1. Odds On A Slot Machine
2. Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machine 2017
3. Casino Slot Machine Odds Of Winning
4. Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machine Games

Table Of Contents

Jul 08, 2017  This is the second part of a two-part video where Mike Shackleford, also known as the 'Wizard of Odds' gives his top 10 list of mistakes that slot. Pros - Progressive slot machines often offer huge, payouts to players. Cons - Progressive slot machines can eat through your bankroll since you must play the max coins in order to be eligible for the jackpot. This factor is multiplied by the fact that the odds of winning this jackpot are much lower than non-progressive slot machines.

In this article, I am going to show you how to win at slots.

First, we start with some practical tips on how to choose a winning slot machine. Then, once you have all the Slots tips you need, you can move on the real key to win at Slots:

Find loose slot machines to play online.

This article is going to change the way you play slots. And the chances are that is what you need — because winning at slots requires time, dedication, and the right mindset.

So, are you ready to learn how to win at slots?

Let's get to it.

If you play slots for fun, there are no rules to follow. You only need a Slot app like Slotomania and enjoy their instant play games.

If you want to win at online slots in freeplay or demo mode, download Slotomania, choose a slot machine game from their collection and play, play, play. You'll get enough progressive machine games and loose slots to enjoy your gambling experience for free.

Some casinos let you cash out your bonus winnings without having to make a deposit while other may require you to make an initial deposit. They only require a new account registration to activate. You can use them to play a wide variety of casino games (unless otherwise specified in the bonus T&Cs). All no deposit bonus casino.

Things change when your goal is to win real money at slots when you play online.

That's when this article becomes useful. Because here is where you learn how to pick a winning slot machine and increase your chances of winning money online!

Play the Best Slots -- For Free!

Get a new no deposit bonus and play Slots online.

Register a free account and spin the reels to win!

Play Now

1. Choose Winning Slots with the Highest Payouts

When you go online to play and win money at Slots, you need to know how to pick the right Slot machine games.

Most beginners start to play casino games thinking that all slots are more or less the same thing, only with different graphics.

That's a mistake.

If you want to know how to win at slots, you need a machine that pays out more than the other ones. And to know which one is an excellent Slot to play, you need to care about the Return to player (RTP) percentage.

The Return to Player (or RTP) is a percentage of all the wagered money that a slot pays back to its players.

It is not the amount of money you'll get back when you wager on real money Slots, and it doesn't indicate whether you have fewer chances to hit a bonus round or not — but it gives you a great indication on whether a machine pays enough for you to play on it or not.

How to Find the RTP of a Slot Machine

The quickest option is to search for it online.

Use Google, Bing, Yandex, or whichever search engine you prefer.

Many Casino news websites that publish content around casino games have entire sections dedicated to the RTP percentage of the Casino Slot games they review.

You find them on PokerNews, as well. Every review includes a section dedicated to the payout of each type of Slot with easy-to-understand info about the games with frequent payouts.

If this is your first time on our site, check some related articles like these list of games. By choosing slots with a high RTP, you'll improve your chances instantly.

Also, you check the slot itself. The RTP number is always mentioned somewhere. Usually, you find it in the settings of the slot game or the 'help' section.

So, how to pick a winning slot machine and how to use the RTP to know how much slot machines pay?

The RTP is calculated on a scale from 1 to 100. Most slots have an RTP between 92-97 per cent.

Slot Machines Tips

Always choose an online slot machine game with an RTP of 96 per cent or above. This is the best slots strategy to follow every time you play — since a high payback percentage indicates that you have a better chance to win. good option.

High RTP Slot to Play: Devil's Delight

Devil's Delight is a slot by NetEnt that's set in the underworld.

It features everything you'd associate with hell:

• Devils
• Soul reapers
• Graves
• The number 666
• Pitchforks
• Skeletons
• Flames

Is anything missing from the list?

The slot also features a separate Soul Reaper Bonus Game. There, you need to guess the sins of the characters on the screen. Every time you guess the right one — you receive points that help you win more cash.

