I’ve read stories about people who have spent thousands on “free” slot machine apps because they ran out of coins but wanted to continue playing.
That worries me.
I have to remind myself that there are people who can afford to do this and aren’t negatively impacted financially. I get that and its certainly fine to do.
My concern is for those who can’t afford to do so but find themselves buying coin packages anyway or are right on the edge of making that first purchase.
Once you do I think it’s easier to talk yourself into doing it again…and again.
At that point you could easily slip down the rabbit hole and find that you’ve spent your car payment or your grocery money has been depleted before you realize what’s happened.
I never want anyone to find themselves in that position because of an app.
These apps offer no real money in return for your purchase. The only thing you’re getting are virtual coins so that you can keep playing.
Some do offer real-world rewards like discounted hotel rates or travel awards but even those might not offer the value they appear to offer. You might do just as well waiting for a special sale through the actual hotel rather than spending money on an app that won’t pay you back.
I have played these apps for YEARS and while I have spent money on them I doubt it’s more than $50 and that was more than 5 years ago. I haven’t spent a dime on them since.
Following are all the strategies I use to avoid having to pay for coins. Maybe a few of them will help you, too.
STRATEGY 1 – Play multiple apps
These apps know that if they can keep you there’s a higher chance you’ll eventually spend money with them.
As a result, they do things to make their app more appealing than another.
It might be that the app has your absolute favorite slot machine, or they have a more exciting tournament feature, or the graphics are amazing.
Whatever it is every person has a reason for not wanting to leave a particular app. You need to figure out what that reason is for YOU.
When you understand what that thing is that keeps you hooked to one app over another you can then search for similar apps.
That way, if you run out of coins on one you can switch to the other while you wait for your free coins to replenish. My husband and I have four go-to casino apps that we play so we never have to buy coins.
It can take some time to find others that you like as much as your first favorite but they are out there.
If you don’t have room on your phone to download multiple apps but the app is connected to your Facebook profile you can usually uninstall the app, reinstall it later and it will have saved your progress (coins, levels, rewards).
You can then install a different one and play that until you can get more free coins on the first app.
STRATEGY 2 Take advantage of EVERY opportunity for free coins
If buying coins would hurt your budget then make sure you are using every legitimate opportunity for free coins from that app. (I don’t buy into those hacks and black-hat tactics for trying to load coins.)
Many have a Facebook page and/or other social media profiles that awards free coins throughout the day. Get them all.
It doesn’t make sense to spend $5 on more coins when that same amount might be sitting out there for free.
While these links on social media profiles often have short expiration times I know there are at least a few that will let you go back a couple of days to collect these coins. It never hurts to check.
I’ll scroll through all the most recent posts on that profile and click the link for each free coin award until it tells me that one is expired. Then I know I can’t go any further back.
My husband finds it annoying to do this so I’ll do it for him. I don’t mind and I know it extends our play time without costing a penny.
If the app offers free coins in exchange for watching video ads do it. I’ll often have my phone next to me while I’m doing something else and just click the button as needed to get through ads and collect coins (like while I’m writing this post).
STRATEGY 3 Go into “gathering mode”
Commit to spending a week doing nothing but gathering free coins on your absolute favorite app while you play a different one (another benefit of playing multiple apps).
You’ll have more money to play with on your favorite when the week is up and that will give you a better chance of continuing to build those coins instead of running out.
STRATEGY 4 Play the minimum bet
I know – this can be a tough one for some. It’s probably the least popular tip.
Think of it as a challenge. Tell yourself you’re going to see just how big a hit you can get on the lowest bet.
STRATEGY 5 Play a Guest and Facebook account
Many of these slot apps allow you to log in with your Facebook account or play as a guest.
For some of these what that really mean is you can play both. You can play on your account that is connected to Facebook, log out and then play as a guest.
This gives you twice the number of free coins you can get inside an app.
For some, too, they even store your guest account information so that when you log in or out or uninstall and reinstall the app it has saved both your Facebook account information as well as your guest information.
If the app requires that you unlock slots by leveling up that might mean that you aren’t at a high enough level to play the slot you like best on one or the other of you accounts. If you stick with it, though, you’ll eventually have a high enough level on both accounts.
I do this with both Jackpot Party Casino and my Konami – Real Vegas Slots.
On Jackpot Party my Facebook account is a level 833 while my guest account is level 584. On my Konami my Facebook account has an XP level of 884 while my guest account is XP level 183.
STRATEGY 6 Dump apps that are too tight
If you are constantly running out of coins on a slot app – even after trying the strategies above – then bite the bullet and dump the app.
There are plenty of others that aren’t designed to eat your coins so quickly. If enough people did this it might make the app creators change their approach so that they provided a better balance between profit and enjoyment.