5 Dragons at the local pub is my go-to when I'm having a slap
20x is the option that empties your wallet fastest, I've watched plenty of slaps die on it. Worth remembering the RTP on 5 Dragons isn't one fixed number anyway, Aristocrat lets the venue set it within the state minimum, so the pub's machine can be tighter than the club's down the road. I'd take the lower multiplier more often than people admit.
RTP doesn't lie, win screenshots do.
20x is the option that empties your wallet fastest, I've watched plenty of slaps die on it. Worth remembering the RTP on 5 Dragons isn't one fixed number anyway, Aristocrat lets the venue set it within the state minimum,…
fair dinkum, the pub machine down my way plays tighter than the club's and i've felt that in my wallet more than once 😄 but i'll still take the 20x every time. Yeah it kills slaps quick, but turned a lazy A$50 into the grand once on it during the feature and that memory keeps me coming back. middle multipliers are safer, sure, but safe never paid for my dinner. ah well, we grind on.
Yeah the venue thing blew my mind a bit, still learning that the pub machine can play different to the club's even though it's the same 5 Dragons 🤯 I only just worked out the Reel Power/243 ways stuff recently, total noob here. I'm too scared for the 20x honestly, usually pick one of the middle multipliers and just hope the feature hits 😅 Thanks Sam, that helps hearing you actually got the grand off it once!
Asking dumb bonus questions — that's the job.
Darwin, welcome to the club on the venue thing. It catches everyone out the first time, because two identical 5 Dragons cabinets can be tuned differently and there's no way to tell which is which from the stool. 📊 On the 20x, my take is simpler: fewer spins per A$20 means the variance gets you before the maths does, so I pick 5x and let the free games stack up instead. Royal's right that the tighter pub machines punish the aggressive choice hardest.
Do the EV, then spin.
@InRTPweTrustLoyal yeah nah, 20x all the way for me 😤 had it PAY at the club last Friday, A$180 off a modest slap 💰 adrenaline through the roof, ah well if the maths is same I'll take the spicy version 🐉🔥
One slot, one love 🎰
@InRTPweTrustLoyal yeah nah, 20x all the way for me 😤 had it PAY at the club last Friday, A$180 off a modest slap 💰 adrenaline through the roof, ah well if the maths is same I'll take the spicy version 🐉🔥
@DiamondGG1999 fair dinkum hit, A$180 banked is banked 👌 I've had 20x gut me twice in a row though - reckon the variance punishes faster, not just the maths 💸
You can't tell from the stool, true, though word is some venues run the same cabinet looser after a quiet midweek, could be coincidence 😏. A contact of mine at a club reckons the 20x choice sorts the punters from the rest pretty quick. Those who know, know 🤫
Those who know, know.
Queen of the Nile in its prime never asked me to gamble twice in one spin, but 5 Dragons makes you pick your poison before the free games even land, that choice screen is where sessions live or die. Went the 20x on a whim at a pub out my way one arvo, started with maybe A$80, rode one decent feature all the way past the grand. Next slap took the 20x again and got nothing but the base pays grumbling along, dead inside ten minutes.
Funny thing about the venue tuning though. I've felt it firsthand. The local club's cabinet seems to breathe a bit easier than the one in the pub down the road, same Aristocrat game, same Reel Power setup, 243 ways doing their thing. Sitting on the stool you'd never pick the difference, so all you can do is trust your wallet when it starts whispering. Darwin, don't stress about being a noob - every veteran here learned the 243 ways the hard way too 😄
I remember the old slots first-hand.
FreoDad hit it - the choice screen is the whole trap. Aristocrat gives you a menu of risks and whatever you pick, the house edge stays baked in at whatever the venue set it to. 20x just gets you to the same maths faster. Everyone wants to know who actually got paid on that option; I'll believe the feast stories when I see a photo of a ticket, and even then, the next ten sessions were the famine.
Licence first, deposit after.
5 Dragons choice screen gives me the sweats every time, go 20x and pray 😅 that spicy version just HITS different when it lands...
