Do you want to play slot machines and win big at an online casino where you can deposit just $1? Then read this full guide where we explain how you can come out on top when playing slots. Our team of slot experts wrote this article covering the different kinds of slot machines, the odds, payouts, how risky each game is, and everything else you need to know about winning at slots.
It doesn’t matter if you play slots online or at a real-life casino – it’s impossible to win on every single spin. If that were the case, all the players would make money and the casinos would quickly go broke! That’s why every slot machine is designed to make sure the casino comes out ahead in the end.
But even though you can’t guarantee a win on each spin, there are some smart strategies slot players can use to boost their chances of winning over time and scoring bigger prizes.
Simple Tips to Get You Started
- Set a budget: Before you start gambling on slots, it’s really important to decide how much money you’re willing to spend. Figure out a number and make sure you stick to it. This helps you gamble responsibly and not blow more cash than you can afford.
- Try the game for free first: Before you risk any real money on a slot machine, it’s a good idea to test it out in the free play mode. This lets you get a feel for the game without spending a dime. You can see if you actually enjoy playing it and if it suits your style.
- Choose between high or low risk: There are two main types of slots – high risk and low risk. High risk slots don’t pay out as often, but when they do, the wins are bigger. Low risk slots pay out more frequently, but the wins are smaller. Pick which type fits your preference better.
- Look for a high RTP: RTP stands for “Return to Player” and it’s the percentage of money the game pays back to players over the long run. Go for a slot with a higher RTP because your odds of winning are better in the long term.
Know the Different Kinds of Slot Machines
The very first slot machine that looked like what we’re used to now was invented way back in 1894 by a German-American guy named Charles August Fey. It was a machine that you put coins in and Fey built the whole thing from scratch in his basement. Fast forward to 1976, and that’s the year the first video slot came out. This was a slot machine with a color screen and computer parts inside.
When the internet took off in the 1990s, we saw the very first online casinos and online slots launch in 1994. The next big step was making slots that worked well on phones, so players could access thousands of online slot games right from their smartphones or tablets.
But even with all the crazy advances in technology that have totally changed how we play slots, a lot of the basic ideas behind slot machines have stayed pretty much the same.
How Slot Machines Work
To start winning at slots, you need to understand the simple rules of the game. Whether it’s a digital slot or a physical machine, a slot always has reels with symbols on them. Each symbol has a different value. The slot has one or more paylines that determine how the symbols need to line up to give you a win.
The player gets the reels spinning by either pulling a lever or hitting a button (depending on if it’s a real-life or digital slot). The goal is to get a winning combination of symbols to line up on one of the paylines. How much you win depends on what the symbols are worth and how much money you bet on that payline.
One key thing to know is that all slot machines use a Random Number Generator (RNG). This is what makes sure the result of each spin is completely random.
Different Types of Slot Machines
Aside from a few basic similarities, slot machines can be pretty different from each other in terms of how many reels and paylines they have, what bonus features and rounds there are, what the payouts are like, and more. To get the most out of playing slots, you need to look for a game that matches your style, personality and strategy.
Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common types of online slots you’ll find:
- Classic Slots: These are probably the most common and simple slots out there. They use classic symbols like cherries, lemons, lucky 7s, bells, and playing card symbols. The most basic version has 3 reels and just a single payline, but there are also tons of newer slots that have a classic theme with more reels, paylines and special features.
- Multi-Reel Slots: As technology got better, we’ve been able to make slots that are way more exciting to look at and play. Today’s online slots have moved past the classic 3 reel setup and usually have at least 5 reels now. This makes the game more fun and gives you more chances to win prizes.
- Video Slots: This is a broad term people use for certain online slots. It usually means slots that have a lot of fancy graphics, animations, and video clips.
- Multi-Payline Slots: Just like the name says, these are slot machines that have a bunch of different paylines crossing the reels. In recent years, slots have been invented that have a crazy number of paylines. For example, you can find games with 3, 5, 25 or even more paylines. There are slots that pay out both left-to-right and right-to-left. Some slots even have 1024 different ways you can line up symbols to win.
