Progressive Your progressive slots strategy

[GoldenFox]

Hi guys,

Since I enjoy playing progressive slots and am always looking for ways to optimize my winning chances, I wanted to hear how some of you guys play.

Do you have any strategy you follow to optimize your play, increase winning chances and be able to get more fun for the money?

I like myself to keep an eye on the RTP (return to player) of the slot machines and then try to go with the ones with higher RTP and also a high current jackpot. Any of you doing something similar?

 

[Batman]

Yup,

The strategy is there is no strategy when it comes to Casinos in general.

The only advice I would give you would be to stick to the accredited casinos and play them without a bonus in your balance.

 

[GoldenFox]

Thanks Batman.

By "strategy" I mostly meant how you would normally approach it:

• How do you normally select the (progressive) slot to play?
• Do you care much about the RTP of the slots?
• How do you judge whether a progressive jackpot is "hot" and likely to soon be paid?

 

[sigothx1]

i avoid them at all costs unless ive won a substantial amount and dont mind giving away a few £ to the casino, progressives are designed in nature to not pay much because theirs always that micro chance you could hit a miracle, id prefer to play something else.

 

[KasinoKing]

By "strategy" I mostly meant how you would normally approach it:

• How do you normally select the (progressive) slot to play?
• Do you care much about the RTP of the slots?
• How do you judge whether a progressive jackpot is "hot" and likely to soon be paid?

I very rarely play Progressive slots because I know the chances of winning are literally millions, and in some cases, billions to 1 against getting the Big Jackpot.

If I were to play, I would aim for the lower jackpots - the ones which hit more frequently.
There are several good websites which give this sort of info, for example JackpotGraphs.com

I would say the RTP (of the base game) is VERY important; since your chances of winning are minuscule, you'd want to get the most play-time for your money as possible to maximise your extremely remote chances.

There is NO WAY to predict when a Jackpot might go off on most slots - it's 100% random.
I think I've heard of a few games where they have a max limit (e.g. the jackpot WILL hit by $X,XXX,XXX) - but off the top of my head I can't name any.

Whatever you do, do not spend money you can't afford chasing a progressive - your chances really are extremely remote.

Good luck!
KK

 

[Simmo!]

I too avoid progressive slots because the RTP in the base game is lower to compensate and as KK points out, the chances of hitting the jackpot are millions to 1.

However when I play ordinary slots, I work in "50s". I spin 50 times at a modest bet and if I don't hit a feature, I move the bet up a bit for another 50. Etc. When I hit the feature I either do one of two things. If it was a poor return, I reduce the bet and start over. If it was a big return I do some big bets to try and "go for it". It's like a modified "Martingale" strategy with smaller increments.

For the record and I am sure you may already know this (and if by "optimize" you mean "increase" your chances of winning), nothing you do will ever increase your chances of winning on a game of luck except on games where it specifically says you can do something to influence that (IE: using Aristocrat or Playtech's "Xtra Win" feature). On some older progresives, you have to bet max coins to hit the jackpot so that qualifies too obviously, where still applicable.

 

[Batman]

Thanks Batman.

By "strategy" I mostly meant how you would normally approach it:

• How do you normally select the (progressive) slot to play?
• Do you care much about the RTP of the slots?
• How do you judge whether a progressive jackpot is "hot" and likely to soon be paid?

[*] How do you normally select the (progressive) slot to play? - Playing MG casinos atm, stopped playing with Playtech / Netent - just taking a break from their slots.

[*] Do you care much about the RTP of the slots? - When I do play Progressive slots, I steer clear from TDK, prefer Mega Moolah

[*] How do you judge whether a progressive jackpot is "hot" and likely to soon be paid?- It's all random, or at least that's what I keep telling myself. I become paranoid regarding the randomness as more and more SV or NO players are announced as big winners (10 million quids would be for them 10 million SEK = 10 000 000 Swedish kronor = 772 195 British pounds, at the moment), not only on MG but on other operators also.


Hope it helps and doesn't turn you into a paranoid gambler like me )

 

[GoldenFox]

Thanks for the really interesting input guys!

I would say the RTP (of the base game) is VERY important; since your chances of winning are minuscule, you'd want to get the most play-time for your money as possible to maximise your extremely remote chances.

