Some people choose to bank all of the money they win. Others will set a win limit, like double their bankroll, and stop playing when they reach it. Or you can take a middle road that will protect your winnings while still extending your bankroll by banking half of your wins and playing the other half. Slot machine video from casino expert Steve Bourie that teaches you the insider secrets to winning at slot machines and how a slot machine really works.
Ways Win & All Ways Slot Machines. To understand ways win slots, or, as they’re also known, 243 ways slot machines, you have to understand some of the basics of how slots work, especially as they relate to games with multiple pay lines. On a basic, traditional 3 reel slot machine, there is a single pay line, which is the center, horizontal line. In 243 ways slots, any combination of three or more matching symbols can be a win, provided they appear anywhere on adjacent reels, starting from the first and going left to right. The math behind. We all like to win at slots, but one of the best ways to enjoy slots and test your slot machine strategy is to play at online casino that allows you to play for free using and instant play feature or practice mode.
Slot machines are the most popular games in the casino, although they’re not as popular as they used to be. In some casinos, 80% of the profits are generated by the one-armed bandits. The question on everyone’s mind seems to be the same: how do you win on slot machines?
I wish I had a magical formula I could see you that would ensure you’d walk away from the slots a winner. Unfortunately, I don’t have one. Luckily, neither does anyone else.
Slot machines are entirely random, and they’re programmed to pay out less than the odds of winning, so in the long run, slots are good for nothing more than eating up your gambling bankroll. If you still want to play slots after understanding that, well, good for you. That’s not a problem.
There are some things you can do to improve the odds, though. That’s what I’ll focus on in the rest of this post—actual, practical things you can do to improve your odds of winning on slot machines.
1. Understand the Theoretical Cost of Playing Slot Machines
The savviest gamblers understand the math behind gambling games better than most people. If you grok the way slots work better than other people, you’ll be able to make better informed decisions about what to play and how.
The first concept to understand about slot machines is that each outcome has a probability attached to it. When you multiply those outcomes by the probability of achieving them and add them all up, you get the mathematically expected return for the game.
Here’s an absurd example that illustrates the point well:
You’re playing a slot machine that costs $1 per spin. 50% of the time, you’ll get a combination of symbols that will result in $1 in winnings. The other 50% of the time, you’ll get a combination that results in no winnings at all.
It’s easy to see, given these numbers, how the casino makes a guaranteed profit in the long run from a machine like this.
But to keep things interesting, slot machine designers have multiple combinations with multiple prize amounts. When you do all the math, such a game has a theoretical payback percentage—the percentage of each bet that the game returns in winnings.
These payback percentages vary wildly from game to game, from casino to casino, and from location to location. In competitive areas like the Strip in Las Vegas, slot machines might have a payback percentage of 96% on average. In non-competitive places like the airport, these games might have a payback percentage closer to 75%.
For the purposes of this post, I’m just going to assume that the average slot machine has a payback percentage of 88%. That’s the equivalent of a 12% house edge.
To calculate how much money you can expect to lose playing such a slot machine, you simply multiply the amount of money you’re betting per spin by the number of spins you’re making per hour. Then you multiply that by the house edge, and that’s your hourly expected loss.
So if you’re playing a dollar slot machine and betting $3 per spin, and you’re making 600 spins per hour, you’re putting $1800 per hour into action.
The casino expects to win, on average—in the long run–$216 per hour.
That doesn’t compare favorably with other casino games, by the way. Contrast that with blackjack. Let’s say you’re playing blackjack with perfect basic strategy, and you’re getting in 100 hands per hour. And let’s also say you’re betting $5 per hand. That’s $500 per hour you’re putting into action.
If you’re using perfect basic strategy, the house edge in blackjack is probably 1%. Your expected hourly loss is $5 per hour.
That’s a big difference.
One might almost assume from this that the best way to win at slot machines is to refuse to play them at all.
2. Understand What’s So Attractive about Slot Machines
Most gamblers understand on some level, even if it’s almost unconsciously, that slot machines are a lousy bet.
But they’re still the most popular game in the casino.
How does that happen?
