Truth or Myth: Does Increasing the Stakes in Online Slots Increase the Chances of Winning the Jackpot?

Online slots are arguably the biggest thing right now when it comes to online gambling. And let’s face it… everyone playing online video slots is thinking of or wishing for one thing… a “fun” shortcut to financial freedom hitting the Jackpot. Guys are going to the extent of buying dubious software programs or hypothetical strategies published on Ebooks which promise to help them crack the elusive “online slots Jackpot winning strategy”, but of course, they only realize later that their greed or short-sightedness (or ignorance) only managed to lose them more money!

So how do you beat the system and win big? Does bet amount increase the chance of winning the jackpot?

Let’s find out…

Interlude: The assumption here is that everyone reading this article already has an idea of how online slots work, therefore, we will not go deep into the full working mechanics of online video slots. This includes details about bet denominations or actual number of paylines or that kind of stuff. Our question here is whether increasing your stake per spin will have any effect on hitting the Jackpot (regardless of the online slot played). The following bit will only be used to explain the main point.

A Quick Look At The Science Behind Online Video Slots

Online video slots use a very simple (yet somewhat) complicated system of generating winning combinations. Most online slots have 5 reels and this is what happens on every spin. Numbers are assigned to each symbol appearing on the reels then a random number generator (RNG) algorithm arbitrarily picks a number associated with a certain symbol which determines what symbol will be displayed on each reel when the reels finally stop. The symbols (whether similar or not) on each reel are also weighted differently… which simply means that if for instance a video slot has 22 unique symbols per reel, then the chances of landing any matching symbols on all reels is also completely randomized every time you spin.

Please Note: Lower paying symbols are usually heavily weighted meaning you have higher chances of hitting a lower paying symbol on each reel than a high paying symbol like a Wild or a Scatter. You should always check out the paytable to find the actual details about high paying symbols and Jackpot payouts (whether progressive or fixed) before you start playing any online video slot machine. This information is different from one online slot to the other because most online video slots are themed differently and the symbols used depend on the theme.

Another thing about online slots and the payout (or payback) system is that all of them depend on the RTP (Return To Player) percentage. Most online video slots have their RTPs set somewhere between 90% and 99% (which only looks good on paper, but does nothing to increase your winning chances in any way). Then, of course, there’s the issue of variance and number of paylines on each specific online slot. These two only determine the likelihood of a win and the amount you get as payout… nothing more. The last thing is the issue of timing your spins. Allow me to explain this briefly too. The fact about RNG algorithms is that they are constantly choosing random numbers for each reel — sometimes every millisecond — whether someone is playing on the online slot machine or not. This means every time you spin a winner, it is simply because the timing when you clicked on the spin button coincided with the precise moment the RNG algorithm had selected a winning combination on all reels.

Therefore, going by the brief explanation above, the simple fact remains that everyone looking for ways to manipulate or beat online slot machines should just quit now. Your chances of landing a winning combo (or a Jackpot) and losing are EXACTLY THE SAME ON EACH SPIN, and absolutely unpredictable. All you need is luck (lots of it!), deciding on how much money you are willing (or can afford) to wager per spin (which basically determines how fast you can lose all your gambling money or how fast you make a good profit), knowing when to pull out the white flag (especially when on a losing streak), and lastly, better control of your emotions; not baseless theories or superstitious strategies! There are no observable patterns and there’s no way of predicting outcomes. The only thing that would even come close to helping you control your winnings (or winning streak) when playing online slots is if there was someone out there to sell you lady luck in a bottle, dressed in a designer gown made of four-leafed clovers gathered and stitched together by a bunch of Irish leprecauns… and even that is similarly impossible.

Now, where does that leave us with our initial question? Does bet amount increase the chance of winning the jackpot? Is there a possibility that your chances of hitting any online slot Jackpot may improve by simply raising the monetary risk?

Brace yourself for this… The answer is yes and no… here’s why.

The Max Bet Effect on RTP Percentage and Jackpot Wins

There are basically two main types of Jackpots; fixed, and progressive. The common rule with most progressive Jackpots offered on online slot machines require you to place the maximum stake (Bet Max or Max Bet). Playing with anything less than the Max Bet on any online slots that offer a progressive Jackpot not only makes you one of the generous donors to the Jackpot, but it also automatically disqualifies you from even participating in the Jackpot! By default, and theoretically, or mathematically… increasing your bet amount in this case has a positive correlation with winning a Jackpot on these online slots.

The other thing applying to our question concerns fixed Jackpots (flat tops). Many of the fixed Jackpot online slots considered during this investigation had one common characteristic; they all had increasing RTPs between 94% and 99% as the bet amount increased. For instance, the average RTP for $1 (coin) was 94.72%, the RTP when playing with 2 coins or $2 goes up to 96.7%, and when playing $3 or 3 coins this RTP goes up as high as 98.9%. Remember, the higher the RTP, the lower the grind and casino hold. This translates to more chances of bigger wins for you. Therefore, this also theoretically (and mathematically) means that the higher you go with your bets, the higher your chances of landing a Jackpot win.

However, although the above hypothesis may attempt to explain the correlation between high stakes and the chances of winning the Jackpot in online slots, please remember that these machines are programmed with the RNG (Random Number Generator), all those other factors about variance, paylines, the grind, and hold are still in play… and they’re all playing against you! Luck is still your best friend.

So, does that mean you should be scared of “staking big” to try your luck at an online slot machine Jackpot prize? Does bet amount really increase the chance of winning the jackpot? Well, you know what they say about reaping what you saw, or big risks having equally great returns. The truth is… you can never be a winner if you don’t try… you never know, your timing could be right, the stars could be aligned for you, maybe lady luck lives in your attic or basement… you can never really know for sure until you try. It could be your day!