Slots: Improving Gameplay and Boosting Wins

Are you wondering how to play slots and win? Is there really a way you can win at slots, or are they all fixed for losing? These are questions that have been asked since the beginning of time, or rather 1894, when the first lost machine was designed. Whether you play on a physical slot machine, play online slots, or even free slots, knowing how to maximize your chances of play and boost your success can help you avoid losing as much as possible.

However, slot machines are programmed to win and lose based on patterns and results and a predetermined random generator for online slots to help make it fair, but that doesn't mean you cannot win at all; it just means that you need to get clever and know your stuff to help you improve your returns and avoid those massive losses.

What Are Slot Games?

Slot games are games of chance that encourage players to spin reels for a monetary bet ( or free bet amount when playing free slots) to trigger the gameplay. Slot machines then spin their reels and give the player results.

Traditionally, slot games were three-reel one-line games, meaning you needed to get a specific combination on the win line only to generate a win. Each slot game had a payout table to alert players of what they needed to win on the machine itself. While slots have developed drastically from their first iterations, these simple three-reel slots are still produced and played with as much passion as newer variations of the slot game.

In modern variations of the three reel slot machine or one arm bandit, as they can be known, slot games have become more complex, offering players wins on more than one line, in more than one direction, i.e., left to right or right to left as is the case in Starburst, or simply to get the required number of symbols on the play screen after a spin. There are bonus options, special characters offering immediate wins, games inside games that are triggered with the appearance of certain factors, free spins, and so much more.

In-person on a physical slot machine, you can play the traditional slot game in many establishments, or you can play on a device that is simply a digital version, allowing you to choose from multiple game options as if you are playing online at home.

Slot games are available in different styles and themes and can be as simple as lining three symbols on a single one, or they can be complex, requiring people to play for a little while to get a feel for how it pays out and what they can expect. Video games are becoming more popular with players as they offer a more interactive and engaging experience, and this draws players in and keeps them spinning for longer as they work through different levels, try to land bonus rounds, or even collect points that can be accumulated and retained to pick up where you left off when you next come back to play.

Free slot games offer players a way to dip their toes into the world of slots without risking losing any money. They are a fun and engaging pastime that can help you to keep the brain active and learn the patterns and trends for different types of games to allow you to get to grips with what you can expect.

Without further ado, let's dive into how you can improve your slot gameplay and give you some tips that increase your enjoyment and return for both free and monetary wins.

Pick The Right Slot Machines

In the first instance, you need to pick a suitable slot machine to be playing. If you are playing for fun and want experience, then playing a demo or free versions of different games can give you a feel for what to expect. Alternatively, you can play for cash, but it can be a good idea to start with the lowest permissible bet for the game, which can make your funds last longer and reduce your losses than coming in at $5 spins off the bat, especially for more complex video games.

Choosing to play for minimal amounts or for free can take the newness away and prevent you from being dazzled by all the bells and whistles to enable you to make the right decisions based on strategy, not just fun. However, your game does need some fun to it, or why else are you playing?

RTP

The RTP (return to player) rate is how you need to determine the best online slots to play. The RTP is also applicable to physical slot machines too. The RTP is the payout rate of an individual game, and the higher the RTP, the more frequently it pays out.

But you need to remember a payout can be anything, not just the big wins, so while you want to be looking for a game with over a 96% RTP, the payout could be less than your initial stake, and technically, this does still count. So while it's not a surefire way to get rich; it does guarantee you a win of some sort, even if it doesn't cover what you have put into playing.

Volatility

So now you have picked the game with the best RTP, you need to look at the volatility level. This is what determines the sizes of the wins you can expect. So, a game with a low volatility level means you will get more frequent lower payouts than a game with a higher volatility level, with fewer but higher wins.

To find this for a game, you need to look at the small print details for each game, which is required for online casinos. Look at the game description using the About feature or an FAQs page, for example, to help you uncover the RTP and volatility rate to find the best slots to play.

Study The Pay Table

As touched upon previously, each slot game will come with a pay table. This will detail the payout of every single combination for each bet level.

The paytable will tell you exactly what all of the winning figures are in the game. What combination do you need to get a winning line, and how many winning sequences and their shapes are in play at any one time?

You will also find out what the bonus symbols are if any exist for the specific game; each pay table is unique to the game in question, and how much of a payout you can expect for your bet size. Typically, the higher the bet, the higher your returns. 

An excellent example of this is a five-reel, 10-line slot game. You might need three symbols on the first three consecutive reels on any one pay line to get a win. This win will then increase if you get the same symbol on any winning pay line across all five reels. The win again will increase by a percentage, depending on your bet size. And you can win across multiple lines with different symbols if they land in the required places in a way specified on the paytable. Additionally, a game might have wild symbols that can substitute for most game symbols except typically for bonus symbols.

The bonus itself will have a different pay table depending on the style of the bonus game. Free spins payout at the same rate unless they come with added features such as multipliers for wins.

What studying the pay table can do aside from introducing you to all the ways you can win is to find out what bet level is optimal for your fame play for the best returns.

