Can You Use Strategy to Succeed at Online Slots
Posted by Harry Kane on Friday, December 14, 2018
The virtual gambling industry has produced some staggering numbers in recent times, as it has continued to grow exponentially since 2010. One of the most striking is the gross gambling yield (GGY) of online gambling sites, which peaked at £4.68 billion in the year ending September 2017.
If we drill down further into this yield, however, there are several other numbers of interest. Firstly, casino products accounted for a hefty 56% of the online GGY, easily eclipsing the 37.1% of the market claimed by sports betting operators.
As for the most popular casino product, online slots grew to dominate the market in 2017. In fact, they accounted for 64.5% of this niche, with table games such as roulette and blackjack trailing behind with a paltry 15.8% share.
The overwhelming popularity of online slots is easy to understand in some respects, like these fun and often themed games of chance remain extremely appealing to casual players. Conversely, it’s often suggested that serious and seasoned gamblers are less enthused by slots, in the mistaken belief that these opportunistic titles struggle to deliver consistent or reliable returns.
While you may not be able to control or influence individual outcomes when playing slot games, however, it is possible to develop a viable strategy that optimises your chances of winning. In this post, we’ll explore this further while asking how you can use strategy to become a successful slot gamer.
Start by Understanding the Nature of Slot Gaming
Before you can develop a winning slot strategy, you’ll need to understand the opportunistic nature of this type of gaming and identify the elements that are beyond on your control.
In simple terms, individual spins produce completely random outcomes, each of which is determined by an RNG (random number generator). This type of software ensures a fair and transparent gaming experience and one that is not stacked in favour of the individual operator.
While this is good news for players, it also means that they’re unable to control these outcomes or seek out any identifiable patterns in the results. The same can be said even in the case of so-called skill-based games, as while superior players are rewarded with a higher payback they’re still unable to directly control the outcome of individual spins and bonus rounds.
Given this and the classification of online slots as games of chance, players need to look beyond the potential outcomes and identify the aspects of gameplay that they can directly influence. One of the most important is the value of the stakes that you place, as this can be deceptively complex and have a significant bearing on how effectively you use your bankroll.
When placing a wager, one of the first things you’ll need to do is choose from a range of available coin values. This is based on actual coins, and most low or mid-variance slots will offer a range of options between £0.01 and £2.00. This value refers to the amount that you’d like to stake per payline and is the first part of the calculation to determine your total stake value.
In simple terms, this must be multiplied by the number of active paylines in your chosen game, which again will vary from one slot to another. Typical slots offer between five and 50 paylines on average, although there is a small range of innovative titles that have eschewed rigid wheel structures and feature up to 243 potential paylines.
By multiplying your chosen coin value with the number of active paylines, you’ll set a total stake amount on each individual spin. For example, if you’re playing a 25 payline slot game at a coin value of £0.01, your stake will total £0.25 and have a direct bearing on any wins that you’re able to generate.
Conversely, playing a 25 payline slot with a coin value of £2.00 will create a total stake of £50. Now, while this may increase the value of each individual win, it will also exhaust your bankroll quickly and potentially leave you with shorter gaming session. Some slots also feature a ‘Max Bet’ option, which automatically optimises the value of your stake prior to spinning the reels.
From a strategic perspective, you’ll need to strike a viable balance between optimising the value of your bankroll and pursuing decent sized returns. To achieve this, we’d suggest deploying a modest coin value between £0.01 and £0.10 when playing standard slot games, increasing and lowering this amount depending on the number of active paylines. This should help you to enjoy extended sessions of gaming, while also achieving incremental returns during base game wins.
We’d, therefore, recommend using the ‘Max Bet’ option sparingly, and primarily when chasing increased or progressive jackpots. Similarly, some slots include bonus features which apply multipliers to individual paylines, and deploying the maximum stake amount can really boost your coffers!
Choose a Game with the Right RTP Rate
They say that not all slots have been created equal, and this observation extends beyond a game’s theme, visuals and unique gameplay.
In fact, all slot games feature their own return-to-player (RTP) rate, which indicates how much individuals can expect to win for every £1 that they stake. So if you access a certified slot game with an RTP rate of 97%, for example, you’ll recoup an average of £0.97 per £1 stake over an extended period of time.
Both on and offline platforms have to advertise the RTP rates associated with their slot games so that players can make an informed decision that suits their personal circumstances.