This loose video slot has five reels and 20 paylines. And despite the sinful name, Devil's Delight is generous – RTP in this game reaches 97,6 per cent!

2. Determine the Volatility of Slots

Another critical factor to consider to pick a winning slot machine is the game's volatility.

Many games and gambling news sites refer to the games' volatility as their 'variance.' If you like, you can consider this as the risk level.

The volatility of a slot machine game measures the risk involved in playing a particular slot for the real money. One of my favourite tips for playing Slots is to consider it the 'risk factor' of the game you are about to play. That's because volatility determines how you win at slots.

• Low Volatility Slots: Your odds of winning at these slots are high, and it's easier to strike winning combinations when you spin the reels. However, you should know that low volatility Slots offer smaller wins — so your winning combinations might not be worth as much as you would like them to.
• High Volatility Slots: The odds of winning at these games are smaller, but the wins pay more. With the right bankroll, tips for playing Slots, and strategy, these games can be a lot more rewarding.

Both options are quite popular online since people play both types. Every useful casino guide gives you plenty of choices to find the right online slots game for you — with welcome bonus codes to try them for free before you invest your money in them.

Pick the Slot machine time that feels right for you. But keep this in mind:

To play high volatility slots, you need to be patient, have enough money to invest in a lengthy online gaming session, and have read enough casino blog posts to know all the secrets of slots optimal play.

Otherwise, low volatility slots may be a better option for you.

High volatility slots are a bit riskier, too. You never know how much time and money you need to invest in hitting a lucky spin and celebrating yet another day of winning money on slots.

How to Find the Volatility of a Slot Machine Game

Casino sites don't make the variance of the games as accessible as the RTP numbers — and that's in part because they don't want to help you improve your odds.

An easy way to choose games with the right variance is to use 'Google operators and let the world's largest search engine do the work for you.

Let's see an example:

You have seen some progressive slots with random jackpots, and the Mega Moolah game caught your eye. The most effective way to find the variance of this game is to:

1. Open www.google.com
2. Type 'Mega Moolah' variance in the search bar
3. Analyse the search results

Alternatively, you can explore the games and try to figure out their variance yourself. If you play the slot long enough, you should be able to see how often the game pays out and what kind of winnings you get.

171 rows  Sep 30, 2019  Six-Player Power Ratings in Texas Hold ’Em Introduction. The following table. May 09, 2013  The next video is starting stop. Get YouTube without the ads. Skip trial 1 month free. Find out why Close. Poker Odds Calculator Holdem Wizard. TOP 6 MOST CRAZY POKER HANDS OF. Texas Holdem Heads-Up Preflop Odds. This table was created by enumerating through every possible board and opponent hole card combination for each of the 169 texas holdem preflop starting hands.

If successes are rare but significant, you are onto a high volatility game. If you win often, but the wins are nerve-wracking and small, you just found a low-volatility game.

An excellent welcome bonus, a deposit bonus, and free spins are an excellent way to do this and discover the games' volatility by playing. These options help you learn more about the games and give you useful info that might help you understand how to win at slots in the long run.

High Volatility Slot to Play: King of Atlantis

King of Atlantis is a high volatility slot by IGT. The game plays on five reels and 40 paylines.

The symbols featured in this game include seashells, gold rings, gem-encrusted crowns, mermaids, dolphins, and the almighty god of the sea – Poseidon.

This high volatility slot machine doesn't have many bonus games or features (even if you bet the maximum). The only 'special feature' you get, is a round of eight free spins that activates when a trident symbol lands next to Poseidon.

Low Volatility Slot to Try: Hotline

Hotline is one of NetEnt's most popular Slots these days.

Beating the Slot requires you to travel back in time to the '80s, wear some clothes you'd not be proud of today, and use your ability to solve a police case. Somehow based on the cult TV series Miami Vice, beating the slot needs you to help two detectives to catch a jewellery thief.

