For progressive slots, on the other hand, it is quite difficult to obtain the exact odds of winning the jackpot since these are not readily available on the gaming provider websites. However with most progressive slot machines the chances of winning are around 1 in 10 million or even less.
- Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machines
- Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machine Game
- Slot Machine Odds Percentage
- Odds Of Winning Slots
- Best Progressive Slot Machines
Table Of Contents
- Slot Machine Odds. These percentages can range anywhere from around 90% – 99%. Usually the percentage of payout is higher for the machines that require a higher bet to be made. For example, a machine with a $1 minimum could payout anywhere from 95% to 99%, and say, a 50 cent machine could payout anywhere from 92% to 95%.
- The probability of winning it is greater. As with any progressive game, at some point the jackpot becomes large enough to sway the odds in the player's favor. This page will examine these 'target points' on some new slots by WMS with mystery jackpots. If you're interested in mystery progressives on Ainsworth slots.
In this article, I am going to show you how to win at slots.
First, we start with some practical tips on how to choose a winning slot machine. Then, once you have all the Slots tips you need, you can move on the real key to win at Slots:
Find loose slot machines to play online.
This article is going to change the way you play slots. And the chances are that is what you need — because winning at slots requires time, dedication, and the right mindset.
So, are you ready to learn how to win at slots?
Let's get to it.
If you play slots for fun, there are no rules to follow. You only need a Slot app like Slotomania and enjoy their instant play games.
If you want to win at online slots in freeplay or demo mode, download Slotomania, choose a slot machine game from their collection and play, play, play. You'll get enough progressive machine games and loose slots to enjoy your gambling experience for free.
Things change when your goal is to win real money at slots when you play online.
That's when this article becomes useful. Because here is where you learn how to pick a winning slot machine and increase your chances of winning money online!
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Play Now1. Choose Winning Slots with the Highest Payouts
When you go online to play and win money at Slots, you need to know how to pick the right Slot machine games.
Most beginners start to play casino games thinking that all slots are more or less the same thing, only with different graphics.
That's a mistake.
If you want to know how to win at slots, you need a machine that pays out more than the other ones. And to know which one is an excellent Slot to play, you need to care about the Return to player (RTP) percentage.
The Return to Player (or RTP) is a percentage of all the wagered money that a slot pays back to its players.
It is not the amount of money you'll get back when you wager on real money Slots, and it doesn't indicate whether you have fewer chances to hit a bonus round or not — but it gives you a great indication on whether a machine pays enough for you to play on it or not.
How to Find the RTP of a Slot Machine
The quickest option is to search for it online.
Use Google, Bing, Yandex, or whichever search engine you prefer.
Many Casino news websites that publish content around casino games have entire sections dedicated to the RTP percentage of the Casino Slot games they review.
You find them on PokerNews, as well. Every review includes a section dedicated to the payout of each type of Slot with easy-to-understand info about the games with frequent payouts.
If this is your first time on our site, check some related articles like these list of games. By choosing slots with a high RTP, you'll improve your chances instantly.
Also, you check the slot itself. The RTP number is always mentioned somewhere. Usually, you find it in the settings of the slot game or the 'help' section.
So, how to pick a winning slot machine and how to use the RTP to know how much slot machines pay?
The RTP is calculated on a scale from 1 to 100. Most slots have an RTP between 92-97 per cent.
Slot Machines Tips
Always choose an online slot machine game with an RTP of 96 per cent or above. This is the best slots strategy to follow every time you play — since a high payback percentage indicates that you have a better chance to win. good option.
High RTP Slot to Play: Devil's Delight
Devil's Delight is a slot by NetEnt that's set in the underworld.
It features everything you'd associate with hell:
- Devils
- Soul reapers
- Graves
- The number 666
- Pitchforks
- Skeletons
- Flames
Is anything missing from the list?
The slot also features a separate Soul Reaper Bonus Game. There, you need to guess the sins of the characters on the screen. Every time you guess the right one — you receive points that help you win more cash.
This loose video slot has five reels and 20 paylines. And despite the sinful name, Devil's Delight is generous – RTP in this game reaches 97,6 per cent!
