How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work
Progressive slots (and video poker games) offer jackpots that increase every time someone makes a bet up until someone wins. At that point, the progressive jackpot resets to its starting value and starts accumulating again.
The amount that the jackpot rises is based on a tiny percentage of your action on the machine. Most progressive slot machines are now pooled with other machines so that the jackpot goes up fast, although some games are still standalone progressives.
Let’s use a slot machine with a linked progressive jackpot slot. The slot machine takes 10% of every wager played and puts it in the progressive jackpot amount The jackpot then resets to $100,000 immediately the jackpot has been won The accumulation coming from the overall progressive jackpot is what contributes to the reset amount. A progressive slot machine, though, is a game where the jackpot gets bigger over time — as it gets played. A small percentage of each bet goes into the jackpot. You’ll find three different kinds of progressive slot machines. The first is a standalone progressive. This is a game where the jackpot is exclusive to that game. Progressive jackpot slots work in a slightly different way to regular games. In a normal slot, players make a wager, spin the reels and collect winnings independently of whatever any other player is doing. With a progressive game, there is a jackpot prize that grows and grows until one lucky player scoops the lot. For a standard 8-5 jacks or better progressive, any time a professional slot team takes over a bank of these machines, regardless of how many machines are on the bank, and regardless of what the jackpot is at the time of takeover, the casino will profit, on average, $2,200 on quarter slots, or $8,800 on dollar slots, directly from the slot team. Progressive jackpots tend to have a lower payout record than other slot machines. If you have a certain amount of money you are playing with, only play a portion towards progressive slots. This will help you keep some money to play other slot machines if your luck is not with you on the progressive slot machines with higher pay out odds.
The best way to think about progressive slots is that they’re the slot machine equivalent of a lottery game. The odds of winning are long, but the prizes are huge. In most lotteries, the size of the prize increases from drawing to drawing until someone wins the lottery.
You’ll know you’re playing a progressive jackpot game because it will feature a prominent jackpot meter showing the size of the jackpot. This is also sometimes called a “jackpot ticker,” because it ticks upward as players on the network lose bets into the machines on that network.
This post features 10 of the most interesting facts I could find about progressive slot machines.
1 – Megabucks Is the Biggest Slot Machine Jackpot
Megabucks is IGT’s most famous progressive slot machine. It’s a state-wide game run in Nevada, and it’s the main reason the state doesn’t have an actual lottery. Who needs a lottery when you can just play the Megabucks slot machine?
Megabucks isn’t new either, the games have been available now for a couple of decades. Several people have won millions of dollars over the history of the game.
To play Megabucks, you must wager $3. It’s a dollar machine with a three-coin maximum bet. If you don’t place the maximum bet, you’re not eligible for the jackpot.
In Nevada, at least 750 different slot machines in over 125 different casinos pool those tiny contributions to grow that $10 million jackpot faster than you’d think is possible.
The odds of winning Megabucks is similar to that of winning the lottery, 50 million to 1. And like the lottery, winners get paid in the form of an annuity that pays annual installments over the next 25 years.
If you go with the cash option, you can settle for 60% of the prize amount as just plain cash. It’s hard to deny that Megabucks is the most interesting progressive jackpot game in the United States.
2 – Megabucks Has a Curse Associated With It
Some gamblers believe that if you win Megabucks, you have a greater than usual probability of dying young.
This legend of the “Megabucks curse” stems from the death of Cynthia Jay-Brennan, a cocktail waitress who won $35 million Megabucks only to be paralyzed in a car wreck. Jay-Brennan’s sister died in the wreck, which was caused by a drunk driver.
Most of the other tales of woe related to Megabucks are nothing more than urban legends, though.
It’s the opinion of this blogger that the wreck was just “one of those things,” and Cynthia Jay-Brennan has my sympathy.
3 – Progressive Jackpots Can Put the Odds in the Players’ Favor
Any game with a progressive jackpot can offer a player a positive expectation bet if the jackpot is large enough.
The trouble with slot machines is that no one knows exactly what the payback percentage for the game is, so it’s impossible to determine what the size of the jackpot would have to be.
