Tips for Progressive Slots
Posted on August 4, 2010Progressive Slot Machines
Progressive slot machines are exactly like ordinary slot machines, other than the jackpots that they feature. In regular slots, the jackpot is fixed based on the pay table for a particular machine. In most regular slots, jackpots are won when the maximum amount is wagered, with the maximum number of coins. In progressive slots, the jackpot is not fixed. For every bet, a fixed amount of it gets added to the jackpot. This way, with each bet made on a slot machine, the jackpot keeps growing, often to tremendous amounts!
Jackpot System
The jackpot increases by a small amount with every coin wagered. The rule is usually that only players betting the maximum credits per spin will qualify for the jackpot but all players, regardless of the amount bet, contribute to the jackpot. If you bet less than the maximum credits, you contribute to the progressive jackpot without having a chance of ever winning it. When playing progressive slots, if you're aiming for the jackpot, always bet the maximum amount needed to qualify.
Many physical "brick and mortar" casinos have several banks of identical casino games, usually offering jackpots that can vary a lot. Your best bet is to wager your money on the machines with the highest jackpot, and this applies to online progressive slots as well.
Types of Progressive Slots
Individual Progressive slot machines are stand-alone and are not a part of a combined "bank" of machines, and they do not contribute to another machine's (or group's) jackpot.
Linked Progressive slots are groups of machines that are connected to each other and share a common jackpot that can grow to a huge amount.
Location Progressive slots comprise of hundreds or even thousands of machines located in different casinos (often) in different cities, where bets are combined into one gigantic jackpot. The odds of hitting the jackpot are very high, with lucky winners sometimes taking home millions of dollars.
Strategy
It is said that the best strategy for progressive slots is to focus on groups of linked slot machines offering the maximum jackpot. If a jackpot has not recently been won on a machine, your chances of hitting it are higher, as a machine will reset itself to a low default dollar amount after a jackpot has been won. After many players have gambled at a particular machine, the jackpot will build up to a dollar amount worth betting on.
Often, before a jackpot is hit, a series of smaller (but often substantial) wins might reduce the pot and the speed at which it grows. If you are going to go for this kind of jackpot, wager the maximum amount.
In case you aren't aiming to win the big jackpot and are playing for fun and small winnings, go ahead and bet any amount that you wish, and have fun!
