Beating the Slots

Modern slot machines are unlike the heavy mechanical devices of the past. The outcome of each spin is determined by computer-generated random numbers, not revolving reels. So what are your winning slots chances? Can you improve the odds of getting a huge payout?

Because each play is completely independent of past outcomes, winning slots probability can be calculated with a high degree of accuracy.  It just requires some knowledge of how the latest slots work.

If a reel has 25 symbols, one might think the likelihood of any one of them coming up is 1-in-25. But that is not the case. Each symbol has a certain number of “stops” associated with it; the more stops, the greater the odds of it coming up. This greatly affects your winning slots chances.

If the jackpot symbol has just one stop and each blank on the reel has five, any individual blank is five times more likely to appear than the jackpot. If there are 12 such blanks with five stops apiece, then a blank will come up 12 x 5 = 60 times more frequently than the jackpot. You can easily see how this affects winning slots probability.

Now, take a look at the slot’s paytable. It shows how much can be won for various combinations of symbols on selected paylines. The grand prize, let’s say 8,000X, will be awarded only when all the jackpot symbols line up. The winning slots probability for that happening will be considerably less than 1-in-8,000. In fact, it will be exactly (1/S)N, where S = the total number of stops on each reel and N = the number of reels.

Your very best winning slots chances are on games that have a grand prize closest to SN. On most slot paytables, and certainly for kinds of all progressives, that requires wagering the maximum. In other words, “Max Bet” is your best bet for beating the slots.