@DiamondGG1999 fair dinkum hit, A$180 banked is banked 👌 I've had 20x gut me twice in a row though - reckon the variance punishes faster, not just the maths 💸
@LeeBrekkie reckon you're onto something. Turned 50 into 5k on 5 Dragons once, but that was old reel grind days. 20x punishes quick now 😉
I remember the old slots first-hand.
@InRTPweTrustLoyal yeah nah, 20x all the way for me 😤 had it PAY at the club last Friday, A$180 off a modest slap 💰 adrenaline through the roof, ah well if the maths is same I'll take the spicy version 🐉🔥
@BonusVegas A$50 into A$5k is a proper outlier, and my notes would back you - whether the choice screen feels nastier now or we just remember the old grind fondly is hard to separate. On 5 Dragons the 20x option mainly shifts variance, so longer droughts between hits are baked in either way. I stick to the middle option at the RSL; slower bleed, more time on the seat.
Volatility > vibes.
@Grinder_Hunter variance schmarance mate, when 5 Dragons pays on 20x it feels like the whole pub hears it 😂💰 sure the droughts hurt but that hit makes up for it!
Spinning reels dawn to dusk.
@GeelongLegend48 lol this is exactly it mate, the pub noise when 5 Dragons finally pays on 20x is half the reason I keep going back 😂 Grinder's right about the droughts but a huge hit erases weeks of pain in my head. Nothing beats the golden dragon reels lighting up after a dry arvo 🐉🔥
@GeelongLegend48 lol this is exactly it mate, the pub noise when 5 Dragons finally pays on 20x is half the reason I keep going back 😂 Grinder's right about the droughts but a huge hit erases weeks of pain in my head. Not…
I totally get that feeling though, those big hits on 5 Dragons are such a rush. It sounds like the rush of the win is half the reason people stick around the local pokies, even if the droughts are rough. When I try to play, I always worry about whether that excitement translates into a decent cashout when things are finally hitting right, how do you handle all the bonus rounds once you get them? 🤔
Learning to clear wagering, go easy 🙏
@BonusVegas A$50 into A$5k is a proper outlier, and my notes would back you - whether the choice screen feels nastier now or we just remember the old grind fondly is hard to separate. On 5 Dragons the 20x option mainly s…
@Grinder_Hunter maybe I'm being dumb here but how do you actually track variance on a pub pokie like 5 Dragons? I only started playing a few months back and the 20x droughts already wreck me 😅 does picking the lower option at least keep you in the game longer, or is the RTP the same either way? 🤔
@RideTheVariance_Everyday96 You can't track variance on a pub pokie, not properly. No public RTP figure you can trust, no session logs, so anyone quoting numbers is guessing. Lower option on 5 Dragons just means smaller, more frequent hits, same house edge underneath. If droughts wreck you already, take the lower choice and set a hard loss limit before you walk in.
RTP doesn't lie, win screenshots do.
@Darlo_Dad spot on, mate. Half these blokes quoting session stats on 5 Dragons wouldn't know a real drought till their bankroll's dust anyway 😏
The house always wins.
RideTheVariance, Darlo_Dad's got the right of it on the tracking part. You can't log pub spins properly, so think of variance in plain terms instead. Pick a low option and your hits come more often but smaller, pick 20x and the droughts stretch out while the rare hit is fatter. The RTP underneath stays the same either way, the option just shifts how lumpy the ride feels.
Where I'd push back on the lads up top is the "one big hit erases the pain" bit. Do the maths over a whole year rather than one arvo. If 20x pays you once every so often but the droughts chew through A$20 notes in between, the hit has to genuinely outweigh all of it, and for most punters it doesn't. Hit rate matters more than RTP for how long you stay in the game. I keep a note on my phone for exactly this reason, even at the pub, crude as it looks.
Do the EV, then spin.
RideTheVariance, Darlo_Dad's got the right of it on the tracking part. You can't log pub spins properly, so think of variance in plain terms instead. Pick a low option and your hits come more often but smaller, pick 20x …
@AlmostHadItVictim agreed on all counts, though I'd add the pub version of 5 Dragons probably runs a stingier return than the club or casino floor anyway, and nobody publishing figures to prove otherwise. Pick your option for how long you want the session to last, sure. Long-run it's still minus, whichever way you slice it.
Hype isn't a payout.