Progressive Jackpots: Small, Large, Life-Changing

Introduction to Progressive Jackpots

Let’s talk about winning must-hit-by progressive jackpots on progressive slot machines. There have been so many changes to them lately! Fewer life-changing jackpots, yet almost every video slot machine has progressive jackpots: Grand, Major, and more.

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Progressive Networks

Recently, progressive slot machines have gained considerable popularity; in fact, they are even more popular now. Five years ago, they made up 30% of all slot machines within a casino.

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Now that’s closer to 100% of video slot machines. I’m sure you’ve seen those video machines with Grand and Major jackpots that constantly grow. Minor and Mini jackpots are typically not progressive; they remain at $50 and $10, respectively, regardless of the chosen denomination and do not increase.

A slot machine is considered progressive when a portion of the bets placed on it increases its maximum jackpot and other jackpots, though not all of them, when a progressive jackpot is first initiated, such as when the machine is first started or after a progressive jackpot has been won, it has a minimum amount.

Starting with this initial jackpot, it “progressively” grows as the slot machine is played—each progressive jackpot on the machine increases by a percentage of the bet amount. For example, a $1 bet may increase the grand progressive jackpot by a quarter, while the major jackpot only grows by a dime.

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A common misconception is that progressive slot machines always include a group of machines with a shared jackpot. Instead, it is not uncommon for a progressive jackpot to be available on a single slot machine. Its entire network consists of one machine.

However, a group of progressive slot machines can also be networked together. The physical extent of a network of machines included in a progressive jackpot can vary widely and includes:

1. Stand-Alone: A single slot machine that increases its progressive jackpot alone, is not connected to any other slot machines, and likely has the lowest maximum jackpot amount compared to networked progressive slot machines.
2. In-House: Slot machines featuring the same game theme within the casino, and more significantly, if not life-changing, maximum jackpots
3. In-Chain: Slot machines typically feature the same game theme across all gaming venues owned by the same casino operator in states with gaming regulations that permit this.
4. Wide-Area: Slot machines owned independently of the casinos in which they are located, and:
   • A maximum jackpot, which is a huge, life-changing jackpot
   • Each casino receives a percentage of the revenue from slot machines.
   • It has the lowest payout return among all other progressive slot machines due to relatively high setup and administrative costs.

Winning on Slot Machines in General

There are two approaches to winning on progressive slot machines: 1) Treat it as a non-progressive slot machine and attempt to win its smaller, non-progressive jackpots; or 2) Deliberately aim to win its progressive jackpot.

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If you choose the first approach, consider using my other successful slot strategies. However, managing networked slot machines involves an administrative cost that is ultimately passed on to the players of these machines.

You can see this for yourself from Mississippi Return-To-Player, which provides return statistics by slot machine denomination and whether they are progressive. Most progressive machines have significantly lower odds of winning. This trend is likely to be evident in your state.

For example, the multi-million-dollar progressive jackpot Megabucks slot machines in Las Vegas consistently appeared in Nevada’s return statistics as having the lowest payout, even lower than penny machines. The Nevada Gaming Commission ceased reporting them under a separate line item. However, you can check any Nevada return statistics from 2019 or earlier to see them.

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To use gaming terms, playing slots isn’t a game with a negative expected value (EV). Yes, most people lose at slots. But most people lose at poker, too, right?

But one person always wins a poker tournament. This means poker isn’t a game with a negative expected value, unlike playing slots. You can still win at slots.

Not to stray too far off track here, but casinos earn much of their revenue from slot machines. Many players must lose at slots for casinos to stay in business. I’m just getting started in helping teach slot enthusiasts how to win.

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I’m helping slot enthusiasts progress in their slots journey, often after feeling stuck in a cycle of losing for years. There are far more slot enthusiasts eager to win for themselves than to watch others succeed on a YouTube channel. A LOT more.

To win at slot machines with progressive jackpots, check my winning slots strategies link at the bottom of this webpage.

