A payout percentage refers to how much of the money spent on the machine is returned to customers. Choose machines with higher payout percentages to increase your odds.

Picking higher payout percentages may help your overall chances; payout percentages are one of the few concrete pieces of data available to aid you when choosing slot machines.

However, these statistics are taken over millions of spins. Because you're only on the machine a short period of time in relation to those millions of spins, you could see a lot of variance in your winnings. You aren't guaranteed that percentage.

Pick machines with the smallest jackpots. Machines that offer a lot of large prizes tend to pay less often, while machines with smaller prizes tend to pay out more frequently. The bigger the jackpot, the harder it is to hit, so you're better off choosing a machine with a smaller jackpot.

Two machines might look exactly the same, but one may pay out a 1, credit jackpot and the other 10, credits. Be aware of the maximum you can win on your machine. Bet the max wager to increase your jackpot chances.

Most machines only pay bonuses and progressive jackpots when the maximum credits are bet. Even on non-progressive machines, the jackpot payout for the maximum credit bet is typically markedly higher than at any other level.

Play in an area with a lot of traffic. Machines that pay out more frequently known as "loose" machines are typically located in high visibility areas. The idea is that the sound of you winning will attract more attention, enticing other people to come and spend money, too.

Pick machines based on what you like to increase your enjoyment. Whether you like simpler machines with a single payout line or ones with a lot of bonus features, play the ones you enjoy.

The odds are not going to be significantly better on one type or the other. Remember that luck plays a major role in your slot success, so while your strategy is to win, enjoying the machine you play on is equally important.

Method 2. Opt for a video poker machine if you have the skills to play. If you are a good poker player, video poker is a good choice.

That's because it actually does require skill to play, whereas most machines are based entirely on luck. However, only pick this machine if you know how to play well. Otherwise, you lose any advantage you may have had. Try machines with fixed jackpots over progressive jackpots.

Progressive machines are linked together, and the maximum jackpot is determined by how much they're being used. The more people play them, the higher the jackpot amount. However, because of the number of people vying for that jackpot, your odds of winning at progressive machines are lower than fixed machines.

Among flat-top machines, the overall odds are generally similar, no matter how high the jackpot is. Sometimes a bank of progressive machines in a single casino are linked together.

In other cases, the machines are linked throughout the entire state, which is why they feature a high jackpot amount. Choose between reel-spinning or video slots based on your preference.

These are essentially the same style of machine, but one is digital and one is not. Matching these symbols in certain combinations leads to a winning payout.

Video slots play the same, but they may have up to 7 reels, each representing three rows of five symbols. Your chances of winning are pretty much equal for both types of these machines. Alternatively, opt for video slots for a flashier, more entertaining slot machine.

You can even find video slots that feature your favorite cartoon or television show characters. the same goes for online slots games, which are becoming more popular than land based ones Both types are controlled by a program called a random number generator RNG that determines the outcome of each spin and makes it impossible to determine the outcome of future spins.

Method 3. Familiarize yourself with the rules for the machine before you sit down. If you don't understand them, ask an attendant or call customer service if you are playing online.

You need to understand what combinations will win you the most money, especially the jackpot. Place your bet. To play a slot machine, you must first insert bills or coins. When you insert your money, the equivalent amount of credits is displayed.

Your next move depends on the type of machine you've chosen. With newer machines, you may use a card loaded with credits, much like a credit card, which is provided by the casino. Then hit the "spin reels" button or pull the handle.

If you want to bet big, you can hit a button marked "play max credits," which will play the maximum coins allowed on that machine. On video slots, you must push two buttons to complete your bet. First, push one button for the number of paylines you want to activate and then push a second button to chose how many credits you want to bet per line.

Video slots generally have five reels spinning on the screen. Pick your paylines. Your payout is determined by a winning combination of symbols that appear on what's called the payline.

On classic reel spin machines, only one payline is displayed on the face of the machine, but video machines offer more paylines. Paylines can be represented horizontally, vertically, diagonally and even in zigzags.

Method 4. Know your limit. Set a "lose limit" and a "double my money" amount before you enter the casino. If you're winning , stop when you have doubled your initial amount. If you're losing, stop when you reach your lose limit.

National Institutes of Health Go to source This will keep you from spending more than you can afford at the casino. Plus, setting a win limit will help you come out ahead. If you keep betting, you could lose everything you've won. That's your "lose limit. Make a long-term plan. If you'll be vacationing in a gambling town or spending several days to play, it's best to figure out how you'll budget your funds to cover the length of your visit.

