How To Cheat Slot Machines
Slot Machine Cheats & Cheaters. A lot of people might think of slot machine cheats and cheaters as the people who have figured out a way to beat the games. I tend to think of them as people who CLAIM to have figured out a way to beat the games. Then again, I guess both categories could be.
The secretive world of casino cheaters, the seedy underbelly of the gambling industry, is typically associated with poker and table games.
Cheats physically manipulate cards, dice, wheels, and chips to gain an unfair advantage over the house. But cheaters have long targeted machine games like the slots, too. Ever since the first “one-armed bandits” of old hit saloon floors in San Francisco at the turn of the 20th century, cheats have endeavored to trigger jackpots and payouts unfairly.
The earliest mechanical slot machines on the market accepted nickels, prompting cheaters to melt down cheap metal and fashion counterfeit coins known as “slot slugs.” These tricked the game into offering a free spin. When dimes became the coin of choice, they filed down pennies to the circumference of a 10-cent piece, thus “earning” a nine-cent rebate on every spin.
- From using high-tech methods to low-tech cheats like putting a coin on a string, people tried different mechanisms in order to crack slot machines and earn big wins at the casino. To name a few, these the most-popular slot machine cheats: Cheat Codes. Cheating Devices. Software and Hardware Malfunction Cheats.
- How to cheat a slot machine with a EMP device. $ 200.00 $ 170.00. This emp generator jammer Applicable models: single slot machine, wire slot machines, roulette slot machine coin type, paper type, type of lottery, Europe and the United States machine, machines, animals 3D, 3D racing.
- As long as slot machine have been using electricity to function cheats have been tempted to use electricity to cause a slot machine to payout. Today with electronically controlled machines there are a number of unique methods for trying to make a slot machine payout. Some of these devices/emp jammer delivered an electric shock to the slot.
- 10 Secrets Casinos Don't Want You to Know. Subscribe for more amazing videos! Casinos are multi-million dollar business.
Slot cheats also liked to drill a hole through genuine coins. They would tie it to some fishing line, play the coin, and let it fall just far enough to trigger a spin. Then, they would pull it back out and repeat the process to play for free.
Eventually, slot machine manufacturers countered those efforts with a device called the “coin escalator,” which displayed previously played coins in a window for all to see. When the operator spotted slugs, filed down pennies, or an insufficient number of wagers in the coin escalator, they knew a cheater was in their midst.
As the mechanical three-reel slots of old gave way to electronic video slots, coin-based machines were replaced by those which accept cash bills or barcoded casino vouchers. Manufacturers also replaced the drum reel setup with complex random number generators (RNGs) that “shuffled” the reels into seemingly infinite combinations.
These technological advancements stemmed the tide of slot cheating for a while, but gamblers who try to get over on the house are relentless if nothing else. Cheaters found more creative ways, engaging in a back and forth crusade with the casinos that continues to this day.
In the past, I’ve taken the time to write up guides on the various ways to cheat casino games, including poker, blackjack, roulette, and craps. But I’ve also included very serious reasons why you should never try them. In this guide, you’ll find five ways you can cheat when playing slot machines circa 2019 and beyond, along with why readers should never attempt it.
1 – Flashing a “Light Wand” to Fool the Machine’s Payout Sensor and Triggering a Jackpot
If you’ve ever heard of the “top-bottom joint,” the “kickstand,” or the “monkey paw,” congratulations! You know more about slot machine cheating than you probably should. But you probably also know about Tommy Glenn Carmichael, the so-called “Godfather of Slot Machine Cheats.”
Carmichael, a former television repairman who parlayed his technical skills into a career as a professional cheat, invented all three of those devices used to fool a mechanical slot’s sensors into unloading its coin hopper on command.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times conducted back in 2003, convicted slot thief Jerry Criner spoke of Carmichael in reverent tones:
“A legend. He’s the greatest mind as far as developing cheating tools.”
As for the man himself, Carmichael told the newspaper he was but a humble tinkerer who never said no to a challenge:
“Figure out how a machine counts money and then work your way into the machine. We got to playing around, and I could see where it was pretty easy to do. Give me a slot machine and I’ll beat it.”
