You may have heard the rumor that Japan does not legally allow gambling. Technically this may be true but that doesn`t mean that they don`t do it. The most common form of Gambling found in Japan is pachinko. Pachinko orgins date back almost a century, where they decided to play pinball machines differently and have the board face vertically towards the player instead of horizontally. The element of winning was also added and eventually the slot machine was combined to what we know now as the modern pachinko machine.
So how does it work? Well, it is actually pretty simple to play pachinko machines. The basic idea is to get the small silver balls into the small hole in the lower half of the centre of the playing area. Getting a ball in this hole will activate the slot reels. Make a winning combination on the slot reels and win more balls. Sounds simple? I guess it sounds more simple than it actually is, so here is a walkthrough to get the most out of your pachinko experience.
Firstly you will need to choose a pachinko machine which you think will pay out. You can do this by checking the statistics screen above every machine. The numbers shown here will give you statistics such as how many times the machine has paid out that day, how many times the reels have spun without a win etc. These two statistics are the most important. You can find these stats under the headings (in most cases) 大勝 - meaing big win i.e how many times the machine has had a win . Also スタート literally meaning start, but tells you how many times the reel has spun without a win.
My opinion is that you should go for the machine which has had a low number of wins that day and has a high number of spins without a win. These machines do not play like western slot machines, where you can be up and down on your wins. In most cases you will either win or lose and nothing in between. Machines run hot or cold, so if you get a win you will be sitting on a hot machine, if you dont get a win keep playing until you get a win or give up if you have given enough of your hard earned yen.
To start playing your selected machine, just insert your money (usually on the left of the machine) and the balls should start coming into your stock pile at the base of the machine. Then just start turning the knob on the bottom right of the machine to alter the speed of the balls entering the machine. I found that usually you will need ot make the balls bounce off one of the pins closest to the top centre of the machine. Not sure why but usually it works, but if it doesnt work just find a good speed and if it wins, stick with it. You can even stick a 1 or 5 yen coin in the top of the knob to stop the speed changing if it helps, but you will still need to hold the knob as it has a sensor to make sure you keep a hold of the machine. Noone likes a lazy gambler in Japan I guess.
If you are lucky and you get a リーチ meaning reach, it means that two of the symbols on the slot machine match and the machine will play a mini game to try and get the third symbol to get the win. From my experience it is nearly impossible to get a win without getting a reach first, so if you hear the machine say REACCHII, you should get a little excited as you have a better chance of getting a win.
After your machine has paid out after 13 or so rounds of the wining game, your machine will be hot and the small hole will have two flippers which extend to let more balls enter the reel starter hole. This is a good thing, as the more spins you get, the better chances you are of getting more wins. If you want to win more than 50,000 yen or around $500 you should be warned it takes more than one win cycle to get this amount. Every win on the reels will usually fill up just one tray of balls. So you want as many trays as you can. So be warned it can take around 3 hours or more to get a decent win.
Once you have won you will need to have your balls collected counted and you will usually receive a bundle of plastic discs or cards depending on the venue. As it is illegal to gamble for money you will need to exchange (or sell) these disks for cash outside the actually pachinko parlor to a small building which is usually located at the back of the complex. Viola, thats it. I hope this helps you get over your fears about how to play the pachinko.
P/S Play pachinko at your own risk, if you win I`m happy I gave you some good advice, if you lose please don`t blame me. Use these tips at your own will. Thank you.
