4 Slot Machine Myths That Just Won’t Die

By Casino Kelly

Spend enough time in a casino and you’ll hear all kinds of theories about slot machines.

“That machine is due.”
“Don’t use your player card. They’ll make you lose.”
“Someone just hit the jackpot, so stay away from that one.”

I’ve heard all of these. More than once.

And I’ll admit, when you’re sitting at a machine watching your money disappear, some of them can start to sound pretty convincing! 

But slot machines don’t work the way a lot of players think they do.

So, let’s talk about five slot machine myths that just refuse to go away.

Myth #1: A Machine Is “Due” After a Long Losing Streak

This might be the biggest slot myth of all.

You see someone get up from a machine after losing for an hour and think, Perfect. They just put all that money in there. Now it’s ready to pay.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way.

On a traditional Class III slot machine, each spin is determined by a random number generator, or RNG. The outcome of your next spin isn’t based on what happened during the previous spin, or the previous 500 spins.

I have absolutely caught myself thinking a machine should hit soon. And that is what often ends up getting me in trouble.

Because the reality is, the machine doesn’t know how much money I’ve put into it, how long I’ve been sitting there, or how badly I would like it to give me my money back!

Myth #2: Using Your Player Card Makes the Machine Pay Less

I hear this one ALL the time. Some players are convinced that when they insert their player card, the casino knows who they are and can somehow change the outcome of the game.

You may have seen me pull my ticket and card out of a slot and then put it back in, trying to “trick” the slot into thinking I am a new person. Please know that I am just being silly when I do that.

Player cards track play for the casino’s loyalty program. It doesn’t tell the slot machine, “Casino Kelly is here. Stop paying!”

–> Does Using a Casino Player Card Affect Your Slot Machine?

Myth #3: A Machine That Just Hit a Jackpot Won’t Hit Again

Someone hits a big jackpot – like a Grand, for example- and as soon as that player leaves, nobody wants to touch the machine. It already paid. Surely it can’t pay again, right?

It can. In fact, it has happened to me several times when I have had back-to-back jackpots, majors, etc.

If I like the game, I’m not avoiding it just because somebody won before I got there.

If anything, I’m probably wishing I had sat down five minutes earlier!

Myth #4: Those Full Pots, Pigs and Fireworks Mean the Bonus Is About to Hit

I’ve written about this before. And yes, this one still gets me even though I know better.

A pot keeps filling with coins. A pig gets bigger and bigger. Those mummies are so glowy! You know what I’m talking about.

Those perceived persistence games where something on the screen looks like it is about to explode with a massive win.

Those graphics can make a game feel like something is about to happen, and I think that feeling is one of the hardest things for slot players to ignore. You think, I can’t leave now!

I’ve definitely sat there longer than I would have had those visuals not been there, but then I remind myself that a pot looking full is not a reason to keep feeding the machine because it literally means NOTHING!