Posted   by 

What Is The Trick To Slot Machines


If you’re seeking the simplest casino game, then slot machines are for you. No real strategy is required when playing slots, and you only need to place money in the machine and press the spin button to start playing.

From a wire inside a slot machine to hacking into the slot's software, these slots cheats are guaranteed to work but you won't definitely get away with it! 12 Sneaky Ways To Cheat At Slots.

The game isn’t social at all, with very few slot machines existing where you play as a team or with someone else. Even though they’re quite simple you can still use a few tactics to get the best out of the machine and your overall visit to the casino when playing slots.

I’ve outlined for you below 21 tips which will help you maximize your chance at winning on slots, and also to help you maximize the amount of fun you have while doing so. Slots can provide some great entertainment, with manufacturers now developing highly interactive and graphic intense games which even feature 4D features such as movement, air flow, sound, and graphics.

So, if you want to get the best out of the slots and have a great time doing it, then read on.

1 – Slots are completely random

This is by far the most important tip you need to know when playing slots. The machines are completely random and no previous events have any impact on what will happen next.

They’re just designed this way. So if you get advice from someone that you should take a seat at a certain machine that hasn’t paid out in a while because it’s due to pay out, then just ignore it. You should always play on the machines that provide you with the most enjoyment and are within your bankroll to play.

2 – Progressive jackpot machines are sometimes good for players

Depending on the jackpot amount, sometimes it’s a great idea to play on a slot that’s tied to a progressive jackpot.

Although the payouts will be less for smaller prizes, if you hit the progressive jackpot you can win millions of dollars. If you want that dream payout and that’s why you’re playing the slots then consider playing one with a progressive jackpot.

The payout rate improves as the top prize gets larger, so make sure you take a seat and play when it’s already quite big. Remember, the fact that it’s big doesn’t mean it’s likely to pay out soon, as I outlined in the first tip.

3 – Progressive jackpot slots are sometimes bad for players

As I slightly touched on above, sometimes progressive machines aren’t that great for you.

This is usually the case when the jackpot has been recently won and therefore it’s back to being quite low. What you also need to be aware of is that on these slots a small amount from what you bet on a spin is automatically taken and added to the jackpot.

So you aren’t maximizing the amount you could be winning from hitting a standard win on the slot in question. While this isn’t such a bad thing if you’re hoping to hit the jackpot and overcome the almost insurmountable odds to do so; it does mean for the everyday player who just wants to play that particular slot they’ll be donating some of their money to the progressive jackpot with no return.

4 – Spend some time reviewing the pay table

Each machine has an associated pay table that will outline to you what it takes to win. The table will show each of the machines symbols and provide advice on how many of these you need in a line to achieve a win.

Symbols have different values, from the most common ones to the rare ones, and then the more symbols you get on a pay line the more you win.

Some machines will pay out more than others in respect to these symbols, so it’s good to know in advance before you start spinning what it takes to get a win. This will solve a lot of heart ache later if it appears that you’ve won but you don’t. Keep in mind that the pay tables aren’t a true reflection of what the payout rate will be on a machine.

5 – Study the bonus rounds

On video slots, the most entertaining part of playing is when you hit a bonus feature. These will give you the opportunity to win big, although sometimes you won’t win much at all.

Bonus features usually result in free spins or offer bonus cash prizes. Each machine is different when it comes to hitting the bonus so make sure you check out the pay table to see what’s required to get into the round.

Some will be easier than others to hit, and usually the easier they are the less they pay out. Some slots even have two or three types of bonus rounds.

One thing to keep in mind is that bonus rounds will pay out according to how much you bet on the previous spin. Keeping this in mind, the next tip will focus on how many coins to bet per spin.

6 – Always bet max coins and lines

Slot machines are funny because unlike some other casino games where the amount you bet doesn’t really matter to your chances, in slots it’s critically important.

Most, if not all slots, have a better payout rate when you bet maximum coins on all the lines. This is because this will activate all possible bonuses, features, and jackpots that are associated with a particular game.

Because of this, you’re better off spinning a slot once at a maximum bet of $5 than spinning it five times at $1 and not having all lines or maximum bet value activated.

While from an entertainment perspective one spin isn’t as great as five, you’ll do better in the long run by max betting. If you don’t have the bankroll to support this type of bet, drop down to lower denomination on the machine you’re playing on, or if this isn’t possible find a machine with a lower denomination.

