Things to consider before picking your next slot game 🎰💡

  • If you’re not having fun playing a slot game, it probably isn’t the right one for you.
  • Volatility and RTP are two very important slot terms that can help you choose a game.
  • You should pick a slot based on what you enjoy, such as a theme or bonus rounds.

Slots are by far the most popular casino games in the US – and around the world. Whether you’re visiting a land-based casino or playing from home, chances are you’ll head for the slots first.

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Most people tend to pick a slot to play purely based on its appearance. If a game looks good, they’ll start spinning without really considering whether it’s the right one for them. Sometimes you’ll hit it lucky straight away, other times you won’t.

Are you leaving your successes to chance though? Shouldn’t you be picking the right slot for you and your situation?

Today I’m going to talk you through everything you need to think about before selecting a new slot game to play, to make sure you are giving yourself the best possible chance of having fun (that’s right, making money is secondary).

Choose a Slot Theme

This is the easiest way of narrowing down your choices and there are literally hundreds to choose from.

Should you go for something based on a specific location, like New York City or Venice? Maybe you would prefer something with animals, like Lions or Pandas? What about food, have you played any with a cheesy theme before?

Themed slots have become ridiculously advanced lately. You can now play some of the greatest slot games based on your favorite movies and TV shows, like Jurassic Park or The Dark Knight. These slots come with all the symbols and sounds you know and love from the movie, making for an incredibly immersive experience. Have you ever thought about how great a Beerfest slot would be?

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Our friends over at Kiwi Casino recently reviewed all the best online slots and compiled a list of the top 25. Unsurprisingly there were quite a few related to DC Comics and Superheroes, given their popularity. There was a wide range of different themes though, so there could be some interesting discoveries to be made on their site.

Find out a little more about the different types of slot themes you can play below, or skip ahead to the next part if you want to consider something else first.

Food Slots

Who doesn’t love a good food themed anything? Whether it’s a cooking show, a food blog, or just scrolling through pictures of delicious looking cakes on Instagram, everyone has some sort of weakness when it comes to food. Why not combine this with your love for slots?

There aren’t too many food-related slots about yet but we’ve already had a few classics. Chef’s Chase, Candy Swap and Pizza Prize are three that instantly come to mind. Wouldn’t you agree that a beer-themed slot, perhaps along the lines of Beerfest, would be a natural fit?

We talked about themed slots becoming advance, well imagine playing a slot where one of the bonuses was to drink as much beer as you can, in order to win more prizes the more you drank
 Ok maybe that’s taking it a bit far but we could dream right?

If nothing else this section has no doubt made you hungry! Perhaps you should try playing a food themed slot when you’re already full, that way you won’t be tempted to snack while you spin!

Animal Slots

Animals have been used extensively in slot themes over the years. Everything from Lions and Pandas to Monkeys and Apes have been used.

Personally I love the look of the King KongFury slot, which you can play now at Rich Palms Casino. With 6 reels and up to 40 paylines, this game packs a punch. Not only that but it has three different jackpots you might just be lucky enough to win.

Other animal themed slots you might enjoy include:

  • Panda’s Fortune
  • Kanga Cash
  • Jungle Jim ElDorado
  • Monkey Mayhem
  • Secret River
  • Safari King
  • Lion’s Pride
  • Wild Orient
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Not only are these slots usually really fun to play, they also tend to have some pretty decent sized prizes if you manage to line up the right combinations.

Why not take advantage of some of the offers at BC.Game and see if you can tame the king of the jungle, or any of the other wonderful animals available, into handing over some coin for you?

Movie and Television Show Slots

One of the most innovative things to happen to slot games in recent years has been the inclusion of some of our favorite movies and television programs.

As I mentioned earlier, you can now play some truly awesome branded slots such as Jurassic Park, The Dark Knight, Goldrush and Battlestar Galactica. Imagine having Daryl Hannah’s Compy come to life and steal your winnings! Well actually that does sound pretty scary.

Of course not all movie slots are going to be this ambitious but you can guarantee they will still be a lot of fun regardless.

