Slot Truths

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to win at slots. There isn’t much strategy involved with the casino game, but that doesn’t mean it’s all based on luck. There are do’s and don’ts to winning at slots. Since it’s such an easy game, everyone thinks they’re an expert so a lot of strategies and tips get spread fast. Not all of the information is correct, especially if you read it online where anyone can write anything. Luckily for you, the writers for this site have years of online gambling experience and writing for strategy. These tips come from the professionals. Read on so you don’t fall prey to the most common slot myths.

Losses cannot be blamed on a bad slot. There is no such thing as a cold or hot machine. Each spin on a slot game has the same odds as any other spin. Your chances do not change because the slot has a predetermined payout percentage that was installed during the design. For online slots, a random number generator (RNG) formulates the outcome of each spin. Once you click the Spin button, the RNG already knows what will come up.

Progressive slots keep a running tab of how much money has been played. However, the jackpot, which is the moneymaker and main point to playing progressive slots, is still random. Progressives can be linked to each other and even at other casinos. That’s when you see the jackpots in the millions of dollars. Though a casino may advertise a high payout (maybe around 97-98%), that may only apply to select slots. Read the terms and conditions carefully before playing.

Playing the maximum bet on a slot won’t change your odds. As mentioned above, the odds don’t change no matter what strategy you use, similar to craps or roulette. The caveat is if you play less than the maximum bet, you don’t get the full jackpot on a win. Instead, you only get a part of it. So, always find a slot in your price range and play the maximum bet.

One last truth to playing slots is the order of the symbols on the reels before playing does not change the outcome of the spin. You can’t win based on the order of the symbols. It’s just the result of the last spin, plain and simple.

How Online Slots Work

All right, all right. You probably know how a slot machine works. It doesn’t take a genius to put money in and pull the handle to make the reels spin. You don’t have to be a gambling expert to understand that a winning combination is when the reel symbols land on an active payline for a payout.

Understandably, slots are the most popular game at online casinos because of their simplicity and big payouts. People think of it as a way to easy money. And, slots are a well known commodity in the casino industry with their flashing lights and sounds.

As gaming technology advanced, slots became available at online casinos. You will find a lot more variety in slots online than at a land-based casino. Slots at online casinos are known as video slots, because they are basically video games. The reels and buttons are part of the software. They are more for visual appeal since they are the most recognizable parts of slot machines.

In the good ol’ days, reels spun until they ran out of momentum or were stopped by a timer. For online slots, a random number generator (RNG) determines the outcome of the spin. RNG’s are used for every casino game online. When a new slot is being designed, all the possible outcomes of the reels are inputted into the RNG. It protects the player from a rigged game. Once you press the Spin button for an online slot, the RNG randomly selects one of the outcomes to be that result. Even though the reels are spinning for a few seconds, the outcome has already been determined.

Many players think that if they press the Stop Spin button before the reels stop spinning, they can affect the outcome of the spin. This is not true because of the RNG. Once you click Spin, the random outcome has already been selected. A “random selection” may sound like an oxymoron, but the RNG truly does randomize the results.

The Stop Spin button actually hurts your odds. Since the spin ends sooner, the next spin will begin sooner. The more spins per hour, the more opportunities for you to lose money. The less time and money you put into a progressive slot, the less likely you are to win the big jackpot. Give yourself a chance and be patient when you play online slots.

Slot Tips

There are a lot of myths surrounding slots. They get circulated online and any new gambler is none the wiser. So, I have compiled some of the best slot tips that disprove a lot of those myths.

Before playing any slot game, or many other types of casino games for that matter, know that winning is all by chance. Everyone has equal odds when it comes to slots. That’s because there is no strategy involved. Contrary to popular belief, the machine doesn’t use how much money has been played since its last jackpot to determine when it will hit again. With that being said, not all machines are created equal. Some are programmed to offer a higher payout percentage.

On the same coin, the odds don’t change based on the amount bet. The best advice I can give you is to always play the maximum. If you play less than that, you will miss out on wins on the line you didn’t bet on, which means less of a payout. If the maximum bet is out of your price range, find a lower-priced slot. It’s best to go for the full jackpot, instead of just a piece of it.

