Tackling the Big Online Slot Myths
Whether you’re a regular slot player or new to slot gaming, there is a good chance that you’ve come across many pieces of received wisdom on the subject of slots and how they work. The fact is that there are a lot of myths out there relating to slots, and if you don’t know what is fake news and what is legitimate, you could end up losing more money than you’d intended.
We believe that being well informed is crucial. So to help you steer clear of misinformation, we’ve put together a list of the ten most common slot myths.
1. Slots are either ‘hot’ or ‘cold’
The idea that certain slots games are paying out and therefore are ‘hot’ while others are not paying and therefore can be considered ‘cold’ is on old one and it probably comes from real world slots gaming. It was almost certainly never true with the old mechanical slots and it is definitely not true when it comes to modern online slots gaming, thanks to something called a RNG.
RNG stands for Random Number Generator. This piece of gaming technology is at the heart of every online slot. Essentially, it is a complex bit of software that produces a random result each time you press Spin. Each spin is completely random and entirely independent of the previous spin, which means that talk of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ online slots is nonsense.
2. Slots have predefined payout plans
You may hear some claims that slots have predetermined payout plans, so if you happen to be playing a slot at the time a payout is due, you can be a winner. This is nonsense. Casinos generate profits over the long term, as the odds are always in their favour, and each individual spin of a slot game is completely at random, thanks to the RNG mechanism described above.
3. There is such a thing as a winning slot strategy
Any mention of the word ‘strategy’ in association with slot gaming is likely to be nonsense. You may be able to adjust your stake when playing a slot game, but this only controls the rate at which you lose. All online slots work randomly and to a house edge, so you will lose money overall. Anyone who attempts to sell you a ‘slot system’ is likely to be a scammer.
4. Land based slots with physical levers are better than online slots
It is sometimes suggested you can boost your winning chances by ditching online slots for physical slot machines with levers. We’re not sure why this myth has become established, but it is nonsense. All slots games operate on the basis of randomness, whether online or offline. In fact, the house edge tends to be smaller with online slots than it does with real world mechanical machines.
5.The RTP for a slot changes during each game
Another myth is that the RTP or Return to Player percentage changes each time you play a slot. This isn’t true. The RTP of a slot game is regularly tested by independent auditors and remains the same. We only advertise trustworthy casino sites who display their slot auditing credentials and their paytables. To find out more about payouts, check out our paytable article.
6. The more you play, the more likely you are to win the jackpot
Obviously you want to win the top prize when they play a slot game, but the length of time that you play a slot has no bearing on your jackpot chances. It can sometimes be the case that the level of your stake can determine your chances of winning the big prize, which is why it is always important to check out a slot game’s paytable, which gives you this information.
7.Always play one more round to win
This is one of the most dangerous myths about slots gaming. Playing another round, and then another, in the hope of turning around a losing gaming session is known as ‘chasing your losses’. Thanks to the RNG in online slots, playing one more round is not going to make it more likely that you will win. In fact, chasing your losses is one of the warning signs of problem gambling. Remember, slots gaming should be fun and when the fun stops, so should you.
8. Almost all the jackpot symbols are on the reels, so I am due to win
This is another dangerous fallacy. As mentioned above, thanks to the RNG in all online slots, each spin is independent of what happened previously and what happens next. The fact that almost all the jackpot symbols are on the reels has no bearing at all on the next spin.
9. If the RTP is 96%, I will get 96% of my bet back
In principle, this is true, but only in the long term. The RTP figure is not a guarantee that applies to each individual spin or gaming session. Over the longer term, if you add up all of the money wagered by all of the players to play a game, and calculated their return, it would be around 96%. But slots gaming is extremely volatile and returns in the short term can vary hugely.
10. I can’t win the jackpot if it has just been hit
This is definitely not the case. Thanks to our old friend the RNG, the jackpot is equally likely to land on each spin. The only sense in which a recent jackpot payout might affect your payout is in progressive jackpots where a pot has just been won and so the total jackpot available will have dropped to its original level. But a recent jackpot win has no bearing on your chances of winning the jackpot in future spins.
We all get taken in by fake news from time to time, but we hope that this article will steer you away from some common and potentially dangerous myths. Remember, slots gaming is supposed to be fun. The house edge means you will always lose in the long term, so make sure you understand how slots work, in terms of the RNG, and never play with money you cannot afford to lose.