Newbie questions - mostly slots

[kirby]

Never done this online thing before and am a bit nervous about getting sucker-punched by software. Have played in real casinos so am trying to compare the experiences. All responses appreciated.

(1) Does the concept of "loose" slots exist or would all casinos have the same payout on the same game if they used the Microgaming software, for example?

(2) Do the payouts change for the same "game" from day to day or week to week or do they stay consistent at the same site?

(3) Do the guest accounts use the same payouts as the "real" accounts or are they set artifically good?

(4) Does blackjack actually use 6-8 decks and really shuffle or is it continuous random cards?

 

[KasinoKing]

Hi Kirby, and welcome to the forum!

Sorry no-one has answered your questions, I guess it could be because they simply dont know the answers! Im not a slots expert, and no nothing that goes on behind the scenes but these are my opinions:-

1) I believe the same slot at all different casinos always plays the same because, as I understand it, they all use the same centralised RNG. However, certain slots on any given software platform seem a lot looser than others. This may be just down to the good/bad luck that I have personally experienced, but I certainly have my favourites!

2) I have no evidence, but I seriously doubt that the payout changes from day to day. Why should it? Slots have a large house edge to start with, why would casinos risk getting caught out by tweaking them?

3) Good question! The casino operators say no (well they would, wouldnt they!) But on the few rare occasions I have played fun MG for example, I have generally done very well. Take a look at this https://www.casinomeister.com/forums/search

4) Differs greatly from casino to casino. Youll need to investigate each one. All I know about Blackjack is no matter how many decks & shuffles, it always rips me off!

As for the software sucker-punching you I wouldnt worry about that. Ive been online gambling almost daily for over 4-years and done very nicely thank you! Stick to the reputable ones, as in the Meisters list, and you should be OK.

Good luck, be careful, and ALWAYS read the T&Cs before you start!
KK

 

[kirby]

Thanks for the response. I suspect that you are right - software on the internet seems a ittle bit harder to measure than a physical machine in a casino and with so many casinos doing constant software upgrades (much easier than changing the chips under State supervision) answers to my questions are probably impossible to state with any certainty. Glad to know that 4 years have treated you well. I'm going to test the waters very lightly, using this web site for a sense of security. If all goes well, then maybe more.

Thanks again

 

[paul02085]

May want to try Ausvegas casino. They are land regulated (Australia) and their slot payout %s are even shown at the bottom of each machine.

Overall, Microgaming is the hands down winner in terms of realistic looking slots.

Many of the other softwares have really crappy slots.

 

[sal monella]

I'll try.

(1) Does the concept of "loose" slots exist or would all casinos have the same payout on the same game if they used the Microgaming software, for example?

The video poker games may give us a clue here. Most software providers, Microgaming included, offer only one pay table for each video poker game. This probably also means that each slot game has the same payout at all casinos using the same software provider. The main exception is probably RTG, which offers its casino operators multiple choices of payouts for video poker, and probably also slots.

(2) Do the payouts change for the same "game" from day to day or week to week or do they stay consistent at the same site?

Don't know. It should be easier for an online casino to change payouts, but if we assume that payouts are uniform within most software platforms, then changes would have to be considered carefully because they would affect all member casinos.

(3) Do the guest accounts use the same payouts as the "real" accounts or are they set artifically good?

Don't know. One reason, aside from the obvious one, to vary the payouts would be to prevent players from figuring out theoretical payout percentages by auto-playing in guest mode. This would require a whole lot of auto-playing though to obtain statistically significant results.

(4) Does blackjack actually use 6-8 decks and really shuffle or is it continuous random cards?

The typical online blackjack game is multiple decks, shuffled after every hand. A few casinos shuffle less frequently, but penetration will still be very shallow, maybe just 1 or 2 decks dealt out of 6 or 8.

 

[kirby]

Gotta love your name, Sal.

Concensus of all responders seems to be, pick a Microgaming site and give it a whirl (so to speak.)

Thanks

 

[webber286]

Microgaming sites do seem to have the edge online. From what I have seen, most of the Microgaming sites have PriceWaterhouseCoopers audits of their payouts from month-to-month. Not sure if they change daily, but they certainly do from month-to-month. My thought is if they are audited by a respectable firm, then you should feel relatively safe playing there.

 

[dominique]

Well, I don't like microgaming best, I like RTG. The BJ at RTG is fast and seems fair, and I love the super diamond mine and other feature slots there.

I also like Iglobal slots. I find Microgaming slots slow, and I hate how they hesitate a lot and sometimes "roll back" in the opposite direction, like they missed the stopping point.

But it seems like most people prefer microgaming. I fail to see why.