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How To Win On Slots: Best Slot Machine Tips | LeoVegas

Ultimate Guide: How to Win at Slots – Myths, Strategies, and Smart Play

The world of online slots is vast and teeming with creative ways to play the ever-popular casino game. Despite there being so much variety, working out how to win at slots tends to boil down to a set of general rules owing to the straightforward nature of the core mechanics.

Table of Contents:

Keeping in mind that every spin on slots from regulated providers is wholly randomized, here’s a look at some strategies you could keep in mind.

Understanding Slot Machines

What are Slot Machines?

Slot machines are randomized gambling games in which the player sets their bet amount, hits spin, and sees if the reels land with a winning symbol combination. Usually, you need at least three of the same symbol to land along a payline to secure a win.

Types of Slot Machines (Classic, Video, Progressive)

Having developed tremendously since moving online, there are now many types of slot machines. The classic slots are the games that will be more familiar to those who have played standing machines, often with fewer paylines, classic symbols, and few features, if any.

Video slots make up the glut of online slot game options, being the catchment term for all of the non-jackpot modern slot games. Then, there are the progressive slots. These games play like video slots but are tied to a progressive jackpot that increases with each bet and randomly drops on a player at some point.

How Slots Work

RNG stands for random number generator. This is the mechanic that underpins every spin on the slot machine. It’s designed to produce wholly random results within the parameters of the other core mechanics, namely the volatility and the RTP – the latter of which essentially shows the reverse of the house edge.

Return to Player (RTP): What it Means for You

Return to player percentages denote how much of the money bet on a slot is paid out over an extended period of time. So, whatever the percentage is, the amount left to 100 percent is essentially the house edge. For online slot players, the higher the RTP, the better, but the standard is to be over 92 percent, and with so many players, it’s tough to truly experience the effect of the RTP.

Slot Volatility: Low vs High Volatility Machines

Slot game volatility has a much more pronounced impact on your gaming session. Low volatility means that, on average, the slot will payout more often but in smaller amounts. The opposite is true of high volatility slots.

Setting Realistic Expectations

In slot gaming, there is only luck. Skill doesn’t factor in online slot play.

Slot Machine Odds: Why the House Always Wins (Long Term)

The house always wins in the long term because of the RTP never being at 100 percent. So, not all of what’s bet will be paid back out to the players.

Psychological Traps: Chasing Losses and the “Due” Myth

As every single spin is completely randomized and you haven’t a clue how many other players across the internet are currently or have recently spun your slot, you’ll never know how long a losing streak could last. Never chase losses as wins aren't guaranteed and are certainly never “due.” The law of averages doesn’t apply when every spin is completely randomized.

Choosing the Right Slot Machine

High RTP Machines to Look For

RTP is mostly standardized across video slots, but many will prefer to pick slots with high RTPs for the maximum potential edge. For that, check out high RTP slots like Sugar Rush 1000 and Beware the Deep MEGAWAYS .

Low Volatility for Longer Playtime

Low volatility slots aren’t as common among new releases anymore, but their big selling point is the more regular payouts on average. Some of the best low volatility slots to spin are Big Bite Push Ways and Vegas Blitz: Hold & Win.

Progressive Jackpot Slots: High Risk, High Reward

Progressive jackpot slots have evolved a lot over the years. Mega Moolah launched with a sub-88% RTP, leaning into the size of its jackpot. RTPs are generally still on the lower side here, but players spin in these high-risk games for a shot at the big prizes. For that, the biggest of them all is the WowPot! range, which is headlined by Ancient Fortunes: Poseidon WowPot! MEGAWAYS and Queen of Alexandria WowPot!.

Themed Slots vs. Traditional Slots: Any Difference?

At their core, themed slots aren’t much different from traditional slots, but as themed games are a major trend of the online casino era, this generally comes down to the differences between modern video slots and classic slots.

Tech Tips: Using Data to Improve Your Game

Tracking RTPs and Slot Statistics

Throughout a session on a slot, it’s always a good idea to look at your own statistics, tracking the RTP that your spins experience by taking note of the amount you bet and its win or loss on each spin. Also noting how often you trigger bonuses and features will help to give you some kind of statistical look at your experience during that session.

Using Slot Review Sites and Community Insights

There are millions of online slot gamers around the world, which has led to several communities forming and independent review platforms emerging. Some of these platforms will do runs of hundreds or even thousands of spins to get a good sample size to review a game. However, it’s always important to keep in mind that a slot experience can be very subjective, owing to the randomness of results.

Identifying Patterns – Is There Such a Thing?

As a general rule, you shouldn’t expect to see patterns in slots across long or multiple sessions other than how the volatility and, to a lesser extent, the RTP dictate the play.

The Psychology of Winning

How Slots Keep You Hooked

Slots keep you hooked by offering small payouts while also teasing – at random and unintentionally in the programming – the potential bonuses. There are many feature symbols on most reels, but their rarity – which plays into the volatility and their heightened payouts – is held in check by there being fewer on one reel.