But in other games with progressive jackpots, like video poker, you can compute the break-even point for the game and only play after the jackpot has exceeded that point.
The optimal strategy for playing such a game changes based on the size of that jackpot, too.
4 – Some Progressive Games Get Attached by Advantage Player Teams
An advantage player is a gambler who only gambles when he has an edge over the casino. The classic example of an advantage gambler is a card counter in blackjack.
But we already discussed how a gambler could have an advantage at a progressive slot machine game.
They play as a team until someone on the team wins the progressive jackpot, and the team then splits the profits. Some casinos don’t mind this type of advantage play much, because even though the players have an edge, the jackpot comes mostly from players’ contributions to the game over time.
Other casinos have policies forbidding team play and will back off or bar such players.
5 – Slot Machines With Progressive Jackpots Have Worse Odds
You measure the casino’s advantage with a slot machine by looking at the payback percentage, or return to player percentage, for the game. This is the flip side of the house edge.
The payback percentage estimates an average amount that will be returned to the player in winnings over the long run based on the odds of winning and the prize amounts. The house edge estimates how much the player will lose on each bet.
The higher the payback percentage is, the better the game is for the player. For example, a slot machine game with a 98% payback percentage is better than a slot machine game with an 88% payback percentage.
Generally, there are two factors that ensure the progressive jackpot games have a lower payback percentage.
- The first is simple to understand. A percentage of each bet is diverted toward increasing the size of the jackpot. That amount comes directly from the payback percentage of the game.
- The second is only slightly harder to understand. A large percentage of the game’s payback percentage is based on the payout from the jackpot. If a game has a 95% payback percentage, 5% of that might be made up of the jackpot.
But with a game where you only have a 1 in 50 million or even 1 in 10 million chance of seeing that jackpot, the payback percentage before that jackpot gets hit will necessarily be lower than that 95%.
The more economical choice for slot players is always the flat-top slot machine, not the progressive slot machine.
6 – Mega Moolah Is Probably the Best Progressive Jackpot Online
Mega Moolah is an online-only progressive slot machine game with five reels and 25 paylines. The game’s symbols and sound effects have an African theme, with elephants and zebras.
In the decade since Microgaming launched Mega Moolah, no other online slot machine game has produced as many millionaires.
The prizes for Mega Moolah have ranged from $5 million to $13 million. That $13 million was the biggest online jackpot win in history, too.
7 – You Usually Can’t Win the Progressive Jackpot Unless You Play Max Coins
Most slot machines have a denomination and a maximum number of coins you can wager. Most of the time, you can bet less than the minimum without any kind of adverse effects.
But progressive slots, like video poker games, are an exception.
How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work Videos
If you don’t bet the maximum number of coins, you’re usually ineligible to win the progressive jackpot.
This doesn’t make much of a practical difference, since the probability of winning a progressive jackpot is practically zero anyway. Once the probability of an event gets small enough, it might as well be zero.
8 – Some Online Casinos ONLY Offer Progressive Jackpots
One online casino, Slotland, offers a minimal number of games, but they all share the same progressive jackpot. You can’t play there from the United States, but it’s probably just as well. The casino has some misleading practices, especially in terms of how their video poker and blackjack games work.
When a casino offers a video blackjack or video poker game, they’re implying that those games follow the same probabilities you’d see if they were using a deck of playing cards.
If you’re okay with that, it might be okay to play there, but the most interesting thing about that casino is that all the games tie into the one big jackpot.
9 – A Standalone Progressive Offers Better Odds
You’ll find three different kinds of progressive slot machines:
- Standalone progressives
- Local area progressives
- Wide area progressives
A standalone progressive slot machine is one where the jackpot can only be won on that machine. But playing on that machine counts toward raising the jackpot. The size of the jackpot on a standalone game is almost always smaller than the jackpot on other kinds of machines.
A local area progressive network is a network of machines in the same casino, usually all within a short distance of each other. These jackpots are bigger than what you’d see on a standalone progressive, but not as big as you’ll see with a wide area progressive jackpot.
A wide area progressive jackpot is similar to what you see with Megabucks. Multiple machines in multiple locations feed the jackpot. This game has the biggest prizes.