Winning Progressive Jackpots

Moving forward, let’s discuss how to win progressive jackpots. I’ll begin with wide-area progressive jackpots to explain the concepts we’ll apply to standalone and in-house progressive machines.

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Winning progressive jackpots is simple, but it is neither quick nor entirely easy. It requires time and patience. Generally, winning the maximum jackpot on any slot machine is a rare occurrence.

Yes, I did it once 15 years ago. However, unless a specific strategy is employed, slot enthusiasts should disregard this possibility as nothing more than a once-in-a-lifetime event. The key here is that “unless a specific strategy is being employed.”

Here’s how to win the progressive jackpot on a progressive slot machine: Play it as it approaches the maximum progressive jackpot allowed when it must pay out. Sounds simple.

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This requires a significant amount of patience. Why? Because you often need to identify the maximum limit.

Which means observing others win the progressive jackpot multiple times. That’s a lot of observation, especially since wide-area network progressives are at various casinos. If someone wins at another casino, all you’ll see at your casino is the progressive jackpot dropping to its initial amount.

However, the smaller the network, the smaller the progressive jackpot and the easier it is to determine its maximum. That’s where standalone progressive jackpots of a few hundred dollars and in-house progressive jackpots of a few thousand dollars come in.

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Yes, your payoff from a standalone or in-house progressive will be smaller than that from a wide-area network. However, that payoff occurs sooner and is more probable. The more extensive the network, the larger the progressive jackpot.

However, the smaller the network, the fewer players it has. If it’s a standalone progressive machine, it might only be you. That’s good!

Must-Hit-By Progressive Jackpots

The bigger the progressive jackpots, the longer you’ll need to observe to learn the “must-hit-by” or “must-win-by” jackpot. Smaller networks mean smaller progressive jackpots, but they also mean fewer slot enthusiasts trying to win at any one time. With fewer players, your odds of winning improve.

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How much do progressive jackpots never fall below? How much do they never seem to exceed? Remember that not all progressive jackpots on a machine are won simultaneously.

Based on observations at my local casinos, a standalone progressive quarter machine might reset to $1,000 and have a maximum of $1,200. What is it for others? Well, that’s what we need to learn.

How do you proceed? First, select a group of progressive slot machines that you frequently pass by. You’re looking for various networks of progressive slot machines where you can eventually make maximum bets affordably.

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Every time you pass by, note the size of its progressive jackpots. If the jackpot has decreased, someone won, making your last noted jackpot size a possible maximum. As time passes and you see it again later, continue to note the jackpot size.

When the jackpot next decreases, compare your last noted jackpot to your previous maximum to determine if you have a new maximum. Repeat this process up to six times. This may require multiple visits.

Be aware that your observations may take up to six months to complete. Patience is vital during this time. However, some casinos provide a shortcut for specific progressive slot machines.

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Some casinos feature a few progressive machines with a “must-hit-by” or “must-pay-by” amount displayed in small letters below each progressive jackpot. What?? They TELL YOU??

Yes, but not all progressive slot machines carry these labels. Additionally, some casinos don’t label any progressives this way at all. However, because it saves a significant amount of time: Check!

Do the Work to Reap the Rewards

Have you ever sat next to someone who won a progressive jackpot and said they knew it was about to happen? It could be because they did the work, especially when they tell you beforehand. And now they have reaped their reward.

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If your casino doesn’t have must-win-by labels on slot machines or only has a few that fellow enthusiasts frequently use, you’ll still need to figure it out yourself. Yes, it might take six months. Do you have something better to do?

However, simultaneously addressing most progressive slot machine networks in a single casino is an efficient approach. Why? Because at the end of six months or so, you’ll have a good idea of the maximum jackpot for each one.

I recognize that six months is a significant amount of time before you know enough to start winning progressive jackpots. That time is an investment. Slots enthusiasts who regularly win progressive jackpots are specialists.