Practicing Emotional Control

Online slots are designed to be exciting and immersive as, after all, they’re entertainment products. So, keeping your emotions in check following a long series of losses, a set of wins, or a big win is key to having the right mindset throughout a slot gaming session.

Gamification and Slot Design Tricks

The core mechanic of slot gaming hasn’t changed for well over a century: what has changed is the design of games, the expansive nature of their symbols and features, and their overall gamification. They’re designed to feel more like a modern digital game, which is inherently more immersive, so it’s good to know that it’s still a slot game at its core.

The Importance of Mindset and Discipline

Play for entertainment and enjoy any wins that you might win, but go in prepared to lose your whole bankroll. Discipline remains the key method of how to win at slots, sticking to a hard figure for your bankroll and walking away with any winnings that come your way. This way, you’ll always be a winner of something if the symbols fall in your favour even once.

Top 20 Tips to Win at Slots (Realistically)

1. Always Check the RTP Before Playing

RTP percentages are mostly standardized across the regulated and competitive slot gaming space, but it’s still good practice to check the RTPs before spinning. For some slot players, the RTP is the main element that will determine if they’ll spin the slot or not, and there is certainly a slight advantage to picking a particularly high RTP slot over one of the lower RTP games.

2. Choose Low Volatility Machines for Longer Sessions

Coming in for a session of slot gaming to enjoy the entertainment, your best bet is to open a low volatility slot game. These slots payout more often, on average, than medium or high volatility slots, enabling your bankroll to keep topping up and giving you more time to try to trigger the more valuable features and symbol combinations. For this, have a look at slots like Agent Jane Blonde Returns.

3. Set a Strict Budget and Never Exceed it

Key to online slot gaming, playing online table games, or even when exploring the collection of crash and mine games, is to set a strict budget and never exceed it. Sometimes, the reels just don’t fall well, and the worst thing you can do after a session like that is add to your losses pile by chasing wins beyond your bankroll. Pick exactly how much you’d be fine with losing, use that as your bankroll, and stick to it.

4. Use Casino Loyalty Rewards and Promotions

Due to the massive popularity of slot games, any collection of promotions and loyalty programs worth its salt will feature slot boosts. You’ll often find ways of collecting extra time on slots in these promo sections, usually in the form of free spins and sometimes as boosted returns in tournament and rankings formats.

5. Avoid Progressive Slots Unless You Can Afford Max Bets

It’s not uncommon for progressive slot games to have a rule of only letting the top progressive jackpot prize drop on players who are spinning at the maximum bet. If not, maximum bets likely have a higher chance of triggering the jackpot, even with its release being randomized across all players. So, unless you can afford the maximum bets, are prepared for those bets not to yield the hefty top prizes, maybe don’t play the progressive slots.

6. Play Slots with Smaller Jackpots for Better Odds

The biggest progressive jackpot slots like Absolootly Mad Mega Moolah and Sisters of Oz WowPot! see their top prizes grow to huge sums which, in turn, brings in more players, crowding the pool of potential winners when the drop is eventually triggered at random. While still randomly determined, logic dictates that playing for the smaller jackpots with fewer competitors would increase your odds of landing the jackpot prizes.

7. Don’t Chase Your Losses

Chasing your losses in a game that’s wholly randomized, as all slots are, is a surefire way to fail at winning on slot games. You’re never due a win and a slot is never due to pay out, so chasing losses is always a futile pursuit. Your best bet is to step away, reset over a few days, and come back to a game when you can afford to replenish your bankroll and start again.

8. Play Only at Licensed, Regulated Casinos

The only way to make sure that the online slots you’re playing are fair is to only play at casinos that are licensed and regulated by respected governing bodies. These regulators enforce strict fairness rules, continually test games pre-release and thereafter, and perform audits on the platforms. Once licensed and regulated, you can trust that you’ll have a fair shake at any potential winnings advertised by an online slot.

9. Use Free Play or Demo Mode to Test Strategies

In slot gaming, the only real strategy that you can reliably deploy is sizing your bets to the stated volatility. Of course, sometimes you want to test the volatility for yourself. So, instead of spending real money on a test run, use the available demo modes and free play to see if the volatility lives up to its claims and, more than anything else, see if you enjoy the experience.

10. Take Breaks Regularly to Maintain Focus

By their very design, modern online slots are very easy to sink into and play for long sessions. Maintain your focus by setting a timer before you take a little step away from your screen, and try to avoid the autoplay function as that nullifies the thought process that naturally goes into each bet.

11. Don’t Believe in Patterns – Each Spin is Random

If you’re trying to work out how to win at slots online, you shouldn’t be thinking in patterns. Slots don’t pay or move in patterns. Every single spin is wholly randomized, so there isn’t any way that anyone, regardless of their claims, can determine when a game is about to turn.