7 – Get to know what lines and ways are

I would strongly recommend that you do some reading on what lines and ways are in respect to slots.

Basically, a line is a route across the slot face which identifies where you’ll receive a win if you get the right combination of symbols as per the pay table. The more lines you play, and on some slots there can be a lot, the more likely you are to win.

A ways machine is a bit different as usually you won’t choose how many ways there are to win, you’ll just choose a wager amount. On the ways slots you will usually find 243 ways to win from both left to right and right to left across the slot face.

For lines, you can usually only win from left to right, unless a slot specifically says you can win both ways on the information screen. To find out about ways and line, just click the information button on the machine, or look just below the pay table and it will all be displayed for you.

8 – Try a play money slot machine first

If you’re planning on playing a specific slot machine you can almost always find an online version which is free to play.

This is true for both slots you find in live casinos and those you find at online casinos. If you try the slot first you’ll be able to find out if you like the game, see what the bonus feature is like, and get a general idea on what you’re trying to achieve when you play for real.

This is a great way to get to know which slots you’ll prefer playing when you arrive at the casino. Once you’re at the casino it’s unlikely you’ll be able to find any free play money slots, so keep this in mind and try to do it online before you leave your home.

9 – Keep an eye out for slot promotions

Quite often casinos will run slot promotions which give you access to some great prizes and bonuses when you’re playing. It’s always worthwhile keeping an eye out for these as they will allow you to push your dollars that little bit further, which is essential when it comes to playing slots.

Often online casinos will have some very generous promotions so make sure you check out their promotional page before you start playing. A little bit of time in reconnaissance initially could make you some serious cash in the long run.

10 – Sign up to the casino slot club

Slot clubs are a great way to get some rewards and bonuses for all that play that you put through slot machines.

In return for some personal details and the tracking of your play, the casino will give you comp points which can be exchanged for free play credits, cash, free food, and drinks, and much more.

Make sure you sign up to the slot club before you start playing and be sure to put the card in the machine before you put cash in and start spinning. Slot clubs will also give you access to extra promotions and tournaments, so it’s just a no-brainer to sign up to these at every single casino that you plan on playing slots at.

11 – Ask about welcome and sign up bonuses

Whenever you first start playing a slot machine, or any casino game for that matter, you should ask about welcome and sign up bonuses.

This can be done when getting your players card in a live casino, and when you’re creating an account at an online casino. Pretty much every single casino will have some kind of bonus available to new players, whether it is some extra cash based on your initial deposit at an online casino, or some free play credits at a live casino.

It doesn’t hurt to ask the question or do a little bit of searching online for a promotional code so that you can get some extra cash to play with. This is another no brainer so please take a little bit of time to do this before you start spinning.

12 – Play at casinos with the best pay out rate

In some states it’s a requirement by law that casinos print and release the payout rate of their slot machines. If you’re playing in a state where this is the case you should always review this information and use it to decide which casino to play at.

Some of this information can be found online and a quick search will show you everything you need to know. If you’re playing slots in a state where casinos aren’t required to report, call before you travel to check for any available information.

Some will publish this information as part of their advertising and marketing efforts and some will simply tell you as they have nothing to hide. I always seek out the best casinos to play in as this will give me the best possible chance of getting lucky and having a win.

Thankfully in the gambling mecca, Las Vegas, casinos are required to publish this information and you can find all of this online.

13 – Accept the fact you’ll never win at slots

This isn’t so much a tip; more just a sad truth. Unfortunately, no matter what you do you’ll never be able to win at the slots.

Although someone could theoretically win a progressive jackpot and never play again and they’d be a winner; for most of us this just won’t happen and you’ll slowly lose over time. You’ll have winning sessions, losing sessions, and those sessions where you just break even, but on a long enough time line you’ll always end up down.

I like to think about these things logically; if a casino is a business that is looking to make money, why would they risk this by placing slots on the floor that would allow players to win? That doesn’t make any sense at all and if casinos were to do this they’d be out of business very quickly.

Although this is sad, never fear! The next tip outlines why this doesn’t have to be such a bad thing.

14 – Make sure you have fun!

Although I’ve provided you with some great tips here on how to increase your chances of winning and how to play slots in the best possible way, the most important thing is that you’re having fun while you play.