2. Determine the Volatility of Slots
Another critical factor to consider to pick a winning slot machine is the game's volatility.
Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machines
Many games and gambling news sites refer to the games' volatility as their 'variance.' If you like, you can consider this as the risk level.
The volatility of a slot machine game measures the risk involved in playing a particular slot for the real money. One of my favourite tips for playing Slots is to consider it the 'risk factor' of the game you are about to play. That's because volatility determines how you win at slots.
- Low Volatility Slots: Your odds of winning at these slots are high, and it's easier to strike winning combinations when you spin the reels. However, you should know that low volatility Slots offer smaller wins — so your winning combinations might not be worth as much as you would like them to.
- High Volatility Slots: The odds of winning at these games are smaller, but the wins pay more. With the right bankroll, tips for playing Slots, and strategy, these games can be a lot more rewarding.
Both options are quite popular online since people play both types. Every useful casino guide gives you plenty of choices to find the right online slots game for you — with welcome bonus codes to try them for free before you invest your money in them.
Pick the Slot machine time that feels right for you. But keep this in mind:
To play high volatility slots, you need to be patient, have enough money to invest in a lengthy online gaming session, and have read enough casino blog posts to know all the secrets of slots optimal play.
Otherwise, low volatility slots may be a better option for you.
High volatility slots are a bit riskier, too. You never know how much time and money you need to invest in hitting a lucky spin and celebrating yet another day of winning money on slots.
How to Find the Volatility of a Slot Machine Game
Casino sites don't make the variance of the games as accessible as the RTP numbers — and that's in part because they don't want to help you improve your odds.
An easy way to choose games with the right variance is to use 'Google operators and let the world's largest search engine do the work for you.
Let's see an example:
You have seen some progressive slots with random jackpots, and the Mega Moolah game caught your eye. The most effective way to find the variance of this game is to:
- Open www.google.com
- Type 'Mega Moolah' variance in the search bar
- Analyse the search results
Alternatively, you can explore the games and try to figure out their variance yourself. If you play the slot long enough, you should be able to see how often the game pays out and what kind of winnings you get.
If successes are rare but significant, you are onto a high volatility game. If you win often, but the wins are nerve-wracking and small, you just found a low-volatility game.
An excellent welcome bonus, a deposit bonus, and free spins are an excellent way to do this and discover the games' volatility by playing. These options help you learn more about the games and give you useful info that might help you understand how to win at slots in the long run.
High Volatility Slot to Play: King of Atlantis
King of Atlantis is a high volatility slot by IGT. The game plays on five reels and 40 paylines.
The symbols featured in this game include seashells, gold rings, gem-encrusted crowns, mermaids, dolphins, and the almighty god of the sea – Poseidon.
This high volatility slot machine doesn't have many bonus games or features (even if you bet the maximum). The only 'special feature' you get, is a round of eight free spins that activates when a trident symbol lands next to Poseidon.
Low Volatility Slot to Try: Hotline
Hotline is one of NetEnt's most popular Slots these days.
Beating the Slot requires you to travel back in time to the '80s, wear some clothes you'd not be proud of today, and use your ability to solve a police case. Somehow based on the cult TV series Miami Vice, beating the slot needs you to help two detectives to catch a jewellery thief.
The slot runs on a classic random number generator and features all the classic features NetEnt players love so much. Wilds, expanding wilds, re-spins, free spins - you name it. Also, there is a unique bonus bet where you can choose one, two, or all three reels. It increases your chances of getting Expanding Wilds.
As pay table of this slot suggests, Hotline is a low volatility game where wins are more frequent (but small in size). If this is what you are looking for, pick this slot machine, enjoy the game, and relax.
3. Don't Go with the Obvious Option
No matter how impressive an online casino is, you need to do some research before you start to spin reels on slots.
All casino sites (like all poker sites, let's face it) want your credit card and your money. They offer free spins or deposit bonus codes to get you on their platform and then have you play as much as possible. In other words, they want your money.