What about TV shows? Almost everyone enjoys at least one TV program, so again the options here are almost limitless. Shows like The Price is Right, Wheel of Fortune, The Bachelorette, Survivor and even Sex and the City have all gotten in on the action.

Personally my favorite TV show growing up was Scooby Doo. Surely someone will get around to making a Scooby Doo themed slot eventually right? I WOULD PLAY THE HELL OUT OF THAT!

Perhaps you could even convince some of your mates to chip in and buy me one as a 37th birthday present. Yes, that’s right I turn 37 in just a few weeks so if anybody wants to hook a brother from another mother up with a Scooby slot, that would be amazing!

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Until then I’ll keep spinning on all the other fantastic movie and television show themed slots available.

Holiday and Seasonal Slots

Want to play a game that transports you to a sunny beach during the depths of winter? You got it! How about one that makes you feel like it’s Christmas Morning, any time of year? That’s not hard either!

Holiday and seasonal themed slots have long been a fan favorite because they allow you to escape reality for a little while. Who needs snow falling outside when you can spin the reels of Snowflake Kingdom and achieve the same effect inside?

There seems to be an endless amount of summer/beach themed slots out there at the moment. While I’m yet to find one set in Melbourne during Grand Final season, I’m sure it won’t be long until someone thinks of it.

Some of the more traditional holiday themed slots you might be familiar with already include Easter Island, Halloween Horrors, Happy Hour, Fruit Case and Trick or Treat.

While these games are obviously going to be more prevalent at online casinos, don’t write off your local venue just yet. You never know what gems they might have hiding in the back room!

Speaking of Vegas, do they have any of this?

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What Volatility Level Are You?

For those of us who aren’t mathematicians or statisticians, volatility can mean a couple of different things.

It can refer to how likely you are to complete a certain task, typically within a specific period of time. For instance the volatility of this writer completing his tax return before the deadline. Very low.

In finance ‘volatility’ refers to the amount of risk involved in meeting a particular goal. This could be anything from paying off your mortgage to sending your kids to college.

When we are talking about slots however, volatility means something very different indeed.

Essentially slots volatility measures how often you would expect a particular game to pay out, as well as the size of those payouts. Low volatility games pay out regularly but your winnings are unlikely to cover your initial bet. Medium volatility games pay out somewhat regularly and will generally cover your initial bet, but nothing massive. High volatility games can take a while to payout but when they do you are likely to win big.

Obviously high volatility is what we are all after but the truth is most of us are medium volatility. We aren’t desperate for huge wins but we wouldn’t complain if they fell into our lap every once in awhile.

Have you ever stopped to think about what volatility level you are? It’s certainly worth considering before you pick your next game, especially if you are trying to claw your way back from the red.

Perhaps you could ask the lady luck herself 
 I hear she’s a direct flight from LA.

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Pick a Slot Based On the Bonus Rounds

A lot of us have a tendency to pick a slot we think looks cool, without really thinking about what the game has to offer underneath the surface. Sure Pick Me Up Pinup is an awesome name for a slot and the image of this particular pinup holding a bouquet of roses is adorable, does that mean it’s the right slot for me?

Probably not, although I must admit I have spent far more time and spins than I care to admit on this game.

Instead of making judgments based on appearances you should probably consider exactly what each game can offer you. One of the best ways to do this is to look at the various bonus rounds that are available.

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Pick me rounds, free spins and pick me style bonuses are all good examples of features you might look for. Of course the quality of these bonuses will vary depending on the slot itself but they are still features you can rely on to pop up fairly regularly.

Respin rights and sticky wilds are two other features you might want to keep an eye out for. Any feature that allows you to lock wilds into place, thus increasing your odds of winning, gets the thumbs up from me.

If you don’t have the time or the knowledge to research all the different features offered by individual slots, don’t stress. Most reputable casinos will do the heavy lifting for you, allowing you to filter your search results to only include games with the features you desire.

WildCasinos only just launched but they’ve definitely hit the ground running. They currently have 19 (and counting) of the best online casinos for you to compare and contrast, helping you get access to the slots you want to play without delay.

Understand Slot Theories and Apply Them

There are plenty of theories about how slots work, and how you can use said theories to improve your bottom line.