12. Never Play While Tired or Emotional

A neutral emotional state is always what you need for playing online slots because extreme states like being tired or emotional can easily exacerbate the experience and may lead you to making less-than-mindful decisions.

13. Walk Away After a Big Win

You’re playing online slots with the hope of winning more money than you bet, most likely, so the only sound decision that you can make after a big win is to take that cash and walk away!

14. Compare Casinos for the Best Payout Percentages

Casinos will have their own payout percentages, with these figures usually relating to how they preset the RTPs and payout percentages on their games. Naturally, it’s always best to go with online casinos that have the highest payout percentages.

15. Learn the Paylines and Bonus Features of Your Slot

The first step to learning how to win on slots is to go into the game, open the paytable, and then review both the bonus features and the payline count. These elements will have a huge influence on your experience over the session, so to avoid any disappointment or confusion, you should review where the paylines are and how the bonuses work.

16. Stick to Machines You Understand

Online slots can be very complex thanks to the skill and creativity of the many developers that have made their way onto the scene. Still, just because it’s complex, doesn’t mean it’s for you. If you don’t understand exactly how the mechanics work, it’s best to find another game.

There’s a whole host of people who post their slot game sessions online, which can offer you a second-hand look at how they operate to inform your decisions. However, it’s very important to note that a lot of people only post their winning sessions and it’s next to impossible for you to have the exact same experience as anyone else on the same slot game.

18. Take Advantage of Sign-up Bonuses

All welcome bonuses are designed to have maximum appeal to new players, and to achieve that, many bundle in free spins on a hit slot or a selection of great slots. These bonuses can become useful tools when you’re on the hunt for a slot that you’ll enjoy.

19. Try Games from Reputable Developers

While you shouldn’t discount new and emerging developers, as it’s these creatives who look to push the boundaries and increase the competition, it’s fair to stick to reputable, tried, and trusted developers. With a long line of successful and trusted slots, you’ll know that you’re getting a top experience by siding with a reputable studio.

20. Track Your Play to Avoid Compulsive Habits

It’s easy to get lost in the action or lose track of your gambling when playing online slots. So, just for some personal bookkeeping, keep a notepad handy and jot down your start time, end time, amount wagered, amount won, and how much you withdraw afterwards.

Slot Strategy FAQs

Is there a secret to slot machines?

The secret is that there is no secret. When you play online slots, there is no way to know when another big win will hit you - it is completely random.

Is there a slot machine strategy?

Since winning in slot games is completely random, there is no established strategy for winning slot machines like in blackjack or poker. However, some tips can help you better manage your bankroll or choose online slot games that better match your playstyle.

What time of day do slot machines hit the most?

There is no specific time when playing slot games can improve your chances of winning. Online casinos operate 24/7 except for some short maintenance, so players can play slot games online whenever they want.

How often do people win big at slots?

More often than you would imagine - check our big winner stories to learn more about players who won big at LeoVegas!

Can you increase your chances of winning at slots?

Picking the game with higher RTP can potentially increase the chances of winning long-term, however, the slot machine odds remain the same for each spin.

How can I manage my bankroll when playing slots?

To manage your bankroll effectively, you need to settle two things first: how much you are willing to spend and how long you want to play casino slot games.

What are some tips for playing progressive jackpot slots?

There is no certain way to trigger win at the progressive jackpots, however, there are some slot tips that might help you:

  • Check out the slots with LeoJackpot on our jackpot slots page
  • Prepare a solid bankroll: jackpot slots are usually highly volatile and often require a high maximum bet
  • Play slot machines in demo mode to better understand the game features and mechanics
  • Learn more about bonus games and how to trigger them - most slots have bonus rounds that can provide higher multipliers and more free spins.

How do you know when a slot machine is going to hit?

It is simple - you don't. There is no clear indication of when the slot machine will hit. Every spin can be a winning one, and that is the most fun part of playing online slots!

Should you manually stop slot machines?

You surely can, but it really makes no difference. When you play land-based slot machines, pulling that lever can feel good, however, when you play on your mobile, you just tap the screen.

Do slot machines remember you?

Online slot machines do not have any memory, and each spin is calculated to be unique and not affected by other spins.

What is the best strategy to win at slot machines?

There is no guaranteed strategy for winning, however, checking the tips listed at the beginning of this article might help to get the idea of online slot games strategy.

How do I pick a good paying slot machine?

Check the volatility and RTP in slot game details.

What triggers a jackpot on a slot machine?

Slots are a game of luck, run using a random number generator (RNG). So, truth be told, there’s no real strategy that can be applied to beat these machines.

How do you know when a slot is hot?

There is no such thing as a "hot" slot - each spin is completely random.

Which slot machine is most likely to win?

RTP and volatility are the main factors when it comes to determining the winning slot machine. A low volatility slot with a high RTP theoretically going to generate the most frequent wins.

Read more about slots and other casino games in our guides: