What We Mean by “Spin Gain” When Playing Slot Machines
You may have just read our article titled Our Simple Slot Machine Strategy. One of the components of that strategy is to gain more spins, lowering your overall average cost per spin in relation to your initial investment. However, you may ask, how do you "gain" spins on a slot machine? Easy, you get line pays as you play the slot machine.
The “spin gain” is when you continue playing on those credits won. By reinvesting a portion of your small wins, you are essentially lowering your overall average bet over time. This is calculated by comparing your total spins to the original amount of money you put in the machine (remember, those credits are real money). If you were to track all of the money you reinvest, this is what equates to your actual “coin-in” totals when playing slots.
Credits, Spins, & Coin-In… Oh MY!
The greatest trick the casinos played on us was taking away real coins. You may not be old enough to remember, but back in the day, slot machines used to pay you out in real money, whether they were dollar coins, quarters, dimes, nickels, or pennies. The coins hitting the metal hopper made a constant noise every time you hit a line pay. To continue playing, you had to feed those coins back into the slot machine.
Now all you see are "credits" (although there are still some coin machines out there), and if you hit a small line pay, it just adds credits to your total. By removing real coins from the equation, people tend to just play their credits down to zero or continue playing until they get a big line pay.
For example, if you put $100.00 into a slot machine and played $1.00 per spin, you could spin those reels at a minimum of 100 times before you would be out of money. But if you were to hit three $10 line pays along the way, you could now spin that machine 127 times. The math is as follows: 3 winning spins at $10 each = $30.00. Each spin costs $1.00 each = $3.00. $30.00 - $3.00 = $27.00 net profit.
Add these small wins to the initial $100 you put in the machine, and you'd have a total of 127 $1.00 spins. Now, if you were to take the initial investment you made of $100 and divide that by 127 spins, your average cost per spin is $0.79. You gained 27 spins and lowered the average cost of your spin by $0.21. In reality, your actual coin-in is $127.00, but $27.00 of that was a reinvestment of your winnings along the way. You only took $100 out of your pocket (basically the slot machine gave you the rest).
Don’t Forget - Slot Credits are REAL MONEY!
Remember, all of the money you win along the way is real, even though the machine may say “credits”! Playing slots is not always about hitting a big jackpot or a massive hand pay. If you hit a nice line pay early when you sit down to a slot machine, check those credits! Is what you just won more than you make in a day at work? If so, you might want to take the money and run! Don't ignore what those credits total in real dollars! Gamble safe and always gamble within your limits!
Watch our YouTube channel and follow our slot strategy to help you manage your casino slot entertainment budget!
