by Andrew Cardno
In your tribal casino, you may have already encountered players who methodically walk from machine to machine, checking to see if a persistent prize is about to hit. If they spot a game that seems ready to pay out, they sit down and play. In isolation, it may seem harmless because, from your perspective, the overall hold percentage on that machine remains the same. But if you take a deeper look, you will see that persistent games can negatively affect your regular guests, incentivize advantage player teams to exploit certain floors, and skew your operational data.
Understanding Persistent Games
Some persistent games genuinely carry over a built-up prize or bonus to the next guest. If the machine’s meter hasn’t been triggered, the next person who sits down can continue the countdown. Others, known as perceived persistent games, only appear to accumulate a reward – yet the actual outcomes remain random.
As an operator, you could see two identical-looking games: one truly persistent, and one only pretending to be. Guests are usually unaware of the difference. However, organized advantage players know precisely which titles are worth pursuing. They share their intel in online groups, including social media platforms like Facebook or Discord. By comparing notes on prime times and hot machines, they position themselves to repeatedly swoop in at the best possible moment.
The Rise of the Advantage Player
Even if you recognize advantage play in other contexts – like table games or video poker – the slot variation brings unique complications. Skilled video poker players can achieve a slight edge, but they don’t reduce anyone else’s odds. With persistent slot titles, a built-up bonus left by one guest is ripe for the picking by another who knows exactly when to play.
If a prize meter is just one spin away from triggering, someone can slip in, claim it, and leave your next guest with a “reset” machine. Over time, the casual player faces a less rewarding experience, unaware that others have learned to harvest all the biggest prizes.
Detecting the Undetectable
One major challenge arises from how savvy individuals hide their wins. Many players simply remove their loyalty card right before hitting the big payout so their lavish bonus isn’t part of their rated play. In your player tracking system, these guests appear to be perpetual losers. Meanwhile, they collect major jackpots entirely off the record.
You might ask: “If the theoretical hold stays the same, why should I care about unrecorded winners?” The key is who shoulders the cost of those payouts. Under normal conditions, your entire slot floor balances out, with wins and losses generally matching a machine’s programmed hold. With persistent games, advantage players time their entries to capture outsized wins, while the regular guest unknowingly funds those bonuses only to find the machine returned to a less lucrative cycle.
The Impact on Regular Guests
You have certainly heard this complaint before: “We never win here anymore,” or “Your machines are too tight.” While your regulars have likely been claiming that for decades, it might now be closer to the truth. Persistent games often heighten what can be described as a “fisherman’s effect.” Players come to your casino because they want the thrill of catching a fish – a decent win – at least occasionally. If that reward is too infrequent, it can reduce the excitement and perceived value of playing in your property.
You have probably seen historical examples of what happens when games get tighter. In the short term, it might not drive guests away, but it affects the long term. The gambling industry is anchored in the promise of chance – players want to believe they can get lucky at any point. If you tighten the machines too far or your floor effectively becomes “tighter” because advantage players take the best shots, you gradually lose that sense of allure.
The Importance of Long-Term Strategy
You need to be mindful that persistent games and advantage play are not short-term fads. Social media groups and private messaging channels have only grown stronger and more informed. As these networks expand, more people learn how to exploit persistent titles. Some are even making a living doing so, traveling between properties and extracting value.
While you might think that the overall hold remains stable, the real danger is the unequal distribution of winning moments. It creates a snowball effect wherein guests who are not “in the know” lose faith in your property. A guest who no longer believes they can “win every once in a while” is a guest you stand to lose.
From a strategic point of view, consider how you want to position your casino for the future. If you decide to keep persistent games, be prepared for their ramifications. If you choose to remove them entirely, recognize that you may be forgoing a genre that many players now gravitate toward. Whichever course you take, you would do well to pay special attention to those players who have consistently lost on these machines – at least as far as your data shows. Rather than letting them fade away, you could creatively reengage them.
Questions to Ask Within Your Operation
What percentage of our floor features persistent slots?
Understand exactly how prevalent they are. You may be surprised at how many machines behave in a persistent fashion – truly or seemingly.
Who are our biggest untracked winners?
Although this can be tricky to determine, look for red flags: People who rack up coin-in but consistently show large net losses on paper could be removing their cards before bonuses trigger.
Are we seeing unusual play patterns like player pooling or group “patrols” of the floor?
Advantage players often work in teams. If you see multiple guests rotating through the same bank, or sharing a single loyalty card among them, that can be a sign.
Have we seen a shift in the ratio of “large” hits to coin-in over time?
If your big hits are clustering around certain accounts or untracked play, that indicates advantage players might be active.
Are our loyal patrons complaining more frequently about never winning?
While this complaint is timeless, increased frequency or intensity could mean they are truly noticing a difference.
Finding the Balance
Persistent games are not going away. They are popular, they are exciting, and they bring a new level of engagement to the slot floor. However, you need to realize that the excitement factor can be hijacked by advantage players, leaving your mainstream audience with a below-average experience. In the long run, that imbalance could hurt your reputation, drive away loyal visitors, and compromise the excitement that keeps your floor humming.
Your action plan might be multifaceted. It could include anything from removing certain titles, consolidating them, or closely monitoring them for suspicious patterns. It should certainly involve reevaluating your relationships with long-time players who have recently stopped winning. A thoughtful outreach campaign, bonus events, or special offers might help restore their sense of value and luck.
Ultimately, persistent games remind you that every shift in slot design can carry unforeseen consequences. By being proactive – learning how advantage play works, evaluating your data for hidden patterns, and reengaging disadvantaged patrons – you can maintain a dynamic floor that keeps everyone, not just the savvy few, excited about coming back to your property time and again.
Andrew Cardno is Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Quick Custom Intelligence (QCI). He can be reached by calling (858) 299-5715 or email acardno@quickcustomintelligence.com.
