Slot Machine Strategy

Slot machines are popular worldwide – from the opulent land-based casinos in Vegas to online slot games as far and wide as Canada, the UK, and Australia. With endless themes and characters – and, of course, chances to win real money – it’s no wonder so many people get a kick out of spinning the reels. 

If you’re going to try these games, you’ll probably want some kind of slot machine strategy to increase your chances of a win. Although winning at slots is random and not strategic at all, you can do a few things, like adjusting your bet sizes and paylines, taking advantage of bonuses, and understanding how the games work.

Our detailed Betsquare guide will give you some top tips and tricks for playing slot games.

The Basics of Playing Slot Machines

Playing slot games is simple, and you don’t need any experience or much background to get started. Once you’ve signed up for your online casino account and made a deposit, you can head to the pokies section and choose the one you want to play.

After that, it’s just a case of setting your stake and clicking on the “spin” button to see where the symbols land and if you’ve gotten lucky enough to win. 

What Are Slot Machines and How Do They Work?

Slot machine basics are the same whether you’re playing online or at a land-based casino. 

Pokies are played on a grid consisting of reels going vertically and rows going horizontally, which determine where the symbols land and how many of them can land with each spin.

Most slots have three, four, or five reels, and the number of rows can also vary. Another important component to know about is paylines, the specific lines where the symbols must land to trigger a win.

The exact mechanism of how a slot game works can vary slightly between games, but most require that at least a certain number of symbols (usually two or three) land on one of the active paylines.

Some games have special mechanisms like Megaways, where the number of symbols landing on the reels changes with each spin, and others have scatter symbols, which can pay out or open a special feature even if they don’t land on a specific payline.

Key Slot Machine Terms You Need to Know

Before you can dive right in and start playing slot games, you need to understand a few basic slot machine terms that will come up again and again while you’re playing.

The first one is the return to player percentage (RTP), which is the amount of money staked on a game that should be returned to players over time. This is a long-term calculation, so while a higher RTP does mean you have a better chance of winning, it’s not a guarantee.

Next is volatility, which refers to the size and regularity of the wins. A low volatility slot should give you smaller and more regular wins, while a high volatility slot tends to pay out larger amounts but less often.

Paylines, as we mentioned, are the lines where symbols need to appear to trigger a win. These can be fixed (the same amount every time you spin), or you might be able to adjust them to suit your budget, which we’ll discuss in detail later.

Finally, jackpots. Pokie games may have a fixed jackpot amount, which is a maximum payout of a certain number of times your stake, for example, 10,000x or 20,000x. Other slots have progressive jackpots, where every time someone plays, the prize pot increases, and it can go up to seven or eight figures. 

 

How to Choose the Best Slot Machine

Many different things make slot machines unique – from the range of fun themes to exciting special features. But while many of these factors contribute towards how much “fun” a slot machine is, they don’t do much from a strategic point of view. Here’s what you should think about instead. 

Deciding Between Low and High Volatility Slots

Every slot game has a certain level of volatility, ranked on a scale between low, medium, and high. Volatility refers to how often wins are triggered and how big those wins tend to be. 

In general, low volatility slots tend to pay out more frequent smaller wins, while high volatility slots pay out less often, but the wins tend to be larger. Your volatility will depend on how much risk you’re willing to take.

If you’re pretty new to playing slot machines, we recommend trying out some low-volatility games. You’ll have wins more often, so if you’re playing with a smaller budget, you’re likely to hit a couple of winning combinations still, even if you’re not playing for too long.

On the other hand, high-volatility slot games might seem more exciting because there’s a chance you’ll land a really big win, but you might also have a longer streak with no wins, which could exhaust your budget pretty quickly. 

If you specifically want to choose a certain level of volatility, you’ll be able to see it 

when you first open up the game, or you can check out the game info. Remember, volatility is an average calculated over a long period, so all slots can still pay out both large and small wins. 

Why RTP (Return to Player) Matters

Put simply, slot machine RTP (which stands for Return to Player percentage) refers to the rate at which money staked on a game should return to players over a long period. 

For example, if a pokie has an RTP of 96%, that means that about $96 out of every $100 should return to players. In general, most modern video slots have an RTP of 96% or over, and the higher the RTP, the greater your chances of a payout.

However, it’s important to remember that high RTP doesn’t guarantee a win in a single gaming session because it’s a long-term calculation. You should also expect the RTP for progressive jackpot games to be lower—it can be around 94%. 

The RTP of all slot games should be pretty easy for you to find. Some online casinos have a dedicated page listing the RTP for all games (usually in the footer of the site or the FAQs), but don’t worry if your preferred casino site doesn’t have that. Just open up the game and look at the pay table or game info – it’s usually listed right at the bottom.

Now that you know all the basics and you’ve got a background on how to choose the best slots for you, it’s time to get into some strategies that could help you get a win. 

