Slot machines are the most exciting casino games in the world. The combination of simplicity and huge jackpots - along with plenty of psychological factors designed in the game (best explained in Addiction by Design: Machine Gambling in Las Vegas by Natasha Dow Schull) ensure that Americans keep pouring billions of dollars a year into slots. The downside for customers? You'll lose by a wide margin in the long run, and in general the bigger the jackpot, the more of an edge the slot machine has over you.

1. Best Free Slots
2. What Are The Best Slot Machines To Play
3. What Slot Machines Have The Best Payouts

You can increase your chances in the long run, though, by choosing the right games at the right casinos -- it's not unheard of that you will lose five times the amount on average that you would have lost if you chose the best slot machines and played at the best online casinos.

Feb 15, 2013  GO TO www.sevenstepstoslotmachinesucess.com How to win at slots. We all know the slot machines are set by the casinos to make them money, But what if.

The intention of this slot machine guide is to explain everything you need to know about slot machines in order to minimize your losses and give yourself the best chances to win money. If you're just looking for a high-quality, reliable slots online casino to play at, here are my top recommendations:

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How Real-Money Slots Work - The Basics

A slot machine has no feelings. The amount of winnings it pays are dictated by the EPROM chip and the random number generator ('RNG') inside the machine. It doesn't consider whether someone has recently won or lost -- every spin of the reels is random.

It's possible to influence your chances of winning at slots. When you press Spin, the RNG generates a random number (between one and a billion, for example) for each reel of the machine. Every number represents one of the symbols (the more numbers represent a symbol, the more it is 'weighted' in the machine).

The EPROM chip then determines whether you've won with the combination of symbols or not; the more winning combinations there are, and the more the player wins per winning combination, the higher the odds of winning and the payback of the machine.

Suggesting you have all the information available, calculating your chances of winning at slots is simple: multiply the probability of each outcome with what those outcomes pay, and then sum the results. It's always under 100% (otherwise casinos would make no profit) and often near 90% (casinos make a lot of money from slots).

Here's an example of an imaginary slot machine (let's call it King of Cats) with three winning combinations -- a real-life slot machine works the same way, but likely with more ways of winning at slots:

The slot machine above would return 97.5% to players in the long run. However, we rarely know the odds of slot machines. We do know the paytable - how much each winning combination pays to players - but we have no idea of the probability of getting that winning combination.

To calculate the probability of a winning combination, we need to know is how many stops there are for each symbol. For example, in the machine above there could be 45 stops and one of them would be a Lion symbol. By calculating (1/45)*(1/45)*(1/45) we get 0.001%, or the probability of hitting three Lion symbols in a row.

In real world, those symbols would have been weighed differently so that they're more likely to come on the first two reels and much less likely to come on the last reel, resulting in a near-miss situation.

I advise you not to play at all because slot machine odds are never good, but if you're going to play anyway, here's how you can find the slot machines that likely have better odds than others.

Why We Lose At Slots

We lose at slot machines because they're set to give back less than they take on average. It's impossible to play slot machines better; you can just press spin and hope for the best. With that said, though, you can improve your odds of winning at slot machines greatly by making good decisions before playing and having a good strategy when entering a casino - more about that lower on this page.

Generally, the more decisions you can make in a casino game, the lower the house edge is (with optimal play). Since there's almost no room for decisions when playing slots machines - again, your only decision is to press spin - the house edge is high at slots when compared to other popular casino games. And since you play slot machines for real money so fast (400-800 spins an hour), you lose more at slots than at any other casino game. (Read how slots work to understand them better.)

Like most casino games, a slot machine is a game of independent trials (the previous game has no influence on the next game). Your chances of winning with each spin are the same regardless of whether you've lost or won. So, there's absolutely no room for in-play slot machine strategy.

How Much Do Slot Machines Pay Back?

A slot machine's payback percentage could be anywhere from 75% to almost 100%, but of course, always lower than 100% (otherwise, the casino would make no profit). You can calculate a casino game's house edge by subtracting its payback percentage from 100% - this is how much the casino makes per bet in the long run. For example, with a 5% house edge, casinos make $5 per every $100 bet.

