Once you walk into a casino, you realize that people love to play slot machines. This love translates online as well, with hundreds of different versions of slot machines being played every single day. If you have ever played online slot machines, you understand the thrill of winning a big jackpot. That excitement and anticipating of hitting it big again is what gets many people spinning the reels over and over again. But is there a way you can shift the odds into your favor when playing online slot machines?
While, unfortunately, there is a great deal of luck that goes into winning the big jackpot, there are certain strategies that you can utilize to help you win big at online slot machines.
Winning Isn’t As Simple As You Might Think
One of the biggest mistakes that beginners make when they start to play slots is that they think it will be easy to win at online slots and hit the jackpot. That is where the simplicity of slots tricks you. You might think all you have to do to win is just spin the reels and hope for the best.
While playing slots is essentially as easy as just clicking a button, you most likely won’t win very often if you rely solely on luck. That is why it is important to have a slots strategy in place the next time you place slots.
People who are beginning to explore new slot machines should understand that there is one way to win at slot machines, and first, you must realize what mistakes most other gamblers make like relying on the best online slots.
We will talk more fully about where to choose the best online slot machines. To brush the surface, you need to realize that you shouldn’t judge a slot just by its appearance. As the saying goes, “don’t judge a book by its cover,” the same holds true for slot machines. While some slot machines look amazing and have loud, colorful graphics, they have been specifically designed to create a feeling of excitement and anticipating of winning a lot of money. Choosing a slot based on its appearance will most likely end up in an empty bank account for you.
When you are deciding what slot machine you want to play at, you should also consider the site you are choosing. Do research into reputable casino sites that don’t require you to pay fees to cash out your winnings. Make sure they are properly licensed and have a solid reputation online before entrusting your money and time with them. For more help finding the best UK casinos, visit Zamsino.
How Do Slot Machines Work?
One of the first things that people often look for with slot machine strategy is to find a slot that is due for a win. For example, by law, all slot machines in Nevada must pay back at least 75%, with most slots paying back between 80-90%. However, the slot machines don’t realize when it is above or below that 75% and won’t self-correct when it is beyond or ahead. This is not how slot machines work. Each spin is independent of the previous one, so the odds of winning will not change based on what just happened.
An example of this is if you spin 1000 times, you will see the payback percentage floating somewhere in the 80-90% range. The more spins you make, the more likely it is that the results will represent that mathematical percentage.
Back when the slot machines were made using mechanical reels, it was much easier to calculate out the payback percentage. You simply had to compare the number of symbols with the payoffs for the combinations. By calculating the odds of getting a specific result, you could then compare it to how much of a payout you could expect and then get the overall payback percentage for the machines.
However, now slot machines are made using a computer program that will randomly generate numbers to create results. These programs might go through hundreds or thousands of numbers in a second. When you click on the spin button, the game stops on a number which then creates a specific combination on the reels.
The game designers can specify what the odds are of getting a certain symbol in the game. Because we don’t know what the variables are, it makes it impossible to figure out what the game’s payback percentage might be.
At the end of the day, a game that has a higher payback percentage is preferred to a game that has a lower payback percentage.
First, Set Your Bankroll
Before we can discuss strategy, the way to set yourself up for success is by establishing an effective bankroll management strategy. Nearly all professional gamblers will advise you that knowing the amount of money you can spend on slots before you spin the reel for the first time is vital.
The bankroll is the amount of money you have set aside to be used specifically for your slots. It is not all the money you have, but rather, it is just the money you are choosing to invest in your spins.
While people always say that you should play the games with the best odds, another critical part of that strategy is how much money you need to play casino games and win. This section will teach you how to identify how much money you can spend, how to effectively use it by choosing the games and betting strategy that you can afford.
Regardless if you are playing slots to hit the jackpot and win thousands of dollars, or just to pass a few hours, you still need to decide what your bankroll is. To beat the casino house, you need a combination of skills, time, and luck. And most likely you will lose money before all three happen at the same time.
If you are not financially able to handle going through a losing streak, you are most likely not ever going to be a winner on slots. It doesn’t matter if you know what the loosest slots are at the casino if you don’t know how to manage your bankroll.
How Much Should You Bet?
First, you must decide how much you should bring to the casino. This number depends solely on you, and what you can reasonably afford to lose. How much you bring to the table depends on how much you should bet.
If you have £100 to spend at the casino, you most likely should not be betting more than £2 on each spin. With that money, you can spin the wheel 50 times. While this is not a very large amount of money, it will at least give you the opportunity to survive a few losing streaks or if you aren’t lucky in the beginning spins.
When you log in to an online casino with £100, you might think that that it will last you at least an hour or two of spinning the wheels. Once you start spinning, you find a new slot that you want to try out. You spin the twice to see how it works and to figure out if you like it or not. Unfortunately, that is when you notice that each spin cost you £5 each, so that means that within just 1 minute of beginning to play, you have already used up 10% of your bankroll.
That £100 that you were hoping would last you an hour is now already quite depleted.
Therefore, one of the best slot tips we can offer is always to check the full betting range of the slot machine that you want to play. This is nearly as important as the pre-established budget. If you keep playing at a slot that you cannot afford, you will run out of money very quickly, and leave the online casino frustrated and empty-handed. However, if you pick one that you can afford, you are more likely to have hours of entertainment.
Why Paylines Are Important
While paylines are not the most exciting thing to think about, it is something that you should consider if you want to have a better chance of winning at slot machines. Regardless of whether you are playing online or at a brick-and-mortar casino, paylines are essential.
One mistake that beginners might make is thinking that paylines are only necessary when building winning spins or figuring out how much money you can earn. Instead, paylines are how you can calculate how much the slot machine is going to cost you.
For players who are playing on a 25-pay line online slot, but only betting on five of them, there is almost no chance of hitting a big jackpot because you won’t be able to rack up enough points. In theory, you should be betting on all paylines but only if you can afford it. Betting on all the lines does cost more money, so you have to decide if you can afford all those bets at once.
For example, if you have a bankroll of £100, you should bet between £.10 and £.50 on each spin, and make sure you are betting on all paylines.
Caring About What You Bet
When you are betting, you need to make sure that you continue to care about the way you are playing. When you are betting little, you might think that it is a smart strategy because you can play longer, and therefore increase your chances of making money. But actually, it can be a mistake to bet too small.
When you are betting £.01 per spin on slots, you might be able to earn £0.5. Is that enough to get you excited and wanting to play more? Chances are, probably not. Winning such a small amount might kill your desire to spin the reels, and you might even stop caring whether you win or lose.
Being scared of losing money is essential to the game, and when you stop caring, you might be playing too much or betting too small. Think about it this way – if in your day-to-day life, £.05 or £.01 means nothing to you, then why are you wasting time on the cheap penny slots? While penny slots are relatively low-risk, they also have a low payout. Try to add a sense of excitement the next time you play the slots and bet bigger.
However, when you are trying to decide how much to bet, consider playing on the lowest-denomination machine that still interests you. As we mentioned, you can quickly go broke on the slot machines if you aren’t paying attention to your budget and bet amount. Pick a denomination that is within your comfort zone, and is an amount that still interests you.
Loose Slots: What Does It Mean?
Many online casinos will advertise that their slot machines will give out as close to a 100% payback as possible. This factor draws many players to the site. A common benchmark for a loose online slot machine is a return to player (RTP) of 97% or more. Many casinos do have publicly audited RTP so you can see if there is an online slot that has a higher payout percentage.
Some people believe that online slots that offer free spins are looser because there are more spins per bet, but there is no data that supports this theory.
Ultimately, there is no guarantee that a looser slot machine will pay out in a game session of a playout. Like all other slot machines, it can payout at any time, but you can’t be sure that you will benefit. Relying on just loose slots to win big is not the best strategy and could mean that you are missing out on money if you aren’t playing slot machines properly.
Strategy 1: How To Afford Large Bets
Whenever you first find an online slot machine, you first have to decide two important factors. The first is what is the value of the coins you will play with, and the number of coins you want to spend on each bet.
