For some strange secret reason casinos guard the par sheets for their slot machines like they are the most valuable treasure ever to be had. But as a special treat to loyal and long standing players, sometimes a casino host will reveal—reveal, not show—the par sheet of a loyal player’s favorite machine.
But what do these sheets really say and are they really worth guarding that closely?
A par sheet is a statistical analysis of a slot machine and its programming. It is not an analysis of its performance.
A slot machine is programmed when it is manufactured. This is when the par sheets are made. Since the slot machine has not yet been played in a casino, but it has a par sheet, so this proves that a par sheet is not an analysis of performance.
Really what a par sheet holds is information about how the slot machine is supposed to perform. Casino staff can see if a machine is performing ‘on par’ by checking its actual performance against what the par sheet says.
Par sheets give details such as how many times a symbol appears on a reel and the number of hits each combination should have. That last one, it is not used to predict when a combination will hit though. It allows the casino staff to monitor a slot machine. Say a combination is supposed to have 92 hits, but the recorded hits show that the machine is hitting that combination for a lot fewer hits, it means that something in the programming is off and the machine needs to be looked at, possibly repaired.
Another statistic given on a par sheet is the calculation of that slot machine’s payout percentage. This will be broken down by each number of coins wagered, with the payout percentage for each coin wagered given. This gives the slot machine a minimum payout percentage and a maximum payout percentage.
If you are ever given the opportunity to see a par sheet, especially one for your favorite slots, take a look. It will not give you any secrets on how to beat the machine or win more money from it—that sort of information is not on a par sheet.
But it is interesting to see the ‘behind-the-scenes’ view of you machine; you can see how many times a symbol appears on a reel. And while such information won’t help your slots strategy (it does not tell you the order of the symbols on a reel) it does make for interesting knowledge. Think of it as gaining trivia knowledge about your favorite slots machine.
Tags: Casinos, Par Sheets, payout percentage, slot strategy, Slots, Slots Games, Slots Machines