Gambling can not only be an enjoyable form of entertainment but also a way to win a nice stack of money, especially when players manage to hit a high payout multiplier that boosts their base stake. Many people have already tried to trick slot machines and find a way to guarantee a return on their investment, and many more are sure to try. Take a look at the most well-known tricks that used to work and how to win on slot machines today.
How to play slot machines
Slot machines (slots) in gaming halls and casinos or in online casinos are among the most popular types of gambling around the world. The rules of these games are usually very simple and gameplay is fast-paced, so players find out the result within seconds, including the exact amount they’ve won. If the right symbols appear on the reels, they can win a payout multiplier that multiplies their base stake or receive free spins, a bonus game launch or another bonus feature.
It’s all about luck
Even though each player may approach the game with their own unique strategy, almost everyone would agree that it’s mostly luck that determines whether they win and how big that win ends up being. Still, players have long tried to find ways to increase their chances of success and win as much as possible while minimizing the risk of losing their own money.
Strategies for tricking slot machines
One of the most well-known strategists who tried to beat the roulette system was the British mathematician Alan Turing, also famous as a codebreaker. Although he was far from alone in his efforts, no one has yet found a legal way to trick slot machines and make a fortune on a chosen game. There are illegal ways to gain an advantage when playing slot machines, but also some card games or roulette—however, using these methods can result in serious penalties.
Tricking the slot machine software
One Russian hacker managed to trick slot machine software. His passion for mathematics and programming led him to study the pseudo-random number generator. Thanks to his skills and experience, he discovered flaws in the system and made an incredible amount of money. With his team, he reportedly earned up to €200,000 per week. Although he later claimed he hadn’t done anything illegal, he was still sentenced to prison for his actions.
How to trick slot machines in land-based casinos
Since slot machines were originally only found in land-based casinos and gaming halls, most players tried to manipulate the physical machines to win the highest possible amount—ideally for free or with minimal risk of losing their own money. Here are some of the most famous tricks that helped players for a while, but ultimately came with serious consequences.
Using fake coins and tokens
The use of fake coins and gaming tokens is most often associated with Louis B. Colavecchi, who earned the nickname “The Coin”. His fakes were so precisely crafted that he managed to use them in several casinos in Atlantic City and Connecticut. Eventually, of course, he was discovered and arrested, and in 1998 he was sentenced to 7 years in prison. That didn’t stop him—after his release in 2006, he continued his fraud and in 2019 received another 15-month sentence in federal prison.
Using altered coins
Another commonly used trick was playing with shaved coins. In the past, players could insert such a modified coin into a slot machine, but nowadays the sensors that verify coin authenticity are much more accurate, and slot machines are well-protected against this kind of fraud. Tricking them with shaved coins is now virtually impossible. Another popular method involved inserting a coin attached to a string, which players used to save credit. Once the machine registered the coin, they would pull it back out and use it again for the next round.
Confusing the slot machines
Tommy Carmichael is perhaps the most famous scammer who managed to fool slot machine sensors. With a coat hanger, he could make a machine pay out higher winnings than it was supposed to, and using a guitar or piano string, he could confuse the counter that measured reel spin times. He, too, eventually served prison time. After his release, he took it even further and invented a kind of light wand that perfectly confused a slot machine sensor, preventing it from detecting how many coins were inserted or how much had been won. This also earned him another prison sentence and a lifetime ban from all casinos.