Online slot playing online slots successfully. Before jumping into a game, take some time to study the specific rules, paylines, bonus features, and theoretical return to player (RTP) rates. The RTP indicates the overall percentage that a game will pay back to players over an extended period. Look for slots with RTP rates of 96% or higher if possible. You’ll also want to pay close attention to the volatility or variance of a slot. Games with higher volatility tend to have bigger but less frequent wins, while lower volatility slots offer more frequent but smaller payouts. Determine which volatility level aligns best with your playing style and bankroll.
Determine your betting strategies
When playing slot online, you’ll usually have options for selecting coin values, paylines enabled, and sometimes even the number of coins to bet per payline. In general, it’s optimal to enable all paylines on each spin to maximize your chances of hitting a winning combination. Regarding coin value, it’s usually better to scale up your coin value rather than betting maximum coins if you can’t afford the total bet amount. For example, betting 1 coin of $1 value is better than betting 10 coins of $0.10 each on any given spin. This reduces your risk while maintaining the same chances of triggering a winning combination.
- Flat betting– Maintaining a consistent bet size on each spin
- Positive progression– Increasing bet size after a win
- Negative progression– Decreasing bet size after a loss
- Flexible betting- Varying bet sizes randomly
Know when to quit
This piece of advice applies to any form of gambling, not just online slots. Always play with a clear gambling bankroll that consists of only expendable funds. Never gamble with money you need for living expenses, bills, or other financial obligations. Before you start playing, establish a loss limit for your bankroll and adhere to it strictly. For example, you may set a rule that you’ll quit once you’ve lost 20% of your starting bankroll on that day or session. Having predetermined loss and win limits in place prevents emotional decision-making that leads to depleting your entire bankroll chasing losses.
Myths to avoid
There are plenty of persistent slot myths floating around casino floors and gambling forums that should be avoided, including:
- Hot and cold machines– Online slots are computer programs operating on random number generators to determine spin outcomes. They have no memory and no ability to cycle through hot or cold periods.
- Timing spins- Your timing of hitting “spin” has no impact whatsoever on the outcome of the spin or chances of winning.
- Betting patterns– The false belief that you influence winning by betting specific patterns or number sequences. This holds no merit.
- Avoiding jackpot wins– An irrational fear that hitting a huge jackpot win may cause the machine to then go “cold” and not pay out again for some time. This is nonsense since online slots have no memory of prior results.
- Casino conspiracies– Stories of online casinos cheating players by doctoring RTP rates or results are misguided and not based in truth. Licensed online casinos face strict regulatory oversight in most jurisdictions.
While you should certainly trust regulated online casinos, you should always exercise healthy skepticism towards other claims or purported “secrets” for beating slots.
