Option-buy Games

Option-buy games are usually (but not always) single-payline games that may be called Buy-A-Pay, as well as various disparaging names. When you bet more than one coin, instead of multiplying the payout, these machines activate additional winning symbol combinations (see illustration). To get all the possible winning combinations, you must play the maximum number of coins. Unless you do so, the overall payback of the slot machine is seriously compromised. IGT’s “Top Dollar” is an example of a typical option-buy machine. It comes in a two- or three-coin version, and you must wager the maximum to qualify for the top-box bonus of up to one thousand credits.
Some three-coin option-buy games can be misleading because the second coin is a multiplier, and only the third coin buys you additional symbol combi-nations. Therefore, on any game you are considering, study the paytable care-fully because if is an option-buy, you must never bet less than the maximum.
So why would anyone call an option-buy game bad names? Because many people do not read the paytable carefully, and then they get annoyed when they bet one coin, hit a winning combination of symbols, and get paid absolutely nothing. If it was a multiplier, they would have been paid a reduced amount, but they would have won something. Most people tend to get upset when they finally hit a winner and then don’t get paid. Don’t let this happen to you. If you decide to play an option-buy game, be sure you always bet the maximum.