Beat the Slots! [Paperback]

This book correctly informs the reader about RNG (Random Number Generator) which is the "brain" of the new slot machines and how the RANDOM sequence of numbers that it is constantly generating at the rate of thousands per second determines if you hit a jackpot or lose your wager.

So far so good.

Then the book goes on to give bizzare advice about "cold cycles" and "hot cycles" and how to discover if the shot machine is in one of the cycles totally contradicting what it said about RNG.

Perhaps the fact that I majored in math in college gives me an advantage over other readers since I comprehended the concept of RNG and can see you can't have your cake and eat it too as the saying goes. That is, you can't say we have a RNG that randomly determines if you get a jackpot or not and then go on and say based on past pattern of a slot machine behaivor you can predict its future behaivor.

I am not arguing against playing slots. I'm merely pointing out that you should play slot machines for exactly the same reason you go to movies, entertainment. That is, the house edge, will inevitably lead to you losing money in the long run. It is possible due to luck (or as statistician would say variance) you can come ahead and get some Casino money into your pockets in short term but, in the long term, you WILL lose. Anyone who thinks laws of probability do not apply to him is simply deluding himself.

I give this book 3 stars because it did explain basic facts regarding modern slot machine design in a very understandable and concise manner. I read the entire book during my flight to Las Vegas for a conventions. Reading this book will not cause you to make any money playing slots but it will cause you to lose money at a lower rate by making the right decisions about how many coins to play, which type of slot machines to choose for playing...etc. In my personal case, I did play slots while in Vegas and used the knowledge gained from this book to increase the odds in my favor as much as possilbe. Thus this book saved me many times its $10 cost. A great investment for me since I totally ignored the ridicoulous idea that I could make money playing slots in the long term. Another reader who takes that idea seriously is in for a nasty surprise.

I strongly suspect that the author is smart enough to know that you can't really beat slots but he avoids pointing this fundamental fact out to sell his book. This is a highly unethical behaivor since mathematically illiterate people can be fooled into thinking some accidental pattern of how a slot machine behaved in the past will repeat itself inevitably in future too and lose a lot of money they can't afford.

I read this book in one sitting and think that the methods Mr. Jenson brings are very sound, good advice. This book will be appreciated by anyone who wants to take the time to discover that there can be a way of approaching slot playing strategically and increase the odds of winning. With a good dose of player discipline, a player should be able to walk away with their winnings.

ANYONE WHO REALLY BELIEVES THEY CAN BEAT THE SLOT MACHINES AFTER READING THIS BOOK, SHOULD SEE THE BRIDGE IN BROOKLYN I HAVE FOR SALE.