When the electronic slots and their sensitive sensors used to detect lights and lasers became the norm, Carmichael wasted no time in purchasing an IGT brand machine for himself. Almost immediately, his ingenious mind went to work deconstructing the sensor array. Before long, Carmichael had developed his latest cheating tool, the “light wand.”
Here’s how Carmichael described his light wand epiphany, which occurred as he tricked a casino employee into providing access to an IGT machine’s inner workings:
“The second I opened it up, I knew how to beat it. He told me so much I thought he had called the law. I thought he was trying to stall us.”
Mark Robinson, the former manager of the Nevada Gambling Control Board’s Electronic Services Division, told the LA Times:
“The light would shine in there and be so bright that the sensor would be blinded, causing the hopper to not realize it was paying out the coins.”
Wielding nothing more than a camera battery and a miniaturized lightbulb, Carmichael went to work, bilking casinos from coast to coast out of $10,000 or more per day.
Why You Shouldn’t Fool the Payout Sensors
Like all swindlers, however, Carmichael’s refusal to walk away a “winner” led to his downfall. He was caught deploying a light wand to win jackpots in 1996 and again in 1998, before fleeing Las Vegas for Atlantic City. But his reputation preceded him, and private detectives employed by casinos there quickly spotted Carmichael and took him down.
The feds stripped Carmichael of every last penny from his ill-gotten gains, sentenced him to one year in prison, and placed him on extended probation. That’s reason enough to avoid the light wand “hack,” as is the method’s relatively outdated practicality in the modern age.
2 – Recording Spins on a Smartphone to Crack a Slot’s Randomization Pattern
This scam is so elegant and effective that casinos and slot machine manufacturers alike still haven’t been able to stop it.
During the 2000s, international slot makers Novomatic and Aristocrat Leisure began receiving disturbing reports from their respective casino clientele. Apparently, machines from both manufacturers had been observed paying out small to medium-sized payouts far more often than their preprogrammed odds should’ve allowed.
Comprehensive reviews and investigations were conducted to audit the machines in question, but engineers and analysts could find no trace of physical manipulation.
In 2011, Novomatic issued the following statement to client casinos to warn them about potential weaknesses in its slots “pseudo random number generators” (PRNGs):
“Through targeted and prolonged observation of the individual game sequences as well as possibly recording individual games, it might be possible to allegedly identify a kind of ‘pattern’ in the game results.”
As it turns out, a slot’s RNG isn’t technically randomized because it relies on manmade inputs, such as the second hand of the machine’s internal clock, to generate its seemingly random results. From the average player’s perspective, the results will definitely appear random over both short- and long-term sessions.
But as Novomatic admitted in its internal memo, the “pseudo” nature of a PRNG ensures that detectable patterns can be discerned from the reels’ final alignment, provided a player knew what to watch for.
A professional computer hacker known only as “Alex” was one such player, a gifted mathematical mind capable of cracking convoluted coded algorithms in his head. After deciphering the codes behind a particular model of Novomatic slot machine, then the Aristocrat Mark IV model, Alex designed a computer program to predict exactly when players should press the “SPIN” button.
Alex formed a team of players and taught them to use iPhone cameras to secretly record a few dozen low-stakes spins. This footage was then uploaded to Alex’s computer, which crunched the patterns onscreen to determine, down to the millisecond, when the “SPIN” button should be pressed to trigger a winner.
From there, all Alex had to do was send an automated text message timed with a 0.25-second delay to his cheater’s phone, thus providing the average human’s reaction time as a window. A quarter of a second later, with the stakes now increased significantly, the player would press “SPIN” and watch the screen light up for a sizable score.
Why You Shouldn’t Crack a Slot’s Randomization Pattern
Both companies acknowledge that their machines are vulnerable to Alex’s version of slot hacking. But as he pointed out in an interview with Wired magazine in 2017, his scheme isn’t technically considered cheating because nobody physically manipulates the machine:
“We, in fact, do not meddle with the machines – there is no actual hacking taking place. My agents are just gamers, like the rest of them. Only they are capable of making better predictions in their betting… Yes, that capability is gained through my technology, it’s true. But why should it be against the law? On the basic level, it’s like using a calculator for counting faster and more accurately, rather than relying on one’s natural capacity.”