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I’ve written about these theories in the past and while I’m not prepared to dismiss any of them outright, I do think we need to approach them with caution.

For example the Hot/Cold Theory suggests some slots are ‘hot’ and therefore more likely to pay out, while others are ‘cold’ and shouldn’t be played under any circumstances. Where does this information come from? Uninformed speculation for the most part and it should be treated accordingly.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t explore these theories for yourself. If there are ‘hot’ slots out there that are about to go cold, I want to know about them! Luckily there are plenty of informative websites out there that can fill you in on all the latest goings on.

Wouldn’t you agree that one of the most underrated slot theories is the “Playing to Clear My Head” Theory? When I’m struggling to come up with an ending for one story, or wondering how to develop a particular character in another, I’ll often sit down and spin a few reels. More often than not I’ll get a great idea before I lose all my credits!

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Perhaps this theory could be expanded to include all forms of problem solving. Need to figure out what to get your partner for her birthday? How about buying the present tomorrow after you’ve spent an hour or so on the slots?

Maybe you’ll lose all your money and be too depressed to care about how to find the perfect gift. Then again you might win big and have so many awesome ideas you don’t know where to begin!

The point is simple; there is value to be gained from playing the slots beyond the possibility of winning a stack of cash. Obviously this doesn’t apply to everyone but it certainly works for yours truly.

Perhaps the most important slot theory to remember though is always work out your budget before you start spinning. If you don’t, all the pick me rounds in the world aren’t going to save you!

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Check the Return to Player Percentage (RTP)

You don’t have to speak to experienced gamblers very often to hear people mention RTP. Also known as Return to Player, this percentage tells you how much money a particular slot game is expected to return to you over time.

So for example, a slot with an RTP of 96% will return $96 for every $100 put into it. Simple as that.

Now I’m guessing after reading the last paragraph you are rushing to the lowest RTP percentages you can find. After all, why would we want to put more money into a system than we get out? Isn’t that what we’re all hoping for?

Unfortunately it doesn’t quite work like that.

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First and foremost, RTP is a long term expectation. In other words it may take a thousand spins — or even more—before a game starts to give back what it has taken in.

Secondly, just because an RTP is high doesn’t mean you are guaranteed to get a return that matches that percentage. It simply means you are more likely to get that return over the course of an extended period of time.

Does that mean we should ignore RTP altogether? Absolutely not! It’s still a very useful tool and can help you decide between two similar games, all things being equal.

If you want to learn more about RTP and how to use it to your advantage, check out this excellent piece on the subject by Wesley Rea at MoneyUnder30.com. Wesley knows his stuff when it comes to budgeting, saving, investing, credit cards, and basically anything personal finance related. He did a killer guest post for me a while back and I had no trouble coming up with his handle when he asked me and my partners to come up with one. “King of All Content” is a pretty good badge to earn when you only have one piece on a site of ours with thousands of articles. Sometimes I wish he would write for us more often. Anyways, back to Wesley’s piece.

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He talks about how RTP works, what a “good” RTP is, and the best places to find this important statistic.

Check it out.

Playing Slots Is About Fun First

At the end of the day we play the slots because we enjoy it. Well, most of us anyway.

Sure we would all love to hit the jackpot and win an absolute fortune but that isn’t going to happen every time. As long as we are having a good time, that’s all that matters.

With that in mind, how do you have the most fun when you’re playing slots? Is it by listening to your favorite music and reminiscing about old times? Maybe a particular theme or bonus round brings back fond memories?

Perhaps you are the type of person that loves to get behind their favorites sports team or nation, despite all evidence suggesting it doesn’t make a lick of difference.

Whatever floats your boat! And if that changes from time to time, well that’s all part of the fun too.

Footnote:

  • Image Credits (Top) – .
  • Pick Me Up Pinup Stats and Info – .
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Anthony is a sports writer for GamblingSites.com covering the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and more. He also covers other various topics such as entertainment, general sports betting tips, and more.

His favorite teams are the Chicago Bears, Bulls, Cubs, and Blackhawks. He also will be a temporary fan of any team if it means winning him bets.