What are the essential tips for playing online slots?

02 Jul 2019

Susie Graham 02 Jul 2019

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New to online slots? Want to sharpen up your reel game? You have come to the right place...

Playing online slots is about the easiest thing you can do at a casino. And on the face of it, there's no strategy or trick you can use to improve your chances. It's just a case of pressing that spin button and banking on the good graces of RNG. But is this really the case?

Well not entirely. It's true that when you play a slot machine, you are getting a random roll of the algorithmic dice. And in most cases, there's no way to change the pre-programmed house edge (also known as RTP).

But what you can do is use the following general playing slots tips to give yourself a better shot at the big payout. Below, we reveal simple strategies that could help you beat that one-armed bandit. Finally, we show you casinos that have slots with high return slot machines.

Playing Slots Tips & Tricks

Unfortunately, there are plenty of misleading resources for slot games online. Some sites even go as far to claim that you can beat slots by changing bets at certain times. The very same sources will claim that these machines are "sensitive".

The truth is - these games operate on pure random luck. And chances are that these coincidental wins happened by chance. If you want to win that juicy looking progressive, then you are going to need to do some good old fashioned spinning.

And without further delay, let's look at some essential tips for playing slot machines.

Slot Tip #1 Stick to games with higher returns

Every slot game has its own RTP - and this is known as the return to player. This is the percentage of bets you can expect to receive back over a play session. But does that mean a higher percentage slot is necessarily better? Well, not always.

The RTP of a slot is calculated and tweaked over thousands of spins in a simulated environment. In reality, shorter playing sessions could see much lower returns. And in the same breath, they could also see far more lucrative returns too!

We suggest you play higher return slots due to the chance you will see increased returns. Especially when it comes to longer player sessions, where the difference in returns starts to become more evident.

Some of the best RTP slots come from developers NetEnt, who rarely fall under the 95% barrier. Thankfully these slots are easy to find, with casinos like Mr Green offering a wide selection.

Slot Tip #2 - Avoid side bets

Savvy slots players always treat side bets with caution. While they do offer the chance for better rewards - they also increase the house edge of the game. We recommend trying to find out how these kinds of bets impact the return before committing.

Slot games do not usually brand these modifiers as side bets. In fact, game developers give these win boosting bets all sorts of names. For example, Yggdrasil Gaming includes a Golden Bet mechanic in their slots - which can increase the frequency of wilds or free spins. This is just one example of a side bet or modifier mechanic.

Other examples of side bets include adding extra multipliers, reels or changing certain symbols - which can all decrease the return to player of the slot. Why do these kinds of bets decrease the RTP? Well, they give you the chance to win more money. And some of these bets can be very lucrative depending on which game you play.

For example, in IGT's Goldify Slots - you can turn symbols golden, instantly quadrupling their value. However, doing this will, in turn, affect the volatility of the slot.

Slot Tip #3 - Use gamble bonuses for small wins

Popular slot games like Book of Ra and other Novomatic games include a gamble bonus. And with this feature, you can double up your wins by guessing the correct colour from a face-down playing card. These types of bets can be a great way to boost low value wins.

"Wait a sec, you just said side bets were risky!" - Yes, we did. And gamble bonuses can be dangerous too due to their 50/50 chance. That's why we only recommend using them for expendable low value wins.

And the gamble bonus is especially useful if that win was less than the cost of the spin. By taking a gamble, you could potentially make some money back. And if you want to get really adventurous, you can gamble multiple times for even better rewards.

That being said, we don't recommend a gamble bonus for any worthwhile win. There's still that chance that you could forfeit the whole amount if luck isn't in your favour.

Best Return Slot Casinos

If we had to recommend one piece of advice from the above slots playing tips, then focusing on the best return slots is a safe bet. Especially if you have more of an endurance playing style. Thankfully, you can find plenty of online casinos that come with top paying slots. And these games are delivered by the world's best providers.

Microgaming, NetEnt and IGT all offer games with exceptional payout potential. And you should be focusing on games with returns of 96%+. Of course, you can dip lower - you may even land a surprise win. But just remember, that this return to player is how much you should expect to receive back over a play session.

Without further delay, here is a list of trusted partner casinos with high RTPs on their online slots.