Alex himself was never caught, thanks to his identity concealing skills and Russian residency, but several of his “agents” have been apprehended all over the world. As for the mastermind himself, Alex failed in convincing Aristocrat to hire him on as a security consultant.
Today, he makes a living selling his tech for five-figures a pop on the dark web rather than resort to cheating himself.
So, unless you’re a savant like him with otherworldly math skills and the “Rain Man” ability to read PRNGs in your sleep, or have $20,000 to spend on a slot-cheating system, hacking the game isn’t a great idea.
3 – Using Computers and Advanced Tech Skills to Rig the Machine for Instant Jackpots
Another case of computer engineering knowledge becoming the cheat’s tool of choice involves a fair share of mystery more than 20 years later.
Beginning in 1996, former locksmith Dennis Nikrasch used the “brute force” style of computer hacking to essentially break the machine’s payout sensors. Using a blocker to screen the surveillance cameras, Nikrasch took less than a minute to pick the lock, open the machine’s interface, and attach a device that manipulated the reels’ RNG. Just like that, Nikrasch was gone like a ghost, leaving his blocker behind to play the game until an inevitable jackpot was triggered shortly thereafter.
Speaking with the Las Vegas Sun, former chief of the Enforcement Division of the Nevada Gaming Control Board (NGCB) Keith Copher offered begrudging respect when referencing Nikrasch’s scam:
“He had the most sophisticated system we’ve ever seen. We don’t know that he’s passed it along, and if he has, he’d better tell us.”
J. Gregory Damm, the assistant US Attorney who ultimately prosecuted Nikrasch for his litany of crimes, told the newspaper the use of a proxy helped hinder casino security systems:
“He would be in the casino a very short period of time. He would fix the machine, then leave. He wasn’t present when the jackpot was hit.”
Why You Shouldn’t Rig Slot Machines
Nikrasch absconded with more than $6 million in stolen slot funds before his run was cut short, sending him to prison for seven years.
Once again, the biggest reason to avoid this slot cheating method is impracticability, because Nikrasch took his tech secrets to the grave.
4 – Watching for Players Who Leave Money on the Machine So You Can Spin for Free
Whether you count this one as cheating is up to your own moral code, but what do you do when a neighboring player leaves a few bucks in the next machine over?
You see them take their Player’s Card, and even leave the casino, so you’re sure they’re not coming back for that last dollar or two. Do you slide over and play the free spins?
If you’re like Colorado resident and gambling man “Dan” (his last name hasn’t been made public), you take your shot at winning a jackpot on the forgetful player’s dime.
Why You Shouldn’t Use Other Players’ Money
While gambling in a Central City casino two years ago, Dan saw a fellow slot player leave $2 on a nearby machine. After playing two spins and winning nothing, Dan continued his own game for awhile before security arrived and escorted him to the dreaded back room.
Here’s how Dan described the scene to his local KDVR News station after the ordeal was over:
“There was no intent to steal from anybody. I had no idea. I go upstairs to the third floor into a dirty little room and someone tells me I stole $2 from the casino. They said they had it all on camera. I was guilty, I guess. You’re certainly not stealing it from the casino because it wasn’t theirs to begin with. There are certainly times where there are ‘laws,’ but they are not morally or ethically correct.”
Dan was charged under Colorado Statute 12-47.1-823(1)(c), which covers various forms of casino cheating. In this case, the casino claims ownership over any lost, forgotten, or unused funds in its facility, so Dan technically stole $2 from the house and not the other player.
He was arrested, charged with criminal conduct, levied with $250 in fines, forced to pay for FBI criminal background checks, placed on probation, and banned from all Colorado casinos for a full year.
And while Dan’s case might seem like an outlier, consider that Colorado charged nearly 1,000 players for stealing slot funds in 2017 alone. Similar laws are on the books in Las Vegas and elsewhere, so when you see a few dollars flashing on an unclaimed machine, think twice before trying to turn somebody else’s money into your life-changing jackpot moment.