The slot runs on a classic random number generator and features all the classic features NetEnt players love so much. Wilds, expanding wilds, re-spins, free spins - you name it. Also, there is a unique bonus bet where you can choose one, two, or all three reels. It increases your chances of getting Expanding Wilds.

As pay table of this slot suggests, Hotline is a low volatility game where wins are more frequent (but small in size). If this is what you are looking for, pick this slot machine, enjoy the game, and relax.

Odds On A Slot Machine

3. Don't Go with the Obvious Option

No matter how impressive an online casino is, you need to do some research before you start to spin reels on slots.

All casino sites (like all poker sites, let's face it) want your credit card and your money. They offer free spins or deposit bonus codes to get you on their platform and then have you play as much as possible. In other words, they want your money.

If you can afford to play real money on Slots, that's great, As long as the site you agree to play on and where you look for the next loose machine to try is a legitimate and regulated online casino.

Regulators like the United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC), the Malta Gaming Authority (MGA) work hard to eliminate dangerous companies from the online gambling industry. Their licensing systems are your best allies to be sure to play slot machine games on legitimate sites, use audited random number generators, and pay out winnings to the players.

An important factor to consider when you want to know how to pick a winning slot machine is to see if the site you wish to register on holds a license by the UKGC and/or the MGA. Regardless of the casino bonus they offer you or the insane fixed maximum amount of free spins they promise.

You should never play online poker or pick slot machines on unlicensed casino sites.

You find a full list of all the online casinos allowed in your country on this page.

A Loose Slot to Play: Himalayas: Roof of the World

How did I find this slot? I scrolled down to the bottom of the slots page at one of my favourite online casinos. And then, I just decided to pick a Slot machine I had never seen before.

Not all games make it to online casinos' front pages — especially those that have a combination of volatility and RTP that plays in favour of the players and that come from underdog developers. And Himalayas: Roof of the World comes from Barcrest, a provider that isn't often in the spotlight.

Also, Himalayas: Roof of the World offers good odds of winning on slots!. The game features an RTP of 97,75 per cent, which is above average. Combine that to medium volatility — and you know how to pick a winning slot machine.

4. Make Higher Bets

Every collection of slot machines tips or casino strategies tells you that you can't win a progressive jackpot with a minimum bet. And that's correct.

Top wins are always connected to the fixed maximum bets. You can forget your dream to become a multi-millionaire with just 0.01. In slots, like in video poker, the higher the bet — the more you can win. And, at the same time, the smaller the bet..the smaller the wins.

So, yes: your bet determines how to win at slots.

Slot machine payouts are proportional to what you wager in the game. If your slot machine strategy is to play small bets, don't change it. Just don't expect to score unreasonably huge wins.

As you understand now, betting more money helps to win more on line slots..but it also put your slot machine strategy in danger and makes you risk to lose all your bankroll much faster.

That's why higher denomination slots are also riskier than lower denomination slots. People play them in the same way and following the same slot tips..but the big wins happen only on the high denomination slots, which are also the game where you can risk to lose a lot of money.

Keep in mind this, especially if you love playing slots with progressive jackpots. Jackpot slots can be costly . Many games give you access to the top wins only when you bet the maximum — and that is why a correct slot strategy and bankroll strategy are essential to winning at Slots.

Risk is always an essential factor in gambling. And you decide how risky you want to play yourself. Never play more money than you can afford to lose and never underestimate the risks of gambling addiction — even then you play fun slot machine games.

One Expensive Slot to Play with Maximum Bets: Space Wars

Space Wars is another online slot by NetEnt. This online game is based on a popular slot you can play in all the casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City.

When you play Space Wars for real money, you can choose to bet anywhere from 0.4 (minimum bet) to 20 (maximum bet) per spin. The currency depends on your location.

This game does not feature a progressive jackpot, so you don't really need to bet max every time you spin. Start with smaller bets and go up. You'll see the difference in payouts.