To become serious about winning slots, you need to realize that betting five £.10 coins is not the same as betting a single £.50 coin. Even though these two bets mean you are spending the same amount, the outcomes can be extremely different.
Online slots will give you the same payouts whether you bet one, two, or more coins. However, where the payouts can change is the multiplier that increases the money that you will win. When you bet one coin, your winnings will most likely be multiplied by 1x, but when you bet two coins, you willings often are multiplied by 2x. As you can see, betting the five £.10 coins will most likely produce a better outcome than the single £.50 coin.
By placing bigger bets, you are more likely to win the biggest jackpots on the online slots because those big pots are only available to those who have bet the maximum. Therefore, if you do want to win big, you can’t just bet big, you have to bet the maximum.
Strategy 2: Play Simple
Next, decide what kind of slot machines interest you. Do you want the best possible odds, or are you looking more for entertainment? The slots that provide the best entertainment are the ones that tend to be more expensive and have a power RTP. These types of games have audio clips, video clips, bonus games, or progressive jackpots, and they also tend to have the longest odds. This advice is why you should also skip branded slots. While branded slots might be the most fun and attract the most amount of people, the payouts are often less. Branded slot machines are also more expensive to license, so that cost is then shifted over to the gamblers who now have to place bigger bets.
Since you are reading this article, we can assume that you are looking for the best possible odds. If you want to make as much money as possible off of slot machines, you should avoid the flashy games. Try to find the simplest games that have one to two paylines and have no bonus rounds. These games tend to have a higher payout, and you will end up keeping more of your money by the time you are ready to cash out.
Remember, an online casino is still a business. They want to get as much money from you as possible. Therefore, you shouldn’t go for the obvious slot machine that is easy to find. The casino might be pushing one particular slot hard, with separate banners, a prominent position on the front page, and advertisements on the internet. However, this is probably a game that you don’t want to try because the RTP likely won’t be in your favor. If the casino is trying to attract tons of people to a certain game, avoid it!
Instead, you should look for a more uncomplicated slot that is not on the front page or advertised heavily. Look for the ones that are on the second or third pages of the casino list of slot machines. They might pay more, which helps you to win more cash. These games might not be as flashy or be branded after your favorite television show, but they likely will have better bonuses or jackpots that not as many other people are taking advantage of right now.
Strategy 3: Take Advantage of Free Spins
One last factor you should consider when choosing a slot machine is the volatility or the risk level. The volatility determines how you can win at slots by measuring the risk involved in playing the slot. Therefore, if a slot machine has low volatility, the wins occur more often but tend to be smaller. Higher volatility slots have wins that are bigger but happen less frequently.
What you prefer is up to you, and if you don’t have deep pockets, choosing a low volatility machine is probably a safer option. With high volatility slots, it is riskier because you never know how much time and money you will have to spend to hit the jackpot.
While the volatility of the slot machine is often not advertised, you can find it out on your own. One way to do so risk-free is by utilizing free spin bonuses. The results can show you how to win more at slots down the line. It gives beginners the opportunity to learn more about betting, maximizing the paylines, and the volatility of slot machines without having to spin a dime.
Look for casinos that offer free spins with no strings attached. These no deposit bonuses might give you £5 or £10 credits in free spins that you can then practice your new strategies on.
How To Beat Slot Machines
As we have mentioned, there is no surefire way to beat the slot machines. However, by using these strategies, you can increase the odds in your favor to help win a little extra cash.
Before you try out a new casino or slot machine, look online for reviews to see what other players are saying. Trust what other players are saying online because they will usually call out a slot machine or casino that is not offering a favorable RTP. Always read reviews, check ratings, or look for advice on Facebook groups. There are tons of resources out there that can help ensure that you can make money on the slots.
Look for slots that have high payouts, the volatility that favors your playing style has positive reviews online, and can give you a good bonus. While you might not beat the slot machines every time, you can certainly improve your chances and hopefully beat the casino to hit a jackpot more often. Good luck!