Making use of Payout Percentages and Bonus Bets for Online Slots

Friday, April 13th, 2012

Online slots have become big business, and you’re now able to easily log onto internet casinos and play many of your favorite titles from the comfort of your own home. Whilst playing slots is largely out of your control and the winning combinations are generated randomly, there are several ways in which you can increase the chances of making positive gains rather than losing all of your money.

Payout Percentage Explained

Paying attention to online payout percentages is one area where you can really maximize your money. This figure allows you to have a clear vision of the average payout that you’ll get over a long period of time for every $100 that is wagered. Therefore, the closer to 100% this number is, the better, as the higher the percentage, the less money you’re likely to loose.

Whilst you may actively seek out payout percentages when playing online slots, not all casinos make their numbers immediately available. Meanwhile, the payout can vary between game niches, meaning that the 95per cent payout mentioned on a website could relate to a table game and not an online slot. However, you can easily remedy this by creating your own estimates so that you can establish what to play, and where you should play it.

Mathematically Calculating Payout Percentage

The first main method of estimating payout percentages is by using mathematical calculations. Whilst this is easily done in games such as roulette, trying to calculate the possibility of winning in online slots is far harder. The vast number of symbol combinations makes calculating payout percentages yourself, near to impossible. However, there are computer simulations that can be used to help find the payout possibilities and predictions for online slots. However, these need to be used consistently throughout gameplay; a fact that can actually limit your enjoyment of a game as you will always be referring to another piece of software.

Using the ‘Play for Fun’ Option

One of the simplest ways is to gather percentage payouts from online casinos and only play at establishments where numbers are clearly marked for the titles that you want to play. Normally, a payout percentage should be between 94per cent and 96per cent, offering good returns for your money. A nice way to try out a simple simulation is to use an online slot’s ‘play for fun’ mode with the auto play feature turned on. You can then use your initial and finish balances, the number of spins and the total bet placed to help calculate a payout percentage for individual titles. However, accuracy can be low because you’ll need to make at least 1,000 spins before your calculated percentages begin to near their true levels.

Using Bonus Bets

If you are too confused or can’t be bothered with the hassle of calculating your own payout percentages, another good area to concentrate on is bonus bets. Traditionally, whatever the wager amount you choose to play with, all features of online slots, apart from the possibility of entering the progressive payouts, were open to you. However, a number of newer slots have created an additional feature where you can use bonus bets to increase your wager and unlock hidden features held within the game.

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Increased Wagering Requirements Unlock New Features

Cryptologic’s branded DC Comics slots are one group of games which use this feature in particular, offering those who bet more the chance to unlock hidden bonus rounds that those playing with smaller amounts will never get to experience. If you select to play on all 50 paylines, you’ll have the chance to wager with an additional 10 credits. This means that, if you’re playing with $1 per payline, your normal $50 will be increased to $60. There is a huge advantage to this if you want to get extra bonus screens to help you get higher payouts and, if you don’t use the extra bet at all, some bonuses will be completely unobtainable for you.

Do Bonus Bets Work?

One of the questions you’ll have to ask yourself before starting to play on slots that have this extra bet feature available is if it’s worth paying the extra money for the bonus opportunity. If you’re new to the game, it may be advisable to get to grips with the main features first before you start wagering larger sums. In addition, if the slot title already has a 95per cent return for example, is it worth playing with the extra bet in an attempt to raise the percentage payout? Often, it is not.

If you play at Cryptologic, you’ll find that their Bonus Bet feature requires an extra 20per cent to be wagered. It does not guarantee that the extra bonus feature will be unlocked. All it does is allow the possibility for the extra features to be triggered by your gaming. Meanwhile, WagerWorks requires players to increase their wager by 100per cent to get the extra features. However, winning combinations are increased to 1024 possibilities, creating much more likelihood that you could win.

Increasing Odds with Online Slots

Playing online slots ultimately is a game of luck as you’ll never be able to predict exactly how the symbols will land. Unlike many table games, where some amount of skill can help you win, slots use random combinations to offer payouts. However, there are steps that you can take to ensure that you safeguard your money, try and make wagers payout more, and increase your chances of winning. This is normally in respect to how you control your bankroll, including taking advantage of promotions to get more credit and ensuring that you cash in on deals. Playing at casinos which have the best payout percentages is crucial if you want to ensure that you don’t lose out over your period of gaming, whilst bonus bets can unlock fun and lucrative features to make more money. However, you should always remember that symbol combinations themselves are out of your hands, and that you will need to take the losses alongside the wins.