I always play slots for fun, whether it’s to have a few free drinks while I play Wheel of Fortune slots in Vegas with my friends, or just to pass 30 minutes while I’m waiting for my poker tournament to start, it’s always about fun.

It’s not about making money, and if it ever becomes this for you I’d strongly recommend you walk away. That’s not a good path to go down. Remember, spending some money on some slots and getting a few hours’ worth of entertainment is well worth it, and if you get lucky while doing so it’s even better.

15 – Don’t convince yourself you have a lucky game

Pretty much every single person I’ve ever spoken to about slots will go out of their way to tell me about their favorite game. About 99 times out of 100 this game isn’t their favorite because they like the theme, graphics, gameplay or sounds; it’s their favorite because they claim that they always win on this type of slot and that it’s lucky for them.

While this isn’t such a bad thing I guess, it’s completely untrue and it’s simply not possible that you could have a lucky machine that you always win on. Remember earlier when I wrote about the randomness of slots and how you can never win? Well this is the case for every type of game, and it can be dangerous to treat a game like it will always pay out for you.

This is because you’ll quite often wager more on this slot in order to achieve that ever elusive win. I’ve seen it happen all too often; so just be careful and don’t fool yourself into thinking a machine will always pay out for you. You’re far better off choosing a favorite game because of the factors we listed earlier. These things include the theme, graphics, general gameplay, and / or sound effects.

16 – Play slowly

Slots are designed to be played very quickly as this will result in the biggest possible intake for the casino that houses it.

Because of this you should take your time in playing slots and don’t continuously spin immediately after the preceding spin finishes. Take some time and analyze the slot face and see how you won, or how you missed out on this occasion.

This way you’ll get more time out of the game and won’t burn through your cash so quickly. It also makes the slot a lot more fun as you can become more intimate with the game in question and how it works.

17 – Don’t auto stop the reels

What Is The Trick To Slot Machines For Sale

The

As a follow up on from the tip I provided above, I’d strongly recommend against automatically stopping the reels once you’ve started a spin.

Basically what this means is you hit spin which starts the reels, then you click it again straight away which automatically stops them to see the result. Usually a slot spin will last at least a few seconds, unless you auto stop the reels, in which case it will only last a few milliseconds.

This will speed up the game even more, which isn’t a good thing as I outlined for you in the tip above. So take your time and allow the reels to spin out themselves. This way the game will be much more enjoyable as it’s about the process rather than the result.

18 – Change it up with some video poker

If you’re new to slots and really enjoy them, I’d suggest changing it up once in a while and playing some video poker. Although some decision making and strategy is required in video poker it’s a much better game for you to play from a payout rate perspective when compared to slots.

It’ll also give you a bit of variety, which is always a good thing. The best video poker game to start on is Jacks or Better, which is the easiest to learn and play.

Video poker strategy is quite simple and will only take few play money sessions to learn online. So if you’re trying out slots for the first time make sure you head on over to a video poker terminal as well and give that a shot.

You just might find you make more money, or lose less money, and have a lot of fun while doing so.

19 – Try to avoid slots in popular areas of the casino

Casinos are quite smart in respect to where they place things on the casino floor. With this in mind, it might be worthwhile avoiding the slot machines that are in the most popular area of the casino.

This is because it’s likely that the casino put these slots in those areas because they make the most money of them, which in turn means you’ll lose more money on these slots.

They’ll also place more popular slots in these locations to draw people into playing, so it’s a careful mix of the two. I think it’s best just to avoid these ones altogether, and seek out your favorite game deeper in to the casino where you’ll probably get more privacy, peace and quiet while you play.

Not to mention probably better cocktail service as well. It goes without saying, but I’ll mention it anyway; that this doesn’t really apply to online casinos.

20 – Skip those slots at the airport

When you visit Las Vegas, it’s never a good idea to play at the slots at the airport.

While it might be a tradition to chuck a dollar in the Wheel of Fortune slot when you first arrive or depart, I’d suggest that you don’t make a habit out of playing longer sessions on these slots.

This goes for any other airports in the United States or across the world that offer slots also. The simple fact is that these slots have the worst pay out rates that you could possibly find.

