Online Slots Strategies: Tips For Online Slot Machines

Tips To Win At Online Slots

The best strategy for online slots is ensuring that you understand how the games work. When you take the time to learn the rules and volatility of each game, you will be in better position to choose slots that have the best chance to win big.

We recommend following these tips to improve your odds at online slots.

Find The Hit Rates & Volatility If Possible

The volatility rating of a slot game lets players know what type of hit rates and payouts they can expect.

Low-volatility slots are designed to hit often, but with low payouts.
High-volatility slots rarely hit, but have much higher potential payouts.

BetOnline and Super Slots make things easy by displaying volatility ratings on their games’ info screens.

TIP: For games that don’t have volatility displayed, you can estimate a game’s volatility by studying its paytable and trying it out for a bit to get a feel for its hit frequency.

Understand Paytables

All of the best online slots betting sites we recommend have games with info pages, which display the slot’s paytable. Some games have specific left-to-right lines that count for paying combinations, while “Megaways” games pay out on every possible line combination.

EXPERT TIP: We recommend checking the paytable before you pay so you know exactly what it takes to win on each spin and how much you stand to win on different combinations.

Know What The Symbols Mean

Standard symbols on a slot dictate how much you win when you collect a certain number of them on a payline. Many modern slots also have special symbols, including:

“Wilds” that can substitute for other symbols
“Scatters” that pay even when they don’t land on the same payline
“Bonus” symbols that trigger the game’s bonus feature

Knowing how these symbols work will help you determine how fun, or profitable, a slot might be on big spins.

Find Games To Play For Free

Many of our top recommended online casinos offer slot demos that you can play for free, including Bovada Casino, DuckyLuck, Ignition Casino, and SlotsandCasino. Playing for free is a great way to learn the rules of a game and get a feel for how well it pays out, before risking real money.

Ensure Terms & Conditions For Slots Players Are Fair

The industry standard for online casino bonuses is that 100% of slots play contributes to the wagering requirement on those offers. We recommend checking the terms and conditions of promotions to confirm they are favorable for slot players, before signing up.

Take Advantage Of Bonuses With Free Spins

Some casino sites deliver free spins as part of their welcome bonuses. Free spins offer a risk-free opportunity to add some funds to your bankroll.

Sites that offer free spins include:

SlotsandCasino’s 300% Welcome Match up to $1,500 + 100 Free Spins
DuckyLuck’s 500% Welcome Match up to $2,500 + 150 Free Spins
Bovada’s promo for existing customers who deposit and bet $10 or more on slots are entered to win 20 free spins with their Free Spin Bonanza promotion each week

Look For Games That Have Bonus Rounds

All slots have the potential for big line pays when you collect a full pay line of the highest paying symbol. Generally speaking, games with bonus rounds have much better potential, as these features often include multipliers, wilds, and jackpots that can product huge wins. We recommend seeking out games with lucrative bonus rounds and high max payouts.

Best Strategies For Online Slots

Here are the best strategies for online slots, that you can implement today, including game selection, bankroll management, and jackpot strategy:

Choose Games With A High RTP

RTP stands for return-to-player, which is the theoretical return a player can expect on a slot machine, based on that game’s settings.Example: A game with an RTP of 94.5% will return $94.50 of every $100 wagered in the long run, while a 96% RTP game would return $96 on every $100 wagered. Playing games with high RTP is one of the most reliable online slots winning strategies.

Practice Smart Bankroll Management

Developing a responsible bankroll management strategy will help you stretch out your online casino budget.EXPERT TIP: We recommend using a fixed bet system with each spin. The amount you bet should only represent a small percentage of your daily or weekly budget. Doing this will help you ride out cold streaks and stay in the game long enough to realize your RTP with a big line pay or bonus.We suggest setting daily and weekly budgets, and bet sizes, before you start playing. Then, reassess your bet size on a regular basis to make adjustments based on your bankroll.

Orange icon showing a money bag with a stop sign.