Ten Considerations for Playing Online Slots

Wednesday, January 18th, 2012

Online slots are a great way for you to not only have some gambling enjoyment from home, but to earn some money whilst you’re at it. Online casinos have opened up the world of gambling for many, enabling you to get all the enjoyment out of slots from the privacy and safety of your own home instead of venturing out to a casino. With a huge number of land casinos now offering digital slots, playing from home isn’t always hugely different anyway. And, if you want to indulge in this popular pastime, then there are a few considerations which you should remember.

1. Choice of Casino

You may not think that your choice of casino is particularly important, but it can be crucial for your enjoyment and possible winnings. It’s important that you research casinos before you start to deposit large amounts of cash, and ensure that each venue has a range of games you’d want to play. Even if you’re looking for your favorite title, choose an online establishment which has a range of attractive games so you’re not stuck playing just one title. Looking at casino based winnings is also important so that you can be sure gamblers are actually getting the payouts that you’re looking for.

2. Make Use of Bonuses

With a large number of online casinos wanting you to play at them, there are various promotions which you can utilize to maximum your playing money. Many venues offer sign up bonuses including giving you free money to play with, or free spins on certain games. If a venue is offering 100per cent bonus, it means they’ll match your deposit with the same amount of credits. Use these to your advantage so that you can deposit as little as possible but still have a large bankroll to play with.

3. Don’t be Dazzled by Glitzy Games

Many of the modern digital slots games are very glitzy, and use stunning animations and sounds to grip you. However, whilst the title may be entertaining, it might not actually payout very much, leading to lose large amounts of money in the blink of an eye. Be careful to only play on games where you have increased odds of winnings, because it can be very easy to get dazzled by beautiful graphics only to find your bankroll diminished within minutes.

4. Set a Bankroll

It’s important when playing online that you set yourself a bankroll and keep to it. With you easily able to top up your account and keep playing as much as you wish, you can move through a bankroll pretty quickly. So, for each gambling session, set yourself a bankroll and stick to it so that you don’t find yourself getting into gambling debt and spending more than you wanted to.

5. Decide Wager Limits

Alongside setting your bankroll, it’s important that you decide on wager limits so as to maximize your gaming time. The more you gamble, the quicker you’ll go through your bankroll, so if you don’t have much money to play with, limit your wagers so you can enjoy gambling as long as possible. A smaller wager may not give you maximum winnings, but it will mean that you can play for longer.

6. Utilizing Progressive Jackpots

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Progressive jackpots are one way to win big, and the lucky winners of these prizes often walk away with millions of dollars. However, to qualify for progressive jackpots you will often have to play maximum bets, so you need to be prepared for dropping some large amounts of cash. However, there is no reason that you can’t incorporate maximum bets into your daily bankroll, playing a few here and there to give you a chance at winning millions. If you can afford it, you can play maximum bets all the time, but it can be better to intersperse them with a more controlled betting strategy.

7. Research Games

Before you start gambling online slots too much, it’s a good idea to research a few titles first. New games are always being released, and by reading through news and information on different games you’ll not only be able to find the ones which you’ll enjoy playing the most, but will discover which have the best payout options for you specific needs. Don’t be too quick to rush in because it is here that mistakes can be made.

8. Minimize Errors

Whilst winnings on slots are purely down to luck, there are some mistakes which can easily be made. Always be aware of what bonus rounds entail so that you don’t accidently slip up and lose out on the opportunity to win big when these extra games appear. Meanwhile, be careful when you’re placing bets so that you don’t accidently bet too much or too little. This could have devastating results, especially if you hit the jackpot on a game where you meant to have put in a higher wager and therefore would have won more money.

9. Sign Up For Newsletters

When you start playing at a particular casino, make sure that you sign up for its newsletter. Though you may not want junk filling up your inbox, casinos can offer very lucrative promotions and offers on certain titles from time to time. By having the information sent directly to your email, you can ensure that you make use of double points, extra winnings or prize draw entry schemes so that you have every opportunity to make your gambling career or hobby profitable.

