All About Progressive Slot Machines

Imagine waking up one morning and learning that you have won a million dollars. This scenario is the greatest dream of everyone who bets on the lottery. For some people, especially those into gambling and casinos, their greatest dream is to play the slot machines and luckily hit the jackpot. Most people wish of winning the life-altering jackpots, and those kinds of prizes can only be found in progressive slot machines.

Progressive slot machines are popular because of the tempting million-dollar jackpots these machines offer. However, you have to realize that the odds of hitting the jackpot are statistically improbable as to be unrealistic at best. To be able to play progressive slots, you must first understand how progressive slots work and how to play it for your maximum benefit and enjoyment.

Progressive slot machines are groups of slots machines linked together. The machines take a small amount or percentage of the all the bets made and add it to the progressive jackpot. So the more people play and the more money placed on the progressive slot machines, the bigger the progressive jackpot gets. Although progressive slot machines offer obscenely huge jackpots, the actual payback percentages on these machines are lower than traditional slot machines.

The three different types of progressive slot machines are stand-alone, in-house (or proprietary) and wide area progressives. Stand-alone progressive slots are not linked to other machines, unlike wide-area progressives, and thus offer much lower jackpots than the latter. Most stand-alones have about the same payback percentage as other slot machines.

In-house or proprietary progressive slots are machines in a casino that are linked together. Slot machines from other casinos may also be connected to each other if they belong to the same gaming company. The jackpots in this type of progressive slots are much lower than wide-area progressives but your chances of hitting the jackpot are greater.

Multi-million dollar jackpots are the main enticements of wide-area progressive slots which are machines linked to other progressive slot machines in many casinos. This type of progressive slots can be likened to nationwide lottery wherein more bettors translate to bigger prizes. Wide-area progressive slots are owned and run by an independent operator like IGT; the casino takes only a percentage of the total earnings. The payback rates at these slot machines are lower than other machines because of the expenses and costs involved to operate in many sites.

For sure, progressive slots are attractive enough for you to start playing and betting on one of these machines, regardless of the mind-boggling odds of hitting the jackpot. Don't concentrate your slot play on progressive slots, or else you will lose the major part of your bankroll without getting something in return. It is recommended that you reserve a portion of your bankroll for playing in progressives. Remember that your chances of winning in slots are entirely dependent on sheer luck, and the key to gambling enjoyment is simply to have fun!