It seems like every day we have players sending in questions hoping to discover the secret to winning:
Do you have a better chance at winning by playing high bets..instead of the 50 cent bet you play the $1 bet?
Chuck H.
At a high level, the answer is no – betting higher doesn’t improve your chances of winning. Generally, it just means your bets double, and the prizes you get while spinning are doubled, leading to the same overall ratio over time.
Of course, slots are complicated machines. What can change is your payback percentage. Some games are designed to give you more or better pays with higher bets. Some are designed to give you more or better bonuses on higher bets. Switching to a higher denomination can improve your payback percentage, generally speaking.
But the chances of winning remain the same, and you’re playing a game that’s designed to make the casino money. Usually betting up doesn’t change the percentage of winning spins or anything like that. The amount you win may be a bit higher, but the chances of having a winning spin are about the same.
A lot of times players ask us about odds at higher bets or denominations, but they’re really asking about the amount of money they can win. This is why we noted the above – payback percentage and so forth tends to be the same as you bet higher within a denomination (with the noted exceptions, like those games that bump up prizes or access to bigger prizes with a higher bet).
If you’re a 50 cent bet player and are hoping to win more at $1, you’ll both win more and lose more – the swings will be twice as big in both directions. If your bankroll is not big enough to sustain those swings, stick with the 50 cent bets. There’s nothing wrong with adopting the bet level that makes the most sense for your budget, so you can have fun and make your money last through the visit.
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