The best odds for the player can be found at the standalone progressive slots, because the jackpot is smaller. In fact, the lower the jackpot, the better the odds are in general with a slot machine game.
10 – You Can Win the Progressive Even With Your Slots Club Card Inserted
There’s a popular myth/urban legend that you can’t win the top jackpot on a slot machine if you’re playing with the slots club card inserted. This isn’t true.
The random number generator running these machines isn’t aware of whether you’re playing with your slots club card inserted or not. It’s impossible for it to have such an effect on your gaming experience.
Conclusion
Progressive slot machines can be a lot of fun as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into. Generally, I recommend avoiding them for games with lower jackpots, but certain players prefer to play for big, life-changing prizes.
If that’s your cup of tea, be my guest. What kinds of facts about progressive slots do you know that I haven’t covered here? Leave a comment and let me know.
If you a fan of the ever growing gambling trend, the times are changing, thelingo is changing, and slot machine mastery is changing!
There are so many different terms to winning today in casinos, often itleaves players breathless with wonder. Have you ever walked into a casino andnot understood the difference between a casino jackpot win? Orhave you ever just wondered what the difference is between a jackpot and aprogressive jackpot?
Let us give you some insight on the progressivejackpots.
WHAT IS A PROGRESSIVE SLOT JACKPOT?
How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work Together
Winning slots in a casino sometimes seems like a piece ofcake, while other times it seems that you have to develop a mastery ofthe slot machine.
There is some really good insider information that you may find helpful onprogressive slots. Progressive jackpot slots are theonly slot game that regularly offers millions of dollars plus jackpots.
The whole idea to progressive slot machines is that apercentage of each bet placed would add to the jackpot prize. Thus, every betplayed would be added to the previous bets, making the jackpot grow. Everytime you spin the reel, or push the reel button, a percentage of your bet isadded to the jackpot, causing the jackpot to grow, and grow and grow. Theproblem with progressive jackpots is that they have a lowerpayout percentage than a standard slot machine jackpot.
PLAYING TIPS TO WIN PROGRESSIVE SLOT MACHINES
When playing progressive slot machines the best pay out isalways with the max bet allowed. This means, if the game says that the max betis 3 coins, you should play 3 coins. This is because when you win slots,you only win the maximum jackpot if you bet the max bet. If you do not play maxbet, your win could only be a third of what it should or could have been.
Most people like to play $1.00 or .25 slots. What could be worse thanbetting a half dollar on a one dollar slot and only winning $1000.00 when youcould have won the progressive jackpot of 100000.00!
If you like to play land based casinos, make sure that all the coins haveregistered and been accounted for before spinning your reel. Playing online isa little easier; just be sure to always hit the max bet option.
Some wonder if progressive slots are worth the money. The main thing to takeinto consideration is to know your budget. Progressivejackpots tend to have a lower payout record than other slotmachines. If you have a certain amount of money you are playing with,only play a portion towards progressive slots. This will helpyou keep some money to play other slot machines if your luckis not with you on the progressive slot machines with higherpay out odds.
Once a progressive jackpot is won, the meter usually resetsitself to the base jackpot amount. Most legitimate casinoswill give you information on when the last progressive jackpottook place, and for how much the win was for. CheckSlotland homepage for details.
WHERE TO FIND PROGRESSIVE SLOTS
How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work At Home
Slot machines in casinos are making changes every day. Atone time, casinos were just pure walk in, walk out. Now you can take a spinfrom the privacy of your own home. Legitimate online casinosare becoming more and more popular. Not only can you find your favoriteslot machine in a regular casino, you can wander cyber spaceand find many of the same games online.
Whether you're looking for primary jackpots, secondary jackpots orprogressive slot jackpots, online casinos give you thepleasure of playing whenever you want. Linked progressive jackpots are nowcommon to both online and offline casinos.
LAST THOUGHTS ON SLOT GAMING
How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work Kids
Playing at the casino can be fun, relaxing and relatively pain free. Youjust need to keep a few things in mind when doing so. Always know your limit.Playing slot machines should always be for entertainment only,not intended to use as an income. If you want to play progressive slotmachines, remember that you can give them a spin, but don't chase arainbow that is not guaranteed to win.