If you can afford to play real money on Slots, that's great, As long as the site you agree to play on and where you look for the next loose machine to try is a legitimate and regulated online casino.
Regulators like the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) work hard to eliminate dangerous companies from the online gambling industry. Their licensing systems are your best allies to be sure to play slot machine games on legitimate sites, use audited random number generators, and pay out winnings to the players.
An important factor to consider when you want to know how to pick a winning slot machine is to see if the site you wish to register on holds a license by the UKGC and/or the MGA. Regardless of the casino bonus they offer you or the insane fixed maximum amount of free spins they promise.
You should never play online poker or pick slot machines on unlicensed casino sites.
You find a full list of all the online casinos allowed in your country on this page.
A Loose Slot to Play: Himalayas: Roof of the World
How did I find this slot? I scrolled down to the bottom of the slots page at one of my favourite online casinos. And then, I just decided to pick a Slot machine I had never seen before.
Not all games make it to online casinos' front pages — especially those that have a combination of volatility and RTP that plays in favour of the players and that come from underdog developers. And Himalayas: Roof of the World comes from Barcrest, a provider that isn't often in the spotlight.
Also, Himalayas: Roof of the World offers good odds of winning on slots!. The game features an RTP of 97,75 per cent, which is above average. Combine that to medium volatility — and you know how to pick a winning slot machine.
4. Make Higher Bets
Every collection of slot machines tips or casino strategies tells you that you can't win a progressive jackpot with a minimum bet. And that's correct.
Top wins are always connected to the fixed maximum bets. You can forget your dream to become a multi-millionaire with just 0.01. In slots, like in video poker, the higher the bet — the more you can win. And, at the same time, the smaller the bet...the smaller the wins.
So, yes: your bet determines how to win at slots.
Slot machine payouts are proportional to what you wager in the game. If your slot machine strategy is to play small bets, don't change it. Just don't expect to score unreasonably huge wins.
As you understand now, betting more money helps to win more on line slots...but it also put your slot machine strategy in danger and makes you risk to lose all your bankroll much faster.
That's why higher denomination slots are also riskier than lower denomination slots. People play them in the same way and following the same slot tips...but the big wins happen only on the high denomination slots, which are also the game where you can risk to lose a lot of money.
Keep in mind this, especially if you love playing slots with progressive jackpots. Jackpot slots can be costly . Many games give you access to the top wins only when you bet the maximum — and that is why a correct slot strategy and bankroll strategy are essential to winning at Slots.
Risk is always an essential factor in gambling. And you decide how risky you want to play yourself. Never play more money than you can afford to lose and never underestimate the risks of gambling addiction — even then you play fun slot machine games.
One Expensive Slot to Play with Maximum Bets: Space Wars
Space Wars is another online slot by NetEnt. This online game is based on a popular slot you can play in all the casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.
When you play Space Wars for real money, you can choose to bet anywhere from 0.4 (minimum bet) to 20 (maximum bet) per spin. The currency depends on your location.
This game does not feature a progressive jackpot, so you don't really need to bet max every time you spin. Start with smaller bets and go up. You'll see the difference in payouts.
Space Wars is a fast-paced video slot with five reels, four rows, and 40 paylines. The RTP is 96,8 per cent.
5. Trust Other Players
This is one of those Slot tips that you should not apply to many other casino games. While it may be valid for video poker, it's one you should not follow if you play online poker.
But when it comes to playing Slots...yes, you can trust your fellow Slot players and look how people play.
If a slot doesn't pay, the other players will call it out. Fast.
That's why you should use the information available on every casino blog and casino sites to your advantage. Browse through forums, spend some time on Reddit, and read what Las Vegas and Atlantic City players say about each game.
You can also join Facebook groups and ask for help there. In other words, take advantage of your internet connection before the casino takes advantage of you.
A Classic Slot People Play and Love: Gonzo's Quest
Released in 2010, Gonzo's Quest still didn't let go of its place as one of the top slot machines online. That's quite an achievement, I'd say.
This popular Slot game features five reels, 20 paylines, and an adventurer (Gonzalo 'Gonzo' Pizzarro) looking for the lost city of gold.