Here's what you can do: [11] X Research source Decide how many days you'll make it to the casino and how long you'll gamble during each session. Divide your total bankroll by the number of days and then divide that daily allowance by the number of hours you plan to play each day.

This will tell you how much you can afford to lose per hour. You decide that you want to play a total of four hours per day. Have back-up plans in place to keep your spending in check. You may be surprised at how quickly you can go through your bankroll by playing the slots.

With ATMs conveniently located throughout the casino floor, you may find yourself spending more than you intended on your quest to strike it rich.

Buddy up. Make a pact with a friend that you'll stop each other from spending more than an agreed-upon amount. Playing with coins rather than feeding bills into the machine will extend the time of your play.

Pocket any winnings you earn. Play only with the money from your initial bankroll; that way, you won't walk away empty-handed.

You don't lose what you're winning, which is counterproductive. This is harder to do if the casino has a card system; however, you can try cashing out big winnings when they happen. Join the casino's club to earn benefits. Join the slot clubs if you are playing at a land-based casino or take advantage of bonus money offerings that online services give to their loyal customers.

These clubs often offer bonus cash for playing the slots, while others may give you discounts on things like buffets or hotel stays. These offers are based on how many coins you play in the slot machines or your rate of play.

Compare the benefits of different casinos or sites and choose the casino that offers the best benefits or freebies for your level of play. Some casinos even give some of these points back as cash, making your gambling dollar stretch even further.

Be sure you always have your club card inserted in your slot machine before you spin. You want to get credit for every bit of your play time. mark cesley. There is no "way" to win in caveman keno. But you will get the best RTP return to player , meaning the best winning odds, if you pick 6 or 7 numbers.

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Support wikiHow Yes No. Not Helpful 60 Helpful I always play the machine for a few spins just to see if the winning cycle continues. But it's safest not to spend too much time playing after you've won, as you're likely to lose money. Not Helpful Helpful Does playing the machine on the end as opposed to the middle make a difference?

Higher traffic visual. More payouts. Machines that pay more will always be where the majority of customers can see others win, as that urges them to play as well.

Not Helpful 49 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Don't believe the "Hot and Cold" machine myth.

Gamblers by trade are superstitious, and casinos have targeted machine names and colors to the "hot" theory. All machine spins are predetermined by the computer inside them and not by how much you rub it or how lucky it is.

Play the games you like, and enjoy the casino without buying into this myth. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0. When choosing a machine that claims a high payout percentage, look closely at the advertisement before sitting down. As a practical matter, even in a light crowd, it's wise not to play more machines than you can watch over easily.

Play too many and you could find yourself in the situation faced by the woman who was working up and down a row of six slots. She was dropping coins into machine number six while number one, on the aisle, was paying a jackpot. There was nothing she could do as a passerby scooped a handful of coins out of the first tray.

Sometimes players taking a break for the restroom will tip a chair against the machine , leave a coat on the chair, or leave some other sign that they'll be back.

Take heed of these signs. A nasty confrontation could follow if you play a machine that has already been staked out. Payout percentages, or the proportion of wagers returned to players as winnings, have risen since the casinos figured out it's more profitable to hold 5 percent of a dollar than 8 percent of a quarter or 10 percent of a nickel.

In most of the country, slot players can figure on about a 93 percent payout percentage, though payouts in Nevada run higher. Keep in mind that these are long-term averages that will hold up over a sample of , to , pulls.

In the short term, anything can happen. It's not unusual to go 20 or 50 or more pulls without a single payout on a reel-spinning slot, though payouts are more frequent on video slots. Nor is it unusual for a machine to pay back percent or more for several dozen pulls.

But in the long run, the programmed percentages will hold up. Since earlier slot machines were mechanical, if you knew the number of stops — symbols or blank spaces that could stop on the payout line — on each reel, you could calculate the odds on hitting the top jackpot. If a machine had three reels, each with ten stops, and one symbol on each reel was for the jackpot, then three jackpot symbols would line up, on the average, once every 10,, pulls, or 1, pulls.

On systems that electronically link machines in several casinos, progressive jackpots reach millions of dollars. The microprocessors driving today's machines are programmed with random-number generators that govern winning combinations.

It no longer matters how many stops are on each reel. If we fitted that old three-reel, ten-stop machine with a microprocessor, we could put ten jackpot symbols on the first reel, ten on the second, and nine on the third, and still program the random-number generator so that three jackpot symbols lined up only once every 1, times, or 10, times.

And on video slots, reel strips can be programmed to be as long as needed to make the odds of the game hit at a desired percentage. They are not constrained by a physical reel. Each possible combination is assigned a number or numbers.

