Basically, when it comes to slot machines, strategy boils down to this: Know the rules, your probability of winning, and the expected payouts; dispel any myths; and quit while you’re ahead. If you win $100, cash out $50 and play with the rest, for example. After you lose a certain amount (determined by you in advance), don’t hesitate to quit.
As far as the casino industry is concerned, slot machine games are the most played games, yet, they are the least understood.
In the UK, slot machine games, also known as the fruit machine games, are some of the most sought after games at the land based casinos, and in the US, where they were first played in the 1890’s, they continue enjoying prominence and popularity among the players!
Australia, where they are referred to as Pokies, has more slots per capita than the US though, and while not at the same level as Australia, slot machine games continue to receive game time across different European countries and different gambling hotspots in Macau.
Online, hundreds of millions of bettors continue playing video slot machine games, as casual players through different social media application or for real cash at the different online casinos.
But even to those who have devoted their free time playing slots; the different slot terms, how they work, and the odds of winning the jackpots remain in the dark!
Is it possible to win playing slots jackpot?
The first and popular question that most of bettors ask is ‘Can I win the jackpot games?’ Right after this, they’ll ask ‘Is there a strategy or secret to winning big?’
It’s natural enough for any player to want to win! What’s the point of playing anyway? Is it not to experience the thrill and big wins that come with the video slot games?
Can I win while playing the jackpot slot games?
Sometimes, yes! All the payoffs as indicated on the video slot game actually represent your chance of winning. Any slots player who very often plays the game will increase his/her chances of winning and a reason to celebrate. But we are yet to see someone, besides the woman who won €1.75 million who while playing the same video slot game in a month, defied the odds of 625million:1 and won the same game twice in a row!
Is there a strategy or a secret to winning big?
Let nobody lie to you that they used a well worked out formula to win the video slot games! With rare cases, 99% of the slot machine games purely rely on chance. The results are determined by the Random Number Generator, and there’s nothing the casino or bettor can do to influence how the numbers are generated.
To this popular question, there isn’t any magical strategy or formula to increase your chances of winning! Only cross your fingers and pray lady luck is on your side!
What are the odds of winning a casino jackpot?
The odds of winning any casino jackpot vary from one game to another, on different coin values for the different bets you place, and in some cases on a slot machine game with the same denomination but playing on different machines. Casinos don’t usually advertise the odds of the different games and neither do they post them on the different machines.
Therefore, the best that we could do to estimate the odds of winning the different jackpot is to compare different games, offered at different casinos. For the estimate, we focused our attention on the United Kingdom market, where the casino average payouts are made public by the UK Gambling Commission for bettors to see.
The percentages are different from one casino to another but the overall look of the paybacks look like this: Slot machines normally pay higher percentages if you place bigger bets. Below are some average house edges and returns, based on the information that we gathered from the UK Gambling Commission.
Take note that the percentage of bets returned to the bettor as winnings increase as the size of the bet gets bigger. Gamblers who choose to go for the more expensive jackpot games get a larger portion of their wager back, and also stand a better chance of winning.
Odds On Winning A Slot Machine Jackpots
Does this mean that players should focus on placing bigger bets? No! By playing the more expensive game and get a larger portion of the bets you place back, but at the end of it, lose more money as you’ll be taking a bigger risk. The best thing to do is to let your bankroll guide you, and also avoid betting more money than you can afford.
Modern Video Slot Odds
Most of the modernised slot machines don’t have 10 numbers on each reel and most of the slot games, both at the online and land based casinos, have at least five reels as opposed to the traditional three reels. This means that the developers and programmers are always dealing with more complex machines, featuring hundreds if not thousands of stops, symbols or random numbers on each reel.
Below are some of the factors that are always considered when modern video slot odds are determined:
- When the slot machines are on video, the programmer can choose to make the reels as long as he/she needs them to be. If for example, to achieve the right odds the programmer requires a slot reel to feature a sequence of 1000 symbols, then he/she will have to program a 1,000 symbol reel.
- However, in the land-based casinos, it difficult for the programmer to fit the 1000 symbols in the mechanical slot machines. Therefore to achieve this, the programmers use what is referred to as the ‘Virtual Reel’. Thanks to this feature, the slot machines at the brick and mortar casinos with the small reels can act as if they have more symbols. For example, the programmer could tell the machine ‘Any time the RNG software stops on number 7, stop on the jackpot symbol. Any time it stops on numbers 5, 3, 1 or 9, stop on the first bar.’ By programming the machine this way, the highly sought symbol that triggers the jackpot can only appear once after several hundred or thousands spins. This plays a huge role in determining the odds of the jackpot. A good example was in 2003 when the world record jackpot of Megabucks machine paid out a mind-blowing $39 million. According to IGT, the company behind this game, the odds of winning the jackpot were approximately 1 in 50 million.
