S&H Green Stamps is a blast from the past. This machine was created by slot manufacturer Bally Technologies well over a decade ago. It was a consistent moneymaker for slot hustlers because it was a cheap game to play & had low volatility. A decent game for someone with a small bankroll to help bring it up.
The machine hung its hat on a unique feature called “save & win” free games. Green stamp symbols(1x, 2x & 5x) would appear fairly regularly. The player would then be awarded stamps equivalent to their total bet. Meaning that if someone were betting 75 credits & got a 5x symbol, the player would be awarded 375 stamps.
The goal is to fill up a book of 1200 stamps where the player would then be faced with the decision of playing 5 free games or “saving” them in an effort to fill another book. Each subsequent completed book awards 5 additional games & the same decision to either redeem the free games or continue playing. If a player completes 5 full books, a credit amount of 1000 is awarded & the maximum amount of free games of 25 is started immediately.
So where is the advantage & how do I “beat” S&H Green Stamps?
You can dream about finding a machine with 4 full books & the 5th nearly filled to give you the 25 free games. That isn’t going to happen. Most customers take the free games as soon as they achieve them. Realistically, an advantage player is hoping to find a machine where around half(600) of the stamps needed to fill the first book or more have already been accumulated. Play until you fill the book, accept the free games & walk away.
Don’t expect huge, life changing money on this machine. Most 5 free game bonus rounds will pay somewhere in the neighborhood of 1000 to 2500 credits. But every once in awhile you could get lucky & have one pay over 10000 credits. The vast majority of Green Stamps where available in 1 cent denominations. However, there were machines that came in higher denoms, most commonly nickels. That is where the good money was made years ago, especially if the machines had frequent play.
As far as betting goes on this machine most hustlers will suggest playing the maximum lines(25) at 1 credit bet per line. This is the most conservative approach & reduces the volatility. You typically won’t have to invest more than $20 on a 1 cent denom version of this machine to achieve the bonus playing this way. I personally am not opposed to betting higher especially if you want to get off the machine & move on as soon as possible. But of course you’ll have more volatility & be subject to bigger losses if the stamps don’t want to show up.
If you are going to bet higher I suggest not doing so all the way through. Let’s say you have 1180 stamps. There’s no point in betting 125 credits. If you land on a 2x stamp you’ll be giving the next player 230 stamps. You only need 20 stamps so just cut your bet to 20 credits.
In its heyday some casinos would carry multiple banks of these machines, providing hustlers with many opportunities to take advantage of them. Unfortunately S&H Green Stamps has disappeared from just about all major casinos. But it is still around & you’re more likely to find them these days in smaller, older casinos. If you happen to find one of these machines take a look at it & you might have yourself an advantage opportunity.
