Slot Variance At the heart of slot machine gameplay is the concept of slot variance (or slot volatility) that is fundamental to how a slot machine ‘feels’ to play. Slot variance is a measure of risk associated with playing a slot machine. A low variance slot machine has regular but smaller wins and a high variance slot machine has fewer but.
Jackpot Slot Machines – Everything You Wanted to Know
Jackpot slot machines are a staple in any online casino and a big crowd draw because of the massive flashing lights blinking million dollar prizes. They’re really like every other slot machine, but jackpot slots have one special difference, they’re pool of money is connected between several machines (this type is called progressive jackpot slots). This is how it is in both land-based casinos and online casinos. Each time someone makes a wager on a jackpot slot, a portion of their losses go into the giant jackpot.
Consider ten machines connected, one hundred machines or, in the casino of online casinos, millions of players connected. You will quickly get the idea of how the wins get into the million dollar figures. These games often have jackpots larger than national lotteries and you can spin the reels ten times in the time it takes to buy a lottery ticket. So the obvious appeal are the large jackpots, but deeper still is that instinctual gambling desire for the big payout.
Listed above are seven of the top online slot jackpots for Microgaming Games. The numbers are drawn directly from the data provided by Microgaming and is all in real time. The Mega Mega Moolah slot jackpot is currently at an estimated 3.7 million dollars and King Cashalot is begging for a payout with $574,823. The Mega Moolah progressive jackpot slot prize is a pool of funds from several online casinos that offer Microgaming.
Online Slot Jackpots
Each of the slot jackpots above require that the player make max bet wagers in order to be eligible for the progressive slot jackpot. The Play now section under each of the slot jackpots above gives players an exclusive bonus to try out these games with 30 free spins and an additional $1600 in four 100% matching bonuses up to $200 each. Playthrough requirements are active on this promotion.
On each spin of an online slot set to max bet, with a jackpot or progressive jackpot reward, players instantly become eligible to win. In other words, every spin is an opportunity at a large pay like those seen on Mega Moolah and King Cashalot as mentioned above.
Microgaming Progressive Slots
Microgaming is well known for having paid out the largest known mobile casino game win at nearly 4000000. They have also held online slots tournaments with a payout to one lucky player of over 6000000. Along with those millions being paid out, Microgaming is also on record as having paid the largest win at online bingo with 5.8 million.
Some of the other online slot jackpots offered by Microgaming are attached to the following games:
WowPot™ this Microgaming progressive slot can be found as a 5 reel progressive and a 3 reel progressive slot. There are extra paylines on the version that has five reels and because of that this one gives more opportunities for players to win. Both versions of WOWPot share the same progressive pool so this makes for an often won, but always replenished progressive jackpot slot from Microgaming.
SupaJax™ is a game of video poker that is networked across the Microgaming casino network for larger progressive pots.
Fruit Fiesta™ is one of the most liked games by players out of the Microgaming progressive collection. The game has a very high frequency for scatter symbols to hit. There are two versions, the three reel and the five reel and both are connected to several online casinos that carry or are powered by Microgaming.
Lotsaloot™ this video slot game has a classic 3 reel version as well as a brand new, 20 pay line version with 5 reels. As with the other Microgaming progressives, both versions of Lotsaloot feed into a progressive fund.
Jackpot Deuces™as with SupaJax, Jackpot Deuces is an online video poker machine. This game is different in that it has deuces set to wild. Jackpot Deuces is connected to several online casinos.
Cash Splash™ this game is widely known as the 1st progressive jackpot to ever be online. It is found in online casinos as either a three reel or five reel.
Triple 7s™ is quite different from any other type of progressive that we have ever seen. Triple 7s just so happens to be a game of Blackjack setup with a progressive pot. Pretty cool for those fans of Blacjack.
Tunzamunni™is a progressive slot featuring a theme of treasure. It's fashioned in the old style of one line with three reels. Not exactly our favorite game out there, but there has to be someone playing because the progressive jackpot is up to around $41000. That's a lot of nickels!
The Dark Knight™ this online slot is particularly interesting as it offers four progressive jackpots within the game. These jackpots are triggered with a bonus wheel.
