Slot machines are a type of casino games that are very popular in both regular and online casinos. There are thousands of different slots out there and anyone can find a slot that they like with a theme that they like. There are numerous generic slots as well as a large selection of slots that are centered around cartoons, movies and TV shows. Slot machines can be very fun to play but should only be played for fun. You should avoid all slots if you are trying to beat the casino and win money over time. There is nothing you can do to neutralize the house edge and you will always end up loosing money over time. The only way to win money playing slot machines is to get lucky and then walk away from the slot with the money you won.
Large progressive jackpot
All slots have a negative expected value when you play them. IE for every dollar you bet you can only expect to get back 98 or 99 cents (sometimes less). There is one exception from this rule and that exception is slot machines with progressive jackpots that have grown very large. These slots will get a positive expected value once the jackpot hits a certain value. How large the jackpot needs to grow depends on the slot and how likely you are to win the jackpot.
Progressive jackpots do sometimes grow very big before someone wins them and these slots do sometimes offer a large positive expected value. The odds of you winning the jackpot is however very low. Usually one in several millions. I do therefor not recommend that you play jackpot slots even if they do offer you a positive expected value when considering the jackpot.
Yes you might win millions but you are much more likely to lose a lot of money. If you like the excitement of the chance of winning the large jackpot then you should play the slot. But do not do it with the expectation that you will earn money. The slot only gives you a positive expected value if you are the one who win the jackpot. Everyone else have the same negative expected value as they normally have when the jackpot is small.
There is never a good reason to play slots for any other reason then to have fun. There are better games to play if you want to make money. Yes you will likely not win millions but you are likely to make a profit and you are not likely to end up losing money.
Slots to avoid
You should always play the slots that you like the most. The slots you think are the most fun to play. The only reason to play slots is to have fun after all. With this said it is important to know that some slot machines are a lot better choice than others if you want to be able to play as much as possible before you lose your money.
Some types of slots gives the bank a lot higher edge than others. A higher edge means that you will lose more money quicker. A slot that gives the house a 1% edge will on average cause you to lose 1 cent on every one dollar bet you make. This means that playing 100 spins at USD 1 each will cost you 1 USD on average. If you play another slot that give the house a 5% edge than you will only be able to play 20 spins before you lost the same amount of money. Choosing a slot with a low edge, high pay rate will always give you more fun for your money.
You can find out the pay rate of each online slot by searching online. Most regular casinos will give you that information if you ask for it. Many have an information pamphlet with odds and pay rates available.
You can often estimate how large edge a certain slot gives the house from the type of slot it is. Certain type as slots are associated with higher edges than other types of slots. Slots based on licenses such as slots based on cartoons, super heroes, TV-shows, movies etc will always give the house a larger edge than slots that are developed without a license. The reason for this is that the license holder wants to get paid to allow the casino to use the license.
Jackpots slots takes a part of each bet to feed the jackpot. This means that you lose money more quickly than you would if you played a non jackpot slot. At-least as long as you do not win the jackpot.
In the real world you also have to consider where the slot is located. Slot machines located in some places are likely to have lower pay rates than other slots. This is true even if you play the same slot in two different places. The slots owner will usually set a higher house edge in some spots than others.
Individual online casinos are normally not allowed to edit the house edge. That is set by the software developer and the same in all casinos. The software developers want to guarantee fair gambling and avoid scandals that can hurt their brands. Offline casinos can usually set this for each slot individually.
Examples of places online where the house edge usually is higher than in other places include lobbies, airports and other places where people want to kill a few minutes but don’t have a lot of other options available. It is usually best to avoid slots in these places. It can also be a good idea to make a quick search online to see where in a city you find slots with the best payout ratios.
This is especially important if you visit cities such as Las Vegas where different parts of the city have very different pay rates.