Being a winning slot machine player is possible. But all slot machines are specifically made so that you can provide the house a long-term edge, so the home will always come out ahead if you play long enough. The only real way to counteract the home edge on slot machine games is to play a game with a really big jackpot, bet the max every time you play, and hope that you hit the jackpot. Then when you do hit the really big jackpot, guess what you do next? Stop playing that game.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not stating that you shouldn’t play slot machines. Actually, I think slot games, especially the really good ones, are a lot of fun. But you want to keep in the forefront of your head that mathematically, what you are doing when you’re playing a great online slot machine on a long-term basis is paying for entertainment. You can calculate simply how much you are paying for that entertainment by multiplying the house edge times your average bet times your number of spins hourly.

For instance, in case you are playing a slot game with a payout of 95%, then the home edge is 5%. (The casino keeps 5% of every bet you make long term.) And for anybody who is average bet is $3, then you are going to pay a typical of 15 cents per spin to the home. (5% times $3.) Assuming you are making 500 spins every hour, that game costs you $75/hour to play, which may or might not be a reasonable price for you entertainment. That relies on your bankroll.

Something else to factor into your calculation is how much the perks and bonuses you’re getting back from the casino are worth. If you are playing in a land-based casino where you are getting free drinks while you play, then you can subtract the cost of those drinks from you’re hourly cost. (Or you may add the price of those drinks to the value of the entertainment you are receiving–it’s just a matter of perspective.) My recommendation is to drink top-shelf liquor and premium beers as a way to maximize the entertainment value you are receiving. A Heineken can cost $4 a bottle in a nice restaurant. Drink two Heinekens per hour, and you’ve just lowered what it costs you to play each hour from $75 to $68.

Slot clubs also give back a share of your losses each hour, so definitely be sure you join the casino’s slot club and ALWAYS use your card to track your play. There’s absolutely no reason not to do this. Casinos also reward their larger slot players with comps like meals, show tickets, and free rooms, which all add up to reduce the total amount of cash you are spending each hour that you are playing on their own machine.

Now how to be a winning slot machine player? I’d sum it up by saying know simply how much it’s costing you to play each spin and each hour, make use of all of the comps as well as the perks, and go for the big progressive jackpot.