There is no such thing as a hot or cold machine. Each spin has the exact same chance of winning no matter when or where you play that type of machine. Some slots are linked together to form progressive jackpots, in which a small percentage of your bet goes into a jackpot. That’s the draw of slots—the jackpot. You can’t win based on the symbols you saw on the slot before you started playing. It doesn’t affect the outcome. It’s just the last spin played. The lower paying symbols are more likely to come up because they surround the higher paying symbols above and below. Therefore, many of your wins will be small.

As far as land-based casinos are concerned, the highest payout slots are in the high-traffic areas. Those areas include next to restaurants, ATMs and cashiers because they are the first thing someone sees. It’s an impulse bet. Even if you’re on a break, your money isn’t safe in the casino so try to control yourself. The most important slot tip of all is to play to your bankroll. Set win/loss limits and stick to them. Though dollar slots may have higher payouts, they aren’t a good idea if you only have $10.

Microgaming Releases New Online Slots Games

Whether your preference is golf, adventure or the exotic, Microgaming has given players three new online slots games that are bound to appeal to their fan base.

The first of the three new online slots games carries a golf theme and is called The Argyle Open. Players have forty paylines and five reels at their disposal to help them increase the size of those argyle pockets.

To help players have a Scatter and a Wild in their bag of clubs as well as a three level bonus game. In this bonus game players will find themselves on the green, club in hand, to play through the Drive, the Fairway and finally the Putt to earn their bonus prize.

Next a trip to Africa is in order I think. Here players will encounter Lions and Antelopes as they go in search of online slots glory. Lion’s Pride is a five reel with one hundred paylines to search through. Up to twenty five free spins can be yours if you can land three or more Scatters. Add to those free spins a multiplier that could be worth up to 10x, and this is one safari you are bound to enjoy.

After a few rounds of golf and a safari go for the exotic with the Dragon Lady, the third of the new online slots games Microgaming has released this month. Five reels and forty paylines are set in the Orient.

Players have four Scatters to play with. Three of these Scatters can trigger a bonus game in which players try to match two symbols to earn a multiplier. What kind of a multiplier? One that could be worth up to 100x. The fourth Scatter can trigger ten, twenty or twenty five free spins with a 2x multiplier on them.

Microgaming has certainly given online slots players some enjoyable games for this summer.

New slots to play

It's like Christmas, except it comes around more often. Though sometimes it does cost me as much money. But Playtech has just released four new slot games for us to play, all with great themes. Well, mostly.

The Archer is a Robin Hood themed slot and I really think that the a slot game based on a someone who steals from the rich and gives to the poor is a great theme. Mostly because I often feel like the poor. So I might just win some money off this game if Robin keeps to his promises. This also promises to play differently than other slots since it features no play lines and allows for 243 winning combinations of symbols.

The Rocky slot game is of course based on the popular Rocky moves. This is a 25 payline slot where the bonus game will allow you to choose Rocky's opponent in the games. A plus for boxing fans.

The Punisher War Zone is a video slot with a futuristic theme and based on the Marvel film. So if you love the action and energy that Marvel brings, check out this slot game.

The last slot is The Discovery, which is the one I'm not sure about. It's a 20 pay line slot featuring Christopher Columbus and Pocahontas as part of a 25^th century explorer them. The problem is that fortune didn't really treat either of those two very well. It's a luck thing. I'm not sure I want to play a slot where the highest winning symbols didn't do well in life. Give me Robin Hood instead.

WagerWorks "Slot Provider of the Year"

Wager Works, which provides games for the popular Virgin Casino site, has been named Slot Provider of the Year at the first EGR b2b Supplier Awards in London. With more than a decade of experience in the online gaming market, WagerWorks is a top name in creating cool and innovative games. Though a lot of their success seems to come from creating games based on already known titles.

