General Recommendations for Slots

How many lines do I bet?

Always bet all lines to maximize win. In progressive slots, you can't win the Jackpot if you don't play all the lines. If the betting amount is too high for you, find a progressive with a lower betting amount. Or use the coin size or the number of coins bet per line to adjust amount of bet where available.

Frequency of payouts

Keep track of how various slots pay out - some have many small wins, some have few but large wins. Make a list of each as you play, so you can pick the kind you like in future. When your list is big, contact dominique @ thegoodluckcharm.com - I'll buy it from you. :)

The Gamble feature

Use the gamble feature wisely - gamble when your win is smaller than your bet only.Unless you are of course a risk taker. Some people always gamble when they have lost most of their deposit and are down to their last few spins. If you win you can replenish your bankroll that way, if not - oh well, you were about to go out anyway.

Streaky slots

While slots are truly random, and much work and research as well as constant audits go to making sure the random generators really work,every player will tell you that slots are streaky. A good number of players will play a few hits on a succession of slots until they find one "that is hitting". Others will play the smallest possible number of coins until the slots starts hitting, then they increase the bets.

Payout figures

Many casinos will give you a percentage of payouts. Let's say the payout this month for slots at casino XXX is 95% (a common number). That doesn't mean that 95% of the people who play walk away as winners.

Lets say you put down a $100 deposit and now you are playing at a slot at $2.50 a spin. Among all the slots at this casino, 95% of your $2.50 will be paid out again. Maybe I am playing at the same time, and I get a $4.00 hit.

Some of this is the payout from your $2.50, some from other people's money. Now, I am not going to cash out a $4.00 win, so I play two spins for $2.50 each (adding a dollar of my own), and aunt Marge happens to win $4.00. And so on and so on.

So your 95% payout gets recycled over and over again. The casino is counting on that. If we all put in $100 and cashed out when we have $104.00, there would be no profit for the casino. So we all play our winnings over and over again, and each spin we leave 5% for the casino. What a high payout rate will do for you is allow you to play longer for your money.

The bottom line

The bottom line in slots is the same with all gambling. This is how to do it the smart way:

a) Pick your casinos from a reputable site. At Games and Casino, all casinos are screened for reputation before we post them. Don't click on spam you find in your mailbox. It's no fun at all to win and then find out the casino is fraudulent and will not pay your winnings. Be smart - make use of our hard work. It's free.

b) Learn everything you can about your game. Even in playing slots there are things you need to know, as you have seen when you read the previous articles. If you like to play additional games, download our free casino ebook with all the strategies.

c) Set a budget. Do not under any circumstances exeed your budget.

d) Set a time limit. Do not play longer than planned, no matter what.

e) Don't be too greedy, quit when you are ahead. S/he who cashes out while ahead, wins. S/he who chases higher winnings, loses.

f) An easy way to quit when you are ahead is to cash out your deposit plus an even amount, then finish playing out the remainder. For some reason this makes it psychologically easier to stop at the correct time to be a winner.

g) It's normal to play too long sometimes and to lose the money back. In time you will learn to stop at just the right time. As long as you stay within your budget, it's ok. But you will be a lot happier once you learn when to call it quits.

d) If you cannot abide by the above rules, even after giving it some time, you may have a gambling problem. If gambling becomes more important than all other things in your life, you definitely have a problem. Contact Gamblers Anonymous or find a local place that assists persons who are addicted to gambling. Don't worry, once you seek help it isn't as hard to stop as you might think. Just go and DO something about it.