10. Have Fun

Whenever you’re gambling online there will be times when you lose money. It’s important to remember part of playing slots is the fun of the title, the adrenalin of wagering some money, and the thrill of winning. If you lose a little, don’t be too disheartened. As long as you are considered in your bankroll and only play with what you can afford to lose, you should remember that slot play is fun and any wins are the extra icing on the cake.

Using Online Slots to Win Big Jackpots

Friday, December 16th, 2011

The world of online slots gambling is vast, and there are so many titles to play that you may initially be confused just where you should start. Ultimately, whilst playing slots is entertaining, you should be looking to maximize your winnings and even win a few jackpots or two. Whilst gaining winning combinations is more down to luck than skill, there are some ways to increase your winning chances. And by taking these tips to your gaming, you can get the best chance at getting top payouts.

Learning to Win at Slots

You may initially think that there is no way that you can increase the chance to win at slots, but you’d be wrong. Whilst you can’t affect the actual spin of the reels, you can take steps to ensure that you maximize every avenue for gaining payouts. A few tiny changes here and there are all it takes to increase your chances of gaining top jackpots.

Choosing Your Slot Title

One of the most important factors when you want to maximize winning chance is actually in your choice of slot. There are many variations of slot titles available with different wheel numbers, bonus games and complex progressive slots, and it’s vital that you understand just which title you’re playing and all the rules involved. Your bankroll should be a major factor in your slot machine choice because it will decide how many games you can play. If you have hundreds of dollars to play with, then a dollar machine is ideal and you’ll get plenty of spins. However, if your bankroll is $50 or less then opting for quarter wager titles will allow you more games than a dollar one, increasing the possibility for you to win.

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Wager Amount

Once you’ve chosen the slot that you want to play the next important decision is your wager amount. This bet can have a huge impact on any eventual jackpot win, and if you’re playing any of the Progressive Jackpot games it’s important to use maximum wagers as you can’t win the top payouts otherwise. Meanwhile, if your bankroll is limited, remember that the lower you bet, the less payout you’ll get. And, whilst playing for enjoyment, keep in mind that if you want to win big, you’ll need to play big at the right establishments.

Virgin Casino Unveils New Slot

Monday, September 26th, 2011

It has been revealed that Virgin Casino has launched a new slot game, adding to their popular slot portfolio. Juices Wild will offer an engaging new game to play and, with Virgin Casino wanting to increase attraction to their new title, players will be able to enjoy a flirty slot game like never before.

Juice Wild New Symbols

Virgin Casino’s new slot is very colorful and uses many traditional slot machine symbols to create a nostalgic and yet modern title. Juice Wild’s main symbols are those of popular fruits illustrated like faces including lemons, plums, bananas, watermelons, cherries and oranges. In winning situations each of the symbols has a flirtatious animation, adding a particular attraction to the game for many. In addition to the fruit’s, high value symbols are also utilized, with the wad of cash image being the slots wild symbol. And whilst not offering winning payouts, the wild image helps to establish other winning combinations.

Juice Wild’s Special Symbols

In addition to the new slots quirky fruit images, Juice Wild has two special symbols which offer additional payout results. Like other slots offering scatter payouts, Juice Slot includes the feature with a Tree scatter symbol. When the symbol is seen the trees become animated, shaking their branches so that gold coins shower onto the reels. Meanwhile, Juice Wild’s wild symbol also offers a great payout, and when the wad of cash is seen it swings across the reel on a vine showering cash everywhere. If cash falls onto fruity images the symbols are substituted for wild symbols and therefore help make up wining payouts.

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Juice Wild’s Attraction

Juice Wild will be a very attractive game for slot enthusiasts wanting to engage with the latest titles on the market. A 30 payline slot which also includes the traditional Auto Spin option, Juice Wild manages to create a complimentary mix of nostalgia with its fruity images and modernity with the flirtatious animations used for the characters. And with many possibilities of winning in addition to the special symbol Tree scatter and Wild symbol options, those wanting a new September slot will welcome the addition to Virgin Casino’s range.

