Slots Payouts - Understanding Your Slots Winnings
In order to maximize your chances of winning at slots, it is useful to have some knowledge of how slots payouts work.
Payout Schedules
Each slot machine has its own payout schedule. The winning slots payouts vary from slot machine to slot machine. It is important to compare the payout schedules of a few slot machines before starting to play and then deciding which one you would like to play on.
The payout schedules will show you how much you win for the same spins according to how many coins you bet. For example, if the maximum bet is three coins in a slot machine, it will show you how much you win for either one coin, two coins, or three coins.
It is useful to look at the full payout schedule, and not only at how much you will win if you win the jackpot or if you only play maximum coins. Most of what you will win will be in the lower payout section, therefore it is important to compare the lower payout rates as well as the jackpots.
Progressive Slots Payouts
You can either play regular slots which do not have large progressive jackpots, or you can choose to go for the big payout and play progressive games. The amount of money it is possible to win in the payout of progressive slots keeps increasing according to the number of players who are linked to the progressive game. Each time a linked player does not win, the progressive jackpot increases by a small amount. The odds of winning are a bit less than if you were playing a non-progressive game, but the payout is much larger.
Payout Percentage
Slots payouts are not decided by each casino, and cannot be changed easily. All slot machines are set with payout percentages in the factory before they are sent to casinos. Each slot machine manufacturer will offer a variety of slot machines with different payout percentages. A single casino may choose some machines at 85.3% payout, and others at 89.6% payout. Often, the machines that accept lower denomination coins have lower percentage payouts, and the slot machines that take dollars will pay back a somewhat higher percentage.
Competition and Payout Percentage
In North America, in the states in which the slot payout percentages are published, there is much competition. In these jurisdictions, for example, Nevada, Connecticut and Quebec, amongst others, the slot machines almost always offer a higher percentage payout. Often, the payout percentage will be shown on the gaming floor next to the slot machines.
In areas that do not have to publish slots payouts, it is usually true that the payout percentages are smaller. It is likely that the payouts in these areas will be somewhere between 75% and 85%.
It is important to remember that even if the payout percentage is quite high, you may or may not leave the casino with money in your pocket. The payout average is taken over a couple of hundred thousand turns on the machine. You may place one bet and win a large amount, which is much higher than the number shown on the payout percentage, or you could play lots of money and end up with very little.