This is because the slot owners and operators know the motivations behind those who would play on these machines. Firstly, we provided one above about tradition and secondly, many people will jump on these slots to try and win back all their losses from their trip.

Because of this the operators know they can bump down the payout rate as people will play no matter what. On top of these reasons, the rent for the slot owners and operators will be much higher in the airport when compared to other locations, so they need to pay out less so they make enough money to be able to squeeze out a profit while covering their overheads.

21 – Video slots pay out less than classic slots

Those fancy video slots with vibrating seats, huge video cut scenes, and amazing graphics cost a lot of money to make and run. Therefore they pay out less so casinos can make the same profit on these while covering their costs to run them.

So if you’re looking for a slot to play consider playing on a traditional slot that has actual weighted reels and moving parts. These will generally pay out at a higher rate than their video counterparts because they’re cheaper to run.

They won’t provide as much entertainment as the video slots, but you’ll feel quite nostalgic like you’re playing something that is traditional and has that old Vegas style about it.

This can be worth it alone when compared to a Britney Spears or Elton John machine. I’m by no means saying you should only play classic slots; just that across the board they’ll pay out more and be cheaper to play compared to a video slot.

Conclusion

Use these 21 slot machine tips for beginners to have a better chance to win the next time you play slots. Even if you just use one or two of the tips it can make a big difference in your results and playing time.

Slot Machine Tips, Tricks & Strategy – Although slots are theoretically unbeatable, there were some cases of players able to legally or illegally take advantage of their weaknesses and make money. You can read more about them in my article How to beat slots.

Really useful slot strategies are actually about finding the balance among following factors:

  • Chance to win
  • Size of the winnings
  • Cost
  • Thrill
  • Playing time

Every player looks for something else, so there is no ideal strategy that fits everyone. I will show you my strategies, each suitable for a different kind of players. Finding out which of them fits you best is up to you.

What Is The Trick To Winning On Slot Machines

You’ll more likely understand how strategies for slot machine tips work when you have already understood the concepts of slots RTP and variance.

At first glance it seems online slot machines are a 100% game of chance. And they really are, at least in the terms of a single game round. However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t influence your chances by using the right betting strategy and choosing the right game to play.

Here is a list of factors that define your slots betting strategy:

  • How to determine a bet size
  • Decision when to stop
  • Selection of a slot game
  • Decision when to use the gamble feature (red or black)
  • Selected number of winlines

In the rest of this article I’ll teach you how to use the choices above to play slots more effectively.

While slot RTP and volatility apply to a single game round, the RTP and volatility of betting strategy apply to the whole game session or casino visit. The following article describes in detail what I mean by a betting strategy.

Tips & tricks for slots

All casino games, including slots, are disadvantageous for a player. Their RTP is lower than 100 % and they favor the casino. That means that you need luck to win, which is exactly why higher volatility is generally better for you.

Let me explain… In low-volatility games, the results over time tend to stay closer to the expected return, which is lower than 100 %. On the contrary, in high-volatility games, you are still losing money in the long run, however, you have a chance to win a big sum of money, thanks to the high volatility.

From a different perspective, you can win the same amount of money while placing smaller bets. If you place smaller bets with higher volatility, you will lose less in the long run, while also maintaining a chance to win big.

That’s why the majority of my slot tricks and strategies are based on increasing volatility, while also considering the game’s RTP.

Trick #1: Avoid bet types which significantly decrease RTP

The majority of online slots have the same RTP for all kinds of bets. However, some slots derived from land-based slot games add significant disadvantage to certain bets. In this case you should always choose the bet type without the disadvantage. I will use two examples to demonstrate this fact.

EXAMPLE #1

Bet on all 3 winlines costs 2 cents and bet on 1 winline costs 1 cent. It’s quite obvious that bet on 1 line has a huge disadvantage and its RTP will be extremely low. Therefore, it is always beneficial to choose the bet of 2 cents.

EXAMPLE #2

Example 2: Full bets unlock bonus features that double your win on three joker symbols. The game without this feature probably won’t have very attractive RTP. So either choose another slot or play the full bet with highest RTP.

Trick #2: Use double up feature to regulate the volatility

The double up feature (red/black) gives you the option to double your win with a 50% chance. In some games (like slots from Novomatic) you can do this multiple times in a row (13 I think).