Calculating a slot machine's payback percentage is easy if you have all the information available: multiply the probability of each outcome with what they pay, and the sum is how much the slot machine returns in the long run, also known as its 'payback.'

But most of the time we don't have that information. We're in the dark -- sure, casinos can claim certain payback or payout percentages but how do we know they're truthful? Some online casinos get their payouts reviewed by private auditors, but how do we know if the auditors are honest?

It's a different situation with games like blackjack or roulette; in both cases we can calculate the house edge because the rules are known. If you care enough to make the calculations (and you should), you'll know exactly how much you stand to lose or win in the long run.

You could argue that casinos make so much money from slot machines that they have no reason to cheat. I agree, but you can still get a raw deal even if they are honest (setting a low payback percentage is not cheating). I want to have an idea of what kind of a return I get for my money regardless of the honesty of the casino. (See how to pick slot machines to find the best slots to play.)

Not only do casinos keep slot machine players in the dark about payback percentages, they have also weighed slot machine reels differently, resulting in as many near-miss moments as possible, which encourage future play. The first reel is the likeliest to hit something, the second reel is less likely to hit and the third reel is even less likely to hit.

NOTE: Some casinos are tested by auditors that publish monthly payout percentages for everyone to see online - now, 'payout' is different from 'payback.' The actual money that the casino has returned to players through their games is 'payouts' and the theoretical money that the slot machines are set to return is 'payback.' Payouts can be influenced by huge jackpot wins, for example, in which case a month's payout would look much better than the games have been set to pay back.

How You Can Win More

Here's the truth: the best thing you can do is to stay far away from slot machines (and stay clear from myths). Losing less is winning more and you can lose the least by never playing slots, even if you knew how to play slot machines the optimal way.

But you came here to learn how to play slots for real money, so I have to assume that you will play them at some point. Good news: you can win more (or, in fact, lose less) by playing the right slot machines at the right casinos.

The main consideration is always payback but you should also pay attention to casino comps and other benefits (such as cashback) that come along with playing at casinos.

Why to Play Slots

Some of you may wonder why to play slot machines at all. Exactly. They're a terrible investment -- think of a machine that you put $1 in and receive $0.95 back. That is basically a slot machine, except for all the sounds and animations, and of course a chance to win a lot of money, perhaps even millions of dollars.

The odds are heavily against you winning that money though. Meanwhile, in the long run, the casino takes your dollar bills and gives you back less. So if you agree to participate in this weird transaction, the least you can do is to find the casinos and slot machines that give you back the most money.

How to Find the Best Casino Slots to Play

If you're going to play in Las Vegas or some other popular gambling destination, take a look at this survey. It'll give you a good idea of how the location of the casino affects the general payback percentage of its slot machines; the best Las Vegas casinos are located mainly in North Las Vegas, not on the Strip. You can use the same logic in other places where there are many casinos around, although if you're 'stuck' with only a few, I'm not sure if location makes much of a difference.

After selecting a casino that potentially has a high payback percentage on average, an important part of a good slot machine strategy is to immediately join the casino's Slot Club (could be called 'Player's Club' as well). Contrary to popular myths, Slot Club members have the same house edge in their games as other players; the difference is, casinos can track Slot Club members (you have to insert a Club membership card to the slot machine when you play) and it helps them to give you comps when you deserve them (otherwise you may miss-out on them). You'll likely receive something extra just for signing up - free money to play with or a free drink, for example.

Additionally, most casinos give Slot Club members cashback (0.5% per bet, for example) and that is almost like playing against less house edge, although not literally. You don't win more likely but you receive a portion of your bets back.

Now, look around the casino. I bet you feel the temptation to head over to the flashiest slot machines with the biggest jackpots. That's what most slot players do and it's exactly the opposite of the best way to play slots. Unless your only goal is to win a million dollars (regardless of how unrealistic it is), playing progressive jackpot slots is the worst slot machine strategy you can choose. Many make that mistake and it's no wonder why US casinos get 70% of their revenues from slot machines.

Odds in Progressive Jackpot Slots

The only way you can win a million dollars playing slots is to play slot machines with progressive jackpots, however, you get even worse odds to win than you would get if you played flat-top slots.

