On some games, a progressive can hit a maxed out number and stop growing, at least for the prize showing. (It will begin to build the next prize behind the scenes while the maxed out value continues to show on the screen.)
But does the prize size itself make a difference as to the ease with which it can be won?
I find that a machine that has a maxed out major is harder to hit any kind of bonus on. Or is this is just about timing as well?
Ann B.
As Brian Christopher loves to say, it’s all about timing.
The chances of winning a progressive is set within the design of the game. A maxed out Major has gone longer without hitting than one that’s still growing, but the chances of winning any prize doesn’t change on any given spin. There will be less opportunities to win the Major than a small line hit, but those odds are baked in to the overall game’s design.
Games don’t change their payback over time if the progressive is growing. Casinos can set up on some games how fast a progressive grows, and with that what percentage of the payback is linked to those progressives.
When you see those progressives flat and not moving from their starting point, the casino has effectively reduced the payback of that slot through a lack of a progressive on that game.
This will often be done on the Grand jackpot – it’s rarely won, so most players won’t be affected, but it makes the casinos a bit more money and reduces their overall liability, since they have to be able to pay out any jackpot on their casino floor at any point.
But ultimately this has nothing to do with the odds of that Major paying out. We think most of us feel like they’re harder to win because they’re obvious prizes to chase (we always recommend sitting at a machine with the highest progressive), but they’re not particularly easy to win, so it can feel like we never win won.
The reality is it’s not particularly common to see one, and not particularly common to win one on top of that, so most players don’t have enough experience on slots to see these things even out. Slots reach their target over millions of spins, and that includes how often the Major is paid out, and so it’s not unusual to find it hard to win any Major, let alone a maxed out one.
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