Slot Machine Strategy, Secrets & Tips

Brace yourself for some disappointment folks… when it comes to slot machine strategy there is no hard and fast way to guarantee winning.

Slots games are designed and built with a ‘house edge’ to guarantee that the casino or gaming site make a profit in the long term.

When we say ‘long term’ however, we are talking about potentially millions of plays and as such an individual player can still win on a slot machine and even make an overall profit but the longer you play the more chance you have of losing that profit back.

How To Win A Slot Machines: Top Tips

We know you’re going to chance you hand anyway so here are some top slot machine strategy tips and secrets to help you when you sit down for a session:

1. Use a Higher Paying Slot Machine

As we have talked about above, different slot machines have different RTP (return to player) percentages. That means that over their lifetime they will payout a differing amount to players as compared with the total amount that is wagered with them.

It is therefore beneficial for a player to choose to play a machine or game with a higher rather than a lower payout percentage.

Choosing to play a machine with a 95% rather than an 80% RTP definitely helps your chances of winning.

See our page on the best slot machine by payout percentage for help with this.

2. Clear a Bonus, Fulfil a Promotion or Earn Points

Bonuses (especially welcome bonuses) and promotions can improve your chances of coming out on top because every time you spin you’re a step closer to earning some added cash.

With all promo’s it is likely that in order to actually withdraw any of the bonus funds, the player will have to stake a certain amount on slots games, play a certain number of spins earn a required amount of points (known as wagering requirements).

The lower the wagering requirements the quicker you’ll release your bonus.

Check out the best slot machine bonuses here and their wagering requirements – try to clear one to give yourself a better chance of coming out on top overall.

Note: there is no guarantee that you’ll end up in profit clearing a bonus or promotion. However if you clear a R4 300 bonus and you’re R2 200 down overall in doing it then you’re actually R2 200 in profit – when used correctly promotions can give you a better chance of winning).

3. Quit While You Still Can

This is probably the single most useful tip or piece of strategy advice that can be offered to any player of slot machines. When you start playing, think about a ‘win stop’ and ‘lose stop’ amount (a level of profit or loss that you might reach) and make sure you stop playing and take your winnings or don’t lose too much.

Players can of course reach these ‘win stop’ points as slots do offer a real chance for a player to come out on top but the inherent ‘house edge’ of all machines means that prolonged and continued success is almost impossible.

If you do find yourself nicely in profit on a gaming session then, the only sensible and reliable way to ensure that your winnings is well-used is to not use it to continue playing slots. If you get too far behind spend your allotted amount and stop playing.

4. Play For A Jackpot

Slot machines do not offer a reliable, let alone a guaranteed way to make money.

If you’re well aware of that, but still enjoy playing and dreaming of that one spin that could change your life, make sure that you are doing what you can to be eligible for that big payout.

Certain machines and slots games, especially if they offer a very sizeable top jackpot, require players to meet specific wager requirements, be it amount per spin or bet level, before they are eligible to trigger that jackpot.

If you are playing slots for fun and for the outside chance of hitting it big therefore, make sure that you research the terms and conditions of your chosen machine or game to find out what – if any – such restrictions there are.

5. You Can’t

Perhaps the most honest and useful answer to the question of “how can you win at slots” is that generally speaking you can’t.

There is no strategy, scheme or plan that you can adopt that will make playing slots a reliable and successful way of making money. The games are not rigged and players are not cheated but the odds are simply stacked against you and there is no way to manipulate luck.

The only people then, who truly win at slots are the casinos and games providers and that very small number of players lucky enough to win a huge jackpot and sensible enough to walk away from the games forever once they have.

Slot machine Tips To Stop Losing

The general message of all of the tips and strategies above, is that there is nothing you can really do to ensure that you win at slots. The best that you can do is to improve your chances as much as you can, don’t throw good money after bad and hope that your luck is in.

With that in mind then, it is crucial if you are still going to play slots to know the best ways of limiting your losses and ensuring that playing slots stays fun.

1. Slow Down

An actual spin of a slot machine takes very little time at all – certainly much less than a hand of poker for example. Once you start playing a slot machine it can be easy to get into a rhythm and to just keep pulling the handle or pressing the spin button time after time.

If it’s not your day then without really realising it you can find yourself losing quite quickly.

Taking just a few extra seconds between spins can make a real difference to the number of plays in an hour or longer without really affecting a your enjoyment of the game. What it would also do however, is to significantly decrease the total money staked in that time and therefore help limit any losses.

2. Set a Loss Limit

This is absolutely crucial. Before you start a slots session set an amount that you are willing to lose and if you do reach that amount cut your losses and stop playing.

It can be incredibly tempting to keep going and try to recoup your losses. Slot machines have no memory of how your previous spins have gone so winnings runs down always follow losing ones. It is much better to cut and run, and to live to fight another day.

3. Stake Less

This is pretty simplistic but if you want to limit the amount that you lose, then there are few better things you can do than to simply bet less. That doesn’t mean to stop playing, it simply means to reduce your stake amount for each spin.

The vast majority of slot machines and games provide a choice when it comes to how much you wish to bet per play, and reducing that amount even slightly can make a big difference over time, especially if you intend on playing a lot of spins.

4. Take Advantage of Free Spins

Many online casinos offer free spins to new players or as part of promotions or offers.

These are opportunities to play certain games without having to stake any money whatsoever and therefore are very popular with players. In many cases, any money won from free plays is subject to wagering requirements but if you were likely to play anyway then these free spins can be invaluable in limiting your losses.

Check out online casinos with free spins here for more info.

You could even switch to the ‘Play For Fun’ mode of any game if you need a break.

5. Seek Help if you Think you Have a Problem

This stands head and shoulders above our other slots tips. If you are losing more than you can afford, feel you can’t get through the day without playing slots or think for any other reasons that you may have a gambling problem, then you need to seek help.

In some circumstances gambling, whether via slots or any other avenue, can be addictive and that can cause real issues.

There are fortunately a number of organisations such as the the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation and Gamblers Anonymous which are there to help anyone with a problem, and that are easy to reach.