The Basics of Slots
When the first slot machine was invented in 1895, it became an immediate hit. There was no doubt in the minds of the people who played it that this new game would become anything less than a casino classic.
Today, slot machines outnumber every other game in the casino by a large margin in both online casinos and live casinos. Slot machines have become increasingly sophisticated over the years but they still operate on the basic principles of spinning reels and matching symbols.
Slots Rules
Slot machines, whether online or live, are so simply they really don't have any rules. The way the game is set up doesn't require you to memorize a single rule. All you have to know is how to put the coin in the machine and spin the reels.
The reels of a slot machine are marked with symbols all the way around the circumference of the reel. After you spin the reels, they will slowly come to a stop and then you'll win if the right combination of symbols has appeared.
In online casinos, you can use your mouse to pick how many credits you want to wager on each spin. Most live casinos now use a ticket system in which you purchase a ticket at the cashier's cage with a set number of credits on it. To play at any particular slot machine, all you have to do is sit in front of it and slide the ticket in.
After that, all you need to know is how to spin the reels. Online casinos have a button you can push with your mouse and live casinos usually have either a handle you pull down or a button you press. Either way, it's simple to get started.
The only decision you have to make once you find a slot machine you like is how many credits you want to bet per spin. You can bet multiple credits at a time if you wish and that will increase your odds of hitting winning combinations. But remember, that advantage comes at the cost of wagering more money every spin.
You're always welcome to bet just one credit at a time but you'll win less often this way. That's OK though because you'll be paying less money per spin. Overall, the odds work out the same either way.
If you're interested in knowing the top payout at any certain slot, you can usually find it listed above the slot machine somewhere. Progressive jackpot slot machines often keep a running total next to the machine that you can watch grow every second.
Slots Strategy
Out of all the games in the casino, slot machines probably offer the fewest opportunities for you to apply any type of strategy. The game is so simple and structured that there's really nothing you can do to change the odds or give yourself an advantage.
There is only one piece of advice I can give you that will actually improve the odds, albeit slightly. Always try to play the maximum number of coins per spin. This can get expensive at the wrong slot machine so choose carefully.
By betting the max per spin, you give yourself a chance to win bigger jackpots. Progressive jackpot slot machines are usually programmed to only offer a chance at the jackpot if you be the maximum amount of coins during that spin. Beyond that, there's nothing else you can do to increase your odds at any particular slot machine.
Instead of trying to implement any sort of strategy at an individual slot machine, your best bet is to compare slot machines and pick the ones with the highest payout rates. Before you visit a casino, whether online or live, it pays to do your homework and find the slot machines that return the most money per dollar wagered.
It also pays to pick slot machines that have the highest progressive jackpots. Even though the odds of actually winning a progressive jackpot are infinitesimal, the possibility is still there. If you're lucky enough to hit a progressive jackpot, it might as well be at a machine that offers the biggest jackpot of them all.
The last piece of strategy I can leave you with is to tell you to forget about all the slot myths out there. There is no such thing as a hot or cold machine, it doesn't matter how long it's been since a slot has paid out and there's no way to predict the likelihood of a slot paying out. Every slot machine is controlled by a computerized random number generator. This means every spin of the wheels is an independently random event.