Somebody please explain slots

I've never been able to get myself interested in slots. For one thing, the house advantage is way too damn high, compared to almost every other game in the casino. And I watch others play...the newer digital reel slots, it seems like there are fifteen different symbols, so how the $@&#$ are you ever going to line up three of anything, let alone five? I see all the time eight, ten, fifteen losing spins in a row.

And all the games are heavily weighted toward the bonus round. Usually, you have to get three dumpsters (or five, or more) to go to the bonus round, and since a dumpster isn't good for anything except the bonus, it kills every line it lands on. So much teasing...DUMPSTER DUMPSTER...shit. DUMPSTER DUMPSTER...shit. You never get three dumpsters. And while waiting for that &$#$@ bonus round to show up, you bleed to death. Nothing nothing nothing. 12 credits, whee! Nothing nothing nothing nothing nothing. 5 credits. Repeat until broke.

Slots are always the most heavily played game in the casino, but I don't get it. In what universe is this fun? Or is it the exquisite psychological skill of the slot manufacturers, that they've created more addicts than the cigarette companies did after WWII?

Lots of reasons.  No skill or thinking required, that's probably the most important factor.  Also much higher volatility than VP or other games.  Volatility may sound bad, but it makes things more exciting (think about how people complain that JoB is boring and prefer DDB, for example), and I think studies have shown that increased volatility makes things more addictive (from a Skinnerian standpoint, it creates a more potent intermittent reinforcement schedule).  The other thing about volatility, which pertains to every game in the casino, is that it hides the house edge.  It's because of volatility that you can't just watch a game for a few minutes and get a sense of whether it's loose or tight.  And of course, there's the fun factor:  fun symbols, fun graphics, fun sound, fun bonus rounds.

But we know better.

I vulture slots as an adjunct to my video poker play, which means, when I'm walking through a casino, I check the machines I pass for a positive play. When you play the machines, you start to learn what symbols are worthwhile and which ones aren't, and it's the anticipation of the right symbols lining up left to right that makes the games fun for people.

I don't think anyone should disparage someone who enjoys going to the casino for reasons different from the reasons they are there. I go for a positive EV video poker play here locally, and if it weren't for the folks that go just for entertainment, I wouldn't have the opportunities that I've found. 

As WBG on the Vegas Matt YouTube channel says, "Let's enjoy this."

Good observations. I also remember reading about the power of intermittent reinforcement, in particular an experiment where monkeys were, when they pushed a button, sometimes awarded a treat and sometimes not. They were apparently much more inclined to hit the button than if they simply always got a treat. You can see the strong similarity between monkeys pushing buttons and Strip tourists playing slots.

Volatility definitely factors into it, in no small way because volatility is essentially an illusion--EV is EV. You put $3 into a slot and hit the button--you just lost thirty cents. The actual result is irrelevant. But I doubt that one in ten thousand gamblers thinks that way.

And yes, the videos and graphics are indeed fun. However, I can fire up the interblab on my laptop and watch amusing graphics for much less than $100 an hour. But I agree that the combination of amusement and intermittent reinforcement can be downright hypnotic for many people, and I suppose kudos are due to the slot manufacturers for their keen understanding of human psychology.

More recently designed slots, such as Dragon Link ("Happy Pappy", Panda, "Old Age Guy", Golden Gong) allow for as low as 50 cents a pull with the prospect of a big win of at least 5 figures.  With enough small hits a person can keep going on a relatively small buy in.  I saw a guy playing 50 cents a pull fill the screen with those gold 'balls' to win a six-figure jackpot, so I know it happens at that play level.  These are very popular.

Personally, I do like the bit of more thinking required for VP and table games.  When I first discovered VP I had many good trips/hits, Aces with Kickers, Kickers with Kickers, etc.  That seemed to dry up at some point.  Seeing my friend do well at those Dragon Links I took a stab at them.  They were relatively new at the time and boy did I hit.  Then the curtain came down on those.  Still fun and hit enough now and then to continue to rope me in, and of course the occasional sustaining hit. 

I like to be able to switch around...slots, tables, VP.  I'm not patient when one doesn't show me something within five to 10 dealt hands or machine/VP pulls.  I have to manage my money since I'm usually 'there' (wherever) on a three night trip.  Psychologically can't continue to feed unless I'm fed.  I know the danger of thinking one good hit necessarily signals more to come.  I have a 'win' limit at which I cash out, then insert a smaller amount less than half of that win to 'test' the theory that more hits might be ahead.  Silly, I know, but doing so seems to help me end up with money at the end of a session, day, half-day, trip, etc., instead of feeding that win entirely back into that machine trying to 'get it going again'.

Candy