Introducing the Win-Win Feature at Realtime Gaming Casinos

Thursday, February 10th, 2011

Realtime Gaming is an online casino software developer that does not usually change its online slot game features that often. However, on occasion the company will develop and release an innovative feature that eventually becomes part of their mainstream slot games. One example of this is their Win-Win feature.

The Win-Win function fulfills a major gap that exists in online slot games today. Most consistent online slot players are aware they will lose money during regular spins and make it back or show a net profit once the free spins bonus round is activated. During the free spins rounds, players do not have to place a wager and therefore generate nothing but profit. Unfortunately these rounds are not triggered often.

Similar to regular spins, winning during a free spin is random. Therefore, payouts are not guaranteed during free spins, no matter the quantity. As a result, most online slot players are quite disappointed when they do not win during a free spin round. Realtime Gaming has developed a way for the player to win even if they lose.

The feature works in the following manner. Before the next spin, to activate the Win-Win feature, the player must wager with all paylines activated. This feature is then automatically triggered following the end of a free spins round if the payouts are 10 times the original wager or less. If this is the case, the player is compensated as follows:

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  • No payout equates to 200 times the triggering bet
  • Payout is less than or equal to 2 times the bet equates to a payout of 20 times the wager
  • Payout 2 times the bet but less than or equal to 5 times the bet is 10 times the wager
  • Payout between 5 and 10 times the bet equates to a payout of 5 times the wager

The first slot game to use this feature was Hockey Hero, a hockey-themed game. The game consisted of 25 paylines with a fixed 1 coin wager per line for a maximum wager of 25 coins. Therefore, in this game the Win-Win feature is triggered by payouts less than 250 coins.

This is an excellent feature to add more excitement to online slot games while enticing additional customers to play. Due to the initial success of this slot game function, Win-Win has become a mainstream feature at all of Realtime Gaming’s online casinos.

Online Slots with a Cleopatra Twist

Friday, December 10th, 2010

Surprisingly Cleopatra, the Queen of Egypt, is a popular theme for online slot games. Cleopatra was a woman that was way ahead of her. With Roman Emperor Julius Caesar and Roman General Marc Antony eating out of her hands, she was on top of the world. Cleopatra had such an impact on history; many online gaming manufacturers have dedicated slot game themes to her.

The most popular Cleopatra-themed slot games include:

  • Cleopatra’s Pyramid
  • Cleopatra
  • Cleo Queen of Egypt
  • Cleopatra’s Coins

Created by Vegas Technology, Cleopatra’s Pyramid is one of the most popular themed slot games. The symbols on the reels derive from Ancient Egypt and include a pyramid, ankh, mummy, the sphinx and a scarab with Cleopatra being the wild symbol which pays out double and 10,000 coins.

This slot game is popular because of the bonus game which consists of players moving a pyramid upwards by selecting one stone from each row. As the player continues to draw credits, they move upwards. Once they draw the asp (snake) the game ends.

WagerWorks has developed a similar game entitled Cleopatra. The symbols are similar to Cleopatra’s Pyramid but with a more modern styling. Again Cleopatra is the wildcard with the same payouts except she is more animated in this variant. This game is also separately linked to its total progressive jackpot network, Megajackpots.

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The most recent Cleopatra-themed slot game was developed by Cryptologic and is entitled Cleo Queen of Egypt. The graphics in this game are more vivid and portray realistic objects from ancient Egypt. Crazy Jackpots is the most innovative feature of this game. All nine paylines have independent jackpots associated with them. When five Cleopatra symbols appear for a specific payline, the jackpot is triggered and the player wins.

Of all Cleopatra-themed slot games, Cleopatra’s Coins by Rival Gaming is the best since the game is focused solely on Cleopatra, not just ancient Egypt. Cleopatra, Marc Antony and Julius Caesar are symbols on the reels. Other symbols include hieroglyphic images of objects like the scarab and asp that related to Cleopatra’s life. If five asp symbols appear on the reels, 100 free spins are granted. The bonus game requires players to smash urns and reveal the wealth inside of them.

These four variants of slot games are extremely exciting to play. They take traditional slots and kick them up a notch to include various aspects of ancient Egypt and Cleopatra’s life. Each of these games should be played to reveal the fun and excitement.


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