This feature dramatically increases the volatility of the game. From a long-term perspective, you exchange a lot of smaller wins for proportionally fewer wins of higher value.

EXAMPLE

What Is The Trick To Slot Machines

For example, without using the double up feature, you could win 40 times, winning $1 each time. However, if you used the double up feature up to 3 times, you could win 5 times, winning $8 each time. The long-term expected value is the same, but the individual wins are bigger.

What

If your goal is to win big, then double up feature is exactly what you need. It’s predictable and easy to simulate, I use it in some of my recommended slot strategies.

Note: Be careful about using the double up feature when playing with bonus money, as it might be forbidden by the bonus terms and conditions. This applies also when playing with free spins no deposit bonuses, where your choice is also limited by the game for which you’ve received the free spins.

Trick #3: Decrease the number of winlines to increase volatility

Did you know that if you set the game to 1 winline instead of 10, you’ll most likely get 5 to 10 times higher game volatility?

When you bet $2 on one line, your average win will be much higher (and less frequent) as when you bet $0.20 on 10 lines. When you bet on 10 lines at the same time, the wins in the paytable are 10 times smaller. In most slots you usually hit a winning combination only on a small number of the 10 lines, so your average wins are also lower.

Note that this trick usually can’t be used by high rollers, as the maximum bet per line is usually restricted. But there are also slots which are an exception – like Cleopatra from IGT.

However, if you are a player who doesn’t bet more than $2 in a single round, this trick is a must-have.

How to win big on slots

The simple answer to this question is – you have to risk big to win big. However, if you want to win big with highest possible odds, you have to push the volatility of your strategy up to the sky.

Controversially, the most effective way to WIN BIG is to try to lose as fast as possible. That doesn’t make sense, does it? Let me explain.

Statistically (in the long run), you lose money with every bet you place. That is how the RTP works. To lose less in the long run, you have to minimize the total sum of your bets. To minimize the total sum of your bets, you have to try to lose your budget with as little betting as possible. If you do so and RTP remains the same, the principles of statistics reward you with a better chance for a big win.

100% – 96% = 4% of the bet

“Reverse Martingale” – reinvest the win strategy

  • Volatility: High
  • RTP of betting system: High
  • Time of play: Variable

Reverse Martingale is a good betting strategy if your favorite slot doesn’t have a double-up feature. Do you know the roulette betting strategy called Martingale? Reverse Martingale does the opposite.

Martingale betting strategy (actually doesn’t work) suggests you to double up your bet after each loss. The idea is that once you have to win and then you’ll win back all your former bets. In reality, your bets grow exponentially and you risk your whole available bankroll in order to win just the initial bet. If you keep using the Martingale strategy, you’ll go bankrupt eventually.

The main idea of Reverse Martingale is to play for small initial bets and bet the entire win in the next round until you win big enough. This strategy is similar to the Smart Gambler strategy, but it uses increased bets instead of the double up feature.

EXAMPLE

You start with $100 and bet an initial bet of $0.10. After 15 rounds lost, you suddenly win $4.41. The next round you bet the closest possible amount to your win – in this case $4.40. If you lose, then you continue with the initial bet. If you win again – for example $35, then continue with a $35 spin. If you lose, you get back to betting $0.10 each round. Repeat this until you win a satisfying amount or lose your entire budget.

If your win exceeds the maximum bet in the slot which you are currently playing, start placing the maximum bets. Be careful to not spend more than you have won in the previous round. Otherwise you’ll lose big part of your budget and significantly shorten your time of play.

The Reverse Martingale has slightly lower volatility and lower overall RTP than Smart Gambler, but its advantage is that you can use any slot that you like, even if it doesn’t have the gamble feature.

Also, the time of play is predictable and you can easily estimate it from the initial bet and your budget.

Time of play = (your budget / initial bet) * 1.3 * 4 seconds

The win amount is less predictable than with the Smart Gambler strategy but more predictable than the Casual Player strategy or the Moonshot strategy.

Reverse martingale strategy doesn’t work that well for high rollers, as they’ll hit the maximum bet of a slot quite often.

Tips for Reverse Martingale strategy:

  • When you hit a win with your initial bet, write down your current balance (before the win is added to it). This will help you to do the proper math and you’ll be less likely to exceed the bet which would lead to losing the balance dedicated for the small initial bets.
  • If possible, configure the slot to only one winline. The increased volatility plays in your favor.

