Loose Machine

In the context of land-based casino gambling, a loose machine is a slot machine that is paying out more often and in larger amounts than others. For example, a machine that recently awarded its players three large payouts would be considered loose. Offline slot players will often search for loose machines to maximize their chances of winning.

The term is also used in video poker.

Are Loose Machines Real or Are They Just a Myth?

In the days when slot machines were purely mechanical, it could be possible that a machine would have a mechanical defect that made it display certain combinations more often than others.

These days, however, the concept of a loose machine is largely a myth. Modern slot machines are purely digital and their payout odds are fixed on the level of their programming. For example, the casino might set the payout percentage on a slot machine at 98%, which would mean that, on average, it would return $98 on every $100 played through it.

Furthermore, all modern machines of the same type are networked with each other. Rather than being seen as separate machines, all slots of the same type are best thought of as one large machine. So even if a programming error would occur, it would affect all of the machines of the same type, not just a particular one.

Loose machine:

• A slot machine that is paying out more often and in larger amounts than others.