- Mega Spin Slots: With this kind of slot machine, you can play a bunch of games at the same time – 4, 6 or sometimes even more. You’ll see multiple sets of reels on the screen, and they all spin with a single click.
- Multiplier Slots: This type of slot has special bonus features that can randomly trigger and give you the chance to multiply any winnings you get. Players can double, triple or sometimes even multiply their prize by 100x if they’re really lucky.
- Mobile Slots: Most of the newer online slots are designed to work well on mobile casino apps for iOS and Android phones. But mobile slots are a special category because they’re made specifically for smartphones and tablets. These games are set up to give you a great experience on a smaller touchscreen with special effects and features.
These days, it’s pretty normal to find slot machines that mix and match a few of the different features we talked about. For example, you might see a slot that has 5 reels and multiple paylines, plus mega spins and multipliers.
Progressive Jackpot Slots
Slots that have progressive jackpots work a little differently. They have a special prize pool that keeps growing. With these games, the casino or the company that made the slot will put a certain amount of money into the jackpot to start.
Then, every time somebody plays one of the connected progressive slots, a tiny chunk of their bet goes into the jackpot pool. The jackpot keeps getting bigger and bigger until finally someone hits the right combination of symbols to win the whole thing. When that happens, the jackpot resets to the starting amount and begins to grow again.
Different Levels of Progressive Jackpots
With some progressive slots, you can play for the jackpot no matter what amount you’re betting. But a lot of these games have different tiers or levels of bets.
This means you can only qualify for certain jackpots if you’re betting over a specific amount. To avoid being disappointed, always check what the minimum bet is to have a shot at winning the jackpots. Make sure you pick the bet level that matches up with the jackpot you’re aiming for.
Jackpot Wins That Change Your Life
The odds of hitting a big jackpot are super tiny, but the prizes are absolutely massive. Like in 2015, one lucky player won $13.2 million playing a progressive slot called Mega Moolah.
It’s a 5-reel, 25-payline game made by Microgaming. That set the record for the biggest online jackpot anyone had ever won. And since then, the same game has broken its own record a few times with even bigger jackpots.
What is the House Edge?
Obviously, casinos need to make money to stay in business. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that every slot machine is designed to give the casino an advantage that makes sure they make a profit in the long run. This built-in advantage is called the “house edge.” It’s the percentage of all the money that gets bet that the casino will keep as profit over time. If you want to get good at winning on slot machines, it’s really important to know how the house edge works.
Let’s say a specific slot has a house edge of 5%.
That means for every $100 that people bet on the machine, the casino keeps $5 as profit. The other $95 gets paid back out to the players as winnings. But that doesn’t mean you’ll always get back $95 for every $100 you put in. That 95% is just an average that gets paid out to all the players combined over a long period of time.
Paylines, Risk, How Often You Win, and RTP
One of the big reasons people love slots is that they’re pretty easy to play. Once you know what all the different symbols mean and do, it seems like you just spin the reels and cross your fingers, right? Well, not exactly. Newer slots are way more complicated than they look. There’s a lot of math and computer stuff happening behind the scenes that make slots so fun and unpredictable.
When it comes to finding the right game and figuring out how to win, there are a few important terms you need to know:
- Paylines: These are the lines on the slot machine that show you all the ways you can match up symbols and win prizes. Paylines usually go from left to right, but a lot of modern slots have paylines that can go in different directions or patterns.
- Risk Level (aka Volatility): This term describes how risky or unpredictable a slot machine is. Low risk slots pay out pretty often, but the wins are usually on the smaller side. High-risk slots don’t pay out as frequently, but when they do, the wins tend to be bigger. Either way, the risk matches up with the potential rewards.
- How Often You Win (or Hit Frequency): This is a number that tells you, on average, how likely it is that each spin will give you some kind of prize. So if a slot machine has a hit frequency of 20%, that means you have a 1 in 5 chance of winning something on each spin.