5 – Counterfeiting Bills or “Shaving” Coins to Trick the Machine Into a Free Spin
I covered the concept of counterfeit coin slugs in the introduction, and nowadays, you’ll only find a handful of old-school coin-operated slots in Downtown Las Vegas. You can blame infamous counterfeiter Louis “The Coin” Colavecchio for that development.
Why You Shouldn’t Counterfeit Bills or Coins
During his reign as the East Coast’s preeminent slot cheat, Colavecchio used genuine steel dies from U.S. Mint printing presses to trick the machines. That ploy wound up resulting in a seven-year prison bid, leaving the formerly flush “Coin” Colavecchio penniless and out of options.
After his release, Colavecchio was forced to adapt to a brave new world of cash and voucher-operated slots. Predictably, he tried to expand his operation into counterfeit $100 bills, hoping to hit high-stakes machines for six-figure scores.
And just as predictably, the U.S. Secret Service swooped in to arrest the now 77-year old Colavecchio in 2018.
Counterfeiting is one of the most serious federal crimes imaginable, and when you add in casino surveillance, this cheating recipe just doesn’t add up.
Conclusion
Slot machines probably inspire so many cheating attempts simply because of the volatile gameplay they offer. When winners can come few and far between, and losing by session’s end is a statistical certainty barring a big jackpot, grinding the slots can get downright depressing in the worst of times.
Cheaters who refuse to accept the “boom and bust” dynamic of the slots will always try to gain the upper hand, but as these five entries make clear, casinos are always one step ahead of the culprits.
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Easy slot hacks to help you play, win and enjoy more!
Slots has become the most popular casino game that has ever been invented. It forms over 50% of the revenue in casinos and racinos in the US, is easily found in Canada, Europe and Australia, and now growing in other parts of the world. For some venues, slot machines can generate more than 90% of total gaming revenue, even when coupled with other casino table games that are also on offer. And some venues simply have slot machines. This just goes to show how popular slots are!
You would think that the majority of Players would know a lot of traps to avoid, given how popular slots is. But it’s astounding to discover that many Players are missing out on some really great slot hacks.
If winning and extending your bank roll is important to you, then please read on.
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Hack 1. Don’t try and beat the system
Replicating the winning pattern of a slot machine is impossible. At the heart of it, are very complex algorithms. Don’t try and beat the system.
The design of a slot machine is to give random results which are to pay out in an uneven distribution. Coupled with this, the effect of the uneven distribution is to build up the suspense – simplistically as a string of losses followed by an incredible win. This randomness of an incredible win is structured so that playing slots entices Players to keep going until the jackpot comes. And this is what makes slots so exciting!
Understanding randomness, knowing that it is created by computer logic, is what trips many slot Players. In our minds, we know that another human being created a “winning pattern logic” for the slot machine. And sometimes when we play slots we can easily think “yep, I know when it’s going to pay out big!” We know it’s not really random, because our fellow computer IT programmer created a maths formula for it. And of course, what happens next is that the wagered amounts get bigger and bigger, and suddenly it’s all gone. The bank roll has vanished, and it’s all over, nothing left. Avoid the trap of thinking you know the winning pattern – whether it be hot or cold machines, jumping on a machine after another Player has won (or lost) and so on.
Hack 2. Pay attention to denomination pay out ratios
Win more on the higher denominated slot machines. They have a higher pay out ratio.
This may come as a surprise, however it is the lower denominated slot machines that have the worst pay out ratios. That’s right, the low penny slot machines pay out at a poor 80% to 85% range. Many Players are drawn to the low line betting slot machines, believing that they can play longer with the potential of winning more and winning big. This strategy would make sense if the pay out ratios of all the slot machines are the same, but they are not.
Below I list out the approximate pay out ratios by denomination:
- 25 cent machines roughly return 85% to 88%.
- 50 cent machines roughly return 89% to 90%
- $1 machines return roughly 90% to 91%
- $5 machines return 92% to 93%
- And machines wagering higher 93% to 98%.
