Slot machine strategy is thus more of an art than a science. Have no fear,though – it’s an art that we’ve studied and participated in for decades. Bankroll Management Tips for Slots Players. Let’s start with some thoughts on how slot. Slot machines are a popular form of gambling at casinos across the country. According to slotmachines.org, 65 to 75 percent of a casino's action is generated from slot machines. The slot machine is a relatively simple game to play. Generally, you insert a coin, pull a lever and wait for the results.
Want to be a better Slots Player?
Easy slot hacks to help you play, win and enjoy more!
We interviewed some frequent slot players and casino workers. We got these inside tips on how to increase your chances of winning. You won't want to miss thi. Some of the top slots strategies are: Sticking to One Machine This is an extremely basic and simple strategy for the slot games, but it can be quite effective. It largely revolves around the principle of. Slots Machine Strategy Survivors Stick to their Budget and Don’t Stray. Even though the online world is a mysterious place chock-full of slot machines many of which would be absolutely impossible to describe or even name adequately and properly, this does not mean that there are not several general tips.
Slots has become the most popular casino game that has ever been invented. It forms over 50% of the revenue in casinos and racinos in the US, is easily found in Canada, Europe and Australia, and now growing in other parts of the world. For some venues, slot machines can generate more than 90% of total gaming revenue, even when coupled with other casino table games that are also on offer. And some venues simply have slot machines. This just goes to show how popular slots are!
You would think that the majority of Players would know a lot of traps to avoid, given how popular slots is. But it’s astounding to discover that many Players are missing out on some really great slot hacks.
If winning and extending your bank roll is important to you, then please read on.
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Hack 1. Don’t try and beat the system
Replicating the winning pattern of a slot machine is impossible. At the heart of it, are very complex algorithms. Don’t try and beat the system.
The design of a slot machine is to give random results which are to pay out in an uneven distribution. Coupled with this, the effect of the uneven distribution is to build up the suspense – simplistically as a string of losses followed by an incredible win. This randomness of an incredible win is structured so that playing slots entices Players to keep going until the jackpot comes. And this is what makes slots so exciting!
Understanding randomness, knowing that it is created by computer logic, is what trips many slot Players. In our minds, we know that another human being created a “winning pattern logic” for the slot machine. And sometimes when we play slots we can easily think “yep, I know when it’s going to pay out big!” We know it’s not really random, because our fellow computer IT programmer created a maths formula for it. And of course, what happens next is that the wagered amounts get bigger and bigger, and suddenly it’s all gone. The bank roll has vanished, and it’s all over, nothing left. Avoid the trap of thinking you know the winning pattern – whether it be hot or cold machines, jumping on a machine after another Player has won (or lost) and so on.
Hack 2. Pay attention to denomination pay out ratios
Win more on the higher denominated slot machines. They have a higher pay out ratio.
This may come as a surprise, however it is the lower denominated slot machines that have the worst pay out ratios. That’s right, the low penny slot machines pay out at a poor 80% to 85% range. Many Players are drawn to the low line betting slot machines, believing that they can play longer with the potential of winning more and winning big. This strategy would make sense if the pay out ratios of all the slot machines are the same, but they are not.
Below I list out the approximate pay out ratios by denomination:
- 25 cent machines roughly return 85% to 88%.
- 50 cent machines roughly return 89% to 90%
- $1 machines return roughly 90% to 91%
- $5 machines return 92% to 93%
- And machines wagering higher 93% to 98%.
Don’t be confused, believing that on the 25 cent machine more lines can be played (because smaller amount), whilst on the $5 machine less lines. And therefore you will win more often on the 25 cent machine. No, No, No… it’s doesn’t matter how small or big you wager, the pay out ratio is the pay out ratio. If you wager on more lines vs less lines, it makes no difference, the pay out ratio remains the same. The mind tricks you with the small vs big denomination perspective.
Hack 3. Align excitement to winning patterns
Alignment will prevent a sudden ALL IN wager. It helps keep your bank roll alive.
In general, the regularity of hitting a win on a slot machine decreases with the size of the jackpot.
Therefore, if you are seeking for an experience of more frequent small wins, then look for a slot machine with a smaller jackpot, make sure it is not interlinked and not progressive.
Frequency of wins can vary from as little as 7% to 25% of the number of rounds played. The frequency, however, doesn’t mean that one machine will have a lower pay out ratio than another. They could both have the same pay out ratio, but the distribution of winnings can vary greatly in amount.
