One of the most debated topics regarding slot machines is max bet and whether or not your should always hit that bet max button. There is no definite answer to the question as it really depends on the game you are playing. In this article we take a comprehensive look at all of the game types and situations and give you recommendations on what is the best way to play.

For video poker games, the maximum bet is usually anywhere between 5 and 20 coins. For slot machines, the maximum bet can sometimes reach over 100 coins. The main reason why wagering the maximum amount is smart is that most slot games and video poker games tend to offer bonus payouts or jackpots to those who do so. High denomination slots have a higher fixed Max Bet than ordinary slots. More so, high denomination slots have higher payouts. Some slot machines pay out better when you play max bet. For example, on some 3-reel slot machines, if you hit a line of the top-paying symbols you might win (for example) 1,000 credits if you are playing a credit per. We received a rare full screen MAX Bet win on Rainbow slot machine in the back of Casino Royale! First time playing this machine, and about 2 minutes into the slot session, we received a rare full screen bonus game!

What is Max Bet?

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Just in case you are new to playing slots Max Bet or Maximum Bet is the highest amount of coins or credits you can play in a single spin. For example most classic slots let you play up to three coins per spin - a max bet of three coins. This gets a bit more complicated with video slots - see below for details.

Classic Slots

While max bet is not always necessary you will often find that there is a good reward for betting max. For example you might have a game that pays 1,000 for one coin, 2,000 for two coins and 5,000 for the max of three coins. In this case you get an additional 3,000 coins for just one extra coin bet.

If you are playing a game where all of the jackpots are in proportion then it is totally up to you whether you bet max. For example a game which has a top jackpot of 3,000 for three coin play (Max Bet), a 2,000 coin win for two coins and a 1,000 coin win for one coin. Each coin can win an additional 1,000 coins.

There is one type of classic slots that require max bet. These games are known as Buy A Pay slots. Quite simply they have two or three different pay tables. Each coin activates an additional pay table. If you play less than max bet you cannot win any of the top prizes even if you hit the right symbols.

Progressive Slots

There is one type of slot machine that makes playing max bet an absolute must - games with a progressive jackpot. Almost all progressives require that you bet the maximum number of coins to qualify for the top jackpot. If you play less than max you cannot win the top jackpot.

We don't recommend playing progressives unless you intend to play max. You are much better off going for a non progressive slots. This is because you can hit the top winning combo and in some cases get nothing because you are a few coins short. In other cases you will get a small consolation prize but this is always just a fraction of the main progressive jackpot.

Bonus Feature Slots

On slots with a bonus game there is no set rule as to what to bet. In some cases you will be required to play max to win the jackpot and in some cases you will not have to. Before playing any bonus game slot be sure to read the pay out table to find out if max bet is required.

Multi-line Slots

If you are playing a three reel game with more that one pay line then it is always a good idea to play max bet. This is because in most cases each additional coin activated an additional pay line. Quite often the highest jackpots are only available on certain lines. If you play less than max you cannot win them.

5 Reel and Video Slots

This is where things get interesting as there are so many variations. In general you do not have to play max bet on video slots unless there is a progressive jackpot involved. We suggest playing max lines but not necessarily max bet. This is because on many games you can bet more than one coin per line.

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For example a 20 line slot with the option to bet 10 coins per line has a 200 coin max bet. Even at the penny coin size this turns into $2 a spin. In most cases you will be fine with just one coin per line and can therefore play for as little as 20 a spin. There is a minor catch - your jackpots won't be as big.

The reason for this is that wins are multiplied by your bet per line so a game with a 10,000 coins jackpot and a max bet of 10 coins per line can pay a 100,000 coins win at max bet. Playing just one coin per line will yield a 10,000 coins jackpot only. This is a trade off between low bets and bigger wins.

Conclusions

One of the most important tips we can give you is to always spend a moment reading the pay table of the game you are about to play. All pay tables indicate whether or not max bet is required for any jackpots or features. Another good tip is that if you find a game where playing max is needed and the game is too expensive for you try to find the same game with a lower coin size.

When you are playing video poker games or slot games the general rule of thumb is that you should always bet the maximum amount that the machine will allow you to make. There are a few exceptions to this rule but we will explore those later in this article. For video poker games, the maximum bet is usually anywhere between 5 and 20 coins. For slot machines, the maximum bet can sometimes reach over 100 coins.

The main reason why wagering the maximum amount is smart is that most slot games and video poker games tend to offer bonus payouts or jackpots to those who do so. If you do not bet the maximum amount and you hit one of the jackpot hands or spins, you will not be rewarded with the jackpot prize. This is one of the worst feelings in the world and it is totally avoidable.

This bonus money adds a little bit of value to each spin and you will be missing out on this value if you fail to bet the maximum amount. Your goal as a gambler should be to scoop up as much value as you can so that you can gamble for longer and ultimately have more fun.

Common Excuses

There are a lot of common excuses that people have for why they are not betting the maximum bet each spin or hand. Most of these excuses are based on a misunderstanding or a superstition that can easily be debunked.

We will now take a look at some of these excuses and explain why they are flawed so that you can consciously avoid having these types of thoughts. The best way to maximize the amount of fun that you have per every dollar that you spend is to make the maximum bet and get the highest returns possible.

Excuse #1: “I Can’t Afford It!”

The most important thing that you need to do is make sure that you have a big enough bankroll to cover the maximum bet for a large number of spins or hands. If you do not have enough money to play the maximum bets then you should not be playing on that machine.