Making the Most of Casino Bonuses

If you want to make your money go further at an online casino, one thing is pretty much guaranteed to help – claiming casino bonuses. You can put your casino bonus money towards playing on your preferred pokie, and as you’ll have bonus cash or free spins, you’ll get to play for longer, giving you a bigger chance of winning. 

Most online casinos offer attractive welcome bonuses for new players. For example, you might receive a certain percentage of your first deposit added to your balance as bonus cash, or you might be given some free spins to use on selected slot games.

In general, we’d recommend a deposit match over a free spins offer if you have the choice because a deposit match gives you a lot more freedom to use the bonus money on a wide range of games.

It’s even better if you find an online casino that has no-deposit bonuses. In that case, you won’t even have to make a real money deposit, and you’ll get some free casino credits or free spins to use towards a potential win. 

It’s important to remember that online casino bonuses come with T&Cs, so make sure you’re familiar with wagering requirements, win limits, and time limits before you claim.

Practicing with Free Play Modes

Depending on the online casino you’re using, you might be able to demo the pokies for free, either one you’ve signed up for your account or before you even do that. Head to the games lobby and look for the “demo” or “free play” option alongside each game.

Slot machine demo mode is exactly the same as the real version of the game, except there’s no financial commitment, so there’s also no risk. Playing in demo mode is a great way to practice slots and check out the gameplay and special features before you decide to play for real cash.

Then, once it comes to playing with real money, you’ll be familiar and comfortable with how the game works so that you can get stuck right in. Playing in demo mode can also help you discover lucrative special features like a gamble option or multiple free spins rounds.

Just remember, even though you can trigger wins in demo mode, they won’t award you with any real cash. 

Explore Special Features

Many games come with special features, and some might give you a better chance of winning. 

One such feature is progressive jackpots. Even though the RTP of these slots tends to be lower, if you land one of these prize pots, you could be taking away a massive jackpot. 

The same goes for other special features like Hold & Win or free spins rounds – the more of these you land, the better your chances of winning extra money that you might not get in a slot game without features.

You might also want to try Megaways games, where the number of symbols on the reels changes every time you spin, creating hundreds of thousands of ways to win. 

 

Advanced Slot Machine Strategies

If you’re confident about playing slots, you might be ready to move on to more advanced strategies, like using the gamble feature or adjusting your paylines. 

Using the Double-Up Feature

Some games – like the hugely popular Book of Dead – come with a special feature called “gamble” or “double up”. When you trigger a win, you’ll be given the option to either collect your winnings or gamble them for the chance to double or quadruple them. But beware – you could also lose your winnings from that spin entirely.

The way it works is that you’ll be asked to predict the outcome of a virtual card draw. If you gamble on colours, you could double your win; if you gamble on suits, you could quadruple it. Suppose you’re willing to take some risks. In that case, this can be an effective slot machine strategy, but whether or not you’ll win depends on luck, as the virtual card draw uses Random Number Generator technology.

Adjusting Paylines and Bet Sizes for Better Results

Some slot games allow you to adjust the paylines. For example, you might be able to play with one, two, or all 10 paylines active on a single spin.

In general, maxing out the number of active paylines makes sense, as that will give you more chances to land a winning combination. However, the more active paylines there are, the more money your spin will cost, so if you’re on a budget, you might prefer to stick to fewer paylines.

While the number of paylines doesn’t impact the volatility of the game directly, more paylines do give you a bigger percentage chance of a win.

Your bet sizes are also really important. You should always stick to your budget, but remember, the higher your bet amount, the bigger your win will be if you have one. That said, playing for more money per spin doesn’t usually have an impact on whether or not you’ll land a winning combination, 

The Truth About Slot Machine Randomness

While some strategies can help you win at slots, it’s also important to understand that gameplay is random, and you, as a player, don’t have any influence over which symbols land on the reels when you spin.

Slot machines at trustworthy online casinos are all powered by Random Number Generator technology. This means that the outcome of every spin is predetermined and independent from all the other spins. That’s why even though you might hear of a pokie being “hot” or “cold”, there’s nothing factual about that – it’s just a myth.

So, how does slot machine randomness work? Basically, the Random Number Generator technology is based on advanced algorithms, and for every spin, the RNG produces a random value, which is associated with a set of numbers corresponding to the symbols that appear on the reels. The same thing happens every time you spin, so it’s all based on chance.

 

RNG technology means that every single spin of a slot machine has a real chance of producing a winning combination. However, it also means that there’s no guarantee you’ll have a win, so you should always play responsibly. 

Conclusion

Now that you’ve read our full guide, you should be well equipped with some essential slot machine strategies, which you can go off and apply to the games of your choice. 

Whatever slot strategies you’re using, make sure that you always practice responsible gambling. Most online casinos have tools and features like personal limits that you can use to control your spend.

Our top tips are always to consider the RTP of the games you’re choosing, decide whether you want to play a high- or low-volatility slot and check out the special features to see if there are any free spins rounds or a gamble feature that could increase your chances of a win.

It’s also a good idea to test the games out in demo mode before you play for real cash and claim any available bonuses and promotions to stretch your money further.