While it is possible to come across players who are blessed with good fortune, this is not always the case for the majority. Unless you are just visiting a casino site and decide to blow a handful of Dollars to make yourself happy, a little due diligence is always advisable; to put it more simply, each bet should be placed with caution and budget is a key criterion in choosing your bets.
Before you place your bets
The general rule of thumb is that the smaller your budget, the smaller your preferred bet per spin should be. In other words, if you don’t have a lot of money to play with, perhaps it would be wiser to make it last for maximum enjoyment? Be aware that while it’s possible to win big on a slot machine, it’s just as easy to lose big in the heat of the moment. In the same vein, there is another rule worth following: once you have decided on a budget for a gaming session, it is best not to go over it, otherwise all your good resolutions on betting amounts may well have been for nothing.
With all this in mind, and once you have chosen the slot machine of your dreams, it is advisable to consult its paytable. This will give you an overview of the different amounts to be won. It’s also a great way to see what special symbols and bonuses the game offers. If you have the option of testing the slot in demo mode to get to grips with it, don’t hesitate to do so either. Once you’ve mastered the game, you can finally get started.
Setting the bets: generalities
The value of the chip
Concerning the setting of your bets per turn, they can be more or less fine ” and scaled according to the machine you have chosen. In general, the principle in online games is quite simple when it comes to deciding on your bets or scaling them. Functionally, the -/+ keys allow you to change the value of the bet by changing the value of the coin.
In other words, it’s as if you were choosing to bet different coin values depending on the bet you choose. The ranges (from 0.20 to 10 dollars per spin for example) and the steps (possibility to choose between 0.20, 0.50, 1, 2, 5, 10, of chips value) vary according to the machines.
Paylines
Once you have chosen your chip value, there is another parameter that comes into play in the betting, which is the number of paylines on the chosen slot machine. What is a payline? Well, it’s simple: each slot machine decides this differently. You need to refer to the slot machine’s help to find out which lines will have winning symbol combinations. In general, the payout tables, symbol values and paylines can be accessed by clicking on the help button that you will find somewhere on every slot machine (Help,?, help or info).
Fixed Payline Slots
Not all slot machines offer a variable payline setting, in fact you will find many that offer fixed paylines. When this setting is variable, it is assumed that the value of your bet on the spin will be equal to the value of your chip multiplied by the number of lines you decide to bet on. In other words, it is as if you were betting one chip per line. It sounds complicated, but it’s not:
Example: $0.01 (Decided value of the chip) X 25 (number of decided or fixed paylines) = $0.25 bet on the round. So you bet $0.25 per spin to try and get winning symbol combinations on 25 paylines. You can decide to change these values between rounds.
The level concept
Please note that some slot machines also use the concept of “level” to adjust the bets. In general, this level is set in steps of 1 (from 1 to 5, 10, or even more: 1,2,3,4,5,…). This setting is often found on fixed payline slot machines. It usually corresponds to a multiplying bet per line. In other words, it allows you to decide how many chips you want to bet per payline.
Examples with a 20-line fixed payline slot machine:
- 0.02 (Decided value for the chip) X 20 (number of fixed paylines) X 1 (default level value) = 0.40 bet on the spin.
- 0.02 (decided chip value) X 20 (number of fixed paylines) X 5 (user-set level value) = $2.00 bet on spin. You have decided to bet 5 times $0.02 per line, i.e. $0.10 and there are 20 lines.
Summary of how to bet like a pro on video slots
That’s the general outline of how to set up a slot machine bet. Based on these general principles, there can of course be variations in terms of display. If you have understood the following lines you will be fine with any slot machine. Remember: coin value, payline, level, bet, max bet, spin, auto-spin (spinning automatically until a winning combination or event occurs that requires action on your part)