Slot Machine Myths

Top 5 Slots Myths Debunked

The slots are fixed, the casinos put the best jackpots near the front door, and the machines "know" when they're going to pay out next.

For every gambler's big win, there's a gambler's superstition. For every unlucky spin of the slots, there's a wild theory about everyone in the world teaming up against the punter.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, for the gambler), slots myths are just that: myths. So, let's take a look at a few of the most common untrue fallacies you'll come across as you play.

One of the most common myths, both in online slots and land-based ones, is that that machines are fixed to give out a regular cycle of payouts. So, the myth goes, it's up to the player to know when and where the next juicy jackpot is going to hit.

Fortunately, it's a load of rubbish. Slots spins are entirely random, and there are no "cycles" of outcomes that re-occur every few thousand results. Besides, online slots are strictly licensed and checked for fairness before they're allowed anywhere near a casino.

If a slot pays out in a strange fashion, as happened recently with NetEnt's new release, Cosmic Fortune, when all free spins players managed to hit the jackpot during the game's test period, the casino will shut the game down and investigate.

No slot machines have memories where they know if they've paid out a big winner or - more accurately - HAVEN'T paid out in a long time.

As with our first mythbuster, online slots are independently audited so that the Random Number Generators are fair and (as the name suggests) random. Each spin is independent from the next, despite the superstitions of casino players convinced that a game is "due" a mega payout.

When we say a slot has an RTP of 85%, we mean that over a very long period, the machine will pay back $85 for every $100 put in. What it doesn't mean is that for every $100 put in, $85 will DEFINITELY be paid out. RTPs are often described as "theoretical", and that's exactly what they are.

In the short-term, you could get lucky and end up a massive winner. It doesn't meant the Return % of that game has suddenly jumped to 150%, though; you could also lose out big-time in the short term.

There are many fears about online casinos, most of them attributed to the fact that the site might be based overseas and everything's so damn anonymous.

But nothing instils fear in online slots players more than a casino possibly being crooked. But no online slots can be changed, nor should be according to the terms of the gambling license.

Similarly, slots aren't made looser during slower periods in midweek when fewer gamblers are playing online, then tightened up at the weekend when everyone lumps their paycheque on the latest Microgaming progressive.

You can't get through the week these days without reading yet another headline about some anonymous Norwegian who's taken down Mega Fortune or Mega Moolah for $6 million.

And while more people are playing online, and the progressives are getting bigger and bigger, they're not always the best games to wager on.

Progressive jackpot slots actually take a large chunk out of your stake to bump up that progressive. That means you're losing out massively on the regular, bread 'n' butter payouts that make up most slots players' bankrolls.

So, play the big progressives for fun while you're racking up the spins on the more regular 5-reel games. And ignore those supposedly high RTPs on progressives: that 97% payout might include the jackpot.

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Whether you've hit a big jackpot or you're going through a dry spell, it can be easy to think that there are hidden forces at work pulling strings and skewing the odds.

Luckily, slot machines are more simple than that: they're fun, frantic and most importantly, they're gambling machines.

But gambling doesn't mean just blindly betting your whole roll without thinking. Picking the right slots can mean the difference between winning and losing a packet. We do offer some tips on how to win at slots - obvioulsy you know that you won't win in the long run, but there are some things you cna do to help.

That means choosing slots with good RTPs, generous jackpots, and frequent bonus features. At VegasSlots.co.uk, we have the best reviews on the Internet so UK slots players like you can pick the needle from the haystack of slots and come out a winner.