It always 'feels' like the 4th scatter is a curse, particularly thinking of the likes of Danger HV, Horus, Rise of Merlin - it's like happy days that the bonus is (finally) landed, then a bit of 'meh' when a 4th scatter drops on the final reel.
As much as it is probably just in my head, there is a little bit of me wonders if that is something programmed into some (all?) games, so if you land 3 scatters it selects a random bonus to play out from pot X with a greater number of high paying features, if you land 4 scatters it picks from pot Y on the basis that you've already been paid 10x or so for the extra scatter and have fewer big bonuses to randomly be awarded.
Am sure there are plenty of others as well - Always think of that watching LSS with the constant switching of stake on Davey Boy 😉
The 4 scatter curse I am half and half on. Quite prominent on Primal as that's never paid with 4 scatters.
I do believe there's substance in the belief/myth that changing stakes affects gameplay. If nothing is happening and change up or down, all of a sudden (most of the time) things change.
Other myths of my own making:
- RTP doesn't count. All games are on a timer with set times where you have a better chance of winning. You could bring the 'pot' theory in here.
- PlayNGo have an early hours of the morning setting where they are set to suck you dry. Even the reel sets change.
- Paying extra to have a better chance at a bonus is bollocks. Another way of taking more money.
- Paying extra for a scatter on NoLimit's changing your outcome negatively. Should always go naturally.
I'd love to have a better understanding of the extra payment to increase bonus chance, it really is hard to buy into that being legit when you can sit through 1,000+ spins over a few sessions and still not see a bonus land in spite of paying 25% tax for the supposed privilege of increased chance to hit... this feels especially thieving where they've added it to games that already have a fairly high frequency / capped value of bonus such as the last couple of Big Bass games.
I'm also on board with your first bullet, to a point - RTP (imo) clearly counts, but it does feel from watching streams & linking to my own play that certain games go through hot or cold periods where everyone seems to be hitting decent wins / shite wins on.
Following on from that, I've always felt another myth is that new games are set-up to play great / above RTP for a certain period after their launch. Doesn't seem impossible that providers would set them to play at 110% RTP for the first few weeks to build some hype, people thinking they are fair to bonus, are a good new go-to game when you want to try and bump the balance up a bit.... then bomb them down to 70% RTP after the honeymoon period knowing that people are hooked and more inclined to chase a bonus / money-back or be willing to punt on slightly higher stakes. The net outcome if they are audited would be that they have paid out around the 90% RTP mark (so seem fair versus the figure stated in their help file) but splitting that way may be better at getting people hooked and ultimately degen off a greater amount of money.
I caveat all of this in that my logical brain ultimately knows it's all bullshit and just the human brain trying desperately to find patterns in randomness... but there's always the 1% chance shennanigans are going on, masked by that same randomness!
Slots that 'streak'
I guess this is partly in my head from the days of button pushing down the arcades / pubs, but there are some games I'm totally convinced have a streak mode. I think lots of people are on board with things like Reactoonz seeming to throw Garga out 2-3 times in relatively quick succession. From the amount of times I've wagered on it for bonus offers, things like Blue Wizard, Golden Macaque etc so frequently seem to go an age without a bonus and then 4-5 within 100 spins which now means I'll always sit on for at least the next couple of teases when I do land a bonus.
A lot of Pragmatics I think fall into that as well, Barry has loved to do a few bonuses in a row for me and again, I'll always stay for at least 1 more tease after a bonus on those games.
Again, I know they can't. They are random games. It always suckers me in to play a little more on those slots though :)
Weemonk23 - 29/11/2022 at 13:15
The 4 scatter curse I am half and half on. Quite prominent on Primal as that's never paid with 4 scatters.
I do believe there's substance in the belief/myth that changing stakes affects gameplay. If nothing is happening and change up or down, all of a sudden (most of the time) things change.
Other myths of my own making:
- RTP doesn't count. All games are on a timer with set times where you have a better chance of winning. You could bring the 'pot' theory in here.
- PlayNGo have an early hours of the morning setting where they are set to suck you dry. Even the reel sets change.
- Paying extra to have a better chance at a bonus is bollocks. Another way of taking more money.
- Paying extra for a scatter on NoLimit's changing your outcome negatively. Should always go naturally.
On the paying extra to win a scatter, I am of the opinion that in most cases this is just a way of increasing the rate of spend and therefore margin.
If the bonus frequency is say one in every 220 spins you would be likely to obtain a bonus for £220 of turnover at £1 stake (on average of course) yet if you pay a 50% premium of £1.50 you may achieve the bonus in 110 spins or £165 of turnover. During the 110 spins you would achieve on average around half of the return on those 110 £1 spins than the 220 £1 spins on the base game without the increased bonus frequency. The casino is doing nothing other than persuading you to play at an increased stake thus increasing revenue.
As we all know the second you click the button the decision is made. The spinning reels, the music, the flashing lights - it's all just theatre and of no consequence other than to entertain the player. each and every spin is a totally new and independent spin as the RNG's have no memory.
The one thing I am always convinced of is that bonus free spins with wagering attached allocated to specific slots such a Book of Dead, usually on 10p or 20p stakes appear able to bonus much more often than normal. This gameplay experience is a taster to encourage further play on a slot offering a different proposition in real money play. Does this really happen though - I am just not sure.
Instant bonus always a curse for me
Yeah, the instant bonus is a curse. It's like it knows, then pays out a 4x bonus
Wouldn't know tbh, never had a 4th scatter 🤷♂️
Buying an bonus Vs dropping it in natural. Always seem to get better ones spinning for it.
Always found the bonus lands quicker (or feels quicker) by spinning manually vs using autospin / autoclicker