I can guess at some of the reasons slots are so popular. Some of these reasons are easy to understand, too. Remember how I pointed out that you’d only lose $5/hour playing blackjack if you use perfect basic strategy?
Memorizing and implementing basic strategy in blackjack requires work and effort. Some gamblers don’t want to put in any effort toward that sort of thing. They’d prefer to play a game that’s easy to understand and easy to play. And nothing could be easier than mindlessly pressing the spin button on a slot machine.
Also, when you play slot machines, you usually have the opportunity to win a prize of 1000 units or so on a single spin. (A “unit” is the amount you’re betting. If you’re betting a dollar, then a lot of slot machines will have a jackpot of $1000.) Many gamblers like the idea of winning a big prize.
Compare that again to blackjack. You go to all that effort to learn basic strategy, and the biggest prize you can win is 150% of your initial bet. It might be a little higher than that if you get to split your hand or double down. But realistically, most of the time, you’re only going to win a single unit or 2 on a hand of blackjack.
Finally, slot machines are designed for the express purpose of keeping gamblers interested. The companies which design these machines spend countless dollars researching which images, color schemes, and sound effects are going to be most attractive to gamblers. Wheel of Fortune slot machines are no accident. They’re the most popular game for a reason.
If your goal is to play an easy game where you have a shot at a big jackpot, slots might be the right game for you. You just want to decide beforehand if the trade-off is worth it.
3. Improving Your Chances of Winning and Reducing Your Potential Losses Are Both Realistic, Worthy Goals
Let’s talk about how you can make playing slot machines less expensive in the long run.
The first and easiest way to reduce the amount of money you lose playing slots is to slow way down. The biggest factor determining your hourly expected loss is the number of spins you make per hour.
How To Win On Slot Machines Tips
Really fast slots players can make 1200 spins per hour. Average slots players probably get in 600 spins per hour.
But if you go slow, you can probably get down to 300 spins per hour.
In the example I gave earlier, we predicted you’d lose $216 on average per hour. If you were to slow down and only place 300 spins per hour, that number would drop to $108 per hour.
Maybe that doesn’t increase your probability of being a big winner, but if you really want to maximize your probability of winning, you have to switch to a different game entirely—one where you can get an edge. That’s impossible with slots. To get an edge, you need to be able to count cards in blackjack or play expert level poker. There are other ways, too, but they’re an order of magnitude of difference from slot machine play.
You can also reduce your expected losses by playing for less money. There’s a big difference between making 300 spins per hour at $3 per spin and making 300 spins per hour at 75 cents per spin. Your total hourly action drops from $900 per hour to $225 per hour.
With a 12% house edge, that’s a difference of $108/hour versus $27/hour in expected losses.
4. Use Some Practical Tips for Improving Your Chances
That 12% house edge that I keep mentioning is just for illustrative purposes. The truth is, most slot machines have different payout percentages. Your goal should be to find a slot machine with a higher payback percentage rather than a lower payback percentage.
One easy way to compare slot machines is to look at the size of the jackpot. The bigger the top prize is, the lower the payback percentage is. This is especially true when you start looking at progressive slot machine jackpots.
The probability of winning one of those huge $10 million+ jackpots is comparable to winning the lottery, which is to say that the odds are astronomical. Top game slots. Since a portion of the overall payback percentage for that game is attributable to that jackpot, which you’ll probably never win, your practical payback percentage is much lower.
So if you’re choosing between 2 slot machines, choose the one with the smaller jackpot.
Here’s another trick:
Play the highest denomination machine you can afford. The higher the denomination, the better the payback percentage is. That’s a general rule of thumb, but it’s not bad strategy.
And since a lot of lower denomination slot machines push the multiple lines/multiple coins play so hard, you might be betting the same amount per spin anyway. If you’re playing a penny slot machine and betting on 5 lines with 5 coins per line, you’re betting 25 cents per spin.
You’d probably have better odds playing a quarter machine for one payline and one coin per spin.
And it should go without saying that the location where you’re playing has more to do with the payback percentage than almost any other factor.
But I’m not talking about whether the machine is near the restaurant or on the end of a bank of machines or something like that. I’m talking about the location of the casino itself.
