The number-one thing that you should understand about progressive slots is how volatile they are.
The most ‘retro’ and simple slot machine designs will the traditional slot symbols like ‘cherries’ ‘bars’ and the ‘big 7’. A jackpot on this type of machine might pay out 5,000 coins for three 7’s (7-7-7). Usually slot machines with non-progressive jackpots are of a more traditional design since they’re often favored by more.
Volatility refers to how closely short-term results correlate with a statistical average. This concept is helpful when deciding how often you can expect to win in any casino game.
Here’s an example using baccarat.
- The banker hand features a 1.06% house edge
- The banker bet pays 1:1
- You win 50.68% of these wagers (minus 5% commission)
- The fact that you win over half of your bets makes baccarat a low-volatility
Slot machines differ greatly from baccarat and other table games because payouts aren’t made at a 1:1 ratio. Instead, slots feature a wide variety of payouts that can range from a single coin tothousands or even millions of credits.
Here’s an example using a generic slots pay table.
- 5 diamonds = 10,000 coins
- 5 triple BARs = 2,000 coins
- 5 gold bars = 500 coins
- 5 silver bars = 100 coins
- 5 rubies = 25 coins
- 5 copper bars = 5 coins
You can see that payouts range from 5:1 to 10,000:1 compared to your original bet (per payline). For example, betting five credits per line and getting five triple BARs on one line would deliver10,000 coins (5 x 2,000).
Slot machines’ wide payout disparity from top to bottom means that they can’t pay with the same consistency as baccarat. These games have to make up for disproportionate prizes at the top bypaying you less often.
Progressive slots with huge jackpots are even more volatile than the average slot machine. If a game developer seeds a progressive payout at $1 million, then it’s guaranteed that the slot willhave lower hit frequency.
Of course, progressive slot machines don’t always have to pay less often than the average slot. Games with smaller jackpots can offer a fairly even payout distribution.
Common examples include older online slots developed by RealTime Gaming (RTG). RTG’s older games have progressive jackpots ranging from $1,000 to $2,500 and see you win small payouts morefrequently.
Every slot player who has ever walked into a casino has probably had the fantasy of hitting The Big One, that progressive jackpot that will put you on Easy Street for the rest your life. You imagine the thrill of lining up the winning symbols and dream about how you will spend all that money. Then reality kicks in and deep down you know that you have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than you do hitting the big jackpot. Does this mean you should not play progressive slot machines?
While the odds of hitting a life-changing jackpot may be astronomical, you don’t have to avoid all progressive machines. As long as you know what to expect and have some realistic expectations you can give them a shot. There are also some progressive machines that are better than others if you want to hit the jackpot. First, let’s take a look at the basics of progressive machines.
Progressive machines are a group of many slot machines linked together by a network. The big progressive jackpot is made by taking a percentage of all the money played into the machine. This means that the jackpot continues to grow as more people play the machine until somebody hits the winning symbols for the top award. Because a percentage of the coins played form the Progressive Jackpot, the actual payback percentage will be less on the other winning symbols and, in some case, the payback percentage on the progressive machines will be less than other machines in the casino. This is true for the machines that offer the life-changing jackpots. Not all progressive machines are the same. There are actually three different types of progressive machines.
The Stand Alone Progressive
The stand-alone progressive machine is not linked to any other machines. Instead of having a fixed top jackpot it takes a percentage of the coins played and adds that to the award for the highest winning combination. It has a meter on the front and shows you the jackpot. In most cases, the payback is equal to the other machines of that denomination but it just distributed differently to give you a varying amount of the top prize. The progressive jackpots for the stand-alone machines are much lower than the ones from machines that are linked together.
Slot Machine Progressive Jackpot
In-House or Proprietary Progressives
These are a group of machines linked together and owned and operated by the casino. They may be just in a single casino or linked together with several properties if the gaming company owns more than one casino. The jackpots may not be the multi-million variety but they can be quite a substantial win in some casinos. They generally hit more often than the wide area progressives.
Wide Area Progressive
Progressive Slots Free
These are the machines that offer the life-changing jackpots. The machines are linked together from many unrelated casinos. These machines are operated by an independently operated rather than a single gaming company. Slot maker IGT operates games such as MegaBucks, Quatermania, and others in many different states. The casino share in a percentage of the winnings but the operator owns the games. The jackpots may be large but so are your chances of hitting the big prize. Because of the costs of linking the machine and the administrative costs to run these wide area games, the payback percentage on these machines is much lower than on other slots.
Take Away
Progressive Slot Machines Winners
It’s alright to try your hand at the big progressive machines hoping that lady luck will shine on you but don’t make it the mainstay of your slot play. Instead set aside a certain percentage of your playing bankroll and use that for a shot at the big one. Winning one of these is pure luck and is a gamble along the lines of buying a lottery ticket. Don’t spend your entire bankroll chasing a dream. If you want to play a progressive machine you might be better off to concentrate your efforts on the stand-alone or in-house progressives. Your odds are much better. Most importantly remember, playing slots is entertainment. Have Fun!