I think this is a really good point, KasinoKing.

I have looked into some data during the weekend, and found some examples of RTP numbers and the jackpot contribution per bet for some progressive slots:

Mega Fortune: 96.60% (5.39% jackpot contribution)
Queen of the Pyramids: 94.97% (1.00% jackpot contribution)
Beach Life: 93.25% (3.00% jackpot contribution)

With these numbers I did some simplified calculations to try and figure out the current theoretical payout percentage based on the average jackpot size and the current jackpot size. My current numbers:

Mega Fortune: 91.6%
Queen of the Pyramids: 96.2%
Beach Life: 99.3%

E.g. the Beach Life jackpot is currently at $5.252.000, and is hit on average at $1.770.000, so it makes good sense that the current payout is currently quite a lot higher.

Do you think I am on track with something here? I know that this gives the theoretical payout, and that you still need to be extremely lucky to actually hit the jackpot. But still, this would increase your chances of winning some money in my opinion.

Would any of you base you play on some numbers like these?

 

[GoldenFox]

Any thoughts on this guys?

With my calculations the Beach Life slot is now up at 99.4%.

 

[Jono777]

The only PJP I played / play are MG's Lord of the Rings and its replacement The Dark Knight.

When I do play them it because I enjoy the base game not chasing the JP.

I set myself on a low bets size (0.30p, 0.60p) depending on balance at the time and will loosely count 40-50 spins.
If after those spins are completed I am 'level...ish' I will repeat the process, if not, close game and move back to a 'normal' slot.

This 'technique' has no advantage other than stopping me 'blowing the lot' chasing something which really just 'not gonna happen'

However it has netted me 4 x £100+ 'Silver JP's on LOTR and 2 x £100+ JP's on TDK, along with a handful of 'Bronze Awards'

 

[Thunderluck]

Best strategy is to move to a nordic country

(or not to play them)

If I wan't a million £ payout I'll play the lottery, at least then I know I'll get paid.

 

[dreamguardian1]

I very rarely play Progressive slots because I know the chances of winning are literally millions, and in some cases, billions to 1 against getting the Big Jackpot.

If I were to play, I would aim for the lower jackpots - the ones which hit more frequently.
There are several good websites which give this sort of info, for example JackpotGraphs.com

I would say the RTP (of the base game) is VERY important; since your chances of winning are minuscule, you'd want to get the most play-time for your money as possible to maximise your extremely remote chances.

There is NO WAY to predict when a Jackpot might go off on most slots - it's 100% random.
I think I've heard of a few games where they have a max limit (e.g. the jackpot WILL hit by $X,XXX,XXX) - but off the top of my head I can't name any.

Whatever you do, do not spend money you can't afford chasing a progressive - your chances really are extremely remote.

Good luck!
KK

I with KK on this on. I have hit a jackpot only twice in my 4 years of online gambling and my 2 years of being on Casinomeister. Both of them were for very small amounts because someone had already won the big jackpots (that pissed me off even more to finally hit jackpots to get shit and shinola for hitting the jackpots) and one of those was on Bovada.

That said, rarely do i play any progressives UNLESS, the bet is equal to what i normally bet on regular slots and I have the chance of winning fairly well on line items. I can count on one hand the number of progressive slots that I play across 3 us allowed casinos.

 

[GoldenFox]

I with KK on this on. I have hit a jackpot only twice in my 4 years of online gambling and my 2 years of being on Casinomeister. Both of them were for very small amounts because someone had already won the big jackpots (that pissed me off even more to finally hit jackpots to get shit and shinola for hitting the jackpots) and one of those was on Bovada.

That is exactly the reason why you should only play at those progressive jackpots, where the jackpot is really high compared to the average jackpot amount

At this moment e.g. the Beach Life slot is up to currently $5,262,235 compared to its average jackpot of $1,770,031, which gives an RTP of really close to 100% according to my calculations... Don't you agree with me that it would be worth it giving that one a go?

 

[KasinoKing]

That is exactly the reason why you should only play at those progressive jackpots, where the jackpot is really high compared to the average jackpot amount

At this moment e.g. the Beach Life slot is up to currently $5,262,235 compared to its average jackpot of $1,770,031, which gives an RTP of really close to 100% according to my calculations... Don't you agree with me that it would be worth it giving that one a go?