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There are two types of progressive slot machine specialists at work. First are those focusing on in-chain or wide-area progressive jackpots, which offer significant or life-changing payouts. This sub-group does everything mentioned to find a progressive jackpot that’s ripe for the picking, then assembles a team to play as many machines in its network as possible to increase the chances of winning millions of dollars.

If this sounds like a business, it is. Whether using gentlemen’s agreements or contracts, working with a team specializing in winning massive progressive jackpots entails considerable logistics. The larger the group, the more seats will be occupied on progressive machines throughout the network, which spans several casinos, and a substantial jackpot will be divided among each team member.

Apply the same approach for both standalone and in-house progressive jackpots. However, the entire team might consist of just you and a few friends. The progressive jackpot may not be as large, but your share would be greater than if you were part of a large team competing for a life-changing progressive jackpot.

How Close to the Must-Hit-By to Bet?

Now, this is important. Each bet increases each progressive jackpot on a machine and, if it’s not a standalone machine, it contributes to all the progressive jackpots across its network. As a team of one, the easiest way to determine if you’re at a standalone slot machine is to observe whether the progressive jackpots increase while you’re sitting there without placing any bets. If they are growing, the machine is likely on a network of some size. The smaller the largest progressive jackpot, the smaller the network.

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Now you get to decide when you want to play. You’ll win a progressive jackpot if your bets contribute to that jackpot increasing until it exceeds the must-hit-by amount. However, you won’t profit if your total spending exceeds the amount you’ll win from the progressive jackpot. That’s where your decision lies – the closer it is to the must-win-by amount, the less you need to spend to win it and, therefore, the larger your profit.

In brief, how far from the must-hit-by amount do you want to begin playing the machine?

As mentioned, slot enthusiasts interested in winning progressive jackpots are specialists. There are equations you can use to determine how much you need to spend to advance a progressive jackpot to its must-win-by amount. Oh, and do you understand that Grands and Majors, along with other progressive jackpots on a machine, grow by different amounts?

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And that only one of those progressive jackpots might be approaching its “must-win-by” amount while the others are not? This means you’re funding the progression of jackpots that you’re unlikely to win.

All this means you need to spend less than you’re trying to win to leave the machine with more than you had when you sat down. Progressive jackpot specialists become skilled at this calculation. I’d provide you with an equation to use, but that’s more than we can get into here.

Advantages and Disadvantages

For this approach to work with progressive slot machines, you’ll need a specific type of progressive slot machine. This strategy only functions at a casino with a particular progressive jackpot setup. The casino’s progressive must be of the “must-win-by” variety.

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Another way the casino might set up its progressive jackpot is like a lottery: if no one wins, the jackpot increases for the next drawing. It just continues to grow.

Another way a casino might operate is like some other lotteries. Once the prize reaches a cap, it stops growing. Yes, people continue to play, but a portion is not returned to the players.

My winning slots strategies are based on how the casino has chosen to set up its business practices. For this strategy on winning progressive jackpots, you’ll need a casino that has a “must-hit-by,” “must-win-by,” or “must-award-by” limit on their progressive jackpots, even if they are not labeled as such.

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If your casino doesn’t provide the convenience of displaying must-hit-by amounts, you invest your time to determine what that is. While doing so, you observe whether your casino lacks any limit at all or if it has a limit but not a must-win-by constraint.

If the must-hit-by shortcut exists, it’s beneficial and will significantly shorten your time investment in becoming a progressive jackpot slots enthusiast specialist. However, if it doesn’t exist, it’s not the end of the world. You can still take a longer route on this leg of your journey through the slots.

It’s like not being in a state that provides return statistics. Eighteen states have them, some better than others, but if your state lacks them, you’re simply on a slightly different journey towards success in slots.

Summary of Progressive Jackpots

I share simple ways to win these progressive jackpots. It’s straightforward but not necessarily easy. Patience is essential!

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