Online Slots Anti-Strategy: How Not to Play

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If you know Casino Papa, you’ll know that ‘strategy’ is a word we’re not particularly fond of. Especially when it comes to online slots, for which there never has been and never will be any viable strategy for success. Simply by factoring in the house edge, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the house always wins in the end!

In any case, evidence would seem to suggest that thousands of online slots fans worldwide really are their own worst enemies. Despite having access to all the advice and resources the web has to offer, they still make the kinds of decisions that scupper their chances of having any fun whatsoever. Or to put it another way, they follow something of an anti-strategy that guarantees disaster.

It may be subconscious, but they follow it to the letter.

Online slots are so fantastically accessible and simple to work with that they’re all-too often taken for granted. Throw caution to the wind and you’ve only yourself to blame when things go wrong.

So as yet another helpful reminder for those steering themselves down entirely the wrong path, here’s a quick rundown of how not to play online slots:

1. Rely on strategies and systems

It’s a point we’ve touched upon thousands of times, though warrants repeating thousands more. There are certain casino games and instances of gambling where research, strategies and systems can help. In the case of online slots, they’re all completely null and void. Every single time you spin the reels, it’s exactly the same as rolling an enormous dice. Ask yourself – do you honestly think there is anything you can do to influence the result of a dice-roll? Unless you’re barking up entirely the wrong tree, the answer is of course…no.

Contrary to popular belief, there is nothing that can be done to predict or influence the outcome of any spin on any slot. Nor are there any short or long-term strategies that guarantee profitability. You can also completely forget about the concept of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ machines – they don’t exist. If you rely on strategies and systems to any extent when playing online slots, you might as well flush your cash down the toilet.

2. Choose low-RTP games

Gaming developers are required by law (in most jurisdictions) to clearly publish the RTP of every online slot they release. RTP referring to the ‘return to player’ percentage of the game in question. The higher the RTP, the more of the cash taken by the machine is paid out in the form of prizes.

In a working example, an online slot with an RTP of 98% would pay out £98 in prizes for every £100 put in. For obvious reasons therefore, a machine with an RTP of 80% isn’t going to pay out nearly as much during the same period of time.

Now, it’s worth remembering that RTP has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on your particular likelihood of winning a prize. Even if the RTP was as high as 99%, one player could win a massive jackpot one day, with nobody else winning a penny for several weeks prior. It’s all down to pure luck…see above.

Still, if you plan on playing any specific slot for a long enough session, it simply makes sense to stick with those that pay the most cash back to players.

3. Play without a cash out strategy

Having a cash out strategy essentially means having a predetermined limitation in mind, at which point you will walk away. It’s a good idea to have a cash out strategy that incorporates wins and losses alike, which means considering your current bankroll and financial limitations.

In a working example, let’s say you start a session with a budget of £50. You could determine that the moment your bankroll hits £10 after heavy losses, you’re done for the day/week/month. Likewise, you could specify that if you manage to win more than £100, you’ll also cash-out and walk away.

The problem being that in the absence of a financial strategy, you’re effectively playing with no limitations whatsoever. Even if you think you’ve got things pretty well under control, it’s far too easy to get carried away and find yourself in a hole.

4. Using autoplay

Some online gamers swear by autoplay, but we’ve personally never seen the appeal. After all, if you’re going to let the online slot take over pretty much every aspect of the game, why bother? Much of the fun involved in online slots gaming comes from the fact that you have to interact with the machine throughout.

Not only this, but another problem with autoplay is the potential to allow things to spiral out of control. Autoplay is effectively a way of speeding things up, wagering and spinning at the fastest possible rate the machine will allow.  Great if you’ve limitless cash or find yourself on a winning streak, bad in all other instances.

5. Playing after hitting big money

Last up, contrary to popular belief, the immediate moments after landing a big win are often the worst moments to continue gambling. The reason being that as you have pocketed considerably more cash than you expected, you’ll find yourself in a position where it’s difficult to make rational decisions. You’ll most likely see your winnings as ‘free’ money to throw around with no real consideration whatsoever.

All of which is fine at the time, but could sting a little later on. For example, you start out with £50, somehow hit the jackpot of £2,000 and find yourself with win more money than you bargained for. In the heat of the moment, you could choose to wager another £1,000, in the hope of taking home even bigger prizes. Realistically however, it just isn’t going to happen. Leaving you dealing with the unfortunate realisation that you’ve blown £1,000 you could have just as easily held on to.

So if you do find yourself scooping up the kind of cash you hadn’t expected, cash-out and take a walk!

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