Simulation of the Reverse Martingale strategy

The following tables show the results of a million player simulation using the Reverse Martingale strategy. I made the simulations on a 96 % RTP medium variance slot with a $50 maximum bet per round. Each simulation was a session of 1000 rounds with basic bet + additional rounds, so players either lost the entire budget or won a satisfying amount.

I was experimenting with various parameters for the initial bet (budget) and satisfying wins.

EXAMPLE

Your chance to win 10x your budget is 4.4% with $100 budget and $0.10 basic bet. With $5000 budget and 5$ bet (same proportion), this chance drops to 1.22% and for $10 000/$10 drops even further to 0.124%. Out of one million high rollers who started with $10 000 and played with $10 initial bet, none of them managed to get over $500 000.

The Reverse Martingale strategy works properly only if the maximum bet is at least 100x-200x higher than the basic bet. That’s true for the majority of casual players.True high rollers who desire high RTP and extreme wins should look for a different strategy.

Note that for budgets and basic bets with which this strategy actually works, the average number of rounds played is around 1300. That’s 1.3x more than rounds played with initial bets. This explains the 1.3 coefficient in time of play formula above.

“Casual player” – constant bet strategy

  • Volatility: Depends on slot and bet size
  • RTP of betting system: Depends on bet size and satisfying win
  • Time of play: Depends on bet size and satisfying win

What Is The Trick To Slot Machines Free

The strategy which I call “Casual player” is one of the simplest strategies you can use. You start spinning with a certain bet size and keep spinning with same bet until you lose everything, win enough or decide to stop after certain amount of time.

This strategy is used by many casino players. I have decided to analyze it mainly to illustrate how ineffective it is compared to my strategies.

Let’s start by defining “The casual player”. I know that many players change the bet size according to their intuition or increase the bet when they are on a lucky streak, but for the sake of simplicity, I’ll keep the bet the same during the entire simulation.

So let’s describe our casual player as a player who:

  • Starts with a budget of $(A)
  • Bets $(B) per round
  • Stops playing when wins more than $(C)
  • And plays max. (D) number of rounds

Simulation of the Casual Player strategy

For each setup I simulated one million players with the same 96% RTP medium variance slot. Normal gaming session may take 1-2 hours, so I have decided to fix (D) to 1500 rounds (number of rounds after which player leaves regardless of his current bankroll). Then I have experimented with a $100 budget.

Note: Most slots work in a way that a win is always proportional to the bet. So the simulation using a $1 bet, $100 budget and $500 desired win will return the same results as the one with $10 bet, $1000 budget and $5000 desired win. Therefore, I made all the simulations with a $100 budget and I changed only the bet and the satisfying win.

The problem is that at the same time you can have only two of those things.

  • You can bet $10/spin, have nice RTP and aim for very high wins, but your gaming session will likely end within few minutes.
  • You can bet $0.1/spin, kill time and not spend much money, but your chance to win more than just few dollars is minimal.
  • Or you can bet $2/spin, aim for medium wins and play for half an hour in average, but you have to accept a low strategy RTP.

The play time with constant bet strategy is unpredictable. The average play time value might look good at first glance, but in reality it’s highly biased because of the lucky players who managed to play until the end. Following chart illustrates that for $2/spin and a $1000 satisfying win setup.

% of players finished within certain number of rounds, $100 budget, $2 per spin

You can clearly see that 55% of players ran out of their respective budgets within the first 300 rounds. The chance that you’ll lose your budget sooner than you intended is very high. This increases the risk of exceeding your budget, which is one of the signals of pathological gamblers.

The analyzed setup with $2 bets is the one with the most balanced time of play. The setup with a bet of $5 per spin is even more unbalanced with 80% of players losing their budgets within the first 200 rounds.

% of players finished within certain number of rounds, $100 budget, $5 per spin

While unpredictable play time may be considered as clear negative, the unpredictable win size may increase the fun. Following plot displays the distribution of net wins/losses in my million player simulation.

Distribution of net win/loss in $2 spin, $100 budget, $1000 satisfying win

I have intentionally omitted players who lost everything because there would be a huge spike at the beginning of the chart. The distribution reminds me of a “Gauss curve”. The spike at $1000 value reminds how important is to know when to stop.