Hack 4. Avoid Progressive
Avoid interlinked progressive slot machines.
If you are playing interlinked progressive slots, then the pay out ratios are significantly lower than listed in the Pay Out Ratio Hack. This is because the pooling of funds drives a lower average pay out to Players. In particular, avoid the large jackpot interlinked progressive slot machines. These behave like lotto with the odds of winning excessively low.
The odds of winning on interlinked progressive type machines, is on par with playing Powerball i.e. it is ridiculously low. That’s not to say you can’t win, but it is really really really low. Say like, 1,000,000,000 to 1. You need more than a life time to play all the combinations!
Hack 5. Play at Singles
Play at independent slot machines, the odds of winning are higher.
Progressive slot machines can be classed into three groups:
- Intercasino-linked – the jackpot can be won in any casino that is part of the network. The jackpot is usually huge because it is pooling the funds from all players on the network. Example: Megabucks
- In-house – Players using the same machine accumulate towards the jackpot. Can still offer huge winnings, but not connected to a larger pool like intercasino linked.
- Single/Independent – one Player drives the progressive jackpot.
As previously mentioned, avoid playing the intercasino linked progressive slots as the odds of winning are ridiculously low.
Progressive slot machines to look for are therefore the single/independent. And if you are looking for more frequent payout, the lower offered jackpots are the slot machines to play at.
Hack 6. Online Slots have better pay out ratios
Play Online Slots: pay out ratios online can be higher by up to 5%.
Online Slots (and mobile) behave very much in the same fashion as casino slots. In fact they are exactly the same! The only difference is that the output is through a web browser or mobile phone, whilst at a land based casino it’s via a machine.
Often the trust factor is much lower for Online Slots than slot machines. There is a misconception that Online Slots are programmed to scam gullible players as there is no regulation, whilst land based slot machines can be trusted because they are regulated.
This cannot be further than the truth. Both Online Casinos and land based casinos are regulated, must purchase a license and abide by laws. In fact, in some cases the land based casinos are less transparent. Take for instance, native American casinos in the US, they are allowed to be self regulated and are not required to disclose their pay out ratios.
The pay out ratios for Online Slots are far better than those offered at land based casinos. This is due to lower overhead costs – easier to maintain, no cash to handle, no venue to be kept and greater audience reach.
Hack 7. Put less in the bank roll
Don’t feel obligated to use up all the bank roll.
Often I see Players at slot machines with the need to “suddenly” leave. And in the bank roll there remains an easy hundred or so dollars left. So what happens? The Player bets big and on many lines, just to complete the gaming session and to use up the remaining bank roll!
Don’t do this. Leave with money in the bank roll or, if you can’t, then play with less in the bank roll to start with. If you need to top up later, you can. But don’t start with too much bank roll to then feel obligated to spend it all.
Conclusion
Although slots is a popular and easy game to play, our goal in GambleDex is to inform you of winning tips and strategies that may not be well known and used. We refer to them as slot hacks and have summarized them for you in 7 concise points.
Anyone can implement these 7 hacks, they don’t require any great effort or an IQ of Einstein. They are so simple that anyone can use them, and yet they will help increase winnings and extend the bank roll.
Other Best 7 Gambling Hacks
Appendix
Everyone wants to win money when they’re playing slotmachines. After all, that’s the entire point, right?
But when you’re playing a game where the results aredetermined entirely at random, can you find strategies that work?
I was surprised to learn that some slot machine strategiesreally DO work, but others don’t.
Even the slots strategies that do work aren’t a foolproofway to win money. In fact, if you play slot machines long enough, you’re guaranteedto lose money. That’s just how the math behind the game works.
You’ll find more information about how to win at slotmachines that’s nonsense. I’ll dispel those myths first, and I’ll follow thatup with 7 slot machine strategies that really do work.
7 Slot Machine Strategies that Don’t Work
These are some of the worst slot machine strategies thatI’ve seen suggested. These don’t work, even though they can sometimes be anentertaining way to play.
1- Trying to Find the Loose Slots (at land based casinos)
Some slot machine games have higher payback percentages than others. That’s not the only thing that determines winnings and winners at these games, though. Volatility and hit ratios also matter.
Some slotmachine games have higher payback percentages than others. That’snot the only thing that determines winnings and winners at these games, though.Volatility and hit ratios also matter.