The odds of winning a jackpot are usually way better on the first reel of the machine than on the last one. The casino wants to create as many 'near-miss' moments as possible -- it is a psychological trick, designed to make the player want to to play more.

It's easy to see why near-misses work: if you're one symbol away from winning a jackpot, it'll leave you with a different feeling than if the jackpot wasn't close at all.

In reality, it only seemed to be close.

In Nevada, the regulations state that one stop on the reel can't be weighted more than six times the stops before and after it (many have adopted this rule).

Progressive slot machine odds could be weighed like above; the first reel hits a jackpot symbol once out of five times while the third reel only hits once out of 13 times, often resulting in mentioned 'near-miss' situations.

But that was a simplified example. Hitting a progressive jackpot usually has more symbols, of course, and way worse odds. The chances of winning the biggest of them all, Megabucks, are somewhere in the 1:50,000,000, according to John Robinson at Casino City Times.

Progressive slot machine odds are worse than flat-top machines (the ones without a progressive jackpot) -- this is because a part of the bet goes to the jackpot while the casino takes its own cut. Unless the size of the jackpot is huge - in which case playing jackpot slots could be worth it - it always makes sense to choose a simple fixed jackpot slot machine.

So which slot machine types are best for you?

The simplest slot machines, also known as 'straight' or 'flat-top' slots, are your best choice financially. No, you can't win a million dollars playing those machines, and yes, they're less flashy than other slots, but they're the best slot games to play at a casino. For every dollar you bet, you may have to lose 10 cents more to flashier machines with progressive jackpots - that's a huge difference in the long run.

So now that you've chosen a simple machine, let's think about your betting strategy for slot machines (I'm not referring to progression betting systems; they don't work):

• Choose the highest denomination. The higher the denomination, the lower the house edge. For example, nickel slots have a higher house edge than dollar slots.
• Bet the maximum amount of coins. There's usually an incentive to bet maximum coins. For example, the jackpot becomes bigger relative to the bet, giving you a better return from the machine (odds stay the same but payout increases relatively more than bet size).
• Bet slowly. Not because pressing the Spin button fast or slow would impact your odds of winning at slot machines, but because it's a viable slot machine strategy because you have more time to play with your money and the longer you stay at a casino, the more comps you'll probably receive.

Las Vegas — the “Sin City” that can blind you with its sparkling architecture and make you fall in love with the 24/7 service of almost anything you can imagine.

One of the most popular places to visit either before your wedding or for the wedding, Las Vegas certainly is on everyone’s bucket list.

Yet the main reason that brings people from different parts of the world to this fabulous city is definitely the vast number of hotels and casinos offering entertainment games on the highest possible level.

Although they are mainly created for the wealthy part of the population, no one will forbid you to enter a casino with a little less money. However, in that case, you should probably do quick research to learn all about the best establishments for your financial status.

The information you should look for doesn’t include only the cheapest accommodation or places to eat, but also which casino is most likely to return the money you have decided to play with.

This text will mainly be based on the game of slots — one of the most popular games in casinos for both novices and regulars, so if you are interested in finding out where you can find the best slots in Vegas, you can start taking notes.

Best Free Slots

So which casino has the loosest slots in Vegas?

Before we provide you with a list of the best casinos for slots in Las Vegas, we would like to clarify a few things. A loose slot in one casino can be programmed at a payback of 99%, while the same slot in another casino will be programmed at 90% payback. The programming is not universal and almost always differs from one casino to another.

Also, do not expect that you will win every round with a loose slot. Though it might happen, it usually takes some time to get your winnings, even with the loosest slot that exists.

Now let’s get back to business. We have the NGCB reports, but they don’t examine casinos one by one. They do, however, break it with regards to geographical location. But don’t worry, we analysed it for you and organised the list of the casinos that you can follow to find your best slot game ever.

When it comes to the casino that has the loosest slots in Vegas the only evidence we could find was the table ranks of Las Vegas casinos according to the looseness of their video slot machines. The returns are based on sampling only five different types of machines, although the information is dated and goes back more than two years.

