Lock and Roll Slot Machine

Introduction

Lock and Roll is a unique slot machine that incorporates skill elements, particularly available in areas like North Carolina. Although it resembles a traditional slot machine, its gameplay aligns more closely with video poker. Below are the detailed rules of the game.

1. Once a player places their bet, the machine will activate and spin three reels.
2. Players can choose to hold any combination of reels they desire, even opting to hold all of them, while they can re-spin the ones they haven't chosen to keep.
3. The odds for each symbol on a reel remain consistent between the initial and re-spin phases. This means that it's possible for players to land on a symbol they previously opted to discard during the re-spin.
4. The payout for players will be determined based on the symbol combinations achieved after the re-spin. If none of the reels are re-spun, the payout will depend solely on the results from the initial spin.

Here is the payout table. A single 5X symbol enhances any resulting win fivefold. Two 5X symbols increase the win by 25 times. Notably, wins generated from just two or three 5X symbols are not multiplied; in other words, 5X symbols only boost payouts that include other diverse symbols.

* The payout for landing three 5X symbols is progressive, starting at 5000 coins.

Deal Return

The next table presents the odds and returns for the initial spin. The figure in the bottom right corner indicates a return of 22.29% after the first spin.

Draw Return

The following table displays the probabilities and returns for situations arising from the second spin. The lower right cell reveals a return of 90.06% after this second spin.

Strategy

This table indicates which reels to hold (N=spin, Y=hold) for every potential outcome of the initial spin, assuming a specific jackpot amount of exactly 5000.

There are three distinct plays possible, each of which can be executed in two different styles while maintaining the same expected value. They are:

reel1  reel2  reel3 -----  -----  ----- 2-bar  1-bar  2-bar 2-bar  3-bar  2-bar 2-bar  7-bar  2-bar

In all three situations, choosing to hold all three symbols yields the same expected value as just holding the two double-bar symbols.

Like all progressive video poker games that are played with optimal strategies, adjustments should be made as the jackpot increases. Without altering strategies, the expected return can rise by 0.2418% for every $1,000 added to the jackpot starting from 5,000. Achieving a full 100% return would require the jackpot meter to reach 46,107.57.

Red 7

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