and maybe you prefer not to generate one unless you hit something really big.

If he is betting just one unit, yes, betting two 5's will only generate tax forms on the two biggest wins. Betting one $10 machine will trigger the top 3 wins.

Took the trip and made out fairly well, did a little of both since only a single opinion had been posted before I left for the trip.

I'd say I played both options roughly equally (didn't track anything) and won on both about the same dollar wise. But it took hitting $1600 on the $10 machines to balance out the losses prior to it hitting while playing two $5 machines was a much smaller variance in my Bank roll.

Quote: Venthus

Looking at the possibilities, I'm inclined to say that:
Playing 2*5 and 1*5 for twice the duration is identical, except for the amount of time spent.

Time was relevant. One of the reasons I play slots is I get restless sitting in one place doing the same thing for more than about an hour.

Quote: Venthus

(Are drinks free at FW?)

Yes, but I don't drink alcohol and the "free" soft drinks are so small that the $1 tip makes them more expensive than even buying soft drinks from the casino. I bring a 1 liter Mountain Dew with me when I play :)

Quote: Venthus

Playing 2*5 vs 1*10, the 2*5 is a losing proposition since the edge is greater... however, you have (nearly) twice as many opportunities to catch a lucky break on variance. Given that we're working with finite durations and, unfortunately, decidedly finite amounts of money, I'd prefer staking my money on more shots at variance than the minimal statistical advantage the 1*10 offers.

This mirrors my original thinking. Was hoping one of the math geniuses (whose posts I rarely understand) would weigh in with some actual numbers.

Quote: tringlomane

When levels get this high, this isn't always the case. It really depends on how the individual machines are set. I wouldn't be surprised if the settings between the $5 and $10 machine for the same game are the same. Most machines only have settings that change payouts by 1% or more.

Based on historical reporting Foxwoods' $10 machines pay out roughly 1% higher than their $5 machines.

I didn't do an actual count but did play in every High Limit area they offer and saw fewer than 50 $10 machines (more likely 20-30) and several hundred $5 machines. This implies to me that the $10 machines must consistently be set to a higher payback as there's not really room to hide a low-paying machine.

Quote: tringlomane

If he is betting just one unit, yes, betting two 5's will only generate tax forms on the two biggest wins. Betting one $10 machine will trigger the top 3 wins.

Minor correction, it's actually the four top wins-
$10 machine-
- 2x 2x 2x = $8000
- 7 2x 2x = $3200
- 7 7 2x = $1600
- TripleBar 2x 2x = $1600 (which is the one I hit :) )

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Of course, all of the thought I put into this decision before the trip was completely eclipsed when I had one of those famous "gut feelings" about a $1 Bally Blazing 7 Double Quick Hit with a progressive jackpot of around $1022.

I don't usually play these, but had passed the carousel at least 50 times over a couple of days and never seen the progressive this high (it resets to $1k, but they're almost constantly played especially during a holiday period like this one). At this point I was up about $2k so figured I'd throw $500 at trying to hit that progressive.

30 minutes and about $250 later I got the required 3 Quick Hits - straight on the payline! So I chased a grand progressive and managed to hit a $5000 straight win :)

Wow, nice run!

And yeah, youre right, it is the top four wins. I just quickly looked at data from this paper that actually breaks down wins of this exact slot machine from PAR sheet data from a 92.6% return unit.

http://www.nh.gov/gsc/calendar/documents/20091117_harrigan_dixon.pdf

Apparently in their calculation of the "volatility index" they just lumped both 77 2X and TBar 2X 2X together since it's the same win amount. My mistake...oops.