BUFFALO LINK
HOW THE ADVANTAGE WORKS
- Buffalo Link has a bonus feature that is triggered by accumulating buffalo heads. The buffalo head counter begins at 100 and the feature must hit before 1800.
- 1610 or higher (displayed in green text on the counter above the fifth reel).
Additional notes
- Buffalo Link has a notorious reputation within the AP community. I can’t think of a game that is more controversial or that people have a stronger opinion about. Players will get absolutely slaughtered on the bonus feature over and over again. But then they will have the occasional gigantic win that entices them to always give the game one more shot.
- I once found the buffalo counter at 1743 (which is insanely high to find) and still ended up losing money on the play. Another time I found the counter at 1625 on a $2 bet. I triggered the feature on my second spin and won $2, ending up down $2 overall.
- There seems to be no consensus among APs on when Buffalo Link is +EV. One AP I really respect insists that 1350+ is playable. Another says 1700+. Some APs base the playable number on how high the major jackpot is, but I think this is a silly strategy as you would need to hit the major jackpot (which is very rare) many times for it to factor into your numbers. The data I have indicates 1610 is when the game becomes profitable, so that is the number I recommend.
- It’s common to see APs (and degens who understand the MHB feature) play this at any number above 1000.
- The free feature triggers at a random point between 100 and 1800. The feature can either be the hold & spin feature or the 8 free games feature. The hold & spin pays more consistently (but is still super volatile), while the 8 free games feature is truly feast or famine. Unless you get retriggers, you will usually make almost nothing. That said, retriggering to 100+ free games isn’t unheard of, and you can often hit the hold & spin feature multiple times during the free spins making it potentially much more profitable than the single hold & spin feature.
- The buffalo heads accrue very quickly (approximately 1.7 per spin). The volatility lies in the bonus feature.
- In the hold & spin feature, you need to fill the board by collecting 20 buffalos to win the grand jackpot. It’s very common for the machine to tease you by landing 19, so don’t get too excited thinking that it is likely to hit the jackpot.
- There is a trick to checking all the bet levels without having to pay for each spin. Simply put in a one-dollar bill or small ticket with less than one dollar on it. The screen will then default to the lowest bet at that denomination (on the 1¢ denom that will be the $1 bet). Touch the 200 credits button on the bet panel and it will display the buffalo counter for that bet level. Just keep doing this for all the bet levels and keep hitting the return to game button when the machine tells you that you don’t have enough money to bet. Sometimes you will hear a clinking sound and it won’t let you check the bet level (this happens when the previous player did a “lucky chance spin” and lost). In that situation, you need to pay for a spin at the lowest bet level (on that denomination) and then continue checking the machine as usual.
- I don’t think I’ve ever been in a casino that didn’t have at least a bank of four Buffalo Links, so to say this game is popular is an understatement.
- Buffalo Link has an RTP that ranges from 92.54% to 95%.
- It is recommended to simply avoid checking this game due to the large swings of non-profitable payouts, unless you have a rare find with the #'s in 1600+.