It’s possible to have a slot machinewith a higher hit ratio and a lower payback percentage than the one next to it.
It’s also impossible to tell theloose slots from the tight slots. The so-called clues that the so-calledexperts advise you to look for are all bogus. At land based casinos at least.
This includes playing the machinesat the ends of the rows. Someone claimed in a book a long time ago that this iswhere the casino managers put the loose machines to attract customers.
Any modern casino manager will tellyou that this is no longer the case and probably never was.
In online casinos the situation isdifferent as due to some regulations many online slots providers are forced topublish official RTP data. That’s one of the biggest advantages of playing real money slots onlinevs brick and mortar casinos and it’s insane not to use it. Just check our list ofLoosest online slots to find out more.
2- Always Bet Max Coin
In some cases, the maximum jackpot can only be won if youplay for the maximum number of coins. This isn’t always the case, even thoughsome slot machine “guru’s” advise you to always bet max coins.
On games where the jackpot doesn’t change based on thenumber of coins you bet, betting max just means you’ll lose money faster.
One exception to this is video poker. On all video pokergames, if you bet fewer than 5 coins, the top payout is reduced significantly.
3- Play Higher Denomination Games
Yes, in general, higher denomination games have a higherpayback percentage. This doesn’t mean your probability of winning is better.
Usually, it just means you’ll lose more money faster.
Here’s an example:
You have a dollar slot machine with a 96% paybackpercentage. To calculate your expected loss per hour, you multiply the dollartimes the number of spins per hour by the house edge (4%, which is 100 minus96%).
An average slot machine player will make 600 spins per hourat $1 per spin, or $600 per hour. 4% of that is $24 per hour in average losses.
Switch to a quarter machine with a payback percentage of92%, which is a significant difference in payback.
Now you’re looking at 600 spins at a quarter per spin, or$150 per hour in action. You’ll lose an average of 8% of that over time, whichis $12 per hour.
Even though the payback percentage on the higherdenomination machine is much higher, you’ll still lose more per hour playingthe higher denomination game.
4- Setting a Win Goal and a Loss Limit
Setting a win goal and a loss limit isn’t a bad idea, but itdoesn’t improve your probability of walking away a winner. I first read aboutthis strategy in a book called John Patrick’s Slots.
The idea is that you start with a session bankroll — $100,for example. You set a goal to win a percentage of that bankroll. 20% might bean appropriate goal, so your win goal might be $20.
You might also set a loss limit of 20%, which is also $20.
You’d sit down at the slot machine game and play until youwere down to $80 or up to $120 then quit.
You could move on to another machine or just call it anight.
The problem is that having these arbitrary starting andstopping points does nothing to change your odds of winning and/or losing.
You should think of your time on slot machines as being justa slice of one much longer session that lasts over your entire career ofplaying on these games.
5- The Zig Zag Method
The zig zag method involves finding slot machine games wherethe symbols are stopped where a winning combination is ALMOST lined up, but notquite. Since you can view the symbols on the reels above and below the mainpayline across the center of the machine, it’s easy to see how a near misswould form a kind of zig zag pattern on the machine.
This was never indicative that a game was about to pay out,even when the machines were mechanical in nature.
Now that they’re all powered by computer programs calledrandom number generators, this is even truer.
6- Cheating at Slot Machines
Some people think that cheating at slot machines is aneffective strategy for winning.
It’s not.
It’s an effective strategy for going to prison, though.Cheating at gambling is a felony in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sure, you can read entertaining stories about clever slotscheaters, but most of them end with the main character serving time.
That’s not winning.
7- Keeping Your Slots Club Card Out of the Machine
The players’ club at the casino tracks your play with a cardthat you insert in the machine before starting to play. This has nothing to dowith whether the game pays out or not.
ALL slot machine games are programmed to have an edge overthe player.
That edge is ALWAYS much higher than the 0.3% or whateverthat the casino is paying back in rebates and comps.
The casino wants to incentivize you to play more. That’s whythey offer these freebies.
They have nothing to do with whether you win or lose,because in the long run, you’re guaranteed to lose anyway.
Anyway, enough about slot machine strategies that don’t work– let’s talk about some slot machine strategies that DO work.
7 Slot Machine Strategies that Do Work
The painful truth is that slot machines are mathematicallydesigned in such a way that a player can’t beat them. The math behind the gamesjust works that way.
