If your goal is to have a better chance of keeping a substantial portion of your bankroll, you may be better off playing higher denomination machines, with (presumably) higher payback: quarters, half dollars, dollars and, if your budget allows, two dollars and five dollars and up! if your goal is primarily entertainment, play penny machines at minimum bet and see what happens. there is a reason that penny machines account for a a major portion of casino profits these days. you may even get a lot of play time ('time on device,' as it is known in the industry), but you also can lose hundreds of dollars in an hour or so. You'll have a lot of fun on penny machines, particularly if you pick a machine with understandable symbols and a theme you can relate to, like a favorite old TV show. i have won the top progressive on the 'sex and the city' machines several times and have seen many other people getting handpays (greater than $1200) on penny machines. That being said, i personally have had some incredible spins and incredible bonus rounds on penny machines, as much as $700 or $800 on a single spin with a $2 or $3 bet. it's a bit unfair, as jerry points out, since you can often spend more per spin on a penny machine than a $1 machine! even so, the dollar machine will likely have a much higher payback percentage.
The casino 'hold' on penny machines is much greater than on higher denomination machines.
