If you’ve never Playing Slots before, you might be wondering what all the fuss is about. Surely they play in just the same way as an old fashioned fruit machine would? Surely there is really nothing to it other than paying some money and pressing a button? Well, in essence that’s right.
They are simple to play, there isn’t much to it, and it’s all about luck. However, that doesn’t mean you can dive right in and start losing your money and lots of it. There are many more things that need to be considered first so that you can make the most out of your playing experience and your cash.
Online Slots or Land Based Slots?
If you have a choice between online casinos that offer slots or land based versions, what is going to be better? Which should you choose? Although you might consider them both to be the same, it’s wise to look at the odds of winning. When you dig down some more, you’ll see that the odds for online slots are just marginally better than physical ones. So if you don’t mind not leaving the house and playing through a screen then try the online slots for your best chance of winning.
If, however, you truly want to experience more than just the game and you want the whole casino feeling too, then of course try a land based casino. You’ll still have fairly good odds even so.
Beware The Bonuses
We’re not talking about bonus rounds in online slots here (they’re great, and you want to get into them whenever you can to increase your chances of winning); we’re talking about the bonuses that online casinos will offer you when you sign up to play with them.
These can be brilliant. They can double your initial stake (although this will usually be subject to a maximum amount) and mean that you can essentially play with ‘free money’, while getting the chance to win real money back. The problem is that some of these bonus deals are too good to be true. Check the rules of the individual casinos you are using because it might be that you can only use these bonuses on certain games, or that there is a wagering requirement to trigger them, or something else that means you’ll actually end up spending a lot more money than you intended right from the start just to get the bonus when you would have been better off spending less money and not worrying about the extras at all.
Good RTPs
Why play slots? It’s because the RTPs (returns to player) are pretty much always over 90 percent (if you find anything less than that, turn away and play something else because it’s just not worth it). Most are over 95 percent. This means that there is a high chance you’ll at least receive your initial stake back and not lose out on too much money.
Something that is useful to think about before playing online slots, though, is which games are better for your pocket than others. Each game will have its RTP stated alongside it, so you can compare and contrast before you start playing. It’s always entirely your choice, but having all the facts to hand makes that choice a much more informed one.
Practice Makes Perfect
Well, not perfect because there is no way to guarantee a win on any slot, online or land based due to the fact that it’s all done with random number generators (RNGs). However, the more you practice your slot skills, the more confident you will be when it comes to the real thing, and that can make a big difference.
Many online slots will have demo modes where you can play without spending any money, although you must remember that you won’t win anything either, even if you hit a few paylines. When you play the demo first, you’ll have a better idea of the gameplay, of what you’re meant to be looking out for, or what the maximum and minimum bets are going to offer you, and even what the bonus games are like.
Add this together and you’ve got a game you’re totally happy with and that you don’t mind spending out on. It can make playing online slots a lot more enjoyable and you’ll feel more at ease when you’re not feeling your way through.
Hot Slots Don’t Exist
It’s true. Hot slots really don’t exist, and neither do cold slots, no matter what you might have heard or read. Hot slots are the ones that some players feel are ‘due’ a payout. Cold slots are the ones that have just paid, so aren’t ‘due’ again for a while yet.
It does make some kind of sense if you look at it from a logical standpoint. A game that has just given someone a load of money will, you assume, need to build up that money again before it pays out once more. A game that hasn’t paid out for a long time must be bursting to pay.
Only that’s not how online slots work.
Online slots are maths based and work on a random number generator system. That means there is no way of predicting when a payout is going to happen. A game could be a winning one even if it’s just paid out, and a game that hasn’t paid for a week could last another week and even longer without paying if the right combination of symbols and reels aren’t randomly generated.
So play the games you want to play and don’t worry if they seem ‘hot’ or ‘cold’ because the truth is they’re not.
You Can Get Addicted
Playing slots is fun and although you might think they’re just a hobby and something you do in your spare time, many who have thought just like that have found that they become addicted quickly and without warning.
The key is to always have a financial budget and a time limit. Use these in conjunction with one another and never be tempted to go over on either one, and you should be able to enjoy the games quite happily.
