Preserving gains means being able to leave a land-based slot machine with profits. Whether you use them to gamble more at other casino games or take them home to add to the next day’s bankroll is entirely up to you.
The same thing happens at online slots. Most of the time, it’s all about timing. For example, you can protect your winnings at online slots by instantly cashing them out and keeping them separate from your initial bankroll.
Apart from timing your cashouts, here are other win-win strategies to maximize your chances of pocketing substantial wins at online slots.
Table of Contents
Choose Slots With Max Bets Within Your Budget
When amateurs play online slots, they usually get attracted to machines with 100, 125, or even 200 coins maximum bets. If any of these slots accept $0.10 as the largest coin, each reel turn will likely cost around $10 to $20, which can eat up your bankroll immediately.
That’s why it’s advised to look for slot machines with max bets that coincide with your bankroll. They should at least offer you 50 spins, preferably 100, per session. The key to increasing your winning odds is optimizing your bankroll.
Building up your cash gains doesn’t only mean calling a day with big profits. It’s also a motivation to eventually move onto a more expensive casino game without jeopardizing your entire bankroll.
Choose Slots with High RTP%
Each online slot machine has a certain payout percentage, often higher than land-based slots. It’s because online slots have lower overhead and several players, almost an unlimited number, who can play the same game at the same time.
A payout percentage, also called return-to-player (RTP%), measures how much you can expect to win from the machines on average. The rule of thumb is that the higher this percentage is (usually between 97-99%), the higher your winning odds.
For example, if a slot has a payout percentage or RTP of 97%, the online casino will pay out $97 for every $100 bet on average. Although it’s only a statistical average and can’t guarantee results, choosing slots with higher RTP has always been smart.
Slot manufacturers and online casinos are often transparent about their slot machines’ payout percentage or RTP%. It’s typically available from the slot’s Help or Information button or the game provider’s page or information pack. Other websites often mention this information in their content, so checking it online is relatively easy.
Choose Slots With High Hit Rate
A hit rate is an average percentage that you’ll trigger a bonus feature or a payout of any type in a slot game. Even if the machine only pays out 0.5x your stake in a certain round, it will still be a hit. A good online slot machine hit rate should be 24–27%.
Since a high hit rate means more-frequent wins, it can help improve your bankroll management. Additionally, it keeps the entertainment factor higher due to increased slot funds. In other words, gambling will be more fun!
Like RTP%, the higher the hit rate, the higher the chances of hauling in bonuses and payouts. For example, if a slot machine has a 30% hit rate, there’s a big chance it’ll deliver more prizes than a slot with only a 22% rate.
The thing is, unlike RTP%, it’s not typically easy to find hit rates. Most slot pay tables or casino lobbies will unlikely publish information about it. However, they can be accessed on the developer’s website or a betting panel’s info section, normally marked with an “i.”
Check the Slot’s Volatility
A machine’s volatility is another factor to consider when playing online slots. It often refers to the slot’s inherent risk, payout frequency, and payout size. There are three levels of volatility in slot machines: low, medium, and high.
Here are their differences:
- Low-variance slot games – higher chances of winning but smaller jackpots, usually 250-500x the bet;
- Medium-variance slots – a compromise between low and high, and the best choice for those who want to play for fun but still want to get decent wins; and
- High-variance slots – rarely pay but expect big jackpots when they do.
As you notice, if you want big winnings, you want slots with higher volatility. However, the frequency of winning is hardly ever. There’s a big chance that you’ll likely lose all your funds before you can win big. Hence, it’s important to understand a slot’s volatility to ensure that you’re playing within your budget and risk tolerance. Otherwise, you won’t be able to preserve your gains.
Read the Paytable
Before playing for real money, always read the paytable first. It shows a myriad of key information, including game rules, RTP%, hit rate, and volatility, that can help you increase your chances of winning.
Final Thoughts
Preserving cash gains is all about your immediate actions after substantial wins. It’s not about losing money discreetly. Ultimately, remember the golden gambling rule: manage the emotional ups and downs of gambling and play responsibly.