When the random-number generator receives a signal — anything from a button being pressed to the handle being pulled — it sets a number, and the reels stop on the corresponding combination. Between signals, the random number generator operates continuously, running through dozens of numbers per second.

This has two practical effects for slot players. First, if you leave a machine, then see someone else hit a jackpot shortly thereafter, don't fret. To hit the same jackpot, you would have needed the same split-second timing as the winner.

The odds are overwhelming that if you had stayed at the machine, you would not have hit the same combination. Second, because the combinations are random, or as close to random as is possible to set the program, the odds of hitting any particular combination are the same on every pull. If a machine is programmed to pay out its top jackpot, on the average, once every 10, pulls, your chances of hitting it are one in 10, on any given pull.

If you've been standing there for days and have played 10, times, the odds on the next pull will still be one in 10, Those odds are long-term averages. In the short term, the machine could go , pulls without letting loose of the big one, or it could pay it out twice in a row. Because most players do not understand how slot machines work, whole sets of beliefs have grown over when to play a machine and when to avoid it.

Little truth is in any of them. Here's a look at some of the more pervasive slot myths. From a money management standpoint, it makes sense to lock up the profits from a big hit and move on. But the machine is not "due" to turn cold.

In fact, the odds against the same jackpot hitting on the next pull are the same as they were the first time. Slot machines are never "due. This belief is so widespread that end machines get a good deal of play regardless of how they pay. It is true that not all machines in the same casino are programmed with the same payback percentage.

And it's true that casinos want other customers to see winners. But slot placement is more complex than just placing the hot ones at the ends of aisles. It's not that easy to change a machine's programming. Changing the programmed payback percentage requires opening the machine and replacing a computer chip.

That's not something to do cavalierly. Server-based slot machines that allow casinos to change payout percentages remotely, but there are still regulations around making these changes. Slots are the easiest games in the casino to play — spin the reels and take your chances. Players have no control over what combinations will show up or when a jackpot will hit.

There is no way to tell when a machine will be hot or cold. Still, there are some pitfalls. It's important to read the glass or help menu and learn what type of machine it is.

The three major types of reel-spinning slots are the multiplier, the buy-a-pay and the progressive. On a multiplier, payoffs are proportionate for each coin played — except, usually, for the top jackpot.

If the machine accepts up to three credits at a time, and if you play one credit, three bars pay back ten. Three bars will pay back 20 for two credits and 30 for three credits. However, three sevens might pay for one credit and 1, for two, but jump to 10, when all three credits are played.

Read the glass to find out if that's the case before playing less than the maximum coins on this type of machine. Never play less than the maximum on a buy-a-pay, on which each credit "buys" a set of symbols or a payout line.

The first coin in might allow the player to win only on cherry combination, while the second coin activates the bar payouts, and the third coin activates the sevens. Woe is the player who hits three jackpot symbols on a buy-a-pay with only one coin played — the player gets nothing back.

A variation is the machine with multiple payout lines, each activated by a separate credit. All symbols are active with each credit, but if a winning combination lines up on the third-credit payout line with only one or two credits played, the payoff is zero.

You also have no reason to play less than maximum coins on a progressive machine. A player who eventually lines up the jackpot symbols gets a percentage of each coin played. The first progressive machines were self-contained — the jackpot was determined by how much that particular machine had been played since the last big hit.

Today most progressives are linked electronically to other machines, with all credits played in the linked machines adding to a common jackpot. The tradeoff is that frequency and size of other payouts are usually smaller.

And you can't win the big jackpot without playing maximum credits. If you must play fewer than maximum credits, look for a multiplier in which the final-coin jump in the top jackpot is fairly small.

Better yet, choose a machine that allows you to stay within your budget while playing maximum credits. If you're not comfortable playing three quarters at a time, move to a two-quarter machine. If you can't play two quarters at a time, play a nickel machine. With so many paylines and the possibility of betting multiple credits per line, video slots are different.

Some penny slots with 20 paylines take up to 25 coins per line. Most players bet less than the max on video slots but are sure to cover all the paylines, even if betting only one credit per line.

You want to be sure to be eligible for the bonus rounds that give video slots most of their fun. Some progressive jackpots require max bets, and some don't.

If a max bet is required to be eligible for the jackpot and you're not prepared to roll that high, find a different machine.

Managing your money wisely is the most important part of playing any casino game, and also the most difficult part of playing the slots. Even on quarter machines, the amount of money involved runs up quickly.

A dedicated slot player on a machine that plays off credits can easily get in pulls an hour. Still, you will come out ahead more often if you pocket some of those smaller payouts and don't continually put everything you get back into the machine.

One method for managing money is to divide your slot bankroll for the day into smaller-session bankrolls.