One of the best ways around this dilemma is to simply play at lower stakes so that you can comfortably make the maximum bet. If you are already playing on the lowest stakes that your machine has to offer and you still cannot afford the maximum bet, then you should try looking on different machines.

If the casino that you are playing in does not have any lower stakes machines then you are likely to find some at a different casino. There are many casinos that let you play stakes as low as 1 cent per coin, and if this is too much money for you then you probably shouldn’t be gambling at all until you get some more money.

Excuse #2: “I Just Hit a Big Score!”

Some people think that just because they recently hit a huge score that they should avoid making the max bets in anticipation of a cold streak. This way of thinking is based on the “gambler’s fallacy” which incorrectly assumes that if an outcome occurs more frequently than expected over a certain period of time that it will occur less frequently in the near future.

The truth is that the random number generator which controls the outcome of each hand or spin has no idea whether you have won recently or not. Even if you are on the exact same machine where you hit a jackpot, the odds that you will hit it again on the very next spin remain the same as they were before you hit it the first time. Therefore, you should continue betting the maximum amount on every spin no matter what has happened to you in recent hands so that you can scoop up that sweet value.

Excuse #3: “I Want My Money to Last Longer!”

Some players have more than enough money in their bankroll to comfortably bet the maximum amount of coins every hand or spin but they avoid it because they want their money to last longer. In their eyes, this is the safe way to play but in reality, it is the wrong thing to do.

The funny part about this misunderstanding is that betting the maximum WILL make your money last longer in the long run. However, if we are talking about a timeframe of just one day then anything can happen so you should keep in mind that we are talking about a very large sample size of hands or spins.

The reason why your money will last longer if you bet the maximum amount per spin is that you will be losing less money per spin. The extra bonus money which you receive on your jackpot wins will give you more money per spin over the course of millions of spins which means that you will be losing slower.

Excuse #4: “I’m Not Lucky Enough!”

Out of all of the excuses on our list, this one is by far the silliest. Every player has an equal chance at winning in slot machines, and every player who knows the correct strategies for video poker has an equal chance of winning as well.

The only way to actually prove that you are somehow less lucky than everyone else would be to complete millions of spins and compile the data so that you can analyze it. Most people have not come close to playing millions of spins and are basing their luck off of a very small and meaningless sample size.

Whether you consider yourself a lucky person or not you should still make the max bet on every spin or hand. Even if you were less lucky than everyone else is, it makes sense to bet a little bit extra so that your average return per coin will increase.

Exceptions to the Rule

1. The Max Bet Is Higher Than the Bet Amount Where the Bonus Payout Becomes Available

Anyone who is a frequent video poker player will know exactly what we are talking about here. Most slot machines do not normally have any options that are higher than the bet amount where the jackpot becomes available to the player.

For example, if you are playing in a Deuces Wild game you might notice that the Royal Flush payout increases dramatically from 1000 coins to 4000 coins when you up your bet from 4 coins to 5 coins. However, some machines will allow up to 20 coins per spin and there are no more dramatic increases to be found between 5 and 20 coins.

If you happen to be playing on a machine like this, then you do not have to bet the full 20 coins every time. In fact, you don’t need to bet more than 5 coins per hand. There is no extra incentive to do so unless you simply feel like betting more money per spin.

2. Games With No Extra Bonuses

Another exception to the rule occurs when you are playing in a game where there are no extra bonus payouts for betting the maximum amount. These games are actually pretty scarce these days compared to games that offer extra bonus payouts for a max bet.

Due to the lack of a payout bonus for max bets, you can bet whatever amount you want to since the whole point of betting the max amount is to take advantage of the bonus payouts. There is no mathematical difference between betting one coin or betting the maximum amount of coins in these games.

We recommend avoiding these types of games if you are the type of player who likes to bet the maximum amount every hand. Your willingness to make these large bets will serve you better in games where there are bonus payouts rewarded to any max bets.

3. You Don’t Care About Winning

This might seem like a joke, but there are definitely some people who are so rich they don’t care if they win or lose. Some of them even enjoy the act of losing because it barely makes a dent in their bankroll and it makes them feel invincible. There are a plethora of alternative reasons why people don’t care about winning or losing slower, but we don’t want to turn this into a psychology paper.

If you are one of these particular human beings then be our guest and do not make the maximum bet on every spin or hand. This will ensure that you lose more money per spin in the long run, which is exactly what you were hoping for!

What to Remember

You should always make the maximum bet in a video poker game or a slot game as long as you have enough money in your bankroll. The only logical exceptions to this rule are when the specific game that you are playing does not offer bonus payouts on a max bet or if the bonus payout is achievable by paying less than the maximum bet.

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Ignoring this rule is going to ensure that you do not get the maximum value out of every coin that you bet. Anyone who hates money will be happy to hear this, but everyone else should be excited about taking advantage of some extra value by making the maximum bet.

Even though the jackpots are rare, claiming this extra money from time to time will allow you to lose less money per spin over the long run. This contributes to the ultimate goal of having as much fun as possible while gambling by allowing you to play for more time per deposit, on average.

Max Bet Bonus Slot Wins

It does not matter if you think that you are an unlucky person, or if you think you already used up your luck by hitting a jackpot on a previous spin. The random number generator that decides the outcomes of each spin or hand in slot games and video poker games does not care about who you are or the results of your previous rounds.

Slot Machine Bonus Max Bet

The only control that you have over your fate, other than learning a proper strategy for the games that require one, is to make sure that you make the maximum bet for each round. By doing this you will give yourself a chance at hitting a jackpot while simultaneously knowing that it is the logical and mathematically correct play in the long run.