At
first glance it looks like just another JPM machine but I love this one - the
featuregame is superb. This is very much the predecessor to ROYAL FLUSH. The
idea when playing it is to get all six coloured balls which gives you an extra
ball. This is insurance against landing on a miscue square or hitting foulshot
in potluck. The best signs that it is playing well is when potluck offers you a
'double up'. This means everything you land is worth double, extra nudges,
extra balls, cash - the lot. I originally thought that the best thing to play
for was Big Break (the top feature) but after a bit of experimenting I now know
now you should take knockouts. When you have an extra ball the feature can
still end by giving you 'leave table' (this can be annoying when the feature is
going well). 'Leave table' is the equivalent of 'collect prize' but it doesn't
happen often enough to be a problem. Always try to get the knockouts as high as
possible. Usually you will need 13 of them to get the 75 win but I have had it
off of 9 knockouts. Don't collect until you have at least 8. If you don't hit
at least £50 or £75 for quick profit then take a small win and
carry on. Taking any other win will mean you will have to put this back in.
When the machine has shown signs of playing well it has never cost me more than
50 to get 75, but the machine must be very close to be full. This is what you
should be playing for most of the time. Probably the best part about this
machine is the cashpot. Once both the cashpot and the reserve have reached the
maximum it is a short matter of time before the cashpot can be pushed out. The
cashpot does 'show out' in advance of it dropping. Several times you may see 3
cashpots on the winline requiring 1 nudge for it. Just carry on and don't take
anything large from the machine. The afterplay is easy to get, you must play
for knockouts and it will usually cost about 40 to get the 75, so even if you
see someone win the cashpot and walk away there is some value in it. The key to
getting the afterplay is to take a few small wins immediately after the
cashpot. a £5 or £10 win should do, then playf or the £75 on
knockouts.
If you notice that there are single yellow bars on or near
the winline it is worth trying to get the nudges higher on the featuregame
(there are several skill options) because the machine will happily pay the 75
this way. If the feature game starts filling the cash rapidly it is possible it
will go to the top. Remember, do not collect anything when you have an extra
ball because you cannot lose, unlike some JPM's where the insurance only partly
protects you (Snakes&Ladders AWP for example).
Here is another tip
which could prove useful. Occasionally when this machine is happy enough to pay
you £75 the cash can get quite high to. The machine probably doesn't want
to pay the £250 at this point. If you have 'double up' lit and the bonus
is on 'roll up' you can use the bonus to hit a 'skill' square. This can give
cash+4, nudges+4, knockouts+4 etc. I have managed to get 15 knockouts doing
this but they were useless cos the machine is only programmed for 14 when it is
not ready for the jackpot (JPM acknowledge there is a bug but they can't find
it. Derrr!) You have to be skillful at hitting the number you want on the hi-lo
reel. I have used this trick to get the cash up to £150 on a couple of
occasions by using the skillstop to land on the cash+2 square. This is doubled
and you must collect immediately as you will certainly lose on the next move.
So far this info should be worth at least a £100 a week to you when you
find one of these machines. In clubs like CIU's and British Legions most folk
will collect small wins and the machine will most often be backing. It can get
so simple you feel you are just turning up to collect your money!