Playing Progressive Jackpot Slot Machines

Rule number one, and in fact the only special rule for playing a progressive jackpot slot machine is “always play the maximum coins”! There are numerous stories, perhaps legends, of people who actually hit the jackpot only to get a seriously, and painfully smaller award because they hadn’t played the maximum coins on the spin.

Additionally, a person who plays a progressive slots game is adding incrementally to the pot each time they spin, whether they play the maximum coin amount or not, so why increase a prize you cannot win?

What is a progressive jackpot anyway? If you haven’t seen the headlines of people winning millions of dollars at a slot machine then you may not know about progressive jackpot slot machines. These can be machines in a single casino, or they can be a wide network of machines all linked up via a computer connection.

Basically the slot machines that are part of a progressive jackpot will take a portion of each wager or spin and contribute it to the ever increasing jackpot. Under the specific rules and guidelines, a player who reveals the winning configuration along a payline wins the whole thing!

What are these special rules and guidelines? Generally, a progressive jackpot slot machine will be very similar to a normal game, with the exception that the big prize is only available to the players with the maximum coins wagered. If you are looking to play a single coin on a spin, do not choose progressive jackpots.

Why does it seem that someone wins a progressive jackpot after playing only a short while? Headlines usually quote a winner as saying: “I had just started to play…” or “I was only in the casino a few minutes when…”, and this makes perfect sense. An examination of a slot machine shows that it cannot be set to trigger a jackpot at any specific moment, or for any length of play; what happens with the lucky progressive jackpot winners is simply that they usually only play a few games before moving on. Why? Because it takes a maximum coin investment to win, and most people cannot commit that sort of investment on the game!

So most players are prepared only to stay a short while, and like magic they win the biggest payout. So, how much will it cost to take a fair shot at a progressive jackpot? That all depends upon the player and their personal bankroll or budget. All expert gamblers emphasize that anyone visiting a casino should go with a fixed limit they are willing to spend. After determining that amount, slots professionals say they would wager between only ten and twenty percent of their entire amount on a giant progressive jackpot.