Slot machines are becoming more popular each year, especially since they have become so easily accessible online. The games are also constantly improving, which increases their popularity.
However, while we play slots for entertainment, we ideally like to win something while doing so.
This is why we created this page to help you get some tips for playing slots and to get the tools to discover how to win on slot machines.
The bad news is that the odds are stacked against us due to the casino’s advantage through the Return To Player (RTP) percentages, meaning that the only long-term winner will always be the house (casino).
BUT, there are ways you can improve your chances of how to win at slots, and on this page, we will share our 15 best slot machine tips to improve your slot machine strategy.
Understanding How Slot Machines Work
Let’s look at some ground rules before diving into the online slots tips.
Most slots follow the same basics. A casino slot is made of several reels, rows, and pay lines. Then we have symbols, often with some kind of special features, and a bonus game, which is usually free spins.
Let’s use the most common example: a slot with 5 reels and 3 rows, and 10 fixed pay lines. We then got 10 regular symbols, a wild symbol that substitutes for any regular symbol, and a scatter, which is the bonus symbol.
You need to land 3 or more matching symbols on a pay line starting from the leftmost reel to win at slots. The symbols have different values, so it’s always good to familiarise yourself with the paytable found in the game’s info section before playing. At least have a quick glance at it, as it will improve your overall experience when you know what to look for when playing.
Landing 3 scatters will trigger the slots bonus game, where you get a fixed number of free games (also called free spins), and this is usually the section of the game where your chances to win the most significant wins increase.
Slots are games of chance, and each spin is random as the outcome is decided by a Random Number Generator (RNG) algorithm. Always play online slots at locally licensed casinos to ensure the games are appropriately certified and fair.
This is the basis of how online slots work, and then there can be different variations of how they look. New UK online slots often also offer different kinds of special features, ranging from special wilds to respins, multipliers, mystery symbols, and more.
Slots are random, but having some basic knowledge will increase the overall gaming experience, and the tips found here on this page can improve your chances of how to win on slot machines and give you a solid slot machine strategy.
Key Terms Every Slot Player Should Know
Here is one more essential part of slots that we want to give a run-through before we examine the best slot machine strategy.
When you start familiarising yourself with slots, you will come across specific terms that are often used when describing slots and when reading slot reviews like the ones found at CasinoWizard.com.
You will, of course, learn as you go, but the key terms you should know about before focusing on how to win big on slots and winning at slots include these:
- RTP: The Return To Player percentage. This is the average amount players will be repaid over the long term from all the wagering on a slot. The percentage to aim for when playing online slots is around 96% (more on that later). Example: Player wagers £100 on a slot and will be paid back £96 over the long term if the RTP is 96%. The casino’s long-term profit on that game, over billions of spins, is then 4% from all the wagering on that slot. Some players will have a 0% RTP while others can, for example, experience a 500% RTP, but the long-term RTP for the casino will be 96% in this example.
- Volatility: This term is used to describe how risky a slot is. The standard terms used are low, medium, high, or variations, for example, low-to-medium. The most commonly used risk level on upcoming UK slots these days is highly volatile, as you have a chance to win bigger amounts on those slots. More risk but potentially higher rewards to a few lucky players, while the majority will lose.
- Paylines: The number of ways you can win on a slot. There are fixed paylines, Megaways, or other variations like Cluster Pays and Scatter Pays slots.
- Bet size: The stake used per spin. The minimum bet often starts at 10p and can go up to £5 when playing on UK slot sites.
- Bonus Features: Most slots offer players some types of special features to make the game more exciting. These can include multipliers, special wilds, mystery symbols, and other options.
- Free Spins: Not to be confused with free spins bonuses often advertised in casinos’ welcome offers. The welcome bonus free spins are often low-value base game spins on a game, while the Free Spins within the game (also known as the bonus game) are higher-value spins or free games in the slots’ special feature, where your chances to win are increased. Three scatters are often needed to trigger these free spins.
- Progressive Jackpots: Games with in-built jackpots that increase in size until a player wins them. A specific percentage of players’ wagerings is contributed to the progressive jackpots.
- Theme: A bit obvious, but we wanted to include it here as all games use a specific theme. The most commonly used ones are fruits, fishing, and space, but they can be about anything in reality.