A higher than average JP does make the game theoretically +EV - but of course, that is totally useless to everyone except the lucky player who actually wins it!

Is it worth having a go? Well let's put it this way - if you don't buy a ticket you are NEVER going to win the lottery!
Just make sure you only "buy tickets" that you can afford to be losers.

KK
(PS: Sorry for my delayed reply - I was away on holiday last week).

 

[Zabier]

I'm a reasonably superstitious person when things are going against me but then not superstitious when things are going for me so my strategy depends on my last spin and its outcome. As they say in football, you're only as good as your last performance. So if I've hit a decent win on a slot I'll stick with it. If I strike out then it only gets three more spins. I know that's not very committed but I feel uncomfortable if I keep pressing "spin" and not winning on the same slot.

 

[byhc]

The higher the progressive jackpot, the more people that's playing on it. This has nothing to do with the RTP on the machine etc, it's just that you have more people playing the same slots.

 

[sigothx1]

A higher than average JP does make the game theoretically +EV - but of course, that is totally useless to everyone except the lucky player who actually wins it!

Is it worth having a go? Well let's put it this way - if you don't buy a ticket you are NEVER going to win the lottery!
Just make sure you only "buy tickets" that you can afford to be losers.

KK
(PS: Sorry for my delayed reply - I was away on holiday last week).

This doesn't happen often but im afraid i disagree with your logic on this one KK.

if the jackpot was 100 million, or 1 pence total, how is it affecting my +ev, the chances to hit it are the same, the total does not make that change. With a progressive in general the total of the grand prize does not increase the EV, it increases the amount won, so if i did 100,000 spins on a slot with an RTP of 95% with a 1 pence jackpot, and a 100,000 spins on a slot with a 10 million jackpot with an RTP of 95%, id have the exact same chance of winning.

Im open to change my mind if you can show me how my EV+ goes up with a higher jackpot total but ive never looked at it that way.

 

[byhc]

This doesn't happen often but im afraid i disagree with your logic on this one KK.

if the jackpot was 100 million, or 1 pence total, how is it affecting my +ev, the chances to hit it are the same, the total does not make that change. With a progressive in general the total of the grand prize does not increase the EV, it increases the amount won, so if i did 100,000 spins on a slot with an RTP of 95% with a 1 pence jackpot, and a 100,000 spins on a slot with a 10 million jackpot with an RTP of 95%, id have the exact same chance of winning.

Im open to change my mind if you can show me how my EV+ goes up with a higher jackpot total but ive never looked at it that way.

Jackpot quantity does not affect +ev, but the reasoning behind the higher jackpot does. In general, higher jackpots is directly correlated with higher player count for that slot. Theoretically though, as you correctly mentioned, if both type of slots had the same amount of players but differing jackpots, the +ev would be the same.

 

[sigothx1]

Jackpot quantity does not affect +ev, but the reasoning behind the higher jackpot does. In general, higher jackpots is directly correlated with higher player count for that slot. Theoretically though, as you correctly mentioned, if both type of slots had the same amount of players but differing jackpots, the +ev would be the same.

Number of players on a slot does not increase odds of anything apart from the amount of the jackpot, if 100,000 players played a slot before me, or 1 person before me, my chances of winning a progressive hasnt changes, the amount might go up, but chances of winning have stayed the exact same.

 

[KasinoKing]

This doesn't happen often but im afraid i disagree with your logic on this one KK.

if the jackpot was 100 million, or 1 pence total, how is it affecting my +ev, the chances to hit it are the same, the total does not make that change. With a progressive in general the total of the grand prize does not increase the EV, it increases the amount won, so if i did 100,000 spins on a slot with an RTP of 95% with a 1 pence jackpot, and a 100,000 spins on a slot with a 10 million jackpot with an RTP of 95%, id have the exact same chance of winning.

Im open to change my mind if you can show me how my EV+ goes up with a higher jackpot total but ive never looked at it that way.

Well you have to factor the jackpot into the total RTP of the game - assuming, if you will, that the jackpot is the top pay of the game.

