Is There a Strategy to Winning On Slots?

Looking back at slot games of old, it was a case of spinning the 3 reels of a classic fruit machine and hoping to get three matching symbols across the centre. There was no strategy, no way we could try and increase our chances of winning… just keep on feeding the machine and hoping for the best.

However, we live in a very different world now. There are all different slot games, with lots of features, paylines and symbols - and we can find out all the information we need to know about our favourite online slot games before we even start spinning. But does that help us create a strategy? Well, yes and no…

 

A Game of Luck

Ultimately, slot games are still about luck. Every slot game we play has each and every outcome determined by an RNG - a Random Number Generator. This cannot be tampered with in any way, so there’s absolutely nothing we can do to affect whether we win or lose on a spin. However… there’s a but… we can use our knowledge of the game to give ourselves the best chance of getting wins from a game.

 

A Tale of Two Features

Our chances of whether we win or lose are affected by two main factors of the game - its volatility and its RTP (Return to Player percentage). By looking at these and comparing the different games, we can determine our chance of winning and choose a game that gives us the maximum winning percentage. If you aren't clued up on slot volatility and RTP then you better start researching.

 

Return to Player - RTP

The Return to Player percentage - the RTP% is the amount of money a game pays out in winnings. Slot games all advertise their RTPs under the game information so you can find this out before you play. Most games sit anywhere between 94% and 98% - although some are lower and a few are even higher.

The higher the RTP the better. If you find a game that has a 98% RTP then this means that, theoretically, it pays out £98 in innings from every £100 played on the game. However, it is worth noting that this figure is arrived at over thousands and thousands of spins, so the more you play the game, the closer to this figure you will get. If you play just 10 spins, then you could win back just 50% of your money or you could win back 500% if you are lucky.

Obviously, to give yourself the best chance of winning, you will choose a game with a higher RTP.

Then, look at the volatility or variance of the game. Slot games are labelled as low, medium, medium-high, or high volatility games:

?      Low volatility: this type of game pays out often but usually the wins are pretty small in size. You might hit a win every other spin, but the wins won't change your life.

?      High volatility: This is the opposite. The wins won’t come in very often, but when they do, the wins will be pretty good. This is a higher-risk game for higher rewards.

?      Medium / Medium-High volatility: This is a mix of the two and is the category under which the majority of slots fall.

Generally, players that want to get better wins will opt to play a high-volatility game. When you combine a high-volatility game with a high RTP game, you have the very best chance of walking away a slots winner.

 

Conclusion

So, there you have it. Slots games, like most casino games, are all about luck. You are at the mercy of the RNG and nothing you can do will change that. If lady luck is on your side, awesome. If not, then you need to give her a helping hand. The best way to do this is to research the slot games and find a high RTP combined with a high volatility… for a higher chance of being a winner on the slots.