How to Play Slot Machines for a Living (If You Can)

Want to know how to play slot machines for a living? 

So do I.

That’s why I asked my friend John Lafferty to write this guest post. Here’s what he had to say.

Want to play slot machines? Play over 250 different free slot games at Wild Casino. $5000 free with your first deposit. https://www.wildcasino.ag/

I should warn you beforehand that I don’t think anyone really makes a living playing slot machines for long (if at all), but if you want to try, here’s what John suggests you do. (And he claims to have done it.)

Every experienced gambler knows two facts for sure:

1. Only keno pays a worse return to player than slots
2. Living off your slot machine winnings is a feast or famine experience

Professional poker players and race car drivers have two things in common

1. They need sponsorships
2. They depend on their skills.

Slot machine games are games of chance, not skill.

No one in their right mind would think of earning a living by playing slot machine games.

But a few people manage to do it – legally, too.

I know one thing, too. You can’t make a living playing slot machines in gas stations. The payback percentages there are awful.

Here’s what I’ve learned from full-time slot players:

If You Want to Know How to Play Slot Machines for a Living, You Need 3 Things to Get Started

First, you need to be lucky. Luck may not be something science can prove, but some people are more fortunate than others.

When you look at luck from an entrepreneur’s point of view, lucky people maintain a positive attitude and keep taking risks.

Second, you need to be self-disciplined. The secret to any long-term gambling career is knowing how to live and play on a budget.

If you cannot follow your plan, you should look for another way to support yourself.

Third, you need a bankroll larger than any single day or night’s gambling budget. If you’re willing to lose $1000 in a day, you need a bankroll much larger than that. See my recent post about how much money you should put in a slot machine for more advice about this subject, in fact.

The full-time slot players I met either had someone supplying them with money or managed their money well.

But it doesn’t count if you’re spending your spouse’s pocket change.

If you’re earning a living from slot machines, you’re winning more money than you’re losing.

Understanding How the Games Work Is Another Prerequisite to Learning How to Play Slot Machines for a Living

Playing slot machines is easy. Insert your money and press a button.

But the house is betting you’ll sit there for hours on end, mesmerized by the flashing lights and ringing bells. Casinos make it easy to lose track of time because they don’t want you to think about what you’re doing.

A good slots player knows how to distinguish between high volatility and low volatility games. Volatility equates to risk. Another way to look at it is to estimate how likely a slot machine is to pay off.

Some people speak of variance instead of volatility. Both words describe the tradeoff between the frequency of a game’s average payouts and the ratio of its prizes to bets.

Some slot games eat your budget by paying back less than you wager on many spins. So if you bet $5, you may win back $3.50. Researchers studying gambling addiction call out these partial win games. They’re too manipulative, so don’t play them.

All gambling games share one secret: the odds favor the house. If you play the slots long enough, you’ll lose all your money. You must know when to stop playing.

Pick a Good Theoretical Return to Player

Some slot games pay back about a 98% RTP. Many games payback somewhere above 90%. The casino decides which games should have high RTP, and they can mix it up.

Return to player looks like a promise what you can win back, but it’s the reciprocal of the house edge, which is what the house expects to keep from your wagers. As long as you have a balance, you’re in the game.

But pick a game with a good RTP.

There’s no connection between RTP and volatility. Games may have high volatility and low RTP, high RTP and low volatility, etc.

When choosing a slot game to play, you should know or estimate the RTP and the volatility. Good slot players use rules of thumb to help them select games to play. (Note from Randy: Here are the slot machines I recommend at the Winstar Casino). Update — I just added a post explaining which slot machines you should play at Choctaw Casino, too.

Your in-game return may be worse than the theoretical RTP.

But the lower the RTP, the worse you should expect your results to be. Your only advantage over the slots is your ability to do the math.

Your Budget Is Your Highest Priority

Unless you have a big savings account, you’ll begin the same way everyone else does:

You’ll fund your bankroll from the wages you earn from a job. You must set up and stick to a modest household budget.

