How to win the jackpot while playing online slots

It's no wonder that so many people are playing online slots.

11:25 28 September 2017

As well as a low house edge and exciting gameplay, slots are the only casino game where a life-changing amount of money can be won from a very low wager. Of course, a lot of money can be won on poker, blackjack and roulette, but none of these games allow players access to massive jackpots that eclipse the payouts found on older machines.

 

Online casinos offer some great virtual slots. The beauty of online casinos is that alongside the huge range of games that suit every budget, style of play and preference, there are some truly massive jackpots. Treasure Genie for example, one of the most popular slots, currently has a Jackpot close to £750,000, a figure which is definitely not to be sniffed at, it could be yours through visiting 777 online casino.

 

How do slot machines work?

 

How to play online slots
Source: Casino infographics

There are so many myths and alleged tips and tricks when it comes to winning the jackpot on a slot machine. One of the most common is that some machines 'remember' when they last paid out and that machines that have just paid out won't pay out again and should be left alone. This myth may have been true before the days of gambling fair play and when timing belts made slots work, but there is no chance of this happening with an online slot game.

 

Virtual slot machines run using a Random Number Generator (RNG), which is responsible for which symbols appear across the reels. With a simple 3 reel game with between 1 and 3 paylines, the calculations will be fairly simple, but with a now common 5 reel game with hundreds of paylines, the RNG will constantly provide billions of random numbers within fractions of a millisecond, which are then applied to the reels using a complex algorithm to ensure consistent payouts in line with the machine odds. The amount of free spins and access to bonus rounds is also dictated by RNGs, so the amount of chances to win or enjoy more free spins is fair and completely random.

 

RNGs are a great innovation, in that it is impossible to fix a virtual slot machine, or indeed cheat from a player perspective. What players can do however is use the mathematical odds in their favour. If a machine has a high return to player percentage (anything above 90% is good), then the machine can be played longer, giving a better chance of winning the jackpot.

 

How do jackpots work?

 

Before the days of online slots, machines would have an individual jackpot tied to that machine which would empty if someone won it and may have reverted to a lower value of even zero. This is known as a stand-alone jackpot and can be still found online, although the jackpot will likely be lower thanks to a reduced number of players using that machine.

 

With better internet connectivity and incredible networking software however, it's now common to see network and multiple progressive jackpots. This is made possible thanks to more players contributing into a larger central pot, with more winnings available to a wider group of players, possibly at an international level. The odds of winning are lower thanks to their being more potential winning players, but the jackpots can be huge, drawing in players in the first place.

 

The amount that can be wagered also affects the jackpot. On machines where there is a low minimum bet, the jackpot may be reduced as only a lower percentage can be taken if players gamble with less money. Machines with higher minimum bets may have a much larger jackpot, but gameplay time is likely to be reduced.

Hitting the jackpot on an online slot

Source: Google Play

 

Jackpot varieties

 

There are actually several types of jackpot on most slot machines. As mentioned, more people playing each game means more money to be won overall, which is a more enticing prospect. 

 

1.Standalone progressive jackpot

 

This jackpot is tied to a single type of machine and is unique to that particular game. It is not shared between several machines or winners and doesn’t reset to zero when won to keep the jackpot attractive to new players.

 

2.In-house progressive jackpot

 

This variety of game is similar to a standalone, but is shared across several games within a land-based or online casino. The jackpot doesn’t reset to zero and can be higher thanks to more players contributing, but the chances of winning are reduced.

 

3.Network progressive jackpot

 

This jackpot is made up by a network of slot games in multiple locations, either real world or virtual. Anyone can win and the jackpot is often split into smaller amounts. This suits a lot of games found on multiple sites, or across multiple casinos in a group. Much larger jackpots are common, but the chance of winning the jackpot is reduced significantly thanks to the large number of players involved.

 

4.Multiple progressive jackpot

 

These jackpots are some of the biggest in the world, often in the hundreds of thousands of pounds, but only one winner can take the jackpot. Again, chances are lowered, but the sums of money that can be won are often life changing.

 

 

How a slot machine works

Source: slotmachinemakers.com

Is it even possible to win?

 

Winning the jackpot on a large, multi-machine network is a lot less likely than attacking a smaller jackpot on an offline machine, but each requires patience, time and monetary investment. It's not 'impossible' to win a big pot, but the odds may be in National Lottery territory, so have this in mind when you're beavering away at a particular game. Either way, slot gaming is still great fun and there's always the chance that you could be the one...