The Free Spins & Bonus Factor
Almost all the modern video slot games, including jackpots, have bonus events which come in different forms including the spinning of a bonus wheel as with Mega Millions; Pick’em bonuses as seen in Jackpot Party and you can check out free spins on our favourite sites at a number of highly recommended online casino operators.
During the bonus round, you have the chance of accumulating credits without spending any extra cash thanks to the in-game free spins bonus round. This has to account for while setting the game’s odds and paybacks during the regular reel spins. But how do the free spins contribute to the game’s overall jackpot?
One of my friend, who happens to be a programmer told me that one of the games he has developed has a 90% RTP; 60% of this comes from the general reel spins, 30% comes from the different in-game bonuses, including the free spins and the remaining 10% comes from the house.
So how do you increase your odds of winning the casino jackpot?
Below are rules of thumb that every bettor should follow to increase their chance of winning while playing video slot games.
- Always choose games that you understand better
- Make the most of the casino bonuses and offers to boost your bankroll. Most sites powered by NetEnt have free spins offers and deposit offers
- To ensure that your bankroll goes further, reduce the number of coins that you bet on each line and increase the number of paylines. This increase your chances of winning the bet
New slot machine players are going to find a lot of advice for beating the slots. Have a healthy skepticism when a slots expert tells you they know how to beat the slot machines. Among the games in a casino, video slots (in general) have a high house edge. Besides finding gaming machines with high jackpots and a low house edge, no skill or strategy is required to play slots. That means you can’t expect to increase your odds of winning in most situations.
Read through the advice below to optimize your chances of winning at slots. None of the advice assures winning sessions. Instead, it helps you stretch your bankroll, so you enjoy playing the slots longer. Also, the longer your bankroll lasts, the more chances you’ll have of hitting the big jackpot every slots player wants.
Use a Slots Card
Upon entering a live casino, sign up for a slots card. This provides comps and cashback, which automatically lowers the house edge by a bit. Never play a spin without using your slots card. In an online casino, accept the highest slots bonus and play according to the terms and conditions until you meet the wagering requirement. Once again, this lowers the house edge on online slots.
Make Max Bets
Look at the payout chart on a slot machine to determine how jackpots are paid. On many slot machines, the 5-coin bet pays out a higher percentage on the top fixed jackpot. For instance, a 1-coin bet might pay $200, a 2-coin bet might pay $400, a 3-coin bet might pay $600, and a 4-coin bet might pay $800. You might expect the 5-coin bet to pay $1000, but many slot machines pay out $1200 or $1500 in that case, trying to convince bettors to make the max bet.
If the jackpot increases a bigger percentage with a maximum coin wager, then it makes sense to make the max bet on a slot machine. If the bet size is too high for your tastes, then lower the coin denomination and make a max bet at that level. Of course, if there is no additional jump between the 4-coin and 5-coin bet, then you can wager a single coin and max out the coin denomination to the bet size you like.
Read the RTP Information
If an online casino or land-based casino publishes its return-to-player information, read through the RTP percentages to find the video slots with the best RTPs. Return-to-player or expected return is the percentage of a theoretical $100 you expect to see returned to you. It is a theoretical percentage based on probability, so an RTP of 95% does not assure you’ll be paid $95 for every $100 you put in the machine. You might lose $50 or you might win $150, or you might win a progressive jackpot and go home rich.
The point of the RTP percentage is to give a player an idea of their expected return. If two slot machines sit next to one another and one has an RTP of 93% and the other an RTP of 95% (and both have similar jackpots), then it pays to play the game with the higher percentage. Over time, this leads to you maintaining a higher percentage of your bankroll.
Money Management Techniques
Read about bankroll management techniques. “Money management” or “bankroll management” is a series of steps you take to lock on winnings when good luck happens and limit your losses when a bad streak occurs. These do not assure that you’ll win, but it optimizes your bankroll.