Don’t Always Go For The Massive Jackpots

Massive progressive jackpots are intentionally designed to be tough to hit. The online slots that feature these types of jackpots usually have higher volatility and lower RTP.It’s fun to take a shot at winning these huge prizes, but we recommend mixing in other games with less volatility to preserve your bankroll.

Orange icon showing a slot machine with the word

Have A Strategy For Progressive Jackpots

When you are feeling lucky and want to try to win a jackpot, keep these online slots strategies in mind:

Hot Drop Jackpots: These hourly progressive jackpots often start at $500 and daily jackpots can start at $10,000. Hot Drops will display countdown timers for when they must be dropped.

TIP: We recommend looking for opportunities to play when the jackpot amount is high and due to drop soon.

Standard Jackpots: Smaller jackpots are always easier to hit than the massive ones.

TIP: We recommend giving yourself a better chance at winning by sometimes targeting smaller jackpots, as opposed to always aiming for the big ones.

Jackpot Eligibility: Before you try to win a progressive jackpot, make sure that you are eligible to do so. Some online casinos do not allow you to play progressive jackpot games with bonus credits.

TIP: Check your site’s terms and conditions, or contact customer service, to confirm your account is eligible for jackpot wins.

Martingale Betting System

The Martingale system lets you double the size of your bet after each loss and reset back to your original bet size after a win or after losing your 16x bet.Example: If you start your Martingale cycle with a bet size of $0.10 per spin, the cycle would play out like this if you don’t have any winning spins:

First spin: $0.10
Second spin: $0.20 (2x original bet size)
Third spin: $0.40 (4x)
Fourth spin: $0.80 (8x)
Fifth spin: $1.60 (16x)
Sixth spin: $0.10 (back to original bet)

If you don’t hit anything on five straight spins, you’ll lose a total of 31x your original bet size during the cycle. However, every time that you do hit something, you’ll usually win most or all of your money back on a small line hit. You’ll also have the potential to win big if you hit a bonus late in the cycle.

Is There A Trick To Online Slots?

There is no trick to online slots that will always make you a winner. Slot machines run on a random number generator that ensures a totally random outcome on every spin. Your next spin could be a dud, a grand jackpot, or anything in between. There isn’t anything you can do to affect the outcome, and that outcome won’t be revealed until you press the spin button.

What Is A Random Number Generator?

Random number generators (RNGs) are the technology used in both land-based and online slots to create randomized outcomes on every spin. An algorithm is used to constantly shuffle thousands of different potential outcomes until the spin button is pressed, and then the result is locked in.

This algorithm is how slot machines are able to report accurate RTP percentages. Every slot has its own built-in RNG rules which dictate the odds that any random spin will be a loss, small win, big win, or bonus. Games with higher return-to-player percentages will generally have a random number generator that delivers more frequent (or bigger) wins.

Helpful Guides For Online Slots Betting

Click the links below to access our expert guides for everything you need to know about how to bet on online slots.

Responsible Gambling

We encourage you to gamble responsibly and consider online betting as a form of entertainment, not a source of income. Set loss limits and time limits, and don’t bet more than you’re comfortable losing.

Here are some resources to help you, or someone you care about, gamble responsibly and get help:

The Sports Geek’s Responsible Gambling Guide
Have A Game Plan – Complete Responsible Gambling Resource
Gamble Responsibly America App (downloadable)
KindBridge Behavioral Health

Online Slots Strategy Key Takeaways

An effective online slots strategy includes understanding paytables, hit rate, and how the exciting progressive jackpots work. You can play with confidence using the tips for online slots that you’ve learned on this page. From understanding return-to-player payouts to hot drop jackpots and betting systems, you can boost your chances of success at online slots.

We recommend playing online slots at DuckyLuck. This trusted online casino offers a terrific variety of games and a generous bonus your first deposit.

About the Author

Dave Consolazio

Sports/Casino Writer

Dave Consolazio is an avid sports fan and an experienced sports writer with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He lives in Los Angeles and enjoys all sports, though football and hockey are his favorites. When he isn't betting on or writing about sports, Dave also enjoys playing poker, playing video games and keeping up with the latest iGaming news and trends.

Click to Contact Dave

Online Slots Tips & Strategies