MHB: Min vs max betting

I can see the pros and cons of both:
- Lower bet amounts reduces variance. Your profit is closer to theo EV.

- Max betting takes advantage of those 500x bonus wins which more than makes up for the loses. If you min bet and win 500x, you still might not be profitable.
ie: River Dragons minor
.88 x 500 = $440 win in a game where you can be down $1500 before hitting the Minor.

I've done both min and max betting.
Min betting: My wins (and loses) weren't that big but it's mind numbing sitting there for 2+ hrs.

Max betting: I've had games where none of my bonus wins were over $300 each (and many below $200) at $8.80 bet at River Dragons. (Lost my shirt)
Other times, I've had $4k hand pays.

Because of the mind numbingness, I lean towards as big of a bet size that my bankroll can handle and take shots at higher amounts
ie: Ainsworth $500 minor
Start 3 lines x $5 bet ($15/spin) and sometimes do 5lines x $5 bet ($25/spin) and even 10 lines x $5 bet ($50/spin)

But which is the better method?
Lowest bet size that fits within your time constraints or max bet?
Why?

Another con of max betting is you will get more jackpot handpays, which slows you down and makes you pay tax (in the U.S., not in Canada thankfully) and also expectation of tipping the slot attendant, if you are so inclined.

Personally, my go-to bet is $25.00 a spin. It's a nice balance between being a high bet that finishes the session in a good amount of time, but not so huge that I'll be hitting a handpay every 15 minutes, and it reduces the likelihood I'll get totally screwed and burn through my entire bankroll due to 30 minutes of bad luck.

On a game like River Dragons where the max bet is only $8.80, of course I will always max bet.

well it's funny how I can come to this site for 13+ years and not be sure what posters are talking about

one suggestion, avoid jargon .

possible meanings of MHB,

MHB Mikkel Hippe Brun
MHB Martin Harley Band
MHB Milk and Honey Band
MHB Medicaid Hospice Benefit
MHB Mississippi Headwaters Board
MHB Mid Hindbrain Boundary
MHB Mekong Housing Bank
MHB Miami Hispanic Ballet
MHB Mekaal Hasan Band
MHB Midlands Health Board
MHB Mark Hopkins Band
MHB Midbrain and Hindbrain
MHB Money Hungry Bitches
MHB Mini Heart Brads
MHB Meiringen Hasliberg Bahnen
MHB Mark Hunt Backdrops
MHB Mad Hot Ballroom
MHB Mary Hardin Baylor
MHB Midbrain Hindbrain Boundary
MHB Morning Has Broken
MHB Morgan Harris Burrows
MHB Meekal Hassan Band
MHB mid-hindbrain boundary
MHB mid/hindbrain boundary
MHB midbrain/hindbrain boundary
mHB modified hole board
MHB Moon Hoax Believers
MHB M++ller-Hinton Broth
MHB midbrain-hindbrain boundary region
MHB Mobile Housing Board
MHB Mycorrhiza Helper Bacteria
MHB Maika Holdings Berhad
MHB Metal Halide Bulb
MHB Mono-substituted hypocrellin B
MHB Missed Her Bliss
MHB Menara Hutan Buana
MHB Medicine Hat Block
MHB Mycorrhization Helper Bacteria
MHB Multi Head Breaker
MHB Modified Horizontal Bridgman
MHB Methodist Hymn Book
MHB Mein Haus Bausysteme
MHB Magyar Hitel Bankot
MHB Many Headed Bridge
MHB Minnesota HEREFORD BREEDERS
MHB Mental Health Brooke
MHB Mark Harold Band
MHB Maureen H Brennan
MHB Marsh Harbour Bahamas
MHB Magnus Haus Berlin
MHB Maximum Hospital Benefit
MHB Materials Hazardous in Bulk
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MHB Magnificent Health and Beauty
MHB Margaret Hayes Bargh
MHB Margaret Hays Bargh
MHB Melville Herman Bartleby
MHB Mental Hippie Blood
MHB Miami Heat Basketball
MHB Military History Books
MHB Muda Hassanal Bolkia

Quote: odiousgambit

well it's funny how I can come to this site for 13+ years and not be sure what posters are talking about

one suggestion, avoid jargon .

possible meanings of MHB,

MHB Mikkel Hippe Brun
MHB Martin Harley Band
MHB Milk and Honey Band
MHB Medicaid Hospice Benefit
MHB Mississippi Headwaters Board
MHB Mid Hindbrain Boundary
MHB Mekong Housing Bank
MHB Miami Hispanic Ballet
MHB Mekaal Hasan Band
MHB Midlands Health Board
MHB Mark Hopkins Band
MHB Midbrain and Hindbrain
MHB Money Hungry Bitches
MHB Mini Heart Brads
MHB Meiringen Hasliberg Bahnen
MHB Mark Hunt Backdrops
MHB Mad Hot Ballroom
MHB Mary Hardin Baylor
MHB Midbrain Hindbrain Boundary
MHB Morning Has Broken
MHB Morgan Harris Burrows
MHB Meekal Hassan Band
MHB mid-hindbrain boundary
MHB mid/hindbrain boundary
MHB midbrain/hindbrain boundary
mHB modified hole board
MHB Moon Hoax Believers
MHB M++ller-Hinton Broth
MHB midbrain-hindbrain boundary region
MHB Mobile Housing Board
MHB Mycorrhiza Helper Bacteria
MHB Maika Holdings Berhad
MHB Metal Halide Bulb
MHB Mono-substituted hypocrellin B
MHB Missed Her Bliss
MHB Menara Hutan Buana
MHB Medicine Hat Block
MHB Mycorrhization Helper Bacteria
MHB Multi Head Breaker
MHB Modified Horizontal Bridgman
MHB Methodist Hymn Book
MHB Mein Haus Bausysteme
MHB Magyar Hitel Bankot
MHB Many Headed Bridge
MHB Minnesota HEREFORD BREEDERS
MHB Mental Health Brooke
MHB Mark Harold Band
MHB Maureen H Brennan
MHB Marsh Harbour Bahamas
MHB Magnus Haus Berlin
MHB Maximum Hospital Benefit
MHB Materials Hazardous in Bulk
MHB Mecure Hotel Brisbane
MHB Magnificent Health and Beauty
MHB Margaret Hayes Bargh
MHB Margaret Hays Bargh
MHB Melville Herman Bartleby
MHB Mental Hippie Blood
MHB Miami Heat Basketball
MHB Military History Books
MHB Muda Hassanal Bolkia
link to original post

