Slot Machine Strategy

The truth is – there is no winning slot machine strategy. Players have no way to influence the outcome of any spin of a slot machine. Anyone who tells you they have a winning slot machine strategy is either confused or lying. You should be aware of the fact that there’s no way to guarantee you’ll consistently win when playing slot machines. The house edge for slots averages around ten percent (the casino ends up with 10% of all the money fed into slot machines). Having said this, there are some basic guidelines to help improve your chances at the slots. These will be discussed in this course.

Begin by setting your limits before you start. There are two important limits you should have in place before sitting down to play. One is your overall loss limit. Know how much you are comfortable losing and stick to that limit. Casinos are experts at getting people to part with more money than they would like to. A preset limit can help you avoid this. The other limit is a spin with no payoff limit, usually three or four spins. If a machine isn’t paying you, there’s no reason to waste your money on it.

Secondly, know what game you’re playing. There are countless varieties and variations of the basic slot machine. Each has it’s own set of rules and jackpots. Even if a machine looks familiar, you should still read through the posted game rules before playing. This may sound obvious, but a lot of players don’t read the rules before spinning. Some machines will only pay a bonus on certain combinations if you play the maximum number of coins.

Not playing the maximum on these slots can severely hurt you chances of winning. If you do decide to play a progressive machine always play the maximum coins, otherwise you won’t win the jackpot, and you’ll be kicking yourself for weeks possibly years.Remember, you’re looking for the machine with the highest payout percentage. Also remember that when a machine isn’t paying out doesn’t mean it’s any more ready for a jackpot. Every spin is random and independent of past spins.

Even if you lose, you can still win. Make sure your comp card is working. Without question, you should always use a comp card when playing slots. You earn points for wonderful free stuff with no risk and no loss to you. Sometimes a machine will momentarily lose its connection with your card. Periodically check to make sure you are still earning points. Casinos love to give away comps, free meals, shows, gifts, rooms, and all sorts of other goodies. Whether you’re winning or losing at your slot machine you can be earning credit towards free comps. Don’t forget to use your comp card and get your share.

Every slot machine has a predetermined payback percentage. The machine pays out this percentage because a tiny computer chip known as a “random number generator” tells it to. This chip determines what symbol combinations come up for each spin and whether you’re left cheering or cursing your fate. The payback percentage usually ranges between 80% and 98%, the higher the percent the better your chance of winning. A 97% payback doesn’t mean the machine will pay you 97% of your money back each time you sit down. The payback percentage occurs over a very long period of time.

To optimize your winnings, you want to find the slot machines with the highest payback percentages, loose machines. These probably aren’t going to have a nice label to tell you where they are but they most likely won’t be hidden either. It’s in a casino’s best interest for people to see winners. Because of this, the looser machines are often in high traffic areas, near aisles, change machines, restaurants, etc. Another way to track down high payback machines is to ask the locals.

In general, the higher denomination machines will have a higher payback percentage, $1 machines will payback at a higher percentage than a quarter machine. It’s also a good idea to avoid progressive slots. Casinos lure players to progressive machines with dreams of the big payout, but they usually have lower payback percentages than non-progressive slot machines.

Never leave a machine that owes you money. This one seems obvious, but it happens a fair amount. A slot machine will sometimes run out of money before it is finished paying you. Sit tight and wait for an attendant to come by. Also, don’t try to play more on the machine until you are paid. Continuing to play could erase the evidence of your unfinished payout.

There are a lot of myths about slot machines; a sure fire winning slot machine strategy is one of them. Your chances of hitting a jackpot are completely random. Keep that in mind when you are playing. If you get discouraged or upset with a machine, either move on or take a break for a while. It’s a game and, above all else, you should have a good time playing.