Win at Slots: Ultimate Guide for Success

Whether you’re playing online or in person, slot machines are bright and alluring, and hold the promise of either cash rewards or leaderboard recognition if you perfect your play. Unfortunately, it’s also incredibly hard to win with any real reliability on slot machines that are programmed according to entirely random win-and-lose patterns.

We’re not here to tell you that you can become a guaranteed master of slot machines because you can’t. The game’s element of luck is part and parcel of its appeal. However, there are a few things you can do to increase your chances of success and make gameplay more enjoyable in general. We’re going to discuss all of them in this complete guide.

Understanding Slot Machine Basics

Slot machines are a great game option because they’re easy – pretty much anyone can play once they’ve grasped the basic concept of the slot in question. Still, if you’re a total novice, or simply a player looking to perfect your understanding, it can help to take some time learning the basics of slot machines. Knowing these basics may also help you to secure a win more quickly.

How Slot Machines Work

Slot machines are physical or online games with three or more spinning wheels that land at random when a player activates them. These reels display a number of different symbols. Players win when those symbols land on what’s known as a pay line, which is a combination of the same symbols. Different symbols have different values in terms of the payout players can expect from drawing them. Players who win will receive either cash prizes or game credits, depending on what kind of slot they’re playing.

The symbols that appear after each draw are decided by a random number generator (RNG) which generates thousands of numbers per second, each of which relates to a specific slot symbol. Depending on the slot they’re using, players may have an option of choosing how many pay lines to bet on, and how much to bet in each case.

Most slot machines will include a paytable, which is a list of all available prizes and payouts for a slot machine, as well as any bonus features. Classic slot paytable pages were clearly printed on physical slot machines, but video slots and online slots now feature paytable pages that are up to a dozen pages long and outline everything from game payouts to game rules and lists of possible pay lines.

Features of Slot Machines

Modern slot machines often have key features that are designed to either help increase your chances of a payout or boost the jackpot players can expect to win. While you won’t find all of these on every slot machine, the main features you expect to encounter when playing slot machines include –

• Wild symbols: Wild symbols are designed to help you win, as they have the power to fill the role of any symbol in the game. If a player draws other matching symbols and a wild symbol, they still win. Wild symbols vary in appearance, so it’s always worth checking which symbols are wild before you play.
• Scatter symbols: Scatter symbols are special symbols that can unlock features like free spins and play bonuses. Unlike the other symbols on a reel, scatter symbols can appear anywhere in a spin to activate.
• Multipliers: Multipliers are symbols that multiply a win by a determined amount (e.g. 10x), and can include scatter multipliers, bonus round multipliers, or even increasing multipliers that enable consecutive wins.

Online vs In-Person Slots

The other major slot machine basic to consider is that of online vs in-person slots. Both options are fundamentally the same in terms of gameplay, with each option relying on an RNG. However, there are some obvious differences to consider, which include –

• Setting: Online slot machines make it possible to play slots from any location, including the comfort of your own home. By comparison, in-person slots tend to be in more social locations such as casinos, bars, and restaurants.
• Game variety: Physical slot machines offer a limited number of games around the chosen theme of the machine, while online games are far better positioned to provide a wide variety of games, themes, and winning opportunities.
• Symbols used: Physical slot machines tend to have 20 or more symbols per reel, while online slots can have more than 200 virtual symbols and potentially millions of combinations.
• Payouts: In-person slot machines payout immediately, while payouts from online slot machines are more likely to go into a player’s account and may take some time to withdraw. Online slot machines are also more likely to be free to play and to reward points or leaderboard places, rather than cash returns.