Players love this little guy and follow his adventures. Gonzo's Quest is one of the top-rated slot machines of all time by players, casinos, and casino critics alike.
6. Avoid Branded Slots
Branded slots are fantastic to play. We can play with all our favourite heroes and spin the reels feeling part of the movies, TV series, and shows we love.
While these games are a lot of fun, branded slots are also the 'bait' a lot of online casinos use to attract us, the players.
Remember the point about 'not going for the obvious choice'? If you are a huge Game of Thrones fan, how likely is it that you would go straight for the Game of Thrones games when you see them on the list?
Very likely.
You don't need to be a psychologist, a consumed marketer, or casino operator to realise that. Fortunately, you don't need to be a hardcore gambler to know how to pick a winning slot machine either. That's what this article is for!
Developers with slots that feature popular brands paid a pretty penny to use the name. So, they won't let you go low with the bets. And those games will not be the easiest ones to beat either.
While the casino and the developer have invested a lot on the names you see on the screen, you are the one who can make it worth the investment. Or not.
Slot to Play Instead of the Branded Ones: Pamplona
What's so attractive about branded slots? Well-known name and faces. The stories behind the games and the characters we all know and love.
Can you have all that in a non-branded slot?
Take the Pamplona slot machine, for example.
This IGT slot is all about Spain, bulls, and matadors. A unique tradition turned into an exciting slot game.
In a way, it is a 'brand' because Pamplona's running of the bulls' festival is known worldwide. And it's more known than some actual brands, to be honest.
But to use this theme, developers didn't have to pay as they do for the brands. Thus, the payouts are way better.
The slot has five reels and 1024 paylines. Matador symbol acts as a Wild and Bull is a Scatter. Three scatters can trigger the El Toro Bonus where you can choose your option of Free Spins.
7. Take Advantage of Free Spins
How to win at slots with free spins when there are hundreds of hidden terms and conditions for withdrawals?
The wagering requirements can take the fun out of playing slots with free spins. No arguing there. But there are still free spins bonuses that can be worth your while.
The wager-free bonus offers.
On a limited number of online casinos you get wager free spins with no deposit on registration (yes, no deposit is required to play). And with no strings attached to them.
There is no cap on winnings, you can cash out anything you want, anytime you want, and there are no wagering requirements. How good is that?
Slot to Play with Free Spins: Pyramid Quest For Immortality
From Pamplona to Egypt. You can travel the world with slots...and the right free spins welcome bonus!
The Pyramid: Quest for Immortality slot features five reels, 720 paylines, and an RTP of 96.4%. This game takes you to ancient Egypt and brings you to explore the hidden and mystical world of Pharaohs, Gods...and pyramids, of course.
So, how to beat slot machines?
First and foremost, the best way to beat the Slots is not to continue asking the wrong questions and stop looking for simple hacks or Slots tips tho beat the casino.
If you want better odds to win on Slots, you need to:
- Choose the slots that have high payouts
- Choose the slots with the correct volatility level
- Choose the slot with the highest Return to Player
- Read reviews of the Slots on casino sites, forum, and Reddit
- Sign up to get a bonus with low wagering requirements
- Play on a licensed online casino site
While this might not be enough for you to beat slot machines and pick the winning Slot machine every time you play, it will help you win more often and - more importantly - enjoy playing Slots a lot more!
FAQ
How do you pick a winning slot machine?
To pick a winning slot machine and get better odds to win when you spin the reels, you need to choose games that offer the right combination of betting limits, volatility, Return-to-Player, and wagering requirements (in case you play with a bonus).
What casino game has the best chance of winning?
In general, Blackjack is the casino game with the best odds. In terms of slots, the best choice is to pick a game that offers a return-to-player over 97% like the Slot Devil's Delight (RTP: 97.7%).
Are slot machines rigged?
The slot machines you find on regulated casino sites are not rigged as their Random Number Generator (RNG) is subject to frequent audits by state-owned gambling authorities. The same controls do not apply to unlicensed casinos — and that's why you should never play your games there.