Other terms that you might come across as well include:
- Provider: The company that has created the slot and then distributes it to different land-based or online casinos. The provider is also known as the slot developer or game studio.
- Max win: The maximum amount you can win when playing a specific slot. The most common way to use this is to describe how much you can win times your bet size. For example, 10,000x the bet means that you can win up to £10,000 when playing with £1 bets, and so on.
- Max win probability: The max win probability is the definition of how big (or small) your chances of winning the max win are on a specific slot. It could, for example, be 1 in 1 million spins on average, but each game is different, and not all providers share this information.
- Bonus Frequency: How often will you trigger the slots’ free spins or bonus rounds? It could, for example, be 1 in 115 spins on average. We always share this and the other info when available in our slot reviews.
- Hit Frequency: How often will you hit some kind of win on average? This could, for example, be 25% or some win on every 4th spin on average. Note that any small or big-sized win at slots is counted in the slots hit frequency rate.
Top 15 Tips on How to Win at Slots
Ok, enough of the nitty-gritty, and let’s dive into what you came for, which is to develop a good slot machine strategy and to look into our online slots tips. Here are our best slot machine tips for improving your chances of how to win at slots, based on our accumulated experience and expertise.
1. Choose High RTP Slots
Most online slots are today released with various Return To Player (RTP) percentages.
For example, Book of Dead is available in these payout versions: 84.18%, 87.25%, 91.25%, 94.25%, and 96.21%.
The higher the RTP, the more chances you will have at winning as you get more spins on average, while a low RTP increases the casino’s profits further. The best RTP versions are essentially the best slots to play at a casino.
We find High-RTP casinos exclusively for you per slot on CasinoWizard.com. Just find the game review that you are interested in here on this site, as this will help you in your quest to explore how to win playing slots.
These are the ten highest RTP online slots available today, as they offer the highest average payouts.
Top 10 High RTP Slots
| Slot | RTP |
| Book of 99 | 99% |
| Mega Joker | Up to 99% |
| Jackpot 6000 | 98.90% |
| 1429 Uncharted Seas | 98.50% |
| Marching Legions | 98.12% |
| Pearl o’ Plinko Mermaid Cove | 98.10% |
| Pearl o’ Plinko Fire & Bones | 98.10% |
| Hero Clash | 98.10% |
| Blood Suckers | 97.99% |
| POP Royale | 97.96% |
Feel free to read more about these slots and visit each review on our Best Payout Slots page.
Why RTP is important when playing slots
Playing with a higher Return to Player increases your chances of winning and playing time.
2. Check Slot Volatility Before You Play
Slots have different volatility settings, and these options can affect how to win in slots; one option suits one player, while another player would prefer a slot with a different risk level.
The three main volatility settings include low, medium, or high.
Low volatility: This option fits beginners and casual players better. You will experience more frequent low to medium-sized wins when playing low-volatility slots. The downside is that the max wins are generally lower, but you have a higher chance of experiencing a more pleasant and more extended session. Games from this category include slots like Starburst and Esqueleto Explosivo.
Medium volatility: These games are somewhere in the middle. They are not among the riskiest games, but the risk level is still higher than the most “friendly” slots in the low volatility category. Slots like Le Cowboy and Rocky are medium volatile. Some medium-volatility slots can still pay out huge wins.
High volatility: The riskiest types of games, including slots with the biggest max wins. These are the most popular slots, as a majority of players are willing to risk more to win bigger amounts. When playing these slots, you can experience sessions when you lose your whole balance quickly. Prominent highly volatile slots include Money Train 4 and Darkness.
3. Use Casino Bonuses & Free Spins Wisely
Casino bonuses and welcome free spins can be a great way of extending your balance and giving yourself more chances to win at slots, but not all bonuses are equal.
For example, the biggest casino bonus isn’t always the best one to play with to increase your chances of winning at slots. Another more important aspect to keep an eye on is the bonus wagering requirement.
You can, for example, compare the welcome bonuses offered by these PayPal Casinos to see the differences in bonus amounts and compare the wagering requirements.
Nothing good comes out of having a massive welcome bonus if you never manage to clear it, so always pay attention to the wagering requirement and aim for a wagering of around 35x (or less), if possible, to have a chance to benefit from the bonus.