Choosing the Right Online Slot

Even once players have chosen to play an online slot rather than an in-person option, it’s important they choose the right slot machine. As well as making gameplay more enjoyable by helping you to select preferred themes and soundtracks, this can increase your chances of success if you choose a slot based on factors such as –

• RTP: The term return to player (RTP) refers to the average percentage of money that players can expect to see back from a slot machine. RTP varies depending on each game, and is always worth checking when choosing a slot. A 94% RTP is considered low, while a 95%-96% RTP is average. A 97%+ RTP is considered high and could indicate an increased chance of notable wins.
• Volatility: Slot volatility determines the size of wins players can expect to see. Games with low volatility will provide more frequent small payouts, while games with high volatility will hand out less frequent, but far higher wins.
• Bonus features: All slot machines offer different bonus features, like scatter symbols and free spins. These can boost prizes, increase your chances of a win, and generally make gameplay more enjoyable. Look out for games with bonus features that meet your play preferences.
• Jackpots: Jackpot slots offer fixed payouts for specific symbol combinations, and tend to be best for players looking for significant wins. Jackpot categories include progressive jackpots, which accumulate the credits or cash of other players of that specific game, or pooled jackpots, which are fuelled by a variety of slots.
• Cash vs credits: It’s possible to play online slots using real cash in your account if you’re looking for money wins, but online slots are also more likely to provide the opportunity to play for credits instead. These online games are free to play and can be useful for beginners, or individuals who are playing for fun.

Tips for Managing Your Bankroll

It’s vital to manage your bankroll if you’re betting cash on any slot game. This is the best way to keep losses to a minimum, and ensures some level of control over your finances, even in this game of luck.

When we refer to managing your slot bankroll, we’re largely talking about the skills you need to make financially sound slot wagers. This has the practical benefit of saving you from major losses. By allowing you to play for longer, slot bankroll management could also increase your chances of winning.

Here are just a few tips to help you get started –

Stick With a Budget

Slots are fast-paced and exciting, and if you aren’t careful, you could quickly end up spending more than you intended without necessarily seeing returns. Setting a budget is the best way to avoid this, and is something you can do either daily, weekly, or monthly, depending on how often you play. Be strict about that budget in each session, and make sure to stop when you’ve spent that specified amount.

Only Wager What You Can Lose

Even with the best strategies and level of understanding, slots are games of chance. That means there’s every chance you’ll lose any money you put into the game, even if you’re seeing small wins along the way. Never put yourself or your lifestyle at risk by wagering money that you need for living expenses elsewhere. Instead, remember that slots are fun, and spend only spare cash, which can buy you a great gaming experience, even if you don’t hit the jackpot.

Choose Maximum Bets Within Budget

If you blow your entire slot budget on one gamble, you’ll significantly reduce your chances of seeing a win. Instead, it’s important to stick with maximum bets that are well within the budget of your bankroll. As a rule, it’s worth betting no more than 2%-3% of your total bankroll each time, as this will extend play enjoyment and provide more winning opportunities.

Save a Portion of Big Wins

Putting the entirety of any wins straight back into slots can be a fruitless pursuit and is rarely a good idea. That said, it can be useful to put at least some of your wins toward future play. By saving, say, 50% of a win that’s $1,000 or more, you can significantly boost your bankroll and still enjoy that money elsewhere.

Track Your Spending

If you don’t track slot spending, your bankroll could quickly disappear. This is when overspending can happen, and it’s a mistake that could end up reducing your chances of a win. To avoid this, always make a note of money spent, money gained, and the overall amount you start and end a session with. This makes it easier to see precisely what you’re gaining or losing from your time playing slots, as well as which slots prove most lucrative to you. It also ensures you’re fully aware of where your budget stands, and when it’s time to step away.

Strategies to Increase Your Odds

There’s no guaranteed strategy in slots. If there were, we’d all be rich and casinos would’ve gone out of business many moons ago! There are no payout patterns to get your head around, no secret methods for pulling a draw that’ll bring in the big bucks. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t at least employ some strategies to help along the way.