Think about it this way. Suppose a slot machine has 1000possible outcomes on a spin.
Now suppose that if you bet a unit on each spin and gotevery possible outcome, you’d win 920 units.
That game would have a payback percentage of 92%.
You could win in the short run because of variance, but inthe long run, you’ll eventually lose.
Still, here are some strategies for winning that might workfor some people some of the time:
1- Treat Slot Machines as You Would the Lottery
Most people who play the lottery don’t buy 600 lotterytickets per hour – even if they’re playing the scratch and win tickets.
If you treated slot machines the way you do the lottery,you’d make far fewer spins and lose far less money in the long run.
If and when I play slot machines, which isn’t often, I put$5 or $20 into the highest denomination machine I can find. I’ve even put a$100 bill into a $100 machine once.
I then get a spin, 4 spins, or 5 spins – some really lownumber.
Win or lose, I walk away quickly.
Since you’re playing higher denomination machines and makinga minimal number of spins, you’re putting variance to work for you. If you winbig and walk away right then, you at least have the possibility of being alifetime winner.
Of course, to stay a winner, you have to resolve to neverplay again.
Otherwise, the house edge will eat away at your bankroll.
You’ve probably heard someone say that compound interest isthe most powerful force in the universe.
Think of the house edge in casino games as being likecompound interest on steroids.
2- Switch to Video Poker
Video poker looks like a slot machine game, but it has somedistinct advantages.
The first of these is that the odds of getting specificcombinations are a known quantity. You have no way of knowing the probabilityof getting 3 cherries on a payline, but you do know (or can find out) that youhave a roughly 1 in 40,000 chance of getting a royal flush on a Jacks or Bettervideo poker game.
Since we know the odds of getting specific hands and thepayouts for those hands, we can actually play a game where we know what thehouse edge is. It’s impossible to estimate the house edge for slot machines,because we can never know with any degree of accuracy the probability ofgetting certain combinations.
And the best thing about video poker machines is this:
With the right games and the right pay tables (orsituations) you can face a game where you have the edge instead of the house.
That’s an entire blog post itself, though.
3- Don’t Play Slot Machines at All
I’m a big fan of a StarTrek movie from 1982, The Wrath ofKhan. In it, we learn about a training scenario called the Kobayashi Maru,which is a no-win scenario. It’s a test of character to see how a commandtrainee deals with failure.
Kirk, of course, doesn’t believe in the no-win scenario, sohe re-programs the simulation to make it possible to win.
I’ve already recommended that you don’t cheat on slotmachines. That would include hacking their random number generator program.
The only way to beat a no-win scenario, in my book, is tonot play at all.
Slot Machine Strategy Tips
Go find other games where you can win. Poker is a goodchoice. Video poker is, too. Blackjack might eve be the game that’s the mostfun to beat. Counting cards is easier than you might think.
4- Find “Banking” Slot Machines
Some slot machine games bank a certain percentage of theaction that goes through them. Some combinations release the amount that’sbanked.
Some players will leave money “in the bank” on suchmachines.
If you can spot those, you can often find yourself in apositive expectation situation and win some money.
The problem is that such games are increasingly hard tofind.
5- Always Use Your Player’s Club Card
Using your player’s club card won’t make you a winner, butyou will get a percentage of your action back in the form of rebates and comps.
The only disadvantage to using a player’s club card is thatthe casino will advertise to you in the mail.
They also organize your rewards into tiers – you get biggerrewards the more you gamble. It can be tempting to gamble more to get to thenext level, even though you’re not getting enough in rewards to make such amove profitable.
Slot Machine Strategies Penny Slots
6- Find Progressive Jackpots that Are Way Higher than Their Usual Average Jackpot when Hit
The size of the payouts is one of the factors thatdetermines a slot machine game’s payback percentage. The higher the payouts,the better the payback percentage.
With slot machines with progressive jackpot, there’s no upper limit, so you could (theoretically) wind up in a situation where the expectation for the game is positive.
The probability of hitting the jackpot doesn’t change.
But the expected value is based on the probability ofhitting the jackpot multiplied by the size of that jackpot.
7- Just Have Fun and Stay within Your Budget
The one strategy for winning at slot machines is the easiestone – play whichever game you want, for whatever you want to spend on it, havefun, and don’t worry too much about winning or losing.
As long as you understand that – in the long run – you’retrading money for entertainment, you’ll be a winner without any “slot machinestrategies” at all.