We all want to find the perfect slot machine that’s ready to pay out some sweet wins, but does such a thing even exist?
There are some great slots around just now, and the following tips will help you to find some that suit you.
Understand How Slots Work
The first point we need to cover is that there is no such thing as loose slots or hot slots. People use these phrases to describe games that are ready to pay out, but slots don’t really work like that. It’s not like they’re programmed to be generous at certain times.
Instead, these games use a random number generator to ensure that the results are completely unpredictable. In the past, the manual process of pulling a lever on a mechanical slot may have allowed some players to find ways of beating the system, but the arrival of electronic slots removed this possibility a long time ago.
Every time you play a slot, you have an equal chance of winning. The random nature of the games makes it a hugely exciting way of playing, as you never know when a giant prize could fall. Every game uses this random mechanism, so you can play any slot and it’ll always have an unpredictable outcome on every spin.
Check the RTP
So if every slot is totally unpredictable, how can you find out which ones give you the best chance of winning? Every slot has a number attached to it that is known at the return to player (RTP). This is a percentage figure that lets you see how much the game gives back to its players, so the higher the number the lower the house edge.
We need to consider the RTP together with the random nature of slots that we just looked at. In this way, we can see that it doesn’t guarantee how much the game will pay out or when. It just tells us how much it returns to all of the players who try it, over a large number of spins.
Let’s imagine that you play a slot with a 97% RTP and another with a 90% RTP. If you spin the reels a few times anything could happen. You might win the top prize on the slot with the lower RTP and not win anything on the other, or the other way around.
The RTP really kicks in the more you play, as it’s based on the return seen when it’s tested over a large number of spins. If you’re planning to play a lot of spins on the same game, it might make sense to choose one with a higher RTP and an increased probability of winning.
It’s worth mentioning the volatility at this point too. This is the measure of how frequently a game pays and how much the wins are worth. You can expect a low volatility slot to give you fairly regular wins, while a higher volatility game may include some losing streaks but bigger wins when they come around.
Read the Paytable
Every online slot has a section where you can read the amount of prizes available and what you need to do to win them. This is known as the paytable and it lets you see at a glance what you might win.
Typically, there will be a few valuable symbols that pay out the biggest standard prizes for combinations of three or more. These symbols usually have images based on the slot’s theme, while lower-paying symbols may have more generic images such as playing card numbers and letters.
When you check out the paytable, you’ll also see details of how to access any features that are included. Wilds, free spins, and bonus games are among the most common features. The number of features doesn’t indicate whether you have a better chance of winning, but it can tell you if it’s likely to be an enjoyable, varied playing experience.
Look at the Jackpots
The presence of a progressive jackpot makes any slot appear more attractive, as it gives us the possibility of winning a big prize. These jackpots grow as each player tries the game, before getting set back to their starting point when someone manages to win the top prize.
Progressive jackpots offer some of the biggest prizes in online casinos, although naturally these amounts aren’t won very often. They are awarded randomly on any spin or else they can be claimed by getting a certain winning combination of symbols. You might also need to complete a mini-game to get the prize.
An interesting twist has been added recently through the addition of Hot Drop Jackpot on some slots. This mechanism involves three jackpots that you can win randomly or when the timers show that the prize has reached its size of time limit.
While hot slots and loose slots don’t exist in the way that a lot of people imagine, understanding these basic concepts will let you choose the games that you’re most likely to enjoy playing.
