Fruit Machine Playing Strategy

It is no secret that Microgaming software powered casinos boast the largest collection of Fruit Machine games, if you are a little confused in regards to what these types of gaming machines are, they are simply slot games which offer a more entertaining type of playing format based on them offering lots of bonus games and bonus features.

Fruit Machines often go by the name of AWP’s which is the official name for these types of slots, AWP simply means Amusement with Prizes, which based on the fact that you will be triggering lots of features and bonus rounds is an apt description of them!

It is in the UK Casinos that you will find huge numbers of Fruit Machines on offer, they are found all over the place in motorway service stations, pubs, bars and amusement arcades, and as such there are a huge number of players who prefer playing these types of games both in land based casinos, and thanks to Microgaming online too.

Things You Need to Know About Fruit Machines

The way in which Fruit Machines work is completely different to casino styled slot games, and as such they can often be played in such a way that you can guarantee a winning session, however everything does need to fall into place when playing them, and as such we best start off by telling you how exactly they work.

All Fruit Machines have been designed to work in cycles, the number of spins required to play out a complete cycle is going to vary from game to game, but they can and do cover hundreds of thousands of spins.

During each cycle a Fruit Machine will have a set of built-in parameters, which means whilst the actual payout percentage of a Fruit Machine is set in stone, when going through one of its cycles the payout percentage can dip quite low and conversely reach some high amounts, thus making them appealing games to play and games on which you can obviously both win and lose depending when you play them!

However when the Fruit Machine is nearing the end of its playing cycle, it is required by law to hit its pre-determined long term payout percentage and this is where an experienced Fruit Machine player can take advantage of this playing structure.

Successful Fruit Machine Playing Strategies

By monitoring just how much money the game has taken in by players playing it, and noting just how much it has been paying out, one of these experienced players can instantly spot when a Fruit Machine is currently not paying out very much, and when this player spots this he or she will then wait until the game is not being played and jump on it and start to play.

By playing a Fruit Machine that hasn’t paid out for quite a while, that player will play the game “to lose” this means whenever they have been offered a bonus game or bonus feature they will play it in such a way that they do not receive a winning payout.

For example should that player be offered a Nudge Feature, whereby they can nudge the reels symbols downwards to complete a winning combination on the payline, they will Nudge in un-matching reel symbols so they do not achieve a winning payout.

By playing “to lose” the Fruit Machines payout percentage will reach the stage where it is at the lower end of its permitted parameters, and as such the game will then be forced to spin in a series of jackpot payouts or large paying winning combinations, to bring its payout percentage back up to what it has been programmed to pay out!

It is of course a fine art playing Fruit Machines in this way, however there are a number of players who do know how to do it successfully, and with online casinos now offering Fruit Machine games, it is possible to play them in such a way in the online gaming environment.

You may be wondering how is it possible to watch and monitor online Fruit Machine games in an online casino, as when you are playing these types of gaming machines online you are not in a real life environment and as such cannot simply sit back and watch other players playing them.

Microgaming powered casino sites have something they call a Jackpot Thermometer and as such when you log into any casino using the downloaded gaming platform from Microgaming you will see alongside each and every game this Jackpot Thermometer.

What this device does is track the slot games all individually, and displays, via a thermometer type animation whether that game is hot or cold, it does this by working out when the game last paid out several jackpots based on when those jackpots are usually awarded.

Therefore by checking out each slot games’ Jackpot Thermometer you are able to instantly see what games have been paying out, and are probably best left well alone, and conversely which games have not paid out their top prize payouts for quite a while, and are the games you should be considering playing as their jackpots are well overdue.

Fruit Machine Hidden Features

Be aware that many newer Fruit Machines have a range of what are known as Hidden Features that have been built into the game, these have been added to the games to give regular players a little more excitement and winning opportunities, however if you do not know what these hidden features are, you will not be able to take advantage of them.

The most common way for you to come across a hidden feature is to keep your eyes peeled on the Alpha Numeric display which most Fruit Machine have, this is simply a message box attached to the game which scrolls little comical messages as you are playing the game.

However every now and then this display will flash up, for a short amount of time, a playing instruction, such as “Hold Reel 3” or “Let ‘Em Spin”, if you follow these instructions then you can often find that is the hidden feature and a winning combination will then follow on the next spin you make, subject to you following the instructions perfectly!