Aside from offering you an insight into how much of your stake money you can expect to recoup, a game’s RTP rate is also indicative of its level of variance. When used in this context, the word variance refers to ‘risk’, so it’s possible to distinguish between different types of games before you select one to play.
Low variance slots are the most commonly found online, with these minimal risk games typically boasting RTP rates between 95% and 97%. These slots focus on delivering frequent but relatively modest wins during their base gameplay, which in turn enables you to access more consistent gains over time.
In contrast, high variance slots tend to feature RTP rates between 90% and 94%, which translate into larger but less frequent wins during gameplay. Many of these games feature either progressive jackpots are lucrative bonus rounds, during which time it’s possible to access expanding wilds and huge multipliers that can trigger seismic wins.
As you can imagine, mid variance slots tread the ground between these two extremes, offering relatively balanced gameplay and an RTP rate between 94% and 95%.
This information can prove invaluable, as choosing a game with the right RTP rate represents a crucial aspect of your strategy. Most importantly, you need to identify games that suit both your bankroll and your prevailing appetite for risk, as this will deliver the most enjoyable experience possible and make it far easier to achieve your objectives.
If you’re a casual player with a minimal bankroll, for example, you’re best served by selecting a low variance slot that can help you to recoup as much of your money as possible. When combined with a modest stake value and selective use of the maximum bet feature, this can help you to enjoy your favourite games for longer without exhausting your available funds.
If you have a larger bankroll and have a desire to suit larger returns, however, try to identify higher variance games with an RTP rate of between 92% and 94%. In association with a similarly conservative betting strategy, this enables you to chase bigger prizes for an extended period of time and maximise your stake when you’re presented with the opportunity to land valuable jackpots.
Pay Attention to the Finer Details of Gameplay
So far, you should have laid the foundations for a successful and manageable slot strategy. However, there are other small but actionable steps that you can take to improve your chances of winning regularly and making the most of your bankroll.
More specifically, there’s a number of small but important details that can have a big impact on your slot game experience, and paying careful attention to these will stand you in good stead.
We spoke earlier about the RTP rates associated with individual slots, but what we didn’t say is that this also reveals each title’s house edge. To calculate this, you simply need to subtract a games’ RTP rate from a value of 100%, leaving you with a fundamental understanding of your probability of winning.
In the case of a certified slot with an RTP rate of 97%, for example, the prevailing house edge is 3%. While this is about as good as it gets in the slot gaming market, it’s important to know that this is far higher than the house edge associated with table games such as blackjack and roulette.
The next consideration is the unique nature of each slot and the complexity of gameplay that underpins it. It’s fair to surmise that some games have deceptively complicated layers of gameplay that can be difficult to navigate, but in some instances, you may not realise this until you’ve already spent some of your hard-earned money.
However, most online casinos now enable you to access a demo version of your favourite slot game, which can be played for free over a predetermined period of time. This enables you to get to grips with the fundamental aspects of the game, while also helping you to formulate a viable betting strategy that can help you to maximise your gains.
Make no mistake; you should always try the demo version of a slot before playing for real money, otherwise, you’ll run the risk of making an ill-informed decision.
When considering the biggest payout or jackpot total associated with a slot, you may be tempted to pursue titles that deliver the biggest prizes. While this makes sense for professional players with large bankrolls, however, such an approach may not be suitable for casuals or those who may be relatively new to the market.
In simple terms, your best chance of winning in the short-term is to select slots that offer relatively small or modest jackpots. Not only do these games typically feature high and competitive RTP rates, but they also make it easier to trigger the maximum payout and increase your chances of walking away as a winner.
As always, you’ll need to choose games based on your own expectations and the various factors that we’ve already discussed, but selecting slots with smaller and more achievable prizes could represent a wise strategic move for most players.
On a final note, you’ll need to focus on managing your bankroll as efficiently as you possibly can. There’s more to this than simply setting a viable betting stake and choosing a slot with the right level of variance, and you’ll need to take a number of steps to get the most out of your money.
One of the most important steps is to establish a fixed amount that you’re willing to spend (or more pertinently lose) during each gaming session, as this makes it easier to manage your bankroll in real-time. This should be done in accordance with the individual game that you’re looking to play, once you’ve initially trialled the slot online and have taken the time to cultivate a relevant betting strategy.
This process is especially important if you have a small or modest bankroll, but it’s something that every slot players should look to invest in. Arguably, this is more than half the battle when creating a workable slot strategy, as without a well-managed or sustainable bankroll it’s impossible to play your preferred slots for any serious amount of time.