Players should know three core bankroll management methods: percentage betting, win goals, and loss limits. Learn to calculate your bankroll and divide this into percentages. Then bet between 1% and 5% of your bankroll on any given hand, depending on your capacity for risk. This limits the amount of your stake you lose on any given session, keeping you playing for longer throughout your vacation. It is a given that people go to the ATM machine or credit card when they lose their whole bankroll — which means you spend more than you intended. The point of percentage betting is to assure your bankroll last through your whole trip, so you never have to replenish.
What Is a Bankroll?
“Bankroll” is not defined as your entire bank account. It isn’t defined as your discretionary spending budget or the money you have earmarked for entertainment expenses. Instead, it is a part of your discretionary spending cash and entertainment budget which is set aside specifically for gambling. In this case, a bankroll is less than your entertainment budget.
Once you have your bankroll figured, divide this into easy to understand percentage. If you have a bankroll of $1000, then divide this into percentages. These are simple calculations, but you should have an understanding of 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, and 20% of your bankroll. In the earlier example, 1% would be $10, while 2% would be $20. 5% would be $50, 10% would be $100, and 20% would be $200.
Now that you have these, decide whether to bet 1% to 5% of your bankroll. Most experts suggest betting no more than 1% to 2% in order to maintain your bankroll throughout your casino trip or online slots session.
Setting a Win Goal
Next, set your win goal. This is the amount of winnings you set as your goal for any given slots session. If you have a win goal of 10%, then your win goal would be $100 for any given slot machine sessions. As soon as you hit that goal, you walk away from the slot machine — no matter what. A win goal is a hard-and-fast rule, because it locks in winnings. One of the biggest mistakes players make is losing back their winnings, because they think they’re on a hot streak.
Huge Slot Machine Jackpots
Setting a Loss Limit
Even more dangerous is trying to win back cash you just loss. To protect against this tendency, set a loss limit. Once again, make this your hard-and-fast rule. Typical loss limits can be 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% — though 20% means you could lose the entire bankroll in 5 slots session. 10% to 15% is a good middle ground. Once you’ve lost that amount, walk away from the slot machine under all circumstances. The slots game is not “due” to pay out, so step away from the machine and clear your mind.
Win goals and loss limits guard against gambler’s fallacy. Gambler’s fallacy is the idea that the law of averages assures or weight the odds in your favor. Slots use random number generators and every spin is entirely separate from the previous spin. Losing the last spin does not make it more likely you’ll win the next spin. The odds stay the same, no matter how many wins or losses in a row you’ve had.
Avoid Progressive Betting
For that reason, avoid progressive betting systems like the Martingale system, D’Alembert system, Fibonacci system, and so on. Betting experts have used computer simulations to track the progressive betting methods against flat betting (same bet each spin). Flat betting beats all of the progressive betting schemes over 1 billion spins.
Progressive betting seems like it’s working, because it leads to a lot of small winning sessions. The problem is that it also has a handful of huge losing sessions which wipe out all the wins — and then some. You can’t beat the house edge with the Martingale system, however it might look to the naked eye. The Fibonacci numbers are incredible, but they are not a magical way to beat the casino.
The reason progressive bets are bad is they increase the size of your bets (in some systems exponentially). If you start with $5 or $10 bets, a streak of bad luck has you betting hundreds of dollars on one spin. That’s busts your bankroll and leads to a “risk of ruin” — meaning you’ll lose your whole bankroll if you hit a bad luck streak. No matter what you read online, flat bets are better.
Take Breaks for Rest and Refreshments
Play when you are at your best physically and mentally. Don’t play when you’re tired or sleepy. Don’t play when you’re hungry or thirsty. Take frequent rest and restroom breaks. If you get bored, take a break and walk the casino. Play another game to change up the betting pattern.
When you are rested and engaged, you won’t have distractions that might lead to bad decisions. The idea is to have fun, so if anything is causing you to lose focus on the entertainment aspect of the game, walk away and save your bankroll.
Don’t Go on Tilt
Tilt is a concept in poker where a player makes decisions based on emotional responses instead of solid strategy. It can cost a player a lot of money if they make bets based on anything but rational decisions. While going on tilt is not a concept in slot machine gambling, every game of chance has a personal component.
In short, don’t play when you’re agitated. Take stock of your inner thoughts. If your ego or anger is causing you to make irrational decisions, take a deep breath and calm down. If that doesn’t work, walk away and clear your head. It stinks to lose a series of bets, but what stinks more is to lose a series of bigger bets when you’re trying to make up for lost bankroll.