The biggest payback percentages on slots in the United States are at the Las Vegas Strip casinos. That’s because that’s the most competitive marketplace there is.
On the other hand, if you’re at the airport in Las Vegas, well… those are the only games in town, right?
They don’t have any real competition, and they know you’re just killing time and playing on a lark, so they don’t need to provide a competitive payback percentage to get your business.
This is also true of bars and gas stations, etc. They’re not competing with other gambling businesses. They’re just looking to make a quick buck while you’re stranded there doing whatever kind of business you need done.
5. Don’t Pay ANY Attention to Silly Slot Machine Systems Being Sold by So-Called Experts
One of the most cringe-worthy gambling books I’ve ever read was John Patrick’s Slots. It’s a collection of 2 or 3 dozen slot machine systems that are supposed to increase your probability of being a winner at slots.
Most of his advice has to do with switching machines when you’re “running cold.” He has a limit for the number of “naked pulls” you’ll accept. (I think it was 7.)
A naked pull is a spin of the reels where you don’t win anything. If you get 7 naked spins in a row, that’s supposed to be a sign that the machine is cold and you should switch to another game.
He also has some general guidelines for session bankrolls. He suggests that you have a win goal and a loss limit for each session, something like 20% of your bankroll for that session. So if you sit down at a game with $100, and you get down to $80, it’s time to quit and switch machines. Same thing if you get up to $120. Quit and switch machines.
Of course, voodoo like this has no effect on your probability of winning or even of walking away a winner. It’s just silly.
You’ll also find people selling books about slots that are supposedly written by “slot machine technicians” who can help you predict when a machine is getting ready to pay out. One of these clues is supposedly the “zig zag” method. The idea is that you find a slot machine where 2 out of 3 winnings symbols are visible at the same time. Such a machine is supposedly close to paying out.
This is just nonsense, too. Every spin of the reels is an independent event, and what happened on previous spins has no bearing on what’s going to happen on subsequent spins.
6. Join the Players’ Club
I have mixed feelings about the players’ club. On one hand, I’m not crazy about sharing my personal information with the casino. They’re going to use that information to advertise to me. I understand why that makes sense for them, but it makes less sense for me.
But from a purely mathematical perspective, it makes sense to join the slots club and always play with the card inserted into the machine. The casino measures how much time you spend on the machines and rewards you with rebates and comps accordingly.
Don’t buy into the myth that playing slots with the card inserted interferes with your ability to win. That’s just silly. The casinos don’t need to cheat in this way. The games already have a mathematical edge, and the rebates and comps are programmed in such a way that the casino is still hugely profitable.
But even though the comps are much smaller than the amount of money you’re expected to lose, it’s still money that you shouldn’t walk away from. After all, there’s no difference between playing with the card inserted and not inserting the card.
You should milk those comps for everything they’re worth.
Conclusion
How do you win on slot machines?
The short answer is simple enough:
Get lucky.
Slot machine games are entirely random, so there’s no way to get an edge over these games. Anyone who tries to tell you different is hoping you’ll buy something from them. And what they’re selling is worthless.
The best you can do is hope to lower the casino’s edge over you. You can also adjust the way you play so that you minimize the amount of money you lose.
But forget about finding some foolproof way to beat the slot machines. People selling that information are the modern equivalent of snake oil salesmen.
Best Ways To Win On Slot Machines
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.If you are bored just playing against a slot machine, you might want to consider whether you want to participate in any of the online slot machine tournaments. The best online casinos virtually every day offer the opportunity to participate in one of their tournaments. Expecting interesting prizes, you can compare your slot strategy with other players around the world.
How to Play Slot Tournaments in Las Vegas Casinos?
All slot machine tournaments work very similarly to blackjack or poker tournaments. The online casino will announce the date when it will be held and on which slot (or slot machines) are eligible. Usually, players have to register, but in some cases, all you have to do is open selected slots and play. Sometimes, however, there may be “Sit-and-Go” tournaments that begin when the minimum number of participants is registered.
The second step is entering the tournament. It can either be paid or free of charge. This is also the result of the price of the pool. Free tournaments usually have a prize pool of €50 to €300, but you can also find such tournaments that with free entry you can win up to several thousand euros. However, this is more an exception than a rule. Prizes in the thousands are 90 % only for paid tournaments. The entrance fee is usually in the order of several euros or dollars.
