One reason we all love slots is because we know the next spin might be the one where we hit it big. So how do you maximize your chances of becoming a winner? It’s true that luck plays a big part but that doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from our expert tips for playing slots.
From searching out the biggest progressive jackpots to understanding pay tables and how to play within your bankroll, we’ve put together the ten most important things you can do to give yourself an edge.
#1 – Look for Progressive Jackpot Machines
Of all of the many tips we’ll give you, none is more important than keeping an eye on the progressive jackpots offered by many slot machines. While most slot machines have the same odds whether you play them on Monday or Friday, the odds on a progressive slot machine are always changing based on the size of the jackpot. In fact, when a progressive jackpot gets large enough, it’s even possible that a slot machine can be profitable for you to play!
There are a couple of things to keep in mind before you try to win your life-changing jackpot. Remember that you’ll often have to play the full number of coins on a machine in order to have a shot at the big money. On the other hand, this isn’t always true; some machines give you a better chance of winning the jackpot if you spend more, but still give you an opportunity to win even by betting a single coin. Make sure you read the rules of each progressive jackpot machine before playing.
#2 – Examine Pay Tables
Every slot machine pays out players in a different way. Some machines offer some huge prizes even without a progressive jackpot if you can manage to match the right symbols, while others offer only small prizes in the main portion of the game. Take a look at each of the slot machines you’re interested in and compare their paytables. You might find that one or two of the machines obviously offers better prizes than the others, and those are the games you’ll want to play.
#3 – Check the Number of Symbols
Here’s an easy tip to use that many people completely ignore. Quickly glance at a machine’s paytable and see how many symbols there are that can appear on the reels. There’s a very simple reason to do this: logically, if there are more symbols on the reels, it will be harder to form winning combinations! On the other hand, a game with ten symbols or less is much more likely to pay out often.
#4 – Count the Paylines
In the old days of slot machines, players didn’t have many ways to win. You’d only have a single payline that would give you a prize if you matched three of the same symbol. But in modern slots, a whole new world is open to players: many machines offer 10, 20, or even 50 paylines, potentially giving you dozens of ways to win on every spin. The new 243 Ways slots are even more robust, allowing players to pay one low price in order to cover every possible winning combination. These machines often offer players the best value, as they maximize your chances to win without requiring you to play for each payline.
#5 – Find the Loose Machines
You will find that there are loose machines and tight ones. Tight machines tend to award fewer bur larger prizes, while loose ones will provide players with smaller amounts but payout more frequently. The good thing about loose slots is that their smaller payouts can add up quickly and you’re more likely to walk away with something rather than nothing. Also, you still have a chance of hitting the jackpot on a loose machine.
#6 – Try Before You Buy
You wouldn’t buy a car without giving it a test drive, so why play a slot machine without testing it first? Play money slots exist for that very purpose: to allow you to try before you buy, and find out if a game is right for you. By doing this, you can avoid spending your own money on games you’d don’t like or that don’t seem to pay out well, and stick to playing real money slots only after you’re certain you’ll enjoy playing those machines.
#7 – Understand Randomness
If there’s one factor that players can do nothing about – and yet they try to control more than anything else – it is randomness. There’s nothing you can do about the random number generator that sits behind a slot machine, and no strategy you’ve seen about that claims to get around this randomness is worth the time it takes to read it. Embrace randomness, understand that each spin is independent, and be ready for both winning and losing streaks that you can’t do much about.
#8 – Check Your Coin Options
Most online slots offer you the chance to play with coins of many different sizes or denominations. While it might be tempting to play with the biggest coins because they give you the chance at the biggest prizes, this isn’t always the best choice. Chances are that you’ll have the best chance to win if you can cover all of your paylines or play the maximum number of coins per line. Thus, our recommendation is to play at the highest denomination where you feel comfortable playing on all of the paylines, which should balance the cost to you while maximizing your chances to win.
#9 – Take Advantage of Slots Promotions
Bonuses are sought after in every type of online gambling game, and that’s no different for online slots. They can help to boost your initial bankroll, give you an extra opportunity to win that elusive jackpot, or even unlock a secret prize.
We recommend that you stay on the lookout for bonuses at all times, even if you’ve been playing at online slots for some time now. You never know when a game will introduce a new bonus feature that could see you winning the big bucks or a promotion that’s handing out free spins like there’s no tomorrow. No one likes to miss out on free money after all!
#10 – Play Responsibly
The most important tip we give all of our readers is that they should always play online slots responsibly, and this means a number of things.
You should set yourself limits, both time and money-wise, so that you only ever play with amounts that you can afford to lose. If you are under the influence of either alcohol or drugs then you should not be gambling online, as well as if you are tired, as these states can lead to bad decision-making.