The four progressive prizes for The Dark Knight are:
Mini Progressive starting a 10
Minor Progressive 100
Major Progressive 10000
and the Mega Progressive at an amazing 1 000 000
King Cashalot™ this progressive slot has a theme centered in the days of King Arthur. Well, in this case, King Cashalot. With wild multipliers, five reels, scatter symbols and nine paylines, this progressive slot jackpot is huge! The slot game also features a main bonus round where players can select and collect and a mini bonus round available on all wins where players can gamble for a larger win.
Treasure Nile™ doesn't have much to have said about it other than it's treasure, it's the Nile, it's progressive and it's a nine line payout.
Major Millions™ the very interesting thing about Major Millions is that the progressive jackpot will always start at 250000. There are three versions of this progressive jackpot slot and all are connected by Microgaming casinos and share the same jackpot.
More of the Mega Moolah Progressive Variations:
Mega Moolah™
Mega Moolah™ – 5 Reel Drive
Mega Moolah™ – Summertime
Other Table Game Progressives by Microgaming:
Roulette Royale™
Poker Ride™
Cyberstud™
Caribbean Draw Poker
Tips for playing Jackpot Slot Machines
Having played thousands of online slot games over the years and hundreds in the casinos, I feel that I can offer some expert advice.
Here are some tips that you may find useful for playing jackpot slot machines:
Manage that Money: You may have thousands of dollars built up in your account, but it only takes a few hundred to play to your first win. When playing slots, the objective is to maintain a balance between wins and losses. Playing with more manageable amounts helps you to keep track of those losses in your head.
Times Vs. Luck in Slots: Take the amount of money that you have and divide it by the lowest wager amount at max bet. Then do the math on the highest wager possible. At one-hundred dollars and a three dollar wager, you get thirty-three spins. With a wager of fifty-dollars versus your one-hundred dollars, you only get two spins. The win would be immense on that fifty dollar wager, but two spins is nothing unless your luck is spot on.
Max Bet is Your Friend: With most jackpot slots, you will need to bet the max for your coin amount in order to be eligible for a jackpot win. Do not make the mistake of hitting five scatters and missing out on a jackpot because you forgot to hit max bet.
Eyes on the Prize: Even though your real reason for playing is that huge jackpot, it is important not to let that drive your next play. There will be a lot of times that you are getting to your last dollar and the machine keeps looking like it will hit. If you can afford that, press through that is fine, but if you want to stay in the game, it might be a good idea to find another slot machine. Greed is a really good motivator and the idea of winning that jackpot will keep you pressing spin, but you still need to be mindful of the win/loss balance.
A Little Casino Recon: It is always good to know how high the jackpot got to before it was last won. Has it ever been won? Playing a slot machine game with a large jackpot in the hundreds of millions may mean your chances of winning are very slim. It took a lot of spins for that game to collect that prize. Then again, chancing it and giving the spin to luck, you may possibly win, but once again, very slim chance.
Jackpot Slot Machines are Fun: If I’m being honest, I really only have fun when I am winning at slots. When I start frowning at a jackpot slot machine, I then know that it collected more from me than what I wanted.
Play for the Big Win: So, the funny thing about progressive jackpot slot machines is that sometimes the winnings from a regular win can be larger than the actual jackpot. I find this to be true a lot of times with Betsoft games. In a game like Slots Angels for instance, there was a seven-thousand-dollar jackpot and I had a spin land on a twenty-thousand-dollar win. That’s why players should just play jackpot slot machines like any other slot game and consider the jackpot a nice bonus if it happens.
Types of Jackpot Slot Machines
The first two categories for jackpot slots are online and land based. There are then subtypes of those categories. There are three subtypes of progressive jackpot slots which occur in both land based and online slots. The first type is the wide area progressive, the second being stand alone and third being single casino progressive or ‘local’.
Wide area jackpot pool: this refers to a casino network jackpot in which several casinos participate and send money into the jackpot pool. This can be an area as large as a province, state or even globally when considering online casinos. This type of jackpot can quickly become very large and there are also more players contending for the win. Some of the largest jackpots in a wide area gaming network are the Microgaming Jackpots.
Stand-alone jackpot slot machines: these are jackpots which are slot machine specific. The money that is taken in by the house is kept to that online slot so the jackpots tend to be much smaller. This type of jackpot is oftentimes divided into three jackpot sizes of mini, medium and large depending on the software company that developed the game. These are the jackpots that you can win the most often and typically stay very low because of that fact.
