Slot Machines: Tricks and Stuff!!

I will probably be disappointing you here, but there really aren't many trade tricks when it comes to playing online slot machines, if their was, then casinos would take the steps to iron out the problems, or simply get rid of them altogether!

All the same, there are still a number of rules that need to be respected, they will help you to minimise your losses and maximise your gains.

The following advice will help you, they will not turn you into a millionaire, but they will help you play for longer and lose less money, and occasionally increaser your winnings.

1. Study the machine:
The majority of online casinos propose a ‘fun mode' that will allow you to familiarise yourself with the game, without having to waste any money- this is highly recommended for all casino games. Take advantage of these practice games in order to understand the winning combinations, and, more importantly, to estimate your bankroll so that you are able to play for at least an hour.

Why an hour? Simply because all slot machines function with the same principles and pass through two stages: the phase of building up reserves of cash, when in this phase a machine is said to be ‘cold, and a phase when the machine pays out, this phase is known as ‘hot', and last a great deal less time.

During the ‘cold' period, there will still be some winning moments, but the rhythm is slower than when the machine is in its ‘hot' phase, and you will see your money reduce.

In the ‘hot', distribution, phase the rhythm of pay out is a lot swifter and you will see your profits rise, but this phase does not last long.

On average, there are between 2 and 3 ‘hot' phases during the course of an hour, but this can vary greatly from machine to machine- check out in fun mode the best pattern on that site, but remember that they may be exaggerating the winning phases in fun mode, but you can still establish which is the better game.

For slot machines that allow you to change the value of the bets during the course of the game, you need to try to make sure you are always in the minimum betting range when the machine is ‘cold', and raise the bets when the machine is ‘hot'.

Slot machines that allow you to accumulate points do not allow you to change the amount of the bet during the course of the game; if you do this the machine will automatically reset and you will lose your accumulated points. You can, however, without changing the value of the bet, play only one coin at a time at that level when the machine is in its ‘cold' phase, and then play two or three coins when it is in its ‘hot' phase.

Be careful though, you should not place too much accuracy in the ‘fun' mode of the game, the return rate on the machine will not necessarily carry over into the ‘play for real' mode.

2. Choosing your machine.
Your choice of machine appears to be very broad, but in actual fact the majority of machines are practically identical, they use very similar software but they are dressed differently, this is to ensure that they cater to all their punters aesthetic needs.

It is possible to group machines into the following, general, categories/

Slot machines with 3 reels and 1 line (which allow you to play between 1-3 units/coins at a time).

Slot machines with 3 reels and 5 line (which allow you to play 1-5 coins at a time).

Slot machines with 5 lines and either 5, 9, 15 or 20 lines.

All these types are either played by themselves, or are hooked up to a progressive jackpot network.

Things to know:
Slot machines with 3 reels pay out more often, but the amount of the pay out is lower.

Inversely; slot machines with 5 reels, the more lines being played, the more the wins are of a higher value...put you need to play for longer to see a good win.

Machines hooked up to a progressive jackpot network will pay out even less often, but the jackpot is greatly increased, and so are the odds of winning. It is therefore important to understand the amounts that have been previously won via the jackpot and on which machine they were being played, find the machine on the network with the best odds of winning!!! And, only play the progressive jackpot when the amount in the pot is approaching the level of previous payouts.

Wins are more common when you play the maximum bet; but the risks are higher as is the cost- these should only be played by those with a large disposable income.

Always try out new slot machines that come to your favoured casinos when they first appear, and play every function that the machine has, in fun mode to begin with! Play 1 coin (instead of 2 or 3...) then go through each possible amount until you reach the maximum, then return back to playing 1 coin. It is often the case that new machines are the more generous than their makers planned for, but that these problems are ironed out over the course of a couple of weeks.

By playing regularly on the same machine, and y counting the number of rounds between two wins (even if they are puny wins) you will be able to establish the regularity of the pay-outs, their individual rhythm, and this will help you to establish when their payout phase is going to happen, and thus the moment at which you should be increasing your bets.

Finally, know when the time has come to stop playing: fix yourself a budget before you begin and do not exceed it; you should be aiming to play for around an hour. And remember, that sometimes luck just simply will not be with you on that session.

An example of a bug that can arise on slot machines: at casino 770, when they launched their Diamond Mind slot (3 reels, 5 lines), by wagering a single coin, players were paid on all the 5 line combinations, as if they had been playing with 5 coins. This was corrected after 2-3 weeks, but the number of players who benefited was huge. But even when this bug was corrected, there was still another factor that could be exploited; the bonus is attained by the presence of three diamonds in correct combination. Each time that a 10-diamond combination comes up then you receive the win as if you played 10 coins, it was sufficient to play just $0.10 in order to get a 10-diamond combination, and if you played with $1 it believed you were playing $10! They have now ironed this glitch out too, but it took several months. So look out for these little glitches and profit from them.