In the beginning there were no such thing as progressive slots; they only became possible in the early 1980’s when microchips were added to slots machines. Even then it wasn’t until March of 1986 that the first multi site linked progressive slot machines were introduced by the slot machine manufacturer IGT.

Having the same jackpot being fed from a number of different machines (which are often spread across a number of different casinos) means these progressive jackpots can quickly grow to be very large indeed. I have heard of casinos in Las Vegas where slots players have won over $8 million in a single win on a progressive jackpot.

How Progressive Jackpots Work

Progressive Jackpots grow by skimming an amount of money from each and every bet; this means that their payout rate on normal wins (non jackpot wins) is lower than that of a regular slots machine. However if you take the progressive jackpot into account the payout would be the same.

For example if you were playing at a Las Vegas casino on a linked progressive slots machine with a fixed $5 bet per spin. Your money could be divided as follows, 25 cents adds to the progressive jackpot, $1.25 goes to the casino and the remaining $3.50 is paid out in non jackpot wins. If however you were playing a non progressive slots game at that same casino it is likely that your money would be divided as follows. $1.25 to the casino and $3.75 paid out on wins.

The example above assumes the casino has a 75% payout rate, in reality slots at land based casinos typically have payout rates ranging from 70% up to 87%. This is in stark contrast to the online casinos which typically have payout rates from 89% up to as much as 99.5%!

So at a typical online casino with a 95% pay out rate the money you pay in for a $5 per spin online progressive jackpot slots would be divided up something like this. $0.25 for the online casino, $0.25 added to the progressive jackpot and the remaining $4.50 is paid out in non jackpot winnings.

Given these statistics it is not hard to see why many hard core slots players are now playing online from their computers.

Online Progressive Jackpot games

So apart from the free drinks playing online sounds more favourable as a player (in that you should win more). However I have already said how large jackpots can be at land based casinos so your next question is no doubt going to be just how large are progressive jackpots at online casinos? The answer to that is that they are growing all the time, the current record is $1.76 million and interestingly the exact same slot machine that paid that out in December 2005 currently has a Jackpot of over $3.6 Million and still rising! The slots game in question is millionaires club progressive jackpot slot and when this jackpot is eventually won it is going to set a new record for being the highest progressive slots jackpot of any online casino to date.

I have no doubt that even after that has been won a new record will be set within a space of less than a year, the rate at which progressive jackpots online are growing is amazing, only a couple of years ago a jackpot of a little over $1 million held the record. It is my opinion that sometime within the next couple of years the highest jackpots will be being paid out from the online casinos.

So how do you pick a winner?

Choosing which progressive jackpot to play is really not all that complicated. Once you know what the progressive jackpot starts at, what its highest payout was and what its average payout amount is. There are a number of slots sites that give you this information including any of the progressive jackpot reviews at slotsjam.com.

Obviously once the jackpot in question is higher than it’s historical average the chances of it paying out are greatly increased, and if it goes higher than its previous highest payout your chances are further increased again. So if you are chasing the biggest jackpots don’t play the games just after the jackpot has been won instead wait until after that games historical average payout has been passed for the best chance of winning big.

The first real wide spread use of slot machines in American casinos is attributed to the Flamingo Hotel, Las Vegas somewhere around year 1940. The casino owners thought that slot machines would be great to entertain wives of customers. The slot machines offer great fun to play. The slot machines comprise over two-thirds of all revenue generated by US casinos.

Slot machines undoubtedly have a rich history. From the small inadequate invention of the mid-1800 to the multi-million dollar industry of today, slot machines will continue to grow in popularity. There are lots of casino gambling sites which offer to play different types of sot machines. They offers to play 3 reels, 5 reels, 7 reels and 9 reels slot machines with regular and progressive jackpots. They also offers betting guide, gambling strategy and information on how to play slots. Players like to play slot because there is great chance of winning big jackpots.

1) Single payline, in your quest to stretch your gambling bankroll.

2) Slot players should also look for 2 coin maximum non-progressive machines only.