The table includes seventy-one casinos in Las Vegas listed according to the loosest slots and we list some of the most renowned casinos and the RTP % of sampled slots indicated.

While you are here have a look at real money slots section if you are looking to play the same Vegas slots for real money on your phone or on your computer.

Without further ado, find the list of casinos that has the loosest slots in Vegas below:

#1 Mandalay Bay

Not only that it offers over 1,200 machines, but it also gives you the opportunity to collect points when playing your favourite slots and use them for shopping later on.

RTP%: 88.87%
Location: 3950 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Find it online:https://mandalaybay.mgmresorts.com

#2 Bellagio

This hotel and casino offers a variety of slot machines to choose from and often organizes a number of high-paying slot tournaments.

The casino provides more than 2,300 reels, video reels and video poker games, as well as progressives and jackpots.

RTP%: ??
Location: 3600 Las Vegas Blvd S, Las Vegas, NV 89109, USA
Find it online:https://bellagio.mgmresorts.com

#3 Golden Nugget Las Vegas

Features the latest slot games that are highly requested by customers, and has a vast amount of slot machines starting from just one cent.

RTP%: 90.85%
Location: 129 Fremont Street, Las Vegas, NV 89101
Find it online:https://www.goldennugget.com/las-vegas

#4 Luxor Las Vegas

You can choose among hundreds of slots with denominations starting from $0.01 up to $100. Some of the loosest slots are definitely here since they still own the traditional “reel” machines, apart from the latest video slots.

RTP%: 91.92%
Location: 3900 S. Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89119
Find it online:https://luxor.mgmresorts.com

#5 El Cortez

Even though it’s not a part of the Strip squad, this fellow promises 40% looser slots and still features both ticket and coin-operated machines.

RTP%: ??
Location: 600 E Fremont St, Las Vegas, NV 89101
Find it online:https://elcortezhotelcasino.com

#6 The Venetian Las Vegas

Its location on Las Vegas Boulevard South allows players to be a part of the gambling elite. It is one of the largest hotels in the world and also one of the best on the Strip.

Here you will find more than 1,000 slot machines placed on two premier floors, and at least one of them has to be quite loose.

RTP%: 86.66%
Location: 3355 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Find it online:https://www.venetian.com

#7 MGM Grand Las Vegas

The casino possesses a great selection of progressive slots that have turned out to be lucky. Namely, some of the largest jackpots have been paid by this operator.

RTP%: 89.81%
Location: 3799 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Find it online:https://mgmgrand.mgmresorts.com

#8 Treasure Island Hotel and Casino

The casino floor is not as big as others, but this is what players sometimes need in order to be able to move from one slot to another without waiting in line for too long. They also offer a lot of different prizes including playing free slots.

RTP%: 89.32%
Location: 3300 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Find it online:https://www.treasureisland.com

#9 Harrah’s Las Vegas

The casino that still has some old-fashioned 3-reel slots promises payouts up to 98% and great progressives on popular games.

What Are The Best Slot Machines To Play

RTP%: 89.32%
Location: 3475 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89109
Find it online:https://www.caesars.com/harrahs-las-vegas

#10 Aria Resort and Casino

Last but not least, this casino has been awarded the Best Casino for Slots by CNN Travel. If you take that into consideration, there’s no further explanation necessary.

RTP%: ??
Location: 3730 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89158
Find it online:https://aria.mgmresorts.com

A Few Other Casinos

• Airport in 71st place 85.02%,
• Mermaids 88.26%
• La Bayou 88.26%
• Rio 88.72%
• Mirage 89.03%
• Stardust 89.97%
• Silverton 90.57%
• Tropicana 90.71%
• Hilton 91.40%
• Boulder Station 91.55%
• Hard Rock 92.47%
• Slots a Fun 92.65%

How Do the Slots Work?

There is no surprise that all the casinos in the world usually have a lot of slots filling up every corner of the room. Players like slots since they bring a lot of excitement and are very easy to use.

They do not demand a particular skill or knowledge and have no complicated rules. Also, they require minimal investment in order to let you play, so you can keep yourself amused for a longer period of time.

In case you have wondered how slots work, the explanation is very simple. You put in the amount you want to play with, and after the machine registers it, you are good to go.