This article was first published on July 14, 2018. Last update: January 10, 2020
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The promotion presented on this page was available at the time of writing. With some Casino promotions changing on daily basis, we suggest you to check on the site if it still available. Also, please do not forget to read the terms and conditions in full before you accept a bonus.Progressive slots (and video poker games) offer jackpots that increase every time someone makes a bet up until someone wins. At that point, the progressive jackpot resets to its starting value and starts accumulating again.
The amount that the jackpot rises is based on a tiny percentage of your action on the machine. Most progressive slot machines are now pooled with other machines so that the jackpot goes up fast, although some games are still standalone progressives.
The best way to think about progressive slots is that they’re the slot machine equivalent of a lottery game. The odds of winning are long, but the prizes are huge. In most lotteries, the size of the prize increases from drawing to drawing until someone wins the lottery.
You’ll know you’re playing a progressive jackpot game because it will feature a prominent jackpot meter showing the size of the jackpot. This is also sometimes called a “jackpot ticker,” because it ticks upward as players on the network lose bets into the machines on that network.
This post features 10 of the most interesting facts I could find about progressive slot machines.
1 – Megabucks Is the Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot
Megabucks is IGT’s most famous progressive slot machine. It’s a state-wide game run in Nevada, and it’s the main reason the state doesn’t have an actual lottery. Who needs a lottery when you can just play the Megabucks slot machine?
Megabucks isn’t new either, the games have been available now for a couple of decades. Several people have won millions of dollars over the history of the game.
To play Megabucks, you must wager $3. It’s a dollar machine with a three-coin maximum bet. If you don’t place the maximum bet, you’re not eligible for the jackpot.
In Nevada, at least 750 different slot machines in over 125 different casinos pool those tiny contributions to grow that $10 million jackpot faster than you’d think is possible.
The odds of winning Megabucks is similar to that of winning the lottery, 50 million to 1. And like the lottery, winners get paid in the form of an annuity that pays annual installments over the next 25 years.
If you go with the cash option, you can settle for 60% of the prize amount as just plain cash. It’s hard to deny that Megabucks is the most interesting progressive jackpot game in the United States.
2 – Megabucks Has a Curse Associated With It
Some gamblers believe that if you win Megabucks, you have a greater than usual probability of dying young.
This legend of the “Megabucks curse” stems from the death of Cynthia Jay-Brennan, a cocktail waitress who won $35 million Megabucks only to be paralyzed in a car wreck. Jay-Brennan’s sister died in the wreck, which was caused by a drunk driver.
Most of the other tales of woe related to Megabucks are nothing more than urban legends, though.
It’s the opinion of this blogger that the wreck was just “one of those things,” and Cynthia Jay-Brennan has my sympathy.
3 – Progressive Jackpots Can Put the Odds in the Players’ Favor
Any game with a progressive jackpot can offer a player a positive expectation bet if the jackpot is large enough.
The trouble with slot machines is that no one knows exactly what the payback percentage for the game is, so it’s impossible to determine what the size of the jackpot would have to be.
Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machine Game
But in other games with progressive jackpots, like video poker, you can compute the break-even point for the game and only play after the jackpot has exceeded that point.
The optimal strategy for playing such a game changes based on the size of that jackpot, too.
4 – Some Progressive Games Get Attached by Advantage Player Teams
An advantage player is a gambler who only gambles when he has an edge over the casino. The classic example of an advantage gambler is a card counter in blackjack.
But we already discussed how a gambler could have an advantage at a progressive slot machine game.
They play as a team until someone on the team wins the progressive jackpot, and the team then splits the profits. Some casinos don’t mind this type of advantage play much, because even though the players have an edge, the jackpot comes mostly from players’ contributions to the game over time.
Other casinos have policies forbidding team play and will back off or bar such players.
5 – Slot Machines With Progressive Jackpots Have Worse Odds
You measure the casino’s advantage with a slot machine by looking at the payback percentage, or return to player percentage, for the game. This is the flip side of the house edge.
