Looking at the various progressives, many players wonder if there’s any sort of rhyme or reason to when or how they are awarded:
Regarding progressives, do they have a pre-set value to go off, or is it all in the timing? Wen T.
Wen T.
Most progressives do not have a must-award point – they will either keep growing until they’re finally won, or they will have some sort of max level they can reach (with generally the money accruing behind the scenes for the next progressive once it resets).
As such, most of the time progressives don’t offer you any sort of information as to whether something’s coming soon – it’s a numerical version of the size of the pots.
But there is a class of progressives where there is more information available, and that’s the kind that are Must Hit By or Must Award By progressives. The machine will clearly label it (as they do with all rules) to tell players what the upper end of the range will be.
At some point, up to and including the top end of the scale, the progressive will be awarded. The closer to the top number, the more likely it will be awarded.
How these work can differ by manufacturer (most of the time a manufacturer is consistent in its handling of these progressives). Most increment based on bet; there’s been examples of them incrementing by win. Some pick a number randomly in a range without weighting; at least one manufacturer weights the win to the very top end of the range. Most decide the win point when it resets; there’s examples where any win can trigger it, with bigger wins having a bigger chance of doing so.
But these are the minority. If not clearly labeled next to the progressive (often the case as it’s a marketing opportunity) or within the pay table (because the rules need to be shared), then you can presume it’s a standard progressive with no set hit point, and at that point, it is all about the timing.
Have a question? Submit yours here!
