Slot machines online­ are very simple to le­arn. The features and re­els might seem tricky at first, but you just ne­ed to press a button. This easy game­play is why many online casino players enjoy slots ove­r other games. Even though the­ reels and feature­s change for each slot, learning the­m is quick. Also, the pay table always shows how the fe­atures give you chances for bigge­r wins and jackpots.

Here are a few tips to help you make sure that when you do become an online slot guru, you don’t get carried away. These are simple but effective strategies every slot player should get aquainted with to keep your bankroll at a reasonable level, and keep you playing longer.

Tip 1: Don’t chase your losses

If you’ve had a long losing streak at the slots, putting in more money is usually not the best course of action. Yes, the old saying goes ‘it will pay soon’. We have to admit, that used to work on the old-style mechanical slot machines. The days when you played the same slot so often you could just tell it was primed to payout are over. Video slots and online slots use different tech to the computer chip RNGs of old, and that means every spin is independent of the other. Therefore, if a slot is just not playing ball, get the hell out of dodge and come back another day.

Tip 2: Don’t raise your bets to chase losses

This sounds like tip number one, doesn’t it? If continuing to play a slot beyond your budget when you are on a losing streak is not bad enough, raising your spin bet is route one to disaster. Or route two, depending on which order you put tips one and two in. Either way, both are bad news for your bankroll. When a slot is just not playing along, raising your spin bet doesn’t make much sense at all. It is more of an emotional decision than one based on strategy. Just remember, there is an RTP, and most RTPs are quite generous, averaging 96%. There is always another day.

Tip 3: Learn to play blackjack

This might sound like a bizarre suggestion, and in some ways it is. Despite the fact that it is a peculiar suggestion, hear us out.  In one hour, you can spin the reels on an online slot over one thousand times an hour. It is crazy when you multiply even a $0.10 spin bet by 1,000 spins. That’s $100.00 in an hour. In theory, you should get back that 96% average RTP, so $96.00, but slots are not this predictable. On a bad day, and let’s say this is a real day, you might win back $25.00. Yet, you have the urge to continue gambling. Well, Blackjack tables have an RTP of 99.5% and in an hour you’ll probably get in around sixty to seventy hands. In short, you get to switch up for a bit, fulfill your urge to gamble, and you can forget about that losing slot streak.

Top 4: Bankroll Management

Maybe this should be tip number one, but we felt chasing your losses was a great place to start because this destructive habit is where major losses occur. Now we can get down to the nitty-gritty betting tactics. The one issue with bankroll management and slots is your casino bankroll itself.

If you are a low-stakes player and dedicated just $100 a week to gambling, tip three in this guide already gives you a hint of how quickly a cold streak can deplete a bankroll this size. In that example, $100 has turned into $25.00 in a single session.

If you plan to play slots 5 days a week, you need a plan, and that plan is to limit the number of spins, which means playing less. The general rule of thumb is to use only 10% of your bankroll per session. In this 5-day scenario, we are looking at $10.00 per session. That leaves you with $50.00 you did not use at the end of the week win or lose. Play using this strategy for a few weeks, and you’ll save a decent-sized bankroll to increase the number of spins you play per session as your bankroll builds up.

Tip 5: Bet Sizing

Boring as it is, you need to make sure you are not taking $10.00 or $20.00 into a session and betting more than 1% of your bankroll per spin. That at least gives you 100 spins, no matter the size of your session budget. Even if you have a larger budget, let’s say, $200.00, using 0.5% will get you more spins and increase your chances of hitting big wins.

Here’s the problem, though. Everyone wants to win big. To counter this, everyone also wants to play for as long as possible. That means you have to weigh up your options. Do you want to play for fun and count multipliers as big wins, no matter your bet size, or do you want to count big wins from big bets as a win? If it is the latter, then Tip 5B is to try to look at playing on slots more as a form of entertainment and not a way to make money.

Take it or Leave It

All we have done here is take tips from players who have years of experience playing online slots as a hobby. Many of them began playing slots for the thrill of winning big money. They soon busted out and missed the thrill of spinning the reels. The solution to staying in it to win triggered them to pivot and reassess their approach to online slot gaming.

That is to bet small for budget players and within their means for high rollers resulting in reformed slot players who play for fun and not for money. And when a big 10,000x multiplier does come their way, it is a buzz, but it changes nothing because big wins are not a means to raise the stake. They are simply a way to keep on playing for longer and ride those losing streaks later down the line.