The payback percentage estimates an average amount that will be returned to the player in winnings over the long run based on the odds of winning and the prize amounts. The house edge estimates how much the player will lose on each bet.
The higher the payback percentage is, the better the game is for the player. For example, a slot machine game with a 98% payback percentage is better than a slot machine game with an 88% payback percentage.
Generally, there are two factors that ensure the progressive jackpot games have a lower payback percentage.
- The first is simple to understand. A percentage of each bet is diverted toward increasing the size of the jackpot. That amount comes directly from the payback percentage of the game.
- The second is only slightly harder to understand. A large percentage of the game’s payback percentage is based on the payout from the jackpot. If a game has a 95% payback percentage, 5% of that might be made up of the jackpot.
But with a game where you only have a 1 in 50 million or even 1 in 10 million chance of seeing that jackpot, the payback percentage before that jackpot gets hit will necessarily be lower than that 95%.
The more economical choice for slot players is always the flat-top slot machine, not the progressive slot machine.
6 – Mega Moolah Is Probably the Best Progressive Jackpot Online
Mega Moolah is an online-only progressive slot machine game with five reels and 25 paylines. The game’s symbols and sound effects have an African theme, with elephants and zebras.
In the decade since Microgaming launched Mega Moolah, no other online slot machine game has produced as many millionaires.
The prizes for Mega Moolah have ranged from $5 million to $13 million. That $13 million was the biggest online jackpot win in history, too.
7 – You Usually Can’t Win the Progressive Jackpot Unless You Play Max Coins
Most slot machines have a denomination and a maximum number of coins you can wager. Most of the time, you can bet less than the minimum without any kind of adverse effects.
But progressive slots, like video poker games, are an exception.
If you don’t bet the maximum number of coins, you’re usually ineligible to win the progressive jackpot.
This doesn’t make much of a practical difference, since the probability of winning a progressive jackpot is practically zero anyway. Once the probability of an event gets small enough, it might as well be zero.
8 – Some Online Casinos ONLY Offer Progressive Jackpots
One online casino, Slotland, offers a minimal number of games, but they all share the same progressive jackpot. You can’t play there from the United States, but it’s probably just as well. The casino has some misleading practices, especially in terms of how their video poker and blackjack games work.
When a casino offers a video blackjack or video poker game, they’re implying that those games follow the same probabilities you’d see if they were using a deck of playing cards.
Slot Machine Odds Percentage
If you’re okay with that, it might be okay to play there, but the most interesting thing about that casino is that all the games tie into the one big jackpot.
9 – A Standalone Progressive Offers Better Odds
You’ll find three different kinds of progressive slot machines:
- Standalone progressives
- Local area progressives
- Wide area progressives
A standalone progressive slot machine is one where the jackpot can only be won on that machine. But playing on that machine counts toward raising the jackpot. The size of the jackpot on a standalone game is almost always smaller than the jackpot on other kinds of machines.
A local area progressive network is a network of machines in the same casino, usually all within a short distance of each other. These jackpots are bigger than what you’d see on a standalone progressive, but not as big as you’ll see with a wide area progressive jackpot.
A wide area progressive jackpot is similar to what you see with Megabucks. Multiple machines in multiple locations feed the jackpot. This game has the biggest prizes.
The best odds for the player can be found at the standalone progressive slots, because the jackpot is smaller. In fact, the lower the jackpot, the better the odds are in general with a slot machine game.
10 – You Can Win the Progressive Even With Your Slots Club Card Inserted
There’s a popular myth/urban legend that you can’t win the top jackpot on a slot machine if you’re playing with the slots club card inserted. This isn’t true.
The random number generator running these machines isn’t aware of whether you’re playing with your slots club card inserted or not. It’s impossible for it to have such an effect on your gaming experience.
Conclusion
Odds Of Winning Slots
Progressive slot machines can be a lot of fun as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into. Generally, I recommend avoiding them for games with lower jackpots, but certain players prefer to play for big, life-changing prizes.
Best Progressive Slot Machines
If that’s your cup of tea, be my guest. What kinds of facts about progressive slots do you know that I haven’t covered here? Leave a comment and let me know.