Choose Your Bet Level and Spend

When spinning the reels, figuring out your personal tolerance level for playing is essential. How much are you comfortable spending, and how much can you afford to spend? Pairing this decision with the information you have learned from the above points can give you a base to start with and enjoy gameplay or fun before looking at strategies.

If you are happy with losing any money or you cannot afford to play, you need to look at free online tools or switch to demo play to help you avoid losing more than you can afford to spend.

Once you have determined these, you can put tools in place to help you avoid overspending and adding limits to your gameplay.

Choose A Strategy

Now, playing slots can be a great way to practice strategy playing. If you want to maximize your wins both for online slots and in-person slot games, you need to look at the different strategies available to help you find a method that works for you to improve your gameplay and help to boost your success.

Ideally, you will have determined your tolerance level and used the information above to find the suitable game for you before choosing a strategy.

Levels Betting

Levels betting is using 1% of your bankroll per spin. It's worth noting at this point that not all slot games allow you to be this specific when playing and will have predetermined bet amounts you need to choose. But get as close to 1% of your bankroll per spin as possible.

For ease of calculation, we will start at $1 for this example. You bet $1 per spin for 5 consecutive spins if these 5 spins lose, you up your next bet to $5 to help you recoup your losses. Then, if your next 5 spins at $5 lose, you up the stake again to $10, and so on, until you win on a spin. Then you reduce back down to $1 spins and start again. If you don't lose 5 spins consecutively, then you remain at $1 per spin until you hit 5 losses in a row and bump up to $5.

Fixed Percentage Betting

Fixed percentage betting is a more in-depth style of play. For this type of betting style, you'll need to have a calculator on hand to make your bets.

As a guide, let's say you have $100 to play with. Here you need to make your first bet 3% of the $100. This gives you an initial stake of $3. If this spin wins you $13, you have $113 to play with, so you increase the bet to $3.30. Now, these outputs might not be available for your game of choice, but you should find the closest bet possible to these amounts. You can practice this when playing free online slots to get familiar with how to calculate your bet sizes for this approach.

By staying at 3% of your playing funds, you can take advantage of winning streaks and hedge your bets as you play, especially for games that seem to be paying out above the odds. By increasing your bet every time your wins go up and reducing it when they stop by sticking to 3%, you can get the most wins from your game for your available funds.

That being said, it can be tricky to get this exactly right, especially if the game does not have appropriate bet levels of the amounts you want to play with. It can take some experimenting to get it right and take the fun from the game, as you need to keep stopping to calculate your bets every single spin.

Martingale Betting System

Often considered the best strategy for winning, by tweaking the Martingale Betting system to fit within your chosen slot game (don't forget you need to have an upper limit in place here, too), you can find a simple way of winning that doesn't require the intense calculations of the previous option.

For this approach, you double your bet for every losing spin. So if you start with a $1 spin, double it to $2 if you lose. If the $2 spin doesn't win, your next bet is $4, and so on. This is why you need an upper limit. When you get a win, you drop back down to your $1 spin and carry on in this vein.

A good tip is to avoid going up more than 16 times or breaching your upper spin limit as things can get out of control quite quickly if wins aren’t forthcoming.

Progressive Strategies

When playing progressive jackpot games, your approach must be completely different to allow you to take advantage of the available jackpot.

Generally, when you remove the jackpot from the equation, RTP will be considerably lower. On top of this, the jackpot might not just be for the site you are playing at if you're playing online jackpot slot games, or your casino of choice might be using internet-connected slot games or has more than one machine running from the same software. You are essentially competing with hundreds if not thousands of other players at any one time spread across multiple online slot sites.

Some slots require you to bet a particular stake to be eligible to win the jackpot, and some jackpots can be won in regular gameplay, and others need to be triggered in the bonus game only. All of these details will affect your strategy to boost your success at jackpot games.

Good tips for playing progressive jackpot games include,

• Read the rules and game information before playing.
• Have the funds available to keep slots spinning.
• Play at the minimum bet size to qualify for the jackpot.
• Only play when the jackpot is high; lower progressive jackpots indicate a recent win, and chances of higher payouts could be reduced.

Slots: Should You Play To Win?

Slots are a great way to pass the time. Whether you prefer to play online slots, free slots, or you love the atmosphere of playing sitting at a physical machine in a casino or entertainment venue. If you're looking at increasing your chances of success at slots is the aim of the game for you, then being methodical about your approach to gameplay and doing your research and not just picking a random game will serve you well.

Free slots can give you a feel for different games and allow you to assess the frequency of payouts and the size of the wins depending on your bet size. Online free slots can be the way forward for people with lower tolerances for losing. It still gives you enjoyment from the game without risking your hard-earned cash.

However, for real money players learning about the game, employing tactics and strategies when playing can give your sessions a boost. While you should be playing for fun, you can increase your wins and boost success by simply adapting how you play and being considerate about your bet size rather than just going and betting the same amount for each spin.

For the big wins, playing progressive jackpot slots can yield higher wins and give you a bigger payout, but you need to be careful about how and when you play to boost your chances of access and be in with a chance of securing the jackpot.

DISCLAIMER: The games on this website are using PLAY (fake) money. No payouts will be awarded, there are no "winnings", as all games represented by 247 Games LLC are free to play. Play strictly for fun.