4. Practice with Free Slots Before Betting Real Money
Another best strategy for slots is to familiarise yourself with an online slot by testing its volatility, features, and entertainment value with the demo version. You can find all demo slots by visiting the game reviews on CasinoWizard.com.
By playing on the demo, you can try the slot for free without risking any real money before you have decided if this is a game you want to play on a real money version. You learn how to win at slots without risking your own money, and this is a valid part of the best slot strategy.
5. Manage Your Bankroll Like a Pro
The number one and most important rule to know how to win on slot machines is to never gamble with money that you can’t afford to lose. You must never budge from this rule.
Decide your budget beforehand, and this is now your slot bankroll.
A good tip for playing slots is to follow a bankroll management rule that decides what percentage of your bankroll you want to bet per spin. It’s advisable not to exceed 5% of your overall bankroll per spin, or ideally closer to 1% or below.
6. Set Win and Loss Limits
Another essential part of slot machine tips and part of the best slot strategy is session limits. Decide how much of your bankroll you are willing to risk before calling it quits for that day. The same applies to wins. How much do you aim to win before you stop playing? Then be disciplined and stick to the amounts you’ve decided on.
Make sure you never let your emotions take over so you forget about your budgets, bankroll management, and session limits, and exceed them just because you had an unusually bad session.
Know when to stop if unwanted feelings are coming through or if you feel like it isn’t fun to play slots anymore.
To know how to win at slots, you need to decide your limits and stick to them.
7. Play Progressive Jackpots Strategically
We would advise you to avoid playing progressive jackpot slots altogether if you want to know how to win on online slots for two reasons: The jackpots take a big chunk of the RTPs, leaving a smaller percentage for regular payouts, and the odds of winning a jackpot are minimal or even almost impossible. Not a good combo if you are trying to learn how to beat slot machines.
However, if you decide to play progressive jackpot slots like WowPot jackpots, Dream Drop Jackpots, or Mega Moolah anyway, then only give them a try when they have reached higher-than-average jackpot amounts. Especially the Dream Drop Jackpots have a must-win amount threshold, so keep an eye on those.
8. Avoid Common Slot Myths
Ok, this is one to pay attention to, as you have surely come across various slot machine tips on the web, on YouTube, or on social media that promise guaranteed wins if you follow this strategy or do so and so to learn how to beat slot machines.
Is this a good way to learn how to win at slots?
The truth? 100% of them are pure BS. Why? There are no tricks to winning on slot machines because the math is in the casino’s favour, and there are no shortcuts or tricks to go around the math.
On this page, we don’t guarantee any wins, but we share tips to improve your chances of winning when playing slots. There is a massive difference between that and guaranteeing wins that aren’t possible.
So next time you come across misconceptions like “how to pick a winning slot machine”, “hot slots”, “play only between these times”, “press spins manually to win”, “stop the spins at this exact point”, etc, ignore them all. They are false.
Slots are a game of chance, and each spin is entirely random, regardless of the outcome of the previous spin or the last 500 spins. Each spin is independent, as slots don’t retain memory, and each outcome is determined by the Random Number Generator (RNG) algorithm.
9. Try Different Slot Types
One slot type doesn’t have a higher win chance than another, but it can still be a good idea to try different ones to increase your chances of how to win on slot machines.
The reason is that keeping yourself engaged by being entertained helps you maintain a focus on your bankroll management and win-loss limits. Always playing the same game can easily lead to repetition and create a habit that might not do you any good if you have had bad experiences in the past.
There are many slot types to choose from, ranging from classic slots to Las Vegas slots, Megaways, Cluster Pays, Scatter Pays, and more. Trying different types of games can enhance your overall experience if you decide to play slots.
10. Scout Trusted Online Casinos
Playing at trustworthy online casinos is a given, but how can you know which casinos to trust?
Here at CasinoWizard.com, we combine our own experiences with expertise and research to find trustworthy UKGC-licensed online casinos that are legal options for UK players.
We look at several factors before recommending these casinos to our visitors, including their payout reputation, game variety, safety, and whether they have applied for and been granted a valid United Kingdom Gambling Commission (UKGC) license.
We also provide our visitors with exclusive information on the RTPs offered by each of these casinos and for each slot. This is something that you won’t find anywhere else.
The combination of all this information gives you better tools to improve how to win on slots and to follow a better slot machine strategy, but what good is it to win anything if you aren’t sure that you will be paid accordingly by the casino?