Once you are in the tournament and start playing, it is your goal to play/win more than all other participants. If your bankroll drops to zero and you do not have the option to re-buy, you are just at the end of the road. There are also several types of tournaments here. Firstly, it may be a tournament where it is easy to compare the balances of individual players after the tournament ends and the order will be created accordingly.
Another way to evaluate a tournament is through what is called the “Winbox”, when players only add prizes regardless of the amount of the final bankroll. Tournament winners with the highest Winbox then wins.
For example – entry to a 3 000-coin tournament, 6 spins
Spin | Bet | Win | Bankroll | Win Box |
0. | 0 | 0 | 3 000 | 0 |
1. | 75 | 0 | 2 925 | 0 |
2. | 75 | 250 | 3 100 | 250 |
3. | 75 | 25 | 3050 | 275 |
4. | 75 | 100 | 3 075 | 375 |
5. | 75 | 0 | 3 000 | 375 |
6. | 75 | 0 | 2 925 | 375 |
Tips and Trick How to Win a Slot Tournament
Since the online slot machines have not yet introduced elements to allow the player to influence the house edge, the results of the game rounds depend only on the player’s luck. However, there are at least some basic pieces of advice that can significantly increase your chance of winning on slots.⭐
- Play as fast as you can
Play as fast as you can. In most slot tournaments, players will get e.g. 1 000 credits and only 10 minutes to play them through. If one spin costs you 3 credits, you have less than 2 seconds for one spin to clear your credit completely. You have to be really fast to do that.
- Always play for the max bet
Higher-stake games, especially those with a higher denomination, give you better payouts. In particular, thanks to the maximum bet, you can qualify for the jackpot.
- Do not bother too much about how much you have already won
Especially in Winbox games, do not worry about scoring on it. Individual winnings are not so significant. You have to play as fast as possible.
- Click through the Bonus Wheels as quickly as possible
In a tournament, you are mainly pushing for time; bonus spins with free spins can cause a significant delay if you do not speed them up.
- Check your time
It is not worth starting a 5-minute slot tournament 2 minutes before it’s over. There is no way you can make it in time.
- Possibility to continue the game
Some of the tournaments give you the chance to continue playing, even if the lap time has elapsed. It will almost certainly cost you real money, including in free tournaments. If you want to win, it will sometimes be necessary to continue playing for money. Be sure that others will be willing to as well.
However, here too, use this option only if you are sure it is worth it. If you are already at the prize position after the base round, it can happen that by continuing with the game for the money, you only get to increase the lead over the player below you.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Slot Tournaments
Slot tournaments have a number of advantages and a few drawbacks. It is advisable to have all this information before entering the tournament. In our case, these are only general benefits or negatives. Specific situations, of course, will depend on a number of variables, such as what type of player you are, what slots you are allowed to play, if you can switch between slots, and finally but most importantly, one should not forget the VIP status players.
Advantages
- You have a higher chance of winning. *
- You know exactly how much you can lose.
- You have the chance to win high prizes for a small entry fee or free of charge.
- VIP status (if you have it) can guarantee free entry to the tournament.
Disadvantages
- You have to play fast.
- You may not be able to play on your favorite slot.
- If you win a jackpot, you will not be able to keep it. **
- You can only play in a tournament at a certain time.
* By having a higher chance of winning, of course, we are not thinking of tournament-adjusted payouts. RTP remains constant at all times. But, some prize pools are in thousands of euros, which may be equivalent to some local jackpots. The chances of winning such a jackpot are a few tens of thousands to 1. When in a tournament where there are 1 000 other players, you have a 1:1000 chance of winning.
** Your winnings during the tournament are only to determine the placement of the other players. This means that even if you hit a progressive jackpot, you are likely to win the tournament, but you will only win the main prize. All winnings on the online slot are dropped after the end of the casino tournament.
Slot tournament in online casinos
Online casino tournaments are slightly different from those you encounter in the big casinos in Las Vegas. If it is not a VIP event for regular players; any registered player can enter the tournament. There are always one or several slots selected for the tournament, and the date and duration of the tournament are also announced. Most online casinos have a calendar on their website for the months ahead, so there is no problem finding the best one for you.