So for example, say you had a fixed bet slot where the top pay (jackpot) was $1,000 and the RTP was 95%.
If you changed nothing else on the game, except the value of the jackpot - the TRTP would also change accordingly.
So maybe if the jackpot was increased to say $10,000, the TRTP could also rise to say 98% (or whatever).
If the jackpot gets big enough, the TRTP of the slot would be more than 100% = +EV.

KK

 

[dave1888]

check out this guy absolutely owning mega moolah €35 starting finishing balance €1,300! Start with vid 1 this could be a good strategy just copy this lucky bstrd!! Thought I'd done well when I turned £10 into £400 in just a couple hours he's smashed that quicker time and bigger profit!!

[video]https://youtu.be/XTRd0OtnDiQ[/video]

 

[byhc]

Number of players on a slot does not increase odds of anything apart from the amount of the jackpot, if 100,000 players played a slot before me, or 1 person before me, my chances of winning a progressive hasnt changes, the amount might go up, but chances of winning have stayed the exact same.

I never mentioned before you, I'm talking about the present time when you're playing. If there's a higher jackpot, you make the calculated assumption that more people are playing it on average, so when you're playing it, there's also more people playing with the exact same odds.

If 10 people are shooting a basketball into a net(assuming balls pass through each other), each person assuming identical everything will have the same odds of scoring a basket - let's say 50%. But who will get to 10 first? Well, if you're the only person shooting, you will get 10 first (aka jackpot). If there's a million people shooting at the same time as you? Well, your odds are less.

 

[GoldenFox]

If 10 people are shooting a basketball into a net(assuming balls pass through each other), each person assuming identical everything will have the same odds of scoring a basket - let's say 50%. But who will get to 10 first? Well, if you're the only person shooting, you will get 10 first (aka jackpot). If there's a million people shooting at the same time as you? Well, your odds are less.

This is a good point byhc. So your theory would be that the increased number of players, when a jackpot is high, would decrease the chances of you actually hitting the jackpot before somebody else does?

Would you even say that it completely eliminates the theoretical advantage of only playing slots where the RTP in theory is higher than 100%?

My initial theory here was that if you only play progressive slots when they are above 100% you would in the (very) long run have a positive yield. But maybe this is eliminated by the fact that many players will be playing these slots at the same time...

 

[Marit]

I have to say, my jackpot playing strategy is much simpler than everyone else here.

I guess I play as I would the lottery... when the stakes are high. Mostly because it's akin to playing the lottery - you know in your heart it probably won't be you, but you can help but buy one ticket... just to hope? Dream?

Look at Mega Moolah (microgaming) right now, it's at over 6.4 million. Heard that bigger than it's ever gotten. You bet I've spun a couple of spins when I'm running at the end of a good slot session, and just want to run my cash to the ground.

But to answer your question

[*] How do you normally select the (progressive) slot to play? - Generally I keep an eye out for the big ones, and play when they get to that point where they usually burst. Plus I make sure I play on the jackpot slots that are fun too. I quite like the IGT Megajackpot Cleopatra at the moment. I know it's probably not as good returns as the actual Cleopatra, but I have fun and good results playing on the jackpot. Mega Fortune is also a favourite as it low variance, so keeps you playing for a while.
[*] Do you care much about the RTP of the slots? - Sure. I always check the RTP and make sure it's at least over the 94%. But like the guys have all commented on, you have to accept that the RTP will be slightly lower than on a non-progressive machine.
[*] How do you judge whether a progressive jackpot is "hot" and likely to soon be paid? I don't. Not really. Sure I start paying attention with Mega Moolah and Hall of Gods are over 4 million and Mega Fortune is over 6 million... but i've played when they've been much lower too. So can hardly say I only play when they are.

Not a fan of Playtech jackpot slots, I have to say. Just cause I haven't had much fun (luck?) playing them to be honest and they usually require a really high max bet to win anything.

That said, I'm not what you'd call a 'high roller' gambler, and many of these progressive tend to favour larger bets. So I just take my chances with the machines that sometimes like to pay out to casual gamblers like me.

I think that as long as you enter jackpot slots the same way you do slots in general, it can add a little thrill.

That said, I do usually leave the jackpot slots for the end of my play session, rather than beginning! Because... you know... I still want to win something worthwhile before going for the jackpot slots that generally pay out less.