How Slot Betting Systems Work (And What To Watch Out For)
Wouldn’t it be great if you could head to a real money online casino safe in the knowledge that every time you play the slots you’ll be guaranteed to win! Well now you can, with the failsafe ‘Super Slot Betting System!’
Unfortunately, the statement above is completely made up, but it is certainly something you might find using Google, where you’ll eventually discover that you have to pay money to discover that this so called 'failsafe' plan doesn’t actually work.
While the only people who get rich from these systems are the people who sell you them (the casinos are still standing, right?), there are some ways in which betting in certain patterns can reduce your short-term variance. In this article I detail a couple of slot betting systems that have been tried over the years, discussing how they work and any dangers associated with each. With a realization that these systems don’t actually work, I end on a positive note, exclaiming exactly how you can gain an edge in one particular scenario.
There are ways in which you can legitimately reduce the price you pay for a shot at a big windfall without using a risky betting system - this is covered at the bottom of this page.
Slot Betting Systems – Martingale
The Martingale system is perhaps the best known system in the whole of gambling and can be applied to a great many forms of gambling, whether that be sports betting, roulette, blackjack or indeed slots. The system is a simple one – every time you lose you double your stake! Eventually, when a win does come along, you’ll cover all of your losses and end up with a small profit. However, there is one huge danger lurking using this system. What happens if you run out of money? For example you might start out with a $1 stake per spin – what happens if you lose for 5 spins in a row? The spins have risen in cost through $2, $4, $8, $16 and you are now looking at a $32 spin. Will the slot even allow a $32 spin? If it does how long can you continue spinning for? You’ll be betting 3 and 4 figure amounts soon enough, all for the sake of winning a single dollar. This is a high risk strategy – yes, you will probably win your dollar, but when it goes wrong you’ll be in a hole that might take some getting out of!
Slot Betting Systems – Hot and Cold Streaks
Some players seem to think that if they’ve been on a bad run at a slot, that it is only a matter of time before things improve. This isn’t actually true. Each and every spin of a slot is governed by a random number generator making each spin completely independent. This means that whether you’ve lost for 10 spins in a row, or won for 10 spins in a row, this will have no effect whatsoever on the next spin. Continuing playing because you think you are due a win is unfortunately not going to work for you – this because the random number generator is simply doing its job of generating random numbers, with no knowledge of what happened before or what will happen in the future.
A Slot Betting System that DOES work!
Whenever you play a slot machine, the game has an inherent house edge. This can be seen at many sites as they actually publish the return to player percentage (RTP%), which might be around the 94% to 97% range. This means that on average, you’ll receive that percentage of your stake back when playing. Now consider a jackpot slot with a particularly high payout. The higher the Jackpot payout amount is, the higher the RTP will be. For example, you might find that a jackpot slot has an RTP of 96% when the jackpot is $100,000 but when the jackpot rises to the $1 million mark, the RTP is now 97.5%. It would be very unusual for a slot to rise above the 100% mark, but it is certainly worth considering playing slots with larger than usual jackpots, as the house edge will indeed be smaller than usual. Remember that winning this is a (very) long-shot.
Legitimately Reduce the House Edge - With Comps, Bonuses and Free Spins
On the same basis, making the best use of those bonuses and promotions offered by casinos will also improve your returns. The RTP of an individual game will stay the same, though the extra cash you receive will make your effective returns bigger. Combining comp points and bonuses can often add 1%. While this sounds low, a game with a 3% edge in favour of the house now became a 2% game - an improvement of 33%.
Slot Betting Systems - Summing it Up
Slots are some of the most entertaining games at a casino, in fact they offer some of the most entertaining games online full stop, so they should certainly be enjoyed on that basis – but any talk of surefire winning systems is sadly wide of the mark. However, with some smart play, you can certainly give yourself the best possible shot at winning and a profitable session on the reels really can make your casino session an ideal one!
Whatever your personal preferences and location, you'll find some amazing games (and generous bonuses) at the slots casinos in the table below.
Check out the slots from these leading software providers:
- Net Entertainment Slots Guide
(or see my main Real Money Slots Guide page for even more links)