The game is pretty easy — just pull the arm or activate it with a lever or a button, depending on the machine type.

What Slot Machines Have The Best Payouts

This will trigger the reels which hold different symbols to start spinning. Eventually, they will come to a halt, and you will get a combination of symbols that give a certain payout depending on how the pictures got lined up.

Now, the important thing to remember is that the house, a.k.a. the casino, always has the edge regardless of the type of game you play. It doesn’t matter if it is the good old dollar slot or a multi-reel penny machine, it is designed in a way that will always keep at least 2% of your money.

However, there is something you can do to give your winnings a little push: choose the loosest slots in the casino.

What Is the Loose Slot?

To put it simply, it is the reason why so many players decide to put their money in this machine. Every slot machine gives a different percentage of payout, meaning that some give more than others. Therefore, all players have the same goal: finding the slot machine that pays more than the rest.

That is where the term loose slot comes into the picture. It is used to describe a slot machine that pays the highest percentage and does that frequently. Another term used for such slot machines is hot slots.

Another belief is that these loose slots also have the lowest edge. In other words, if some other slots always keep 5% of your financial input, these will keep less.

Of course, these findings can make you immediately pack your bags and fly to Vegas to earn some money, but then the reason poses a question: How to find the loosest slots in Vegas?

Can Slots Be Loose After All?

You might be surprised, but the answer to this question is a big yes. Moreover, there are some tips and tricks that can help you find them in Las Vegas, and they are listed below.

First things first, there are some basic rules that can be applied in case you have never heard of loose slots before. One of them is that the more active a bank of slots is, the higher the chances are to get your money back. Usually, regular customers know which slots are the loosest, so it could be useful to first order a drink and just look around for some time.

Another saying you can often hear from the regulars is that the higher slot denomination brings higher and more frequent payouts. This basically means that a 100$ machine will, in the end, pay more than a penny-slot.

Then we have some new findings regarding the specific brands or slot games that carry the name of a famous movie. Those are said to pay quite less since the casino is also paying a fee for using the already patented product. Furthermore, the older machines are highly likely to pay more because they have already returned the money a casino invested in them.

Apart from these standard stories, there is something more convincing that can help you in your quest. Namely, all the casinos in Las Vegas have to report their revenue to the Nevada Gaming Control Board. This also includes information about the slot hold percentage. The Board then reports the statistics regarding their casino industry in which we can find our answer.

Firsthand Information

To make this guide completely real, we wanted to incorporate the response of the people who have visited Las Vegas and played slots at some of the best casinos in the world. We have checked the Trip Advisor and found some answers that support the casinos on our list.

Regarding the Mandalay Bay there are some good reviews:

My best luck on the strip over all has to be Mandalay Bay. In maybe a dozen stays, I’ve never walked away down more than a few hundred bucks, which is a win to me for 3 or 4 days of fun.

On the other hand, for somebody else, something different might work:

I think the term loosest is kinda relative. For me, I have had the best action on the strip for slots at Bellagio and Paris. I have also had some nice handpays at Aria.

Of course, some people put their trust in the casinos which are located outside the Strip, and had a good experience there:

I love this question! It is always fun to hear where people have had the most luck while in Vegas! I always stay on the strip when I’m in Vegas, but I never do any good playing there. I tend to play more downtown, or any local casino I can find. They are so much better! I love most casinos on Boulder Highway, and I love Southpoint and Silverton. But anyway…my biggest win on the strip was at Excalibur, but other than that one big win, I don’t think I’ve ever done any good there. I usually can play a while and don’t lose too bad at Harrah’s and Wynn. The worst in my opinion is Flamingo. I can’t win a dang thing there, and never have. All the others have been pretty much the same, win some, lose more….you know how it goes.

There are gamblers who believe that a person can have a dose of luck within themselves and that it has nothing to do with casinos or machines. However, from those that lose frequently, you can hear that there’s no such thing as luck and that the payouts are planned ahead.

Whichever belief you hold, only one is certain, and it is hidden in the name of casino games. They are not randomly called games of chance, and this is something you should always have in mind no matter if you find yourself in Las Vegas or any other gambling kingdom in the world.