11. Play Within Your Personality
The best slots to play at a casino depend on your taste and personality.
Playing slots that don’t really appeal to you doesn’t make much sense, as you won’t enjoy the experience as much while doing so. It can also be harder to keep your goals in check, as it won’t matter as much to you, and it doesn’t help you in your quest for how to win on slot machines.
That’s why part of our slot machine tips is to recommend matching the slots you play to your personality. The factors to consider are volatility level, the game theme, and the features offered.
What kind of entertainment are you looking for? Do you have a slots strategy? Are you aiming for big wins or happy to play slots where your balance lasts longer while still having a chance to walk away with medium-sized max wins?
Find the right type of slot and you will have more fun while playing and retroactively improve your chances of winning. It’s indirectly one of the cornerstones of how to win at slots.
12. Learn to Read Paytables
It’s tempting to just start playing without doing much research, but having a quick look at the slots’ paytable to understand the values of the different symbols will enhance your overall experience when playing, and is part of our slot tips.
It’s more fun to play when you know what to look after.
How do you create the bigger wins? How does the multiplier function? What about the other features? What is even the max win on this specific slot?
Learn to read paytables to ensure that the slot matches your intentions, and your experience will also be better when you know how the game functions, what you can win, and how you can win it.
13. Bet the Right Amount
How much can you afford to bet per spin? How much do you want to risk?
These are questions that you ideally need to answer before playing.
When playing from the UK, your max bet options depend on your age according to the latest bet limits on UK slots.
- Aged 18-24: Maximum stake of £2 per spin.
- Aged +25: Maximum stake of £5 per spin.
The bet limits on slots outside the UK can reach up to $/€100 per spin, depending on the slot you are playing.
The minimum bet on most slots starts from 10p per spin, while others usually have a minimum bet of £ 20 per spin. Higher minimum bets are unusual, but they sometimes exist.
Note that the max win communicated on most slots refers to the max amount you can win times the bet you are staking per spin. For example, a 5,000x the bet max win would be £5,000 when playing with a £1 bet per spin.
14. Stay Aware: It’s Real Money
Seeing different digital numbers on the screen can easily distract you from the realisation that you are playing with real money. However, don’t let this fool you; always remember that this is real money. The only exception would be if you are trying the game on a demo version.
Using the auto spin option is a popular tool on slots, but be mindful: it’s easy to get distracted and see the money disappear, since each spin costs the predetermined amount.
Another distraction can be watching slot streamers celebrate huge wins while playing with enormous stakes, as they show how to play slot machines and win. However, remember that most of these streamers play with bonus-infused funds or, in some cases, outright play money.
Casino streamers aim to give players slot machine tips and to entertain their viewers, and they use big bets to create a bigger buzz to guide players towards the best slot games to play to win. But don’t forget that real-world money is different from what these streamers often use as their bankrolls or as the balances they show on-screen. Streamers showcase how to win at slots, but it’s not always real, since the funds they use are sometimes questionable.
15. Have Fun & Play Responsibly
Why do we play slots? To have fun and to be entertained, right?
Remember why you play slots in the first place. Sure, we want to win at slots, but the main aim should always be to enjoy it and have fun, and a good slots strategy can help too.
The odds are against you, and there are no tricks or shortcuts to guarantee any wins, but by following these tips, you will at least increase your chances of winning, and it’s not about “how to pick a winning slot machine”.
Always play responsibly and stick to your budget and limits. If you notice that the fun stops, stop playing and use the responsible gaming tools UK casinos offer to set time limits, take breaks, or even self-exclude from playing.
Top Recommended Slot Casinos
After much research, we can happily recommend the following UK casinos to players. These are all UKGC-licensed and meet our criteria for top casinos.
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Final Thoughts
There you have it – the complete guide on how to win at slots.
There are no guaranteed ways to win at slots, but by following these 15 proven slot tips and strategies, you will ensure that you have fun while playing slots, and you can also improve your chances of winning at slots.
Remember that playing slots is not essentially about how to win big on slots or how to find the best slot games to play to win, but it should be foremost about having fun, and it’s a bonus if you win.
Always play responsibly and make great use of our slot reviews to find the games with higher RTPs and to get clear instructions on how to play the different slots and how to win at slot machines.