Tips & Tricks to Beating Online Slot Machines

Is there a trick to playing online slots? What you need to know.

Online casinos aren’t the shady, unreliable, slow-loading operations of decades past. At the turn of the century, internet gamblers didn’t really know what they were getting into. Now days, iGaming is a global industry, embraced by the tech-savvy, secured by government regulation. The games that were once questionably partisan are now certified fair by respected watch-dog services. Slot machine jackpots aren’t just for show. Multi-million dollar payouts really do happen. With the clandestine smoke of yesteryear cleared, and player apprehensions faded, there’s really only one question left. Are there any real tricks to beating online slot machines?

Is There a Trick to Playing Online Slots?

I’ve been asked this more times than I can count. The answer is, “Yes and no”. It really depends on what you mean by “trick”. If you’re asking if there’s a way to swindle, deceive, or conspire against the online casinos to win money – to somehow cheat the system or trick a digital machine into paying more prizes – then the answer is a steadfast, “No”.

Not only would that be fraud, which is rightly illegal (and the very thing people were so upset with rogue online casinos for doing in the late 1990s), it would be impossible to succeed without getting caught. Technology is far more advanced these days. There are security systems monitoring everything that goes on at online casinos. If a game’s software malfunctions, by chance or by tampering, the payout is void. Leave any trace of evidence, and you’ll be in deep trouble before you know it.

Then there’s the noble variety of winning slot tricks…

Honorable Tricks to Beating Online Slot Machines

These aren’t deceptive tricks at all. They are the kind that come with great knowledge of the way iGaming software works. These tricks will increase your chances of winning, but will not break any laws or breach any moral codes in the process.

With that in mind, it’s important to understand that you cannot increase a slot machine’s payout percentage above 100%. The payout percentage is the theoretical return to player (RTP), a figure that represents how much a machine will return in winnings, compared to how much players bet on that machine. For example, a 97% RTP slot would pay back 97% of it’s intake (i.e. $97 for every $100 wagered).

That’s a theoretical figure, of course, and only holds true in the long-term, over the course of millions of spins. In the short term, a machine could pay more or less than its intended RTP – in some cases, a lot more or less. This is how players are able to beat casinos.

Learn more: Casino Mathematics by UNLV Center for Gaming Research

The other thing you need to understand is what “fair” means in the casino industry. Players like to think that “fair” means they have a 50/50 chance of winning or losing. That’s not the case. Fair simply means the casino isn’t cheating. Remember, casinos are businesses, and businesses have to make money. Thus, a 97% RTP slot machine guarantees, over time, that the casino will earn a 3% profit on all bets made on that game. And if the casino wins, then the players must collectively lose. Some will win, sure, but more will lose than win. And that is what is considered “fair”.

With this knowledge in tow, let’s take a look at 3 valid tricks for playing online slot machines.

#1 Know the RTP Before Playing Online Slots

This is one of the greatest advantages of playing slot machines online. Land-based casinos rarely reveal the RTP of their slot machines. They might say they have 98% RTP slots, but they won’t say which slots pay that high. It could just be a single slot, mixed in a sea of low-paying games. Online casinos, on the other hand, will almost always reveal the RTP of each game. If you find one that doesn’t, don’t play there. You can always find a better casino that does.

It should be your right as the customer to examine a game’s payout percentage, so that you can make an informed decision as to whether you should play or not. The best slot machines are always going to be the ones with the highest RTP. A game that pays out at 97.2% is more likely to be profitable than a game with a 94.3% RTP. Knowing what we know about the “fairness” of casino games, at the very least, you should be able to play a higher RTP slot machine longer than a low RTP slot, before your bankroll runs low.

Average Slot RTP and Where to Find It

The industry’s more reputable iGaming software labs will list each game’s RTP within its pay table info. If you don’t see it there, try going to the manufacturer’s website (Microgaming, NetEnt, Playtech, etc.) and look up the game title. Again, if it’s not easy enough to find, don’t play. It’s their loss, not yours.

The average RTP for online slots these days is about 96.15%. Anything above that is good – the higher the better. The only exception is progressive slots. Microgaming’s Mega Moolah, for example, is networked across a wide selection of games with RTPs ranging from 88.12% to 93.45%. Having a million dollar jackpot seed and an average hit rate of $6m every 8 weeks, it’s understandable that the RTP would be lower.

#2 Play High Volatility Slots, Carefully

Today’s slot machines have what we call “volatility”, or “variance”. A high-volatility slot machine does not hit winning combinations very often. However, when it does, the payout for those wins tends to be a lot better. A low-volatility game, on the other hand, will pay out very frequently, but in very small amounts – most often smaller than the amount you’re betting per spin.

The reason you should stick to slot machines with a high variance (or at least a medium variance) is because low-volatility slots are more likely to drain your bankroll dry. The wins you do hit won’t be very significant, which (purposely) convinces most players that they should just keep going. As they do, their bankroll slowly bleeds out. They get a good deal of entertainment for their wagering dollars, as the game tends to last longer, but the chance of profitability is slim to none.

If entertainment value is your goal, by all means play the low-volatility slots. But if you really are hoping to strike a big win, it’s the high-volatility slots you should be playing.

Remember, I said to play these games “carefully”. That’s because your bankroll is going to drop faster between winning spins. Make sure you have enough money to play with that you can spin the reels at least 100 times (i.e. minimum $100 bankroll at $1 per spin). Anything less, and the probabilities are stacked against you.

#3 Don’t Get Greedy, a Small Profit is Better than None

You have to go into your online casino experience with realistic expectations. Set a reasonable profit goal, maybe 15-20%. That might sound low, but when you consider the casino is happy to earn just 1-3%, not only is 15-20% more than reasonable, it’s actually rather high. Even blackjack players, who play games with average 0.5% RTP or better, rarely expect to make more than 10% in a session. Fortunately, slot variance makes it more reasonable to shoot for up to 20% profit.

If you hit your win margin, cash out and walk away. This is the most neglected trick to playing online slots. Most people get caught up in the excitement of the win, and lose sight of the real goal – to actually win something. If you keep going, you’re only helping the casino to reach its inevitable long-term goal of beating you.