Space Wars is a fast-paced video slot with five reels, four rows, and 40 paylines. The RTP is 96,8 per cent.

5. Trust Other Players

This is one of those Slot tips that you should not apply to many other casino games. While it may be valid for video poker, it's one you should not follow if you play online poker.

But when it comes to playing Slots..yes, you can trust your fellow Slot players and look how people play.

If a slot doesn't pay, the other players will call it out. Fast.

That's why you should use the information available on every casino blog and casino sites to your advantage. Browse through forums, spend some time on Reddit, and read what Las Vegas and Atlantic City players say about each game.

You can also join Facebook groups and ask for help there. In other words, take advantage of your internet connection before the casino takes advantage of you.

A Classic Slot People Play and Love: Gonzo's Quest

Released in 2010, Gonzo's Quest still didn't let go of its place as one of the top slot machines online. That's quite an achievement, I'd say.

This popular Slot game features five reels, 20 paylines, and an adventurer (Gonzalo 'Gonzo' Pizzarro) looking for the lost city of gold.

Players love this little guy and follow his adventures. Gonzo's Quest is one of the top-rated slot machines of all time by players, casinos, and casino critics alike.

6. Avoid Branded Slots

Branded slots are fantastic to play. We can play with all our favourite heroes and spin the reels feeling part of the movies, TV series, and shows we love.

While these games are a lot of fun, branded slots are also the 'bait' a lot of online casinos use to attract us, the players.

Remember the point about 'not going for the obvious choice'? If you are a huge Game of Thrones fan, how likely is it that you would go straight for the Game of Thrones games when you see them on the list?

Very likely.

You don't need to be a psychologist, a consumed marketer, or casino operator to realise that. Fortunately, you don't need to be a hardcore gambler to know how to pick a winning slot machine either. That's what this article is for!

Developers with slots that feature popular brands paid a pretty penny to use the name. So, they won't let you go low with the bets. And those games will not be the easiest ones to beat either.

While the casino and the developer have invested a lot on the names you see on the screen, you are the one who can make it worth the investment. Or not.

Slot to Play Instead of the Branded Ones: Pamplona

What's so attractive about branded slots? Well-known name and faces. The stories behind the games and the characters we all know and love.

Can you have all that in a non-branded slot?

Take the Pamplona slot machine, for example.

This IGT slot is all about Spain, bulls, and matadors. A unique tradition turned into an exciting slot game.

In a way, it is a 'brand' because Pamplona's running of the bulls' festival is known worldwide. And it's more known than some actual brands, to be honest.

But to use this theme, developers didn't have to pay as they do for the brands. Thus, the payouts are way better.

The slot has five reels and 1024 paylines. Matador symbol acts as a Wild and Bull is a Scatter. Three scatters can trigger the El Toro Bonus where you can choose your option of Free Spins.

7. Take Advantage of Free Spins

How to win at slots with free spins when there are hundreds of hidden terms and conditions for withdrawals?

The wagering requirements can take the fun out of playing slots with free spins. No arguing there. But there are still free spins bonuses that can be worth your while.

The wager-free bonus offers.

On a limited number of online casinos you get wager free spins with no deposit on registration (yes, no deposit is required to play). And with no strings attached to them.

There is no cap on winnings, you can cash out anything you want, anytime you want, and there are no wagering requirements. How good is that?

Slot to Play with Free Spins: Pyramid Quest For Immortality

From Pamplona to Egypt. You can travel the world with slots..and the right free spins welcome bonus!

The Pyramid: Quest for Immortality slot features five reels, 720 paylines, and an RTP of 96.4%. This game takes you to ancient Egypt and brings you to explore the hidden and mystical world of Pharaohs, Gods..and pyramids, of course.

So, how to beat slot machines?

First and foremost, the best way to beat the Slots is not to continue asking the wrong questions and stop looking for simple hacks or Slots tips tho beat the casino.

If you want better odds to win on Slots, you need to:

1. Choose the slots that have high payouts
2. Choose the slots with the correct volatility level
3. Choose the slot with the highest Return to Player
4. Read reviews of the Slots on casino sites, forum, and Reddit
5. Sign up to get a bonus with low wagering requirements
6. Play on a licensed online casino site

While this might not be enough for you to beat slot machines and pick the winning Slot machine every time you play, it will help you win more often and - more importantly - enjoy playing Slots a lot more!

FAQ

How do you pick a winning slot machine?

To pick a winning slot machine and get better odds to win when you spin the reels, you need to choose games that offer the right combination of betting limits, volatility, Return-to-Player, and wagering requirements (in case you play with a bonus).

What casino game has the best chance of winning?

In general, Blackjack is the casino game with the best odds. In terms of slots, the best choice is to pick a game that offers a return-to-player over 97% like the Slot Devil's Delight (RTP: 97.7%).

Are slot machines rigged?

The slot machines you find on regulated casino sites are not rigged as their Random Number Generator (RNG) is subject to frequent audits by state-owned gambling authorities. The same controls do not apply to unlicensed casinos — and that's why you should never play your games there.

_{This article was first published on July 14, 2018. Last update: January 10, 2020}

Be sure to complete your PokerNews experience by checking out an overview of our mobile and tablet apps here. Stay on top of the poker world from your phone with our mobile iOS and Android app, or fire up our iPad app on your tablet. You can also update your own chip counts from poker tournaments around the world with MyStack on both Android and iOS.

The promotion presented on this page was available at the time of writing. With some Casino promotions changing on daily basis, we suggest you to check on the site if it still available. Also, please do not forget to read the terms and conditions in full before you accept a bonus.

Slot machines are the most popular gambling game in the casino. The casinos must love this because slot machines also provide the worst odds to the players. This post looks at how slot machines work.

I go into a lot of detail about how slot machines work, but I focus mostly on the nuts and bolts behind the game. Why are the odds of winning at slot machines so low? How did they become so popular? Why are these games more addictive than any other gambling game?

You’ll find the answers to all those questions and more in the post below.

1. What Is a Slot Machine?

A slot machine is a gambling game with spinning reels. Most slot machine games have 3 spinning reels or 5 spinning reels. Each reel has multiple symbols on it.

The spinning reels stop at random, and if matching symbols line up across a pay line, the gambler wins prize money. Early slot machines had a single payline across the center of the reels. Newer slot machines have multiple pay lines of different shapes.

Slot machines come in various denominations. When you put your money into the machine, the game converts that money into credits. For example, if you’re playing a $1 slot machine and insert $100 into the machine, you get 100 credits. Payouts are handled in terms of credits.

These are deceptively simple games that provide the potential for larger prizes than most other gambling games on the casino floor. Gamblers pay for that large prize potential, though.

2. Spinning Reels and Random Number Generators

Understanding how slot machines work requires an understanding of some basic math.

But first, let’s talk about how the results are determined.

Early slot machines were mechanical. They used springs to spin the reels, which were huge metal hoops inside the machine. They stopped at random. The odds of getting any specific symbol on a stop on such a machine were the same regardless of which symbol it was.

But over the last three or four decades, slot machines have become more complicated. The spinning reels are just for show. In fact, on most slot machine games, you don’t even really have spinning reels. You’re just watching an animation of what looks like spinning reels.

These machines use a different method of determining results. They’re run by a computer program called a random number generator (RNG). This computer program cycles through numbers at a rate of thousands of numbers per second. When you pull the lever (or press the spin button), the computer stops at whatever number it’s thinking about at that moment.

That number determines the combination of symbols you see on the screen and the amount of your prize money.

You’ll see some so-called slot machine experts claim that you can predict what’s going to happen next on a slot machine because a random number generator, by nature, runs in cycles. That might be true if the cycles were slower. But when a random number generator is running through thousands of numbers per second, cycles no longer matter.

These random number generators also allow slot machine manufacturers to attach different probabilities to different symbols. By doing so, they can afford to offer much larger payouts.