Must Hit By

Slots where the progressive jackpot states it cannot go higher than $xxx and whoever plays must hit the progressive if it gets to that point

I'd increase the number of coins to raise the Mini & Minor JP's as I pulled further ahead, and reduce back as I fell back down. I'm not sure that Major & Grand JP's increase with the number of coins, but they might change with the denom of the bet/machine. Like win to $10K on a 1 cent machine, win up to $50K on a 5 cent machine, win up to $100K on a 10 cent machine; just change to other machines of the same name as the winning streak continues.

Reducing the number of W-2Gs and reducing the total of all W-2Gs are two different goals. Since I file schedule C, I care more about the number of stoppages and the overall length of the play, but not tapping out is the primary consideration.

For Aristocrat MHBs with $0.25, $0.50, and $1 denominations, I always choose $1. It is possible that the RTP is higher for $1, but it is probably the same. I just feel it is the safer choice.

There are Ainsworth MHBs with a choice of five different games. I always choose the Eagle Bucks because I believe there are fewer hand pays. I don't have solid data on this. However, the structure of the bonus rounds seems like it should produce a narrower spread of winning totals versus the sticky lightning bolts, for example. Mustang Money and Grand Dragon have the same bonus characteristics that produce a wide spread in bonus totals.

With Aristocrat Double Bliss games, the max bet is $5. I have been on these for over 15 hours too many times to want to do it again.

Quote: Mental

Reducing the number of W-2Gs and reducing the total of all W-2Gs are two different goals. Since I file schedule C, I care more about the number of stoppages and the overall length of the play, but not tapping out is the primary consideration.

For Aristocrat MHBs with $0.25, $0.50, and $1 denominations, I always choose $1. It is possible that the RTP is higher for $1, but it is probably the same. I just feel it is the safer choice.

There are Ainsworth MHBs with a choice of five different games. I always choose the Eagle Bucks because I believe there are fewer hand pays. I don't have solid data on this. However, the structure of the bonus rounds seems like it should produce a narrower spread of winning totals versus the sticky lightning bolts, for example. Mustang Money and Grand Dragon have the same bonus characteristics that produce a wide spread in bonus totals.

With Aristocrat Double Bliss games, the max bet is $5. I have been on these for over 15 hours too many times to want to do it again.
link to original post

For what it's worth, the service menu shows the RTP of these machines. Whenever I've played one of the machines with 5 different games and 3 different denominations and had the service menu opened for me, the highest-returning game has always been Grand Dragon, which is usually 0.1-0.2% higher than Eagle Bucks in second place, and the denomination has never mattered. Eagle Bucks definitely triggers fewer W2Gs though, so if you care about that, it's probably worth sacrificing a small amount of payout.

It's all about your taste for variance and how you value your time.

You have a coin-in amount you have to play though, say $10,000 for an EV of $500. (disclaimer, numbers below are not calculated, just estimated for illustrative purposes)

You can play 1/spin and have an expected finishing range of say 9000-11500

You can play 10/Spin and have an expected finishing range of 1000-19500

Or taking it to the extreme you could have a 1c/spin and have an expected outcome of 9900-10600

Your time on the 1c vs $1 vs $10 are directly proportional so (again values are for comparison and not realistic for the coin-in) say 1000hrs, 10hrs, and 1h respectively and the variance vs time taken to play though the coin-in is the main question. The secondary question is opportunity cost of what else you could be doing to profit in that 1/10/1000 hours.

If you know that the RTP changes more than an insignificant amount then you must factor that in. At that point it would likely give you more of a decision point than just testing your appetite for variance.

All of this is dependent on your bankroll. If you don't have the bankroll to deal with the larger variance (higher denom) version it shouldn't even be considered.

Quote: ctslots

Quote: Mental

There are Ainsworth MHBs with a choice of five different games. I always choose the Eagle Bucks because I believe there are fewer hand pays.
I don't have solid data on this. However, the structure of the bonus rounds seems like it should produce a narrower spread of winning totals versus the sticky lightning bolts, for example.
Mustang Money and Grand Dragon have the same bonus characteristics that produce a wide spread in bonus totals.
link to original post

Eagle Bucks definitely triggers fewer W2Gs though
link to original post

Interesting..
so less variance in the bonus round with Eagle Bucks.
i guess it's because it's impossible to hit the top payout (5 eagles) in the bonus round vs 5 '$' or 5 fish symbols in the other 2 games mentioned?

With river dragons minor i always play it 0.88 or 1.60. My reasoning is with fast tapping your aren't wasting too much time anyway and reduce variance. Also I don't want any handpays when I am in the US because i'm not resident and don't want that big tax which pretty much defeats the purpose of playing.