In-Casino Jackpot Games: So this one gets a little complicated for online casino jackpot slots. The idea with this subtype is that there are several of the same slot game that feed the jackpot pool. With online casinos, they deal more with sessions than machines, so online casino jackpots can technically be considered this subtype. In land based casinos it is what it is, in that there can be rows of games all connected to the jackpot. That means paying into it and collecting from it. So the player sitting next to you could be making that jackpot larger for you with every spin.
Jackpot Wins are Always Newsmakers
I never understood this, but when someone hits a massive jackpot, just like a big lottery win, the local media makes it a story. Recently an older couple pulled 2.4 million dollars from a jackpot slot machine that had not paid out in well over twenty years. They of course had to put them in the spotlight.
So here’s the advice on this one, when playing a jackpot slot machine at a casino, be sure to have your best clothes on because there’s going to be a picture. Online jackpot slots winners may not have that concern immediately, but online casinos love to get their name out there. When you collect the cheque, expect to be called upon for a photo and a few words how you will spend it.
Jackpot Slot Machines from Olden Times Circa 1989
So in referring back to the couple that won all that money from the slot machine that had not paid out in years and years. It reminded me about a case in 1989 that was heard by the Nevada Gaming Commission. The case involved algorithms that were deemed as proprietary by a slot machines manufacturer in which they created “near misses” and way to many of them to be fair. Near misses are really just that, whenever you watch the symbols lining up and they are about to hit that jackpot or any win, and then “missed it by that much” to quote Maxwell Smart. So it was deemed unacceptable, for the real reel version, but surprisingly, the mapping of reels for virtual games like online slots or those now found commonly in online casinos for near misses above and below the payline are acceptable. It is a very interesting topics, especially in relation to jackpot slot machines and online slots. There is a scholarly article that covers the exact topic, in relation to a player’s reaction to a near miss.
What’s the Verdict Then?
Jackpot slots can be fun for a short thrill. In the long-game in playing online slots and slots for wins, personally I don’t seek out a jackpot. The large wins are fun to dream about winning, but I will stick to just playing for the short wins and lots of them!
What to do with Your Jackpot Winnings
Wow, ya that is totally up to you, grats! However, if you are feeling generous, the email is [email protected], I’ll be happy to count the money for you.
Originally, casinos installed slot machines as a diversion for casual gamers. Unlike traditional table games (such as blackjack or craps), slot machines don't require any gambling knowledge, and anyone can get in the game with a very small bet.
This idea proved to be a monstrous success -- slot machines eventually moved off the sidelines to become the most popular and the most profitable game in town, bringing in more than 60 percent of the annual gaming profits in the United States.
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The technology of slot machines has also changed a lot over the years. The classic mechanical designs have been almost completely replaced by computer-controlled machines. But the game has remained the same. The player pulls a handle to rotate a series of reels (typically three) that have pictures printed on them. Winning or losing is determined by which pictures line up with the pay line, a line in the middle of a viewing window. If each reel shows the same winning picture along the pay line, you win (certain single images are sometimes winners as well). The amount you win -- the payout -- depends on which pictures land along the pay line.
In this article, we'll find out what sets the reels in motion in modern slot machines as well as in the old mechanical models. We'll also see what determines the odds of winning on a slot machine and look at some popular variations on the traditional game.
The classic slot machine design works on an elaborate configuration of gears and levers. The central element is a metal shaft, which supports the reels. This shaft is connected to a handle mechanism that gets things moving. A braking system brings the spinning reels to a stop, and sensors communicate the position of the reels to the payout system. A coin detector initially registers that a coin has been inserted and unlocks a brake so the handle can move.
There are any number of ways to arrange these elements, and manufacturers have tried dozens of approaches over the years, so we'll focus on one representative design. The basic design includes three reels mounted on a central shaft. The central shaft also supports three notched discs, which are connected to the three reels. A second shaft below the central shaft supports a kicker, a piece of metal comprising three paddles. The kicker paddles are lined up so they can push against the notches on the three discs. The second shaft also supports a series of connected stoppers, teeth that lock into the notches on the discs.
The kicker and the stoppers are both connected to springs, which hold them in a standby position. The kicker is held in place behind the discs, while the stoppers are held up against the discs, locking them into place.
Picture Of Casino Slot Machine
When you pull the handle on a slot machine, these parts do a lot of work. We'll look at exactly what happens in the next section.