These tips don’t guarantee a win, but they certainly stand to boost your chances, and they include –

1. Choose a Betting Strategy

When it comes down to it, slots are simply another form of betting. So, it follows that it’s worth employing a betting strategy as you play. At the very least, these can help you to extend your bankroll and avoid major losses, and they include –

• Levels betting: Levels betting simply means using just 1% of your bankroll for each bet, which you then increase after a certain number of failed spins to recoup losses (e.g. a $1 bet across 5 missed spins should double to $5 until you see a win and can reset to $1). This keeps expenses down and keeps the game going without big risks. Do note that some slots will have predetermined bet amounts that make exact 1% bets impossible. In this instance, select the amount that’s as close to 1% of your bankroll as possible.
• Fixed percentage betting: Fixed percentage betting requires you to bet a fixed percentage of your bankroll each time. This technique is useful for making the most of winning streaks, as your percentage amounts will naturally increase as you top up your payroll, but it can be complex to calculate and isn’t always easy to manage on slots with fixed betting amounts.
• Martingale betting system: The martingale betting system is considered one of the best strategies for winning, and involves doubling your bet for every losing spin, in mind of an upper limit to avoid overspends. When you get a win, you can drop your bet back to its starting level. You should do this no more than 16 times, or for however long your bankroll allows.

2. Eyes on the Jackpot

Playing for something like a progressive jackpot means very much having your eyes on a big prize, and going up against potentially thousands of other players in attempts to get it. However, it’s important to note that playing for a jackpot often involves an entirely different method of gameplay than simply playing slots. The more you understand the differences, the better you’ll increase your odds. Things you’ll want to bear in mind include:

• Understand jackpot rules: Most slots have specific jackpot rules, such as minimum bets or the need to play bonus games to unlock jackpots. Take time familiarizing yourself with these rules so you’re always in with a shot.
• Play when the jackpot is high: A low jackpot on a progressive jackpot game signifies that someone’s won fairly recently. That doesn’t mean there won’t be another win (remember, wins are entirely random), but is a pretty good indicator that it’ll be a while before that slot’s RNG pays out. By comparison, a high progressive jackpot is a sign that a payout hasn’t happened in a while and that you could end up getting lucky.

3. Maximize Your Money

The more money you have to play with, the longer you can play, and the higher your chances of securing a win. Maximize your bankroll using things like free spins, loyalty programs, and bonuses so that you can enjoy more opportunities without higher losses. We’ll speak a little more about this in a while, but these benefits all provide you with more opportunities to play in some way and can be a huge help in securing a win at last.

4. Explore the Paytable

There are no discernible patterns in slot machines, and anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. However, it can still be useful to study a slot’s paytable and win history. As well as helping you understand things like a machine’s RTP and volatility, this will help you to get to grips with everything from potential bonuses to average payout amounts. That way, you can ensure you’re never overspending on a machine that’s unlikely to provide major returns, making it more likely that any wins you do get can easily cover your slot costs.

5. Set Win Limits

It’s easy to get carried away when you’re on a winning streak, but doing so can mean losing everything you’ve made. Remember, slot machines are ultimately designed for house advantage. Setting a win limit, which should be relatively modest (you’re still winning if you just earn enough for a fancy dinner, after all), can stop this from happening and ensure you leave with something. It can also be worth simply splitting your winnings, and making sure you put at least 50% of all wins into your personal account, rather than back into your betting bankroll.

6. Play the Maximum Pay Line

Modern slots can contain as many as 50 play lines, which could include vertical, horizontal, or diagonal lines. The more pay lines you play, the more fun you have, and the higher your overall chance at a win. So, choosing the maximum pay line for your chosen slot is typically the best way to see returns throughout your time of play.

7. Have Fun

This last point may not increase your odds as such but, while we typically equate a win to a cash prize or credit boost, that’s not the only way to succeed at slots. The random nature of this game particularly makes it a waste of time to play solely with your eyes on the prize. Instead, shift your thinking about slots towards simply something you do to have fun. Even if you pay to play, this means that you’ll always feel like you’ve paid for something worthwhile. Any wins will simply feel like pleasant bonuses.

Recognizing High Payout Machines

No two slot machines are the same, and they vary in everything from gameplay methods to payout sizes. If you’re looking for a big win at slots, then it makes sense to choose high-payout machines. But, how do you know which slots fit within this category?