If you’re not managing your money at home, you won’t do better when you’re playing the slots. Your budgeting skill is the only skill you bring to these kinds of games.

Pay your bills on time. Gamblers who assume they’ll cover the rent or mortgage payment out of their next big win are doomed to lose. Build your bankroll from your discretionary income.

Limit how much you’re willing to lose on any gaming day. Protect yourself from succumbing to a gambler’s fallacy, where you keep playing until you lose everything. The bankroll should be a multiple of this daily limit.

If you decide you can lose $200 a day, your bankroll should be a minimum of $600.

A good starting bankroll falls in the range of 3-7 times your daily loss limit.

The bankroll goes up and down. Set a target where you stop playing.

If you double your money, stop playing.

If you more than double your money, set aside double your stake and do what you want with the rest.

Be Flexible in Choosing Slot Machine Games

No slot game guarantees you a win. Good players can take $20 and roll it up to $100 on a low-bet machine. While that doesn’t always happen, you can live with a $20 loss more easily than a $200 loss.

When you begin playing, begin with a fraction of your daily stake and see if you can roll it up on a lower denomination game. Don’t hit the $5 games right away.

You cannot change a game’s volatility or your random luck, but you decide at what rate you’ll lose money.

You only need a few “favorite” games. You learn their volatility by playing them regularly. Study their help screens to find their RTP when it’s available.

As you move up to higher denomination slots, you may have to choose different games. Casinos may adjust the RTP on similar games to confuse players. In some casinos, you can do better on the lower denomination games.

Leverage Conservative Betting Strategies

Slot games don’t support player strategies. But you know how much money you have in the game. Be aggressive when you have room to lose a bit more. Be conservative when you’re rebuilding your balance.

To earn a living on slot machines, you can’t go all-in on every bet. There will be long dry spells. And people will look over your shoulder and say you were stupid to play a minimum bet on a spin that triggers a massive bonus round.

Your goal for every game is to come away with more than you took in.

You won’t always make it.

Be ready to stop playing when you’ve reached your daily goal. Only one person pays you to play the slots. You can only pay yourself if you stop when you’re ahead.

Should You Play Progressive Slot Games?

Progressive jackpots are attractive because they grow until someone wins them. Because the game must deduct a small percentage of each wager for the jackpot, the volatility on progressive games is higher.

Here are a few rules of thumb experienced players sometimes use:

The lower the starting balance on the jackpot, the less likely the game will go a long time before paying a jackpot. To compare games using different denominations, divide their starting jackpots by their maximum wagers.

A game that only pays its progressive jackpot is more likely to award a big prize than a game participating in a multi-casino network.

Choose a progressive slot game with lower volatility, so you still win smaller prizes at a satisfactory rate.

Tax Your Winnings

Most people who want to know how to play slot machines for a living don’t want to have taxes deducted from their winnings. But the more you pay in taxes upfront, the less you have to worry about when it comes time to pay the government. Avoid creating a huge tax bill for yourself by assuming it will all work out.

If you pay too much in taxes, you can file for a refund next year. And this way, you won’t overspend your winnings.

To earn a living playing slot games, you should self-tax your winnings. If you set your bankroll to 5 times your daily budget, withdraw the excess balance when your bankroll reaches full funding again.

You live on that excess balance – it’s your income. When you reach a point where you have at least 3 months’ worth of expenses in a savings account, and your excess from gambling is at least half a month’s income, you may be ready to take that final step and earn a full-time living off slot games.

Note from Randy:

You can find solid details about gambling and taxes in the US on my friend’s site.

Conclusion

Nothing lasts forever. You may grow weary of pushing Spin all the time. You may also lose your bankroll.

If you’ve learned how to play slot machines for a living, be prepared for a lifestyle change. Playing the slots may be fun, but life offers so much more. Remember to enjoy other things.

A final note from Randy: I’m not responsible for any decisions you make regarding whether you gamble or not. You’re an adult, and you should make your own decisions. If you really want to make a living, get a good job and save a reasonably high percentage of your income.