We owe a lot of our success to what we learned on YouTube. Of the dozens we’ve reject, there are three slot tips we still use.
Pocket your slips
We learned this from Jackpot Judo. At first, we didn’t understand how this would help, but the benefit was instantly clear when we got back to our hotel room.
Stashing your winning slips instead of using them to play another slot is the same as banking your winnings. You’re not tempted to spend them because they’re out of sight. Our customization to this was that we almost always start with a $100 bill, so we can instantly track how much we’ve won or lost. Simple.
Build Your Bankroll
This also came from Jackpot Judo, although I think I first heard the term on Gamble Smart. “Bankroll building” is simply playing low-volatility slot machines to win more money to gamble with. We still do this, but generally play whatever we want. Many slot influencers will push people towards slots like Double Diamond or Wild Cherries, both of which are incredibly boring to play. When I bankroll build, I do it on any machine that pays. Have I won money on Double Diamond? Yes. Did I enjoy the experience? Nope.
Use Your Loyalty Card
This also came from Jackpot Judo. This lead us to learn about tier accelerators, which is how I moved up two MGM tiers in two trips (from Sapphire to Pearl, Pearl to Gold). We gambled $75,000 with a $2,000 bankroll.
While we’ll probably never reach Jackpot Judo’s level, his discussion about each gambler’s “Theoretical Score” (“Theo” score, for short) opened my eyes to how casino analytics works. Extended play at a certain bet size means your chances at better offers increases, and ours have increase substantially.
We can’t see a downside to using your loyalty card. As every reputable slot channel will tell you, using a loyalty card in no way affects the odds of you winning on a slot machine BY LAW. It also doesn’t make any sense. Why would a casino allow you to win at certain times and make you lose at others?
Short, High-Bet Sessions
This isn’t really a YouTube tip, since the person we learned it from never actually said it…he showed it.
From DLucky’s videos, We learned that short, high-wager slot sessions can pay well. His paid meet-and-greet only last 15-minutes, which taught me that if you’re going to hit something on a slot machine, it will happen quickly or not at all.
While a lot of people dismiss DLucky, we’re certain his videos are the only reason we managed to turn $300 into an $8,500 jackpot. Before, we would have been too afraid to make that large of a bet. Now, we set aside half of our bankroll for high-limits play. DLucky, drinks are on me.
EXTRA: Don't risk more than you'll ever win
This is a tip that I came up with, but it’s also common sense. We’ve watched millionaire slot influencers on YouTube lose $10K with $250 spins, then act like pundits when they hit a $5K jackpot. Is it exciting to watch them lose? Yes. Are you learning anything from it? Yes. How to lose.
Advantage players on slots. I’m still waiting for the punchline.
Other Tips
Don’t forget to have fun. This seems obvious, but the next time you’re at a casino, look around at the people playing around you and count the number that are laughing or smiling, then compare it with the number who look sad, bored, or desperate.
Pick an easy game. We now play some old favorites like “Top Dollar”, “Pinball”, “Cleopatra”, and “Diamond Queen” because the possibility of getting a handpay exists even at the lowest high-limits bet ($18-50 spins).
We always shoot for a 10x or greater return on high-limits bets. We’ll usually show in our slot videos exactly how much we spent to get a handpay. On “regular” slots, you can always just subtract the amount in the cash/credit window from $100 to figure it out, because that’s what we usually start a session with.
Have we lost in the high-limits room? Yes. We’ve lost big and we’ve lost fast. Have we lost an equivalent amount of money playing “normal” bets (60¢ to $3)? Yes. It just took longer.