Tournaments in online casinos are generally free to enter and have slightly different rules from tournaments in brick-and-mortar casinos. When playing in Las Vegas tournaments, players compete in a very short period of time. In online casinos, tournaments often last for several days or weeks.
One thing, however, is common to both casinos. Not all casinos have slot tournaments. Before you sign up in an online casino, make sure they offer it. And, of course, always read the General Terms and Conditions.
Top 5 Slot Tournament Casinos
Casino | Welcome Bonus | ||
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Tips and Tricks How to Win Slot Tournament in Online Casinos
You will most likely encounter two types of online slot tournaments. Depending on the type, you should choose the appropriate strategy. In both cases, even if you do not pay a fee, you will not play at the machines free of charge, but for real money instead. However, you can keep your winnings.
Tournament type: Get the most points
In this type of tournament, you get points for every bet you make. It is very simple. The more you play, the more points you get. You will also get more points for higher bets. But remember: only bets for real money are eligible for the tournament.
- Sign up for the slot tournament as soon as possible and play from the very beginning
Those who bet the most, win these tournaments. Therefore, it is best to play from the start and play as you would normally play. And invest more money at the end of the tournament, when you see that you have a chance of winning a prize. But if you do not want the first prize too badly, there is no point in pushing thousands to win the tournament when the maximum prize is several hundred € / $.
- Choose the best bet size
Maximize the number of points earned per bet. Some point distribution may look like this:
- Bet €0.20 up to €0.99 = 1 point
- Bet €1.00 up to €1.99 = 5 points
- Bet €2.00 up to €2.99 = 15 points
- Bet €3.00 up to €3.99 = 25 points
- Bet €4.00 up to €4.99 = 35 points
- Bet €5.00 + = 50 points
If you have a €500 bankroll, it does not make sense to bet for €2 and get 3750 points, if you can bet for €5 and get 5000 points. And of course, it makes no sense to bet over €5.
- Choose the slot with the highest return to player percentage (RTP)
Before the tournament starts, check out the RTP for all slot machines in the tournament. And choose the one with the highest. You will thus play the most favorable slot machine.
Tournament type: Biggest win on a single spin
In this type of tournament, win the highest value single spin amount relative to your bet amount. It is a little fairer, due to the condition that you do not have to have an astronomical bankroll to win. In addition, bet size does not matter either, because it is the ratio that counts. For example:
- Win €1 / bet €0.20 – your score is 5 (1 / 0.20)
- Win €100 / bet €20 – your score is 5 (100/20)
- Play with the minimum bet
As has been said, size does not matter. It only depends on the ratio. The more bets you make, the higher the chances of the big win. Do not play through your whole bankroll with high bets if you can make more little ones.
- Play on slot machines with higher payouts
Before you start the tournament, check out all the available slot machines and their payout tables. Does one slot offer a 2000-unit pay for three cherries and a €5 bet and another one 2200? Play with the machine with the higher payout ratio. Winnings will not strike as often, but they will be higher and you will get higher points. That is what counts.
What to be careful about when playing online slot tournaments
Just like with every other casino promotion, you should thoroughly review the Terms and Conditions. Especially focus on:
Registration Deadline and Tournament Duration
Although it may seem like a sure thing, players are wrong in this too. And it’s pretty upsetting not to participate in a tournament just due to late registration.
Which slot machines are eligible for the tournament?
Also, pay extra attention to this. There is no reason to play slots that are not in the tournament.
Winning criteria
In this article, we have described the strategies for the types of online slot tournaments that are the most common. You can also meet with exceptions and the winner can be evaluated according to other criteria. Keep in mind that different rules require a different strategy.
What is a prize pool and how will it be divided?
€5000 is pretty awesome, but if it is divided among 50 players, even the winner barely receives a few hundred. It makes no sense to spend €1000 in a tournament if the prize money is only €500.
What can you do with the tournament prize?
What will actually happen when you win? Some online casinos pay tournament rewards as bonus money and are subject to wagering requirements, which further reduces their value.