Slots games are perennially popular with lovers of casino. There’s something about the spinning reels, bright colours and bonus features that draws in gamblers and keeps them playing.
So it’s no wonder that game developers keep on coming up with new variations, which only get weirder and wilder.
But even with these new, flashy competitors, classic slots are still the most popular type out there.
But what exactly are ‘classic slots’, and what makes them different from other kinds of slots games? And, most importantly, is there anything we can do to maximise our chances of profiting from them?
This article will answer all your questions when it comes to classic slots, and put you in the best possible position to make money from them. So let’s get going!
What Do We Mean By ‘Classic Slots’?
Classic slots are slots games that work on traditional principles – this encompasses the majority of slots games you’ll find with most casinos.
So what are those traditional principles? Well, almost all slots games work on the basis of a number of spinning reels, usually three or five, although there can be many more.
Each reel has a number of rows – traditionally three, although again there can be more – making up a square or rectangular playgrid. When you click to play the game, each reel spins before landing on symbols from a predetermined range.
To win, you must match a certain number of symbols (three or more, as a rule), either in a row or along specified paylines.
Each symbol has a certain value, meaning that the amount you win will vary depending on which symbols you’ve matched. Symbols of high value are less common, meaning that a small win is more likely than a large one.
Although the first online slots games were pretty basic, many modern classic slots games also offer bonus features, which typically give you free spins or begin a mini game if you land a certain number of bonus symbols in a spin.
Thanks to these extra features, there’s huge variety in the classic slots games currently available. However, so long as the game functions on the basis of a fixed number of reels and rows, we would consider it a classic slot.
The outcome of the spin itself is determined by a Random Number Generator, or RNG, which is built into the game software. Each possible outcome is assigned a number, and weighted according to how frequently it should occur.
The RNG is run for every spin of the game, ensuring the result is both random and fair.
What Other Types Of Slots Games Are There?
‘Classic slots’ is a pretty wide category of slots games, which covers games whose style of play runs along the traditional lines of a set number of spinning reels with symbols matching for a win.
In recent years, however, game designers have come up with interesting variations on this classic model. Some of the most popular are:
- Megaways slots. A hugely popular type of slots game, where the number of rows in a reel can vary with each spin. This opens up tens or even hundreds of thousands of possible paylines, making for an added level of excitement with each spin. Some Megaways slots also include a cascade feature, where winning symbols are removed from the playgrid, allowing more to fall into their place, with further chances to win.
- Grid slots. Rather than spinning reels, grid slots feature a grid into which symbols fall with each play. If the player sees a certain number of matching symbols – which often need to form a cluster, but sometimes just need to feature on the grid – they win. These slots also tend to use a cascade feature, allowing combinations of wins to build up as you play.
- Slingo. As you might guess from the name, Slingo is a cross between slots and bingo. The player receives a bingo card and then has a certain number of spins on a 5 reel slot to match the numbers on their card.
How Much Can You Win On Classic Slots?
To a great extent, the sky’s the limit! Your maximum theoretical winnings on any spin can be as much as several thousand times your original stake. For a slots game that advertises a potential win of up to 3000x your stake, for example, you could win £3000 from a single £1 spin.
And that’s before you take into account features like Jackpot King, which can be featured in classic slots games. At the time of writing, the biggest Jackpot King jackpot stands at over £2 million, which can be won on any spin of a Jackpot King game!
However, while you theoretically could win an incredible amount while playing classic slots, the odds are against you. You’re far more likely to lose some (or all) of the money you’ve staked than you are to end up with a massive jackpot.
It’s therefore far wiser to play strategically if you’re looking to profit from classic slots – and we’ll talk you through exactly how to do so below.
What Are The Best Strategies To Profit From Classic Slots?
Unfortunately, classic slots games – just like any other slots games – are designed to make a profit for the casino, not for the player. As we all know, the house always wins.
So is it even possible to make reliable profits from slots?
The answer is yes! Though it’s important to be aware that ‘reliable’ doesn’t mean ‘guaranteed’.
The key is to use a strategy that puts you in a position where you are statistically more likely than not to profit from a slots game.
But how does that work? It’s all down to the concept of ‘return to player’ (also known as RTP) in casino games. This refers to the average percentage of money staked that is paid out to players in winnings.
For example, a game with an advertised RTP of 95% would pay out £95 for every £100 staked on average, with the remaining £5 forming the casino’s profit.
Every slots game’s operating software has a certain profit margin built in, whether it’s a classic slot or a more exotic kind. This means that, on average, players will end up losing a portion of their money when playing slots.
But that’s before you take free spins into account.
Most bookies and casinos will have a variety of promotions on offer at any one time, which reward you with free spins or other casino bonuses. When you factor in these free spins it’s often the case that, instead of being statistically likely to lose a percentage of the money you’ve staked, you come out ahead.
For example, let’s take a typical sign up offer – stake £10 on slots to receive 100 free spins.
If the game in question has an RTP of 95%, you’d expect to make a return of £9.50 on average from your £10 wagering, resulting in a 50p loss.
If your free spins are worth 10p each (the most common value for free spins), you can calculate that they’re are also worth £10 – and if you play them on a slots game that also has a 95% RTP, you can expect to make another £9.50 in winnings on average.
As a result, you would end up with an average of £9 in profit from the offer – a 90% return on your £10 investment, which isn’t bad going!
Repeating this process for lots of different bookies and casinos can result in excellent, and reliable, ongoing profits.
To make this easier, OddsMonkey members who sign up for the All Access package gain access to over 100 casino sign up offers, plus tons of reload offers. These allow our members to make hundreds of pounds a month from casino!
However, you should be aware that there is risk in completing casino offers. Your results are very unlikely to precisely match the advertised RTP of a game over the course of just a couple of hundred spins – and it is possible to lose your £10 and win nothing at all from your free spins.
However, the likelihood is that you will end up in profit overall – and this becomes ever more likely as you complete more offers, reducing the variance in your results.
Other Ways To Make Money From Online Betting Sites
Casino offers are a great way to make money from home but, as we’ve established, they do involve an element of risk.
A safer alternative, which we’d recommend to beginners who are nervous about casino, or if you can’t comfortably afford to lose any money staked on casino offers, is to have a go at Matched Betting.
Matched Betting is a strategy that involves betting both for and against the same outcome, and using free bets and other rewards from bookies to make a profit – and if you do it right, there’s no risk involved at all.
OddsMonkey’s handy tools and guides are there to guide you through this process, making it straightforward even for beginners who don’t have any experience of sports betting.
For more information, check out our beginner’s guide to Matched Betting – or if you’re keen to get going, take out our free trial and make your first £29 in Matched Betting profits today.
