Quote from Ursus_Maritimus:
This seems like a very solid answer. Of course to make more money on the machine it has to be played more -- so what makes them play this one more? And I am going to agree that it has to give the illusion of being a "hotter" machine, but I think you are seeing it from the wrong angle. Perhaps it has not much to do with the frequency of the payouts, but how close it comes to paying out for the players. More than likely this is just a matter of hope. I think the spins get the players closer to a jackpot, hence compeling those players who just had a "near miss" (which obviously isn't one at all) to take a few more spins.
"Fuck I was sooooo close, if only that apple was a cherry I would have hit for 25large! Hunny go break me another 20!"
My belly says this answer is so simplistic that its probably correct or at least along the right path. Stupid humans...
Ding Ding Ding Ding. We have a winner. Congratulations to Ursus, and to everyone who contributed to getting him(her) there.
This question was posed by Charles Munger of Berkshire Hathaway during a recent presentation. Below is a quote taken from a transcript of his presentation prepared by Whitney Tilson of T2Partners:
"What is different about that heavy winning machine? (Silence) Can anybody do it?
Male: More people play it.
Charles Munger: No, no, I want to know why more people play it. Whatâs different about that machine is people have used modern electronics to give a higher ratio of near misses. That machine is going bar, bar, lemon. Bar, bar, grapefruit, way more often than normal machines, and that will cause heavier play. How do you get an answer like that? Easy. Obviously, thereâs a psychological cause: That machine is doing something to trigger some basic psychological response. If you know the psychological factors, if youâve got them on a checklist in your head, you just run down the factors, and, boom!, you get to one that must explain this occurrence. There isnât any other way to do it effectively. These answers are not going to come to people who donât learn these mental tricks. If you want to go through life like a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest, why be my guest. But if you want to succeed, like a strong man with two legs, you have to pick up these tricks, including doing economics while knowing psychology."
For those who would like to read the complete transcript, the fourth paragraph of this article includes a link to the PDF:
http://www.fool.com/news/commentary...t.htm?source=eptyholnk303100&logvisit=y&npu=y