Don’t be confused, believing that on the 25 cent machine more lines can be played (because smaller amount), whilst on the $5 machine less lines. And therefore you will win more often on the 25 cent machine. No, No, No… it’s doesn’t matter how small or big you wager, the pay out ratio is the pay out ratio. If you wager on more lines vs less lines, it makes no difference, the pay out ratio remains the same. The mind tricks you with the small vs big denomination perspective.
Hack 3. Align excitement to winning patterns
Alignment will prevent a sudden ALL IN wager. It helps keep your bank roll alive.
In general, the regularity of hitting a win on a slot machine decreases with the size of the jackpot.
Therefore, if you are seeking for an experience of more frequent small wins, then look for a slot machine with a smaller jackpot, make sure it is not interlinked and not progressive.
Frequency of wins can vary from as little as 7% to 25% of the number of rounds played. The frequency, however, doesn’t mean that one machine will have a lower pay out ratio than another. They could both have the same pay out ratio, but the distribution of winnings can vary greatly in amount.
Hack 4. Avoid Progressive
Avoid interlinked progressive slot machines.
If you are playing interlinked progressive slots, then the pay out ratios are significantly lower than listed in the Pay Out Ratio Hack. This is because the pooling of funds drives a lower average pay out to Players. In particular, avoid the large jackpot interlinked progressive slot machines. These behave like lotto with the odds of winning excessively low.
The odds of winning on interlinked progressive type machines, is on par with playing Powerball i.e. it is ridiculously low. That’s not to say you can’t win, but it is really really really low. Say like, 1,000,000,000 to 1. You need more than a life time to play all the combinations!
Hack 5. Play at Singles
Play at independent slot machines, the odds of winning are higher.
Progressive slot machines can be classed into three groups:
- Intercasino-linked – the jackpot can be won in any casino that is part of the network. The jackpot is usually huge because it is pooling the funds from all players on the network. Example: Megabucks
- In-house – Players using the same machine accumulate towards the jackpot. Can still offer huge winnings, but not connected to a larger pool like intercasino linked.
- Single/Independent – one Player drives the progressive jackpot.
As previously mentioned, avoid playing the intercasino linked progressive slots as the odds of winning are ridiculously low.
Progressive slot machines to look for are therefore the single/independent. And if you are looking for more frequent payout, the lower offered jackpots are the slot machines to play at.
How To Cheat Slot Machines Gta
Hack 6. Online Slots have better pay out ratios
Play Online Slots: pay out ratios online can be higher by up to 5%.
Online Slots (and mobile) behave very much in the same fashion as casino slots. In fact they are exactly the same! The only difference is that the output is through a web browser or mobile phone, whilst at a land based casino it’s via a machine.
Often the trust factor is much lower for Online Slots than slot machines. There is a misconception that Online Slots are programmed to scam gullible players as there is no regulation, whilst land based slot machines can be trusted because they are regulated.
This cannot be further than the truth. Both Online Casinos and land based casinos are regulated, must purchase a license and abide by laws. In fact, in some cases the land based casinos are less transparent. Take for instance, native American casinos in the US, they are allowed to be self regulated and are not required to disclose their pay out ratios.
The pay out ratios for Online Slots are far better than those offered at land based casinos. This is due to lower overhead costs – easier to maintain, no cash to handle, no venue to be kept and greater audience reach.
Hack 7. Put less in the bank roll
Don’t feel obligated to use up all the bank roll.
How To Cheat Slot Machines Borderlands 2
Often I see Players at slot machines with the need to “suddenly” leave. And in the bank roll there remains an easy hundred or so dollars left. So what happens? The Player bets big and on many lines, just to complete the gaming session and to use up the remaining bank roll!
Don’t do this. Leave with money in the bank roll or, if you can’t, then play with less in the bank roll to start with. If you need to top up later, you can. But don’t start with too much bank roll to then feel obligated to spend it all.
Conclusion
Although slots is a popular and easy game to play, our goal in GambleDex is to inform you of winning tips and strategies that may not be well known and used. We refer to them as slot hacks and have summarized them for you in 7 concise points.
Anyone can implement these 7 hacks, they don’t require any great effort or an IQ of Einstein. They are so simple that anyone can use them, and yet they will help increase winnings and extend the bank roll.
Other Best 7 Gambling Hacks
Appendix