To understand why that’s so, you need to understand some facts about pay tables and payback percentages.

3. Pay Tables, Payback Percentages, and the House Edge

The pay table on a slot machine is a list of the potential prizes and which combinations of symbols trigger those prizes.

Here’s a simple example of a slot machine pay table:

The payback percentage is a theoretical amount that the casino expects to pay back to the player on every bet. It’s expressed as a percentage, and it’s a long-term mathematical expectation.

Here’s an example:

A slot machine game is said to have a payback percentage of 94%. This means the casino expects to pay out an average of 94 cents every time you wager a dollar.

In the short run, this is practically impossible. In fact, if that’s how it worked in the short term, no one would every play slot machines at all.

But in the long run, if you average all the wins and all the losses and look at the average loss per dollar wagered, this game will come close to its theoretical return.

Most players spin the reels 600 times per hour or more. If you’re betting $3 per spin, that’s $1800 per hour in action. After a single hour, you might be up a few hundred dollars or down a few hundred dollars.

But over thousands of hours, you’ll usually see results that come close to the expectation. The casino works in the long run automatically, because they’re running hundreds of games 24/7.

The casino doesn’t mind if you walk away a winner now and then. They know you’ll eventually lose all your money back if you keep playing.

Here’s how the math works:

Suppose each symbol as a 1/10 chance of showing up. To get 3 of them on the same payline, you have a 1/10 X 1/10 X 1/10 = 1/1000 chance of hitting that combination.

In the pay table above, the expected value of each of those combinations can be calculated by multiplying the payoff by the probability of winning.

Add all those expected values together, and you have the payback percentage for the machine.

Here’s what that looks like:

Modern slot machines rarely have the same probability for each symbol, though. With computers and random number generators, slot machine designers can adjust the probability for each symbol. Obviously, this makes larger jackpots possible.

Here’s an example:

Suppose you set the probability of getting the game logo on our example game to 1/20 instead of 1/10.

The probability of getting that jackpot is now 1/20 X 1/20 X 1/20 = 1/8000.

You could offer a jackpot of 2880 coins and have the same 94% payback percentage for the game. (I multiplied the 360 jackpot by 8 since that’s how much less likely it is to hit that jackpot.)

This accomplishes a couple of things for the casinos and the game manufacturers:

1. It allows them to offer larger jackpots.
2. It allows them to obscure the actual payback percentage for the game.

Point #2 is important.

Slot machines are the only games in the casino where a mathematician can’t calculate the house edge for the game. They just don’t have enough data to work the math problem.

You must know both the probability of winning and the payout when you win to make this calculation.

4. How Progressive Jackpots Work

You’ve probably seen slot machine games with huge jackpots that seem to constantly be growing. These are progressive jackpot games, and they work slightly differently than a standard slot machine game.

The first way they’re different is because of their constantly growing jackpot. Standard slot machine games have a flat amount for their top prize. These are called flat top machines.

But a progressive slot machine takes a tiny percentage of each of your bets and adds it to the jackpot. This has the effect of reducing the payback percentage for the machine while also growing it.

You lose the amount that’s being added to the jackpot.

But you also gain a higher expected value based on the possibility of winning that jackpot.

If you think this couldn’t possibly be an equitable trade, you’d be right.

Let’s assume that the game takes a penny from each dollar you wager and adds it to the jackpot. That costs you 1%.

But the odds of hitting that jackpot are at least 1 in 1000. It would take 2 hours of playing before the increase in the jackpot amounted to a higher payback percentage for the machine.

And most progressive jackpots are far larger than this and have much lower odds of winning. Some of these games have jackpots over $10 million. The probability of winning such a jackpot resembles the probability of winning the lottery.

In other words, you’re more likely to be struck by lightning.

Literally.

My advice is to skip progressive slots games unless you enjoy dreaming about that life-changing jackpot. Even if you ignore my advice and play progressives anyway, try to limit the amount of time you spend on them. They will cause you to lose money at an absurd rate.

Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machine 2017

You’ll see 3 kinds of progressive slot machine games, by the way:

The first kind is a standalone progressive. Only the bets made on that machine increase the size of its jackpot.

The second kind is a local area network. Only bets made in the networked machines in that casino increase the size of the jackpot. If the jackpot is won on any of those machines, the jackpot on all those machines resets to its starting number.

The third kind is a wide area progressive. These games are networked through multiple casinos. Megabucks is the most famous example of this kind of game. The top prize for this game starts at $10 million and grows until it’s hit. Some players have won over $50 million on Megabucks.

5. Bonus Games and Fancy Slot Machine Features

Modern slot machines have lots of fancy features besides progressive jackpots. I explain a few of these features below:

Bonus games are games that offer bonus prizes and are activated by certain combinations of symbols. The most famous example of a bonus game on a slot machine is the Wheel of Fortune spin on Wheel of Fortune slots.

Wild symbols work just like wild cards in a poker game. They stand in for a symbol you might need to make a winning combination.

Scatter symbols are symbols which can appear anywhere on the screen and trigger payouts, even when they’re not on the pay line.

Here’s the thing to remember about all these fancy features:

The game pays for them by reducing the payback percentage for the player.

If you want to maximize your odds of winning, your best bet is to find the most boring slot machine in the casino—the one with the fewest features.

6. The Skinner Box and Randomized Rewards

Slot machines are probably the most addictive form of gambling in any casino. This is by design.

The behavioral scientist BF Skinner did an experiment with rats and cheese. He created a box with a lever on it. If the rats pulled the lever, they got cheese. Naturally, the rats were motivated to pull the lever.

Skinner went on to create a new box which only provided cheese some of the time when the rats pulled the lever. He discovered that when he added the random possibility of a reward, the rats were MORE motivated to pull the lever than they were when they had a 100% chance of getting a reward.

That’s exactly how slot machines work.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and—if you play long enough—you’ll always be a net loser in the long run.

But the brain triggers endorphins every time you win—even if the amount you win is less than the amount you bet.

And slot machines don’t return your original bet with your winnings like table games do. That’s why we say a blackjack bet pays off at 3 to 2 instead of saying it pays off at 3 for 2.

If you bet $1 on a slot machine game and win 95 cents, you’ve lost 5 cents on that bet.

But your brain doesn’t recognize the net loss.

It triggers the same endorphins as a win of $2 would.

For people with impulse control problems, playing slots is a bad idea.

7. How Online Slot Machines Work

Online slot machines work essentially the same as slot machines in a casino. Since all casino slot machines are now powered by random number generator software, the slots in online casinos are almost identical to the slots in a traditional casino.

The big difference is that online casinos have much lower overhead. As a result, most online casinos offer higher payback percentages than their land-based cousins. This isn’t 100% true across the board—some online casinos have lousy payback percentages.

But if I had to choose between playing an online slot machine game at an online casino or playing a traditional slot machine at the Las Vegas airport, I’d go with the online game almost every time.

You’ll also find many unique slots games at online casinos that aren’t available in traditional casinos. Some of these games are fun and cute. Others are evocative of games you’re used to in Vegas.

Casino Slot Machine Odds Of Winning

Either way, the math and technology behind online slot machines are basically the same as in Las Vegas.

Conclusion

How slot machines work isn’t a big mystery. They’ve been around for over 100 years, and the technology has changed.

But they’re still the same game our grandmothers played. Like all gambling games in the casino, they have an unassailable mathematical edge.

The difference is that you win bigger jackpots on a slot machine than you can on any other game. The best you can do at the blackjack table is 3 to 2. At a roulette table, the biggest prize is 35 to 1.

It’s easy to find slots where you can win 100 for 1 or 1000 for 1 or more.

Odds Of Winning A Progressive Slot Machine Games

If you like playing for big jackpots, slot machines are the game to play.