It’s a fact that the average fruit machine is designed to make money. Therefore, the payout on these machines, or fruities, as they are commonly called, lies between 70% and 98%, although most machines set at around 80%. Remember that the payout rate, or RTP, varies from machine to machine, but a good rule of thumb is that the higher variance slots pay out the most. That doesn’t mean that you should allow these devices to take all your money. A common misconception is the assumption that you will receive eight credits back if you insert a tenner into the machine based on 80% payback. This isn’t the case as this percentage is worked out over a much greater turnover. Through this page, we intend to give you the upper hand over these machines by giving you an insight into fruit machine gameplay that will hopefully assist you in your quest to win more cash prizes than ever before.

Pubs are regarded as the best places to play these fruity machines. Since weekend days and nights are the busiest at these establishments, the best time to play (and win) is Friday, Saturday or Sunday morning as soon as it opens right after a busy night – only then will they be ripe for the taking. Snooker halls, bingo halls, ferries and motorway service stations are also lucrative venues to the play these machines. Playing at arcades should be avoided though as these machines are being played all day by people who know what they’re doing. After finding the right location, choosing your machine before you put money into it is equally important. Some fruities are better than others, as they come with several features, some of which are easier to understand and manipulate than others. Before you sit down and play, you need to figure out which are the highest and lowest wins possible and how much each combination of symbols is worth.

Before we look at some individual fruitie slots, you’re more than likely to have experienced the following sticky situation. So, you’ve dropped a couple of coins into the machine and you’ve won a small sum of money; but before you collect it, you’re given a chance to double your winnings with the infamous ‘Gamble’ button. All you have to do is guess correctly – that is, should you go higher or lower than the number on the number reel? Worrying about which number to pick is futile as the machine has already decided whether you’re going to win or lose. If the machine has decided that your fate is a loss, there’s absolutely nothing you can do about it. The fact is that almost every spin is predetermined; which symbols are going to fall in place, whether you’re going to receive nudges, which numbers the “random” stop will land on, and so on – I think you get our drift.

If you like to play on low stake fruit machines like the five-credit games, there is something you can do to make your game time more profitable. The cheats for these games are significantly different to their fellow 70 or 100-credit jackpot brothers. On these lower stake machines, the constraints on repeats often don’t exist, which means that a jackpot can repeat up to ten times, compared to being able to repeat once or twice on the larger jackpots. Games like Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark and Yabba Dabba Darts can all pay out up to 35 credits over a single winning streak. You don’t even need to make use of the top feature to reach that sum. On the Top Gear slot, all you have to do is trigger the feature and gamble up the side to make a decent profit. The feature often repeats for about ten credits. Bear in mind that these jackpot games have small floats, ranging between 30 and 40 credits, and as already mentioned, the payout rates are much lower at 72% across most arcades and pubs. Try and stick to machines with an RTP of 80% for optimal profit and if you’re not awarded a win in any of your first twelve credits, the machine might have been tampered with.

For those serious slots players, it might help you to know that the Deal or No Deal Golden Game and Perfect Deal 100-credit jackpot games are very similar, apart from the fact that the former has some bothersome base reels which force the player to collect wins. This means that feature entries will cost more as the percentage is levelled off marginally from all the small wins.

Nowadays, digital video fruit machines have become very popular, but are much harder to manipulate seeing that they are purely machine. Alas, there are no tricks for these machines as yet, but there are some guidelines you could follow. The first is to not aim for the jackpot. These games pay out substantial amounts as a result of their features. Secondly, be on the lookout for hidden features like (features which are not highlighted by the machine). You should also keep an eye out for ‘Hyper-Nudges’, which function the same why as usual nudges but instead move two reels simultaneously, as they are also beneficial to your bankroll. ‘Double Flashing Holds’ (when the ‘Hold’ buttons flash twice quickly in succession) are also useful features to come across as it’s an indication that a win is on its way in the next spin.

And now for the pièce de résistance; do not continue to play after a machine has paid out a hefty profit, as you will very likely lose. More importantly, you should never gamble with more than you can afford to lose. Set a target before you begin, of how much you’d like to win and how much you’re okay with losing too. Remember, that it’s a game not a source of income at the end of the day!