Whereas a 2-coin machine may pay 80 coins for 3 double bars with 2 coins in, a 3-coin machine may show a pay of 120 coins for the same combination. However, remember, you had to gamble an extra coin, each spin; therefore, the payouts are generally equal. Three coin machines look more lucrative in their payoff structure because they show that the player will win more, but the player also has to bet more to get this.

Players who play the 3 coin machines will spend considerably more than players who invest more of their playtime and money in the preferred 2 coin machines, equating to more pulls on that slot, and more chances to win a jackpot.

3) Slot Players will want to seek out those slots that pay double jackpots on certain pay-line combinations.

The principle of this ‘double’ symbol is very simple; whenever it appears on the payline in combination with any other symbols that normally would have made a winning combination, the payoff amount is doubled.

Look closely to see which machine you are playing, as not all machines will double and quadruple all pays and not all machines will have double jackpots win possibilities.

Some machines will have only 2 double symbols, one on each of the first two reels while other machines will have 3 of these double symbols, one on each of the 3 reels.

When choosing a ‘double’ machine, it is important not to confuse them with wild cherries or any other symbols noted on the machines payoff display as being ‘wild’. Symbols identified as being wild sub for any other paying symbol, but do not double the payoff.

Additionally, most slot machines with 1000 coin top payout will hit more often than those with 5,000 or 10,000 top jackets…makes sense.

Blackjack players will argue loud and long at me for this, however there is data available that theorizes you can make just as much money on an hourly basis playing slots:

Cost per hour to play slots:

Denomination 1 coin 2 coins 3 coins
Nickel 30. 60. 90.
Quarter 150. 300. 450.
Dollar 600. 1200. 1800.

I rest my case for playing 2 coins machines. With quarter machines, the most played slots, I would have an extra $150. to play with, 300 extra spins/pulls at 2 coin machines and a greater opportunity for jackpots.

I realize that the popular slots today on and offline are bonus multi-line versions and they are definitely a lot of fun to play and will put profits in your pocket.

I write about them extensively in my articles and Casino Players Ezine, gambling newsletter, however, for the novice slot player–basic, single payline slots is an excellent starting point.

Remember: ‘Not only do you have good luck with a gambling education, but you are making your luck.’
Until next we meet in the Slots Playground.

No, Bank on It doesn’t have 293 reels and 216 bonus games. It’s a solid 3-reel game and the pay table is easy to understand. As with any great slot machine, you can play multiple denominations and there’s a bonus. Bank on It has five denominations-nickel, quarter, fifty cents, dollar and five dollar.

Do you hate seeing all blanks on the pay line? Not any more! In Bank on It, when you get three blanks on the pay-line, the coins you played are put into a bank. It’s called the “Piggy Bank.” The game puts 150 coins into the piggy bank to start out and the bank keeps increasing every time you get three blanks on the pay-line.

To break the piggy bank you need to get three little piggies. Bank on It has a wild symbol too and that can count as a piggy. The bank is a nice addition and a welcomed side game.

As with any slot machine, you’ll need to play max coins to hit the jackpot. Bank on It takes three coins to max it out. Once you’re maxed, start praying for the three red 7′s, because that’s the magical combination that will unlock the big payday.

Game Play

Playing Bank on It is incredibly easy. It’s not filled with tons of frills. After picking your denomination, you pick the number of coins to play. I never advocate playing anything less than the maximum. If you’re not going to max the machine out, why play? The goal is to hit the jackpot and you can’t do that on any slot machine without going all out.

I like Bank on It, because it’s your typical 3-coin max. You won’t need to put in 15-20 coins or more like other slot machines.

After putting in your coins, just hit the button to spin those wheels. The pay table is easy to understand and it’s right on the machine. You won’t need sub-screens to figure out how to win. There’s one pay-line, just like the good ole’ days.

Once the wheels come to a stop, you’ve won or lost. There aren’t any side games to Bank on It other than the piggy bank feature.