One of my favorites is Cluedo, which is based on the game Clue. You've played it. The mystery game where everyone tries to figure out if it was Professor Plum in the Library with a Candlestick. But Wager Works has also created a trio of Monopoly titles, where you can pass Go and collect 200 dollars. Or maybe a lot more if you're lucky. There are also two Wheel of Fortune Games, and even a Jeopardy based game.

There newest game, Noah's Ark, adds a new twist to the slot game world. The game features a slit symbols option. So a position on the reels can show two icons instead of one. This means you can line up a potential ten symbols instead of five.

If you want to check out the Wager Work titles, you'll want to head over to Virgin Games. The casino features a great selection of games with just one draw back. It isn't open to players from the United States. But this is a bit of a problem with the Wager Works games as a whole. They seem to be restricted to U.K. based sites and the U.S. players can't get to them.

Virgin teams up with Microgaming

Virgin Casino is a great place to play and they offers some of the more unusual slots games that you'll find on the web. There's even a Tetris based slots game, which is just a strange sort of game. You watch Tetris shaped blocks fall in what looks like a traditional tetris game, except that you don't get to control the fall of the blocks. But if they line up and form a row, like in Tetris, you win. And we all like winning.

But now Virgin is increasing their offering of games by adding Microgaming games to the site. But Virgin is trying to be unique in how they do this. Other casinos have added games by changing their software providers. A bummer for players at the casino because they can lose the ability to play their favorite games that used to be on the site and have to chase down another casino with those games.

But Virgin Casino has decided it doesn't want to be dependent on just one software provider. So, they aren't dropping their existing games. So I'll still be able to play Tetris over there, but I'll also be able to play some new slots games from Microgaming.

Hey, I recommend joining more than one online casino so you can play the games you want to play. They shouldn't be able to hold you hostage to just one company's games. But I like this new Virgin take on the business where they offer me more than one company's games on one site. That way I can add up my bonus points and other offers faster and have fewer accounts to worry about.

I love iSlots!

Have you played iSlots yet? They're the newest entry into the slots market and one of the big reasons for me to play slots online. Because I love the play of iSlots. They're far less predictable and static than regular slots.

So, what's an iSlot? Basically it's an interactive slot game that combines slots action with video game action familiar to the computer generation. Slots games based on casino action are fairly simple. Oh, sure they may have fancy graphics and spinning wheels. But you can play them by simply clicking a button over and over again. You don't have to even pay attention to win.

But with iSlots, there's another dimension to the game. Oh, there's the traditional slots play, so you'll get your share of that. But if you hit the right combination of symbols you'll trigger a bonus game where you have to interact with the computer. You may shot down aliens or battle it out with the cops in a great bank heist. But you have to play against the computer to win. And it's fun.

Really, that's what it comes down to. The games have different levels and various games and they really are fun to play. You'll have to find an online casino running Rival software to play them, so try Ruby Royal or Box 24 or similar casinos. They'll even let you sign up and play for a free - no money needed. So give iSlots a chance. Try them and you'll never look at slots the same way again.

How to play free slots

Have you ever wanted to just sit down and play with a slots machine without paying? Yeah, just try that at any casino in Las Vegas. They'll probably laugh at you. If you want to play, you have to pay. Unless you play online. That's a big secret of the online gaming community. Most online gaming sites offer free play options. Just keep in mind that if you play for free, you can't win real money. You still have to pay to do that.

So, why would you want to play for free? Well, studies are showing that playing casino games can actually help reduce stress levels. If you play with fun money, you won't gain back any stress when you look at your bank statement after a round of play. But even the players who like to play for money will often play a game or two for free when checking out a new slots game.

Here's the thing, the new online slot games can be complex and fun to play. But if you're going to play for money, you might want to actually practice playing the game before you start risking real coins. Yes, I said practice playing a slot game. Okay, it's hard to accidentally miss a win since the machines are set up to award them automatically. But some games have bonuses that you can only win of you play for the maximum amount and others have bonuses that you'll discover you want to trigger when playing for a bit more money.

But these days, you don't have to hesitate about playing a slots game. There are plenty of online casinos out there willing to let you play with them for free. Just register with them and start the reels spinning.