To trigger a jackpot on a slot machine, you need to read the paytable to determine the exact odds and ways to get the top prize. Each machine will have its own rules, its own RTP, and its jackpot hit rate.
The most common ways to trigger a jackpot slot include:
- Randomly on any spin – like in the Mega Moolah slots
- If you line up certain symbols on a payline – like the Megajackpots Cleopatra slot
- Via a mini-game bonus – like in the Mega Fortune slot
- When it hits close to a certain cash amount – Like the Dream Drop Jackpots
- When it has to hit on a daily timer – like the Red Tiger Gaming Must Drop Jackpots
Whether you are talking about an online progressive jackpot set over a vast network or an in-game jackpot, the best way to figure out how to win is to do a little research.
Read the slot review, look at the paytable, and most of all, make sure your odds of winning are worth the bet level required.
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How often do slot machines hit jackpots?
In theory, a jackpot on a slot online should hit randomly – there is no way to predict when or where the jackpot will hit.
This is down to the Random Number Generator, which, on each spin, will give you a random result of symbols and wins/losses. If the RNG decides to make that spin a winning jackpot spin, you win – whether it’s your first or thousand spin on the slot machine.
It’s not a sexy answer, but it’s the real answer.
That said, even RNGs have to follow set rules set out by the gambling mathematician. And while you can never predict exactly when a jackpot slot will hit, you can start to see patterns.
Look for patterns in your favourite jackpot slots
Every progressive jackpot slot is a little bit different. However, they all have one thing in common: a big cash prize that will break and payout to one random player.
Let’s take the famous Mega Moolah slot by Microgaming as an example. You can win millions and create more yearly slot millionaires than any other online slot machine.
That’s still only 4 or 5 millionaires a year, so bear that in mind as you play. The good news is that most of the casino big wins stories tend to hit around the 4 or 5 million mark.
Is there such a thing as hot jackpot slots?
Now, there have been times when the Mega Moolah jackpots hit within a week of having previously paid out millions, and it also hosts the Guinness World Book of Record for the biggest slot win at €19,430,723.60. So, it can literally break at any time.
There is no such thing as a hot jackpot slot because the random number generator dictates that the jackpot could hit on any spin. But, of course, there are averages that can let you choose the right time to start playing.
Bearing in mind, the Mega Moolah jackpots seed at 2 million – that average generally tends to be somewhere around the 4 to 5 million mark,
Most real money mobile slots will have a ‘mean’ number when the game starts to get interesting, depending on how popular or how many players are spinning.
The best way to play is to start spinning when the jackpot prize amount gets interesting. What would be life-changing? Because the RTP of jackpot slots tends to be lower than that of normal games, you need to play when it’s worth your while.
All the whilst knowing nothing is certain in the world of jackpot slots.
What determines when a slot machine pays out?
Do you think you can crack when a slot machine is going to pay out? Then you are some kind of wizard because not even the casino or the game provider knows that.
How much and when a slot machine pays out is determined by the RNG and how that affects the Return To Player Rate of the slot machine.
We’ve talked a little bit about the random number generator, which you can’t predict. But the RTP is generally on display in most slot machines, making some people think they can predict slot wins.
And RTPs are important – that’s why we have them in every slot review we write. The higher the RTP, the better your odds of winning that slot.
What it won’t tell you is how much you’ll win. A slot with an RTP of 97% could mean it pays out often but only $1 a time. An RTP of 95% means it pays less often, but when you win, it’s 1,000x your bet.
Only the RNG can decide how much you’ll win on any given spin.
Can you win a jackpot with a minimum bet?
Good news: most of the time, you can win a jackpot with a minimum bet. Here’s a story about a lucky UK gambler who won £13 million on Mega Moolah on a 0.25 bet.
Amazing right?
Absolutely. But if you read the paytable of most progressive jackpot slots, you’ll soon read one very important note: the higher your bet, the higher your odds of winning.
Why? Because if betting 0.25 gives you one lottery ticket to trigger the jackpot, a 0.50 bet gives you two tickets. On the other hand, a £€$1 bet would give you 4 tickets.
Again, it’s all about reading the paytable carefully and playing the odds you can afford to play.
Never bet more than your budget allows.
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What are the best jackpot slots with the best odds?
That’s a hard question to answer because every slot game will be slightly different. It’s the reason we write so many slot reviews: The African Legends Major Wowpot slot is a completely different beast to the Sisters of Oz Wowpot review, even though they share a jackpot.
However, we will say that, just for playing the odds, the fewer players spin on the jackpot, the better your odds of winning.
Imagine if millions of players are spinning worldwide and a network of slots, and only one person wins; that’s one chance in a billion.
But say you play at a jackpot at only one online casino. Now, you are only competing with thousands of players. It’s still high, but better than most.
Play on casino-wide jackpots
What we enjoyed was the online casinos with site-wide jackpots. What are those? They are jackpot amounts created by and paid for by the online casino instead of the game studio.
What does that mean? It means it’s exclusive to the players at that casino, and it’s on a wide selection of online slots, from the most popular to up-and-coming gems.
Our favourites are:
- Casumo Casino: You have to opt-in and pay a little extra, but the Casumo jackpots are on some of the best games online
- LeoVegas Casino: The LeoJackpots are some of the biggest around. If only 5 million will do, this is the website for you.
- Videoslots Casino: The jackpots here are much smaller but hit more often and are tied into their loyalty program. It’s rewards on top of rewards on the Videoslots Jackpot wheel.
Which one will take your fancy? And where will you feel lucky?
All three host some of the biggest jackpot slots around, so even if the site-wide jackpots don’t appeal, you’ll have more than enough choice on some of the biggest win video slots around.