Again, it’s important to remember the chance-based nature of slots before we delve into this – ultimately, you have no real way to know which machines will pay out which rewards. Despite that, there are some indications that a machine is more likely to throw out major returns, and they are –

• RTP and volatility: We’ve spoken about RTP before, but it’s particularly relevant with regard to payout opportunities. Generally, players refer to slots with a high RTP as ‘loose slots’, because these are more likely to pay out high percentage returns. Some of the best slots for payouts have an RTP that’s as high as 99%. Even slots with a ‘good’ RTP of 97% could see you earning back as much as $94 of a $100 bet throughout play.

Volatility is also relevant here, as it specifically indicates the size of payout a machine will typically give. By considering these two things, you’re far more likely to find a high payout machine.

• Jackpot Size: Jackpots provide the best opportunities for high payouts within the slot world, and jackpot size can be a clear indicator of potential returns. That’s not to say you’re any more likely to win on a machine with a big jackpot, but it does mean that, if you do win, you’d win a lot! Progressive slots do, however, have higher volatility, whereas smaller, non-progressive payouts can also indicate potentially sizable returns with slightly better odds.
• Thorough research: There are a few better ways to find high payout machines than simply doing your research before you play. Something as simple as taking a look at the previous wins on a paytable can help give you some idea of percentage payouts. Equally, reading player reviews and feedback can help you see how other players have fared in terms of win sizes. It’s also now possible to use slot comparison sites, which clearly rank online slot games based on their potential returns.

Timing Your Play for Optimal Wins

You’ll want to time your slots plays in a way that makes a win more likely. But, is such a thing possible? In a broad sense, not really. Casinos are legally forbidden to make slot machines more or less likely to pay out at a given time. As such, while it can seem like more players win at nighttime, this is more often because more players are turning to slots at this hour.

Still, you aren’t entirely powerless in terms of how you time your plays. Some players do believe that timing can help towards a win. None of these methods are tried, tested, or proven but, if you’re playing slots anyway, it can’t hurt to time your play based on factors such as –

1. Win frequency: We all know slots are entirely random, but some players believe that timing their play around win frequency has some standing on success. In particular, these players believe that choosing to play after noticing changes in win frequency, such as a shift to higher wins after a bout of small returns, may be a sign that a machine’s about to hit its jackpot.
2. Symbols and features: Some players also believe that playing at a time when reels are exhibiting certain symbols or special features more regularly could signify an upcoming win. This is by no means a foolproof strategy but, considering that this theory will see you playing on slots with more special features, it could end up reaping rewards regardless.
3. Jackpot size: Many players believe that timing your play when a jackpot is reaching dizzying heights could signify that a payout is imminent. Again, there’s no solid foundation for this belief, as payouts are entirely random and can happen straight after a previous win, or months down the line. Still, most players will avoid playing for a low jackpot, and will instead wait to play until jackpots have filled again. And, by proxy, they do end up being the players who experience the biggest wins.

Utilizing Bonuses and Promotions

There are various slot bonuses and promotions with the potential to maximize your money, and potentially increase your chances of a win. Slot bonuses are mini-games that can add regular prizes to normal spins, including free spins, additional money, or special features like multipliers. Understand how to unlock each slot’s bonus rounds by reading the paytable. Commonly, you’ll need to hit a certain combination of symbols or special features to utilize these opportunities.

Bonuses and promotions that you should keep a special eye out for include free spins, which are often offered to new players, or as a lure to play bonus rounds. These provide an additional chance to win with no payout and are always worth taking where you can.

Other promotions may include sign-up bonuses, which provide a set amount of credits or cash in your account to start playing, or loyalty programs, which could see you earning a certain amount of credits or money for each session you play.

Bring Slot Success Within Reach

Slot success is never guaranteed and, let’s be honest, the random nature of this game is what makes it so fun – you simply don’t know what to expect! This is true whether you’re playing for credits or cash, and regardless of how seasoned your game has become.

Still, applying the tips throughout this article to your slot play can increase your fun, and maximize the amount of time you’re able to play. That could well see you securing that alluring jackpot at last.

Put these steps for slot success into action when you play online with 247Slots today.

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