The Best Times to Play (and Win) Progressive Jackpot Games

Craig Cummings

January 17th, 2019

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Games featuring a progressive jackpot are kings of the online casino world. You've probably had a flutter on popular titles such as the Mega Moolah, Major Millions and Gladiator slot machines, or even the Age of Gods Progressive Roulette.

Mega Moolah entered the Guinness World Record for paying out a jackpot of €17,880,900, and the sums that are won every year continue to make the jaw drop.

That said, just like playing the lottery it takes a huge slice of good fortune to win life-changing sums of money – but can you boost your chances? Well, maybe, if you think about the right and wrong time to play. You'll also save money and have more fun.

Play When Your Budget Permits It

Whenever you play a progressive jackpot game, it's vital to ensure your spins qualify for a chance to win the maximum prize. The requirements can vary from game to game, so checking the game's set-up is crucial; otherwise you could end up hitting a winning combo on the screen, but only get a fraction of the jackpot pool (no amount of ice cream or thrashing it in the gym is going to make you feel better if this happens!).

So, check the game's pay-table and rules to see how many coins and how much money per spin you need to risk – then decide if you want to have a handful or plays or a whole session of jackpot gaming. It's worth noting that some progressive jackpot machines let you win the full jackpot with a smaller bet amount, but the odds of winning it are less favourable.

In contrast, other games require you to wager with a full set of coins or a specific amount to be able to win the full jackpot. Once you've found your favourite progressive games, you'll be able to budget accordingly and plan when you're going to play and for how many spins.

Play When the Jackpot is Huge

The prize money at stake on progressive jackpots is dependent on time and volume – with the two combining to create insane jackpot pools. Furthermore, as the money builds and the size of the building jackpot grows ever larger, it starts receiving more and more spins as more people want a shot at landing that huge jackpot.

This is usually when the big hitters start playing the machines, including some gambling syndicates. Realistically, even when some progressive jackpots are reset after a win, scoring the jackpot is still going to seriously make your day.However, it can also make sense to keep track of the jackpots of different games and software houses (such as Playtech, Microgaming and NetEnt) and play the games with the juiciest prize pools from week to week.

Play When the Jackpot Hasn't Been Won for Ages

Gambling odds are a funny thing. In theory, any qualifying bet of the same type has the same chance of winning the jackpot, so if the odds of a jackpot spin are a million to one, they are always a million to one!

However, the paradox is that the longer a progressive jackpot isn't won, the better the chances of someone winning it (even though a mathematician might suggest otherwise). So, if you see progressive slot, roulette and keno machines that have not won for weeks on end, spend some time testing your luck with them; it could prove to be worth your while.

Scared Money Never Wins

The concept of luck is controversial and open to philosophical debate. But if poker professionals and serious slot players live by it, it might just be worth listening to your intuition. Fundamentally, it's a no-brainer to avoid gambling when in a bad mood, since it can lead to bad decisions with slot machine staking.

And if you subscribe to the theory of mood influencing luck, it could also be just the ticket for guiding your progressive jackpot sessions. Interestingly, there have been several multi-million jackpot winners who have won on their first ever go, or with small stakes and a low session volume.

Create a Jackpot Gaming Budget

One tip for enjoyable progressive slot machine gaming is to set a sensible weekly or monthly budget and stick to it. For example, it could be 100 spins a month on a certain machine or genre of games you love playing. Winning is random and not innately related to gaming volume, playing at a certain time or knowing when a machine is hot or cold. The reality is, you have to be in it to win it.