Online Slots, much like Caribbean stud poker, uses the in-your-face-but-nearly-unreachable enticement of the progressive jackpot to lure you into certain machines. And what’s sexier than the opportunity to win a new car for just a couple quarters, right?
For those who’d like a quick definition, progressive slots machines are connected to other slots that pool separate bets together into a running jackpot. In fact, this pool can span more than one casino in some cities. It’s an extremely popular form of gambling for slot machine junkies, be it nickel, quarter…up to $5 spins.
Of course, you don’t have a better chance, per se, of winning a progressive slot vs. a regular slot. You just have a different chance – a more well-dispersed chance, let’s say. It’s just like Caribbean stud. Your extra one dollar contribution doesn’t increase your overall odds of winning (and if it did, you’re talking about a fraction so small you’d never realize it), it just adds a different type of hope that you’ll earn a huge return from a lucky string of cards.
Online slots strategy is a bit like looking at a calorie menu at a fast-food joint. They’re all the same, and doing so doesn’t really chance the outcome at all. However, something can be said for paying attention to where the jackpot is at before you sit down to a progressive game. Gauge it against others in the casino if possible. If you’re actually playing for the chance to win that jackpot, look for the one that’s built up the most already. Hitting the once-in-a-lifetime progressive jackpot for only $1,500 would be a major letdown.
But hey, progressive jackpots are tons of fun. And isn’t that what playing casino slots is all about? It has to be, it can’t really, exclusively be for making money. In fact, the progressive idea is so enticing, so much fun, that I often see it implemented at the arcade game level. You ever walk into a pizza/games joint like Chuck-E-Cheese and see something like Wheel O’ Fortune, where you spin the wheel and win a certain number of tickets corresponding to what spot you land on? I’ve seen progressive jackpot numbers above these, where you can actually win 2K-3K tickets. You might have to put up more actual money in a casino, but the hook is exactly the same.
Personally, in both cases, I’d stick with whack-a-mole. Now that’s good fun!