Have you ever wondered what you can do to win some real money on slots? Well, the secret lies in little things, the ones that seem so obvious, and yet, you never knew them.
Online Slots: How to Win Big
Pokies, fruit machines, slots, this game of chance has many names, and their popularity can only be compared with the most popular card game there is — poker. In land-based casinos, over seventy percent of gaming space is covered with these babies. In online casinos, things are pretty much the same; a major part of every game section is usually reserved for slots. The reason behind this lies in the fact that slots bring the most significant profit to any gambling establishment.
Actually, the first ancient slot machine, as poorly developed as it was, saw the light of the day way back in 1887. It was a poker machine with fifty cards and five drums. In order to see which hand you received, you had to spin. The prizes weren’t as tempting as they are nowadays though. If you won, you were rewarded with some booze or cigarettes. Today, progressive jackpots tied to progressive slots go sky high.
The design and prizes changed later on, in the last decade of the 19th century to be precise. That version used five symbols and three reels, and it is highly likely that you would have identified this device as a slot machine, unlike the original version which looked nothing like the one we have today. Also, this version didn’t award players smokes and cheap liquor. A winning player would receive money.
It was precisely from here that the evolution of slot machines took off. At one point in history, slots were banned. However, they were so popular that people made fruit symbols and prizes in the form of candy in order to keep floating until the state allowed slots for money again. After the state gambling laws made slots legal again, the only thing people could think of was how to win big on slots.
This was the thing that made them start thinking of all the ways they could influence the mechanical system. The scams which imposters used to try to win on casino slots were numerous. In the 1970s, casinos introduced a new form of slots — video slot machines. Players didn’t have to do everything manually. They could spin the reels digitally. Winning never looked so easy.
Fast forward to some thirty years later, and we come to the period when online casinos became popular. Of course, the biggest and the juiciest portion of casino games is reserved for slots.
Consequently, there is an endless sea of online casinos, and slots they host there don’t use mechanical reels anymore. In order to know how to win on slots, you need to understand how they work. What is the main factor which decides who wins? Let’s begin with how an online slot game determines the outcome.
Slots Are Not Slots Without Random Number Generator
Random Number Generator, or RNG as we’ll call it here, represents a computer mechanism. In a nutshell, this mechanism ensures that every single outcome of a slot game is completely and genuinely random. RNG is impartial, meaning that every time you spin the reels or click the spin button, it works independently of other spins.
RNG has no memory, so it doesn’t keep track of your wins or loses. It doesn’t remember if the bet you’ve just placed was big or small. Every user who plays online slots has the same chances. Also, there is nothing you can do to increase your chances here. Think of RNG as an impartial judge. You cannot affect the outcome of the game in any way. And no one can predict the results, not even the people who made the program.
How does RNG work? And how can your knowledge of how it works help you win on slots? Well, RNG continuously goes through a set of numbers which spin around in no particular order. Once you click the spin button, RNG stops on a specific combination. This combination is what determines the position of symbols on the reels. It tells the slot where they should land. Once they fall in place, you will be able to see whether or not they make a winning combination.
This leads us to yet another term you should know if you want to know how to win at a slot game — scatters. To win some spins at casino slots, you need the symbols on the reels to align with an active payline. However, this doesn’t apply to scatter symbols. It doesn’t matter in which order they appear; you merely need to get a certain number of them.
Scatters have the potential to bring you further winnings, depending on an individual game’s complexity. They can also reward you with some free spins. In a more advanced slot game, scatters can activate a bonus round. This round differs from the original game and can offer some fantastic rewards.
Number of Reels
There has been a fierce battle among software providers in terms of who will make the best game with the most appealing graphics, themes, music, and overall possibilities and benefits for players. You get to choose the style and theme of your preference. There are classic three-reel slots or video slots with five, six, or seven reels. You should know that these games offer multiple active paylines, up to twenty-five. Even though they are a bit rare, there can be games which go up to 2,000 paylines — the so-called all-ways slots. It may appear to an inexperienced player that so many combinations can make losing impossible.
Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but the truth is far from that. You should know that such games commonly have more symbols, and if you are hoping to match them all, it will be difficult. Furthermore, if you play a game with more active paylines, the risk is higher.
Return to Player (RTP)
In order to determine your odds at winning in a casino, we use Return To Player (RTP). It is a number which tells you how much money a slot will pay back to players over time. It is the opposite of a house edge in a way. If, for instance, you stumble upon an RTP of 95%, the house edge will be 5%.
As incredible as this sounds, don’t get your hopes up just yet. Namely, this figure isn’t determined on a single session. RTP takes into account an enormous number of spins. If you come across a seemingly big figure, such as 90% and more, you shouldn’t take that literally. You don’t have a 90% chance to win unless you plan to sit and spin the reels a couple of million times.
Still, once you engage in online slots gaming, it’s better to choose a casino with a higher RTP, because you have better chances at winning. In comparison to land-based casinos’ slots, online casinos have a slight advantage. Physical machines come with an 85–90% RTP. Online slots, on the other hand, range from 92 to 97%. And if you are lucky enough, you might even find slots with a 98% RTP.
High and Low Volatility
This is another game characteristic you should be aware of if you want to win on slots. Volatility determines how often a certain slot will pay. Slots which don’t pay out that often, but when they do, the prizes are massive, are referred to as high-volatility slots.
A low-volatility game is one that pays more frequently but smaller amounts of money. This implies that the main goal in search of the perfect slot game is to combine a high RTP with high volatility. That’s how you win big. It can also be advantageous when picking your betting strategy.
Slots Strategies to Win Big
For as long as games of chance exist, people who are trying to outsmart the system have existed as well. Back in pre-Internet days, people liked to crawl around in search of loose slot machines. The loose ones paid out more cash and did so frequently, all due to a physical flaw in the mechanism which operated the reels spinning. Most often, overuse would create such a defect, and boy, did people like to take advantage of those babies.
Unfortunately for players, but fortunately for casino owners, while gambling online, you cannot repeat the example we mentioned above. However, the casino management cannot be cautious enough. Thus they are doing everything they can to prevent any mischief from happening on their watch.
Even though players know this, it didn’t stop them from trying to create a strategy for winning. For instance, there is an urban myth circling around the globe; it is about a game that pays out in waves. Basically, if and when a slot finds itself in a “paying” cycle, it’s a hot slot. It even rhymes. There is, of course, a cold slot, which doesn’t rhyme, so no one likes it. And yes, legend has it that a cold one pays little money, so avoid it.
Does this strategy actually work? Nope, it most certainly does not. And here’s why it doesn’t. The very theory of a hot or cold slot machine is based on trends in random data. Data which is randomly generated, such as slots outcomes, can yield some seemingly not-so-random results over a period of time.
Let’s say you roll a die one hundred times. From the comparison of long-term results, you can tell that you rolled several fours in a row, or a few consecutive twos, and so on. However, when we apply this logic to slots or any other game of chance, for that matter, it is entirely useless in practice no matter how good it may sound in theory.
As we have stated previously, each RNG outcome is completely independent and random so that no outside factors can interfere with it. Let’s provide an example to help you understand this a bit better. For example, what happens if you toss a coin a thousand times and receive a thousand heads? It’s highly unlikely but still possible. Does this mean that the next time you toss, you’ll end up with a tail? No, the chances of this happening will remain the same as they were at the first toss — fifty-fifty. The term we use for this flawed logic is the gambler’s fallacy.
Improving the Odds of Winning
Well, guys, if you were expecting some kind of a magic formula to use and become an instant slot games winner, we have to disappoint you — no one in the world possesses this sort of magic. If you stumble on an individual who claims to know the secret of winning on a slot, ignore them; the person is an idiot.
As we have said, online slot machines use a vital piece of software, the Random Number Generator, to determine the outcome, and no one can predict it. It was built this way to prevent the possibility of predictions in the first place.
Don’t rely on the sweet talk coming from some sorry excuse of a gambler; the only thing you can actually rely on is pure luck. It will either strike you, or it won’t. You can try to improve the odds a bit by choosing a higher RTP and volatility of your preference, but it’s as far as you can go.