I watch people destroying their life savings so that they can have the pleasure of spinning video images, flashing lights, ringing bells, and a bit of company. I hear constantly of families being destroyed by these machines while making an elite few disgustingly rich.
Lets put it this way. Pokies in South Australia are set to have a house advantage of about 15%. This is indisputable fact that no one over time can beat this percentage. In other words, every time that you bet $1 through one of these new 9 line, multi credit machines you give the establishment 15 cents. Don't even try to argue this point. Some may be lucky and give only 10 cents while others may have less luck and give over 20 cents.
How quickly can you lose your money on one of these machines? Lets put it this way. Most of these new machines have a button known as auto play. It give you time to sit back, chat, have a drink, continuously feed the machine coins and essentially just watch you credits disappear.
Most of these machines (lets say one is known as a five cent machine - a complete distortion of it's true ability) have the potential for the user to bet ten times there lowest stake, and at the same time are added the possibility of betting on 9 line combinations with each spin of these electronic wheels. That equates to a five cent machine having the potential to bet $4.50 on each and every spin.
So you say you won't bet this way? Believe me - when you start chasing the inevitable losses from moderate betting on this monsters - the majority will end up betting at this level sooner than they think.
This same 5 cent machine is capable of spinning that wheel 20 times in one minute - think that incredible - I have just returned from the local hotel after timing a machine, and I assure you that this is correct - but lets be reasonable and say it only spins 16 time per minute because of credit returns and pretty sounds when there is a pay out - there is even an audible sound and fraction of a second delay to indicate a return of two credits (even 10 cents).
Now its time to do our sums - 16 spins in 1 minute at $4.50 per spin = $72.00 per minute. A 15% house cut from this $72.00 = $10.80 loss per minute on average.
In other words, you are capable of losing on one 5 cent poker machine in one hour $648.00. Some would lose less at this rate, but some would lose more - but NO ONE can dispute that this is the average that a five cent machine would rip off of someone if it were bet to its full potential. What about the 10 cent machines?
Lets put it another way - If you fed a machine one dollar, spun the wheels and it spat out 85 cents each and every time, how long would you keep playing it for. Mind numbing, isn't it, but this is equal to what you would be doing anyway.
If your state or country still does not have these destructive devices legalized, I can only say - please do your best to lobby against them - for they will cause so much misery as to not be believed.
I have been a gambler most of my life, I love the challenge of beating the odds, but NOTHING will beat these machines, and the only thing that should be put into one is an axe.
Keep On Winning - Phil Morton
P.S. Believe it or not, I am ahead on these machines
- I hit an incredibly fluky jackpot on one of the first occasions I touched
them, and have refused to give that money back since.
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