- RTP: This stands for “Return to Player” and it’s a percentage that shows how much of the money that gets bet will be paid back out to players over the long term. So if a slot has an RTP of 96%, that means that for every $100 that goes into the machine, $96 will eventually be won back by players. It’s important to remember this is an average across all players over a long time – it doesn’t mean you specifically will win or lose that exact amount.
Free Slot Games and Free Spins
Playing slots for free is a great way to practice and get better at winning. It lets you try out a bunch of different games to find the ones you like best. You can also test out different strategies without risking any real money. Then, when you switch over to playing for actual cash, you’ll already know what you’re doing.
Lots of online casinos have special offers where you can get free spins on certain slot games. These free spins let you play without having to use your own money. But here’s the cool part – the result of a free spin is just as random as a regular spin you paid for. So you can still win real prizes! Any money you win from free spins is usually yours to keep, as long as you meet the casino’s playthrough requirements.
Another way to play slots for free is by using “demo mode” or “practice mode.” For this, you don’t even need to have an account at the casino. The downside is that you can’t actually win any money. It’s just for fun.
Local vs. Network Jackpots
Most casinos have at least a few slot machines with progressive jackpots. “Network progressives” are games where a tiny piece of every bet across a whole bunch of different casinos gets added into one big prize pool. Because so many people are contributing, these jackpots can grow super fast and get insanely huge – we’re talking multi-millions of dollars. Winning one of those can totally change your life.
Then there are also slots that have local jackpots. The money for those only comes from people playing that specific game at one online casino. These local jackpots are usually smaller than the network ones, but you’ve got a better chance of winning since less people are playing for the prize. It’s a nice option to have.
Managing Your Bankroll
Losing money is just a part of playing slots. It’s going to happen sometimes, no matter what. There will be times when you’re just not having any luck and your account balance keeps shrinking. Other times, it’ll feel like you can’t lose and your money keeps going up and up. The trick is learning how to ride out the wins and have a good time, but also knowing that the winning streaks will eventually end.
The number one rule for winning at slots is to never bet money you can’t afford to lose. Set a budget for yourself and don’t go over it. Decide ahead of time how long you’re going to play and stick to that too. And always keep track of how much money you have in your account.
Here are some other good bankroll management tips:
- Before you start playing, set a budget, a time limit, and a cap on how much you’re willing to lose in that session. Let’s say you give yourself $200 to spend and you’re planning to do 250 spins over the course of 3 hours. If you hit any of those limits – you run out of money, you do 250 spins, or 3 hours pass – then you have to stop playing immediately, even if you’re winning. Having those rules makes it a lot easier to find the right games and choose your bet size too.
- Do your homework and find slots that fit with your budget, your strategy and your goals. Gambling.com has tons of helpful information about different games – what the themes are, the special features, who made them, the RTP, the risk level, how much you can bet, and all that good stuff. Use those guides to help you pick.
- Take advantage of free spins and practice mode to test out slots without spending money. That way you can get a feel for how the game works and see if it’s a good fit before you risk your own cash.
- Figure out what kind of slots you like and stick to those. A lot of beginners jump around and play a ton of different games. It’s tempting, especially with online casinos where all the games are just a click away. But if you want to start winning, it’s smarter to focus on a couple of your favorites. Really get to know how the bonus rounds work, what all the paylines are, stuff like that. Don’t let yourself get distracted.
- Whenever you hit a big win, take some of that money and set it aside. Maybe that’s your original bankroll amount, so you’re only betting with your winnings after that point. Smart players have a system like this.
- Know the difference between bonus money and real money in your account. If you have bonus funds, make sure you read the terms and conditions carefully so you know what the playthrough requirement is. That bonus money isn’t really yours yet, and there’s a chance you might never be able to withdraw it. You have to bet a certain amount first. So definitely don’t think of casino bonuses as part of your actual bankroll.
- Never ever chase your losses. Every gambler out there has times where nothing’s going right and they just keep losing. It happens, and it’s rough. But when it does, the worst thing you can do is keep playing and betting bigger to try to win your money back. As soon as you hit your budget or time limit, walk away. You’ll have a clear head next time.