Bottom Line

If you want a simple slot machine, this is it. The machine has three reels, three coins max, one pay-line and one side game. It’s very simple, but it’s fun to play.

With Aztec’s Treasure you can have fun or really go for the big jackpot. There are 20 lines on this progressive slot machine. Before spinning, you can select how many lines to play-as low as one line. If you’re not going to play all 20 lines, which is the machine’s default position, you need to know that you must play them in sequential order.

So, if you wanted to play just three lines, you’d be playing line one, two and three. You can’t do them out of order, like four, six and eight. There are ten lines on each side of the machine. To give you an example, line one is in the 6th position on the left, while line two is on the second position on the left. Line three is on the 9th position on the left and so on. All numbers 10 and under are on the left, while all numbers 11-20 are on the right.

Aztec’s Treasure has the following betting denominations: 1 cent, 2 cents, nickel, quarter, 50 cents, one dollar and five dollars. So, you can bet up to $100 per spin if you want.

This progressive slot machine also has an auto play feature. While I don’t consider this fun, you might. Just put your money in, click on auto play and kick back until you want to stop. The game will keep playing until you run out of money or you stop it. I can just imagine clicking this feature with $500 in the machine, getting a phone call, forgetting about the machine and coming back to see $0.

Aztec’s Treasure has multiple bonuses throughout the game. The Aztec King shows up on Reels 2, 3 and 4. He’s like a wild symbol. Except for Idols, he substitutes as any symbol. The Idols appear here and there.

The Jackpot is random and it can be won at the end of each spin. It doesn’t matter what denomination you are playing either. It’s a nice little twist. If you’re looking for huge jackpots ($50,000+), this isn’t your slot machine. But, if you want the ability to pick up $1,000 or so at the end of any spin, Aztec’s Treasure will be a great time for you.

This slot machine has many ways to win-especially with all 20 lines going. Therefore, the maximum you can win is 40,000 times you wager per line. So, if you’re playing 25 cents per line, you can win up to $10,000 on any one spin.

Aztec’s Treasure is a fun machine. Give it a spin sometime.

Casino slot machines were first thought to be a very effective means of occupying the bored wives of the high-rolling gamblers of Vegas. The first casino owners who came up with this brilliant plan certainly had no real idea of what was in store for casino slot machines. Little did they know that those menial machines would eventually account for millions of dollars in revenue each year. Slot machines are now a big business and appeal to people from all walks of life. Young people who are experiencing their first time in a casino to the seasoned gambler, everyone is certain to find a casino slot machine that is invigorating.

Make sure that you know what machine you are playing. This may sound stupid but there are a lot of players that have missed knowing that they were not able to play the exact amount of coins for the most favorable payment there is.

Be sure to go for the highest reimbursement there is. This is a gamble. There are chances that the fates are on your side. Go ahead, play and win!

Always play the maximum coins. Normally, jackpots are paid on the maximum coins played. This way, not only do you get the chance of hitting the jackpot but also you get a high payback.

Remember to see the payback percentage whether in a casino or online. Some are even offering as high as 90% or more.

Keep in mind how much you are willing to gamble. It is always wise to plan how much you are going to spend. With the thrill of playing and hopes of hitting the jackpot, your money could be gone in seconds.

There are machines that require inexpensive games. These are the single pay line machines. This way, you could still play and have the chance on hitting the jackpot but doesn’t risk of losing all your money.

Try playing on two or three-coin slot machines. This way you could maximize the playing time of your money.

If you have a small budget for playing the slots, avoid playing the progressive slots online. Their payouts are much lower than the regular slot machine does. Plus, they could max out your budget in a few playing minutes.

You hit on jackpot at the first spin. It is likely for you to hope on playing for another round. But as it is, this is a game of chance. You are not sure if you would be hitting on the jackpot the second time or the third, etc. If you win, take the money and quit, don’t fall into giving back the money to the machine.

The rules on beating the slot machine simply works the same way as spinning a regular wheel that has to stop and produce a matching pattern of numbers or pictures in some case. So go ahead, have fun, spin the wheel and hit the jackpot!