Win at Slots Using a Foreign Currency - Can Exchange Rates Improve Your Odds

Return to player (RTP) is one of the most important factors with regard to your odds of beating slot machines. RTP refers to how much a game is set to pay back over the long term.

Here’s an example:

You’re playing a slot machine with 96.5% RTP.
You bet $1,000 on this game.
1,000 x 0.965 = 965
You stand to win back $965 on average.

Of course, slot machine results don’t usually work out this neatly. These volatile games can see you win far more or less than the stated payout percentage. Regardless, RTP is still the best measure of how likely you are to beat a slot machine. You can improve your odds simply by playing games with high payback again and again.

Using the right currency is one little known way to boost your chances of winning with slots. Understanding how currency exchange rates affect your odds is a powerful tool in improving your ability to beat slot machines. Keep reading as I discuss why certain currencies increase your chances of winning, along with other helpful strategies.

Exchange Rates Can Improve Your Odds of Winning

Many online slots developers offer their games to players across the world. They accommodate these different countries and regions by allowing bets in multiple currencies. The three most common currencies that you can use with internet slots include the US dollar, euro, and British pound. Each currency unit differs in value based on exchange rates at the time.

What many players don’t realize is that they can exploit currency differences and gain a better chance of winning. Many online progressive jackpots are adjusted to account for the different exchange rates. This means that the jackpot is the same value regardless of which currency triggers the winning bet.

Here’s an example to illustrate this point:

You play for a progressive jackpot that’s worth:
$10 million.
€8,800,000.
£7,800,000.
All of these amounts offer the same value when exchange rates are accounted for.

It makes perfect sense why a slots provider would want the jackpot size to change based on exchange rates. But what they fail to account for is the coin size used to play the slot. Many internet slots feature a fixed coin size no matter what currency you’re using. For example, a progressive slot might feature fixed qualifying bets worth $1, €1, and £1.

Each of these wagers will contribute the same percentage towards the jackpot. For example, 2% of each bet might fund the jackpot – regardless of the currency being used. The dollar is worth less per unit than the euro or pound. Playing with dollars means that you’re contributing less to the progressive jackpot than players who use the euro or pound. However, your bets still give you the exact same chance to win the progressive prize.

How Slots Developers Counteract the Currency Advantage

I mentioned that some gaming providers take measures to ensure that you can’t game the system by using a lower currency value. But how do they do this? Some slots developers offer jackpots that are worth the same amount across all currencies. Therefore, the jackpot contribution of your bets is proportionate to the prize you’re playing for.

Here’s an example:

You play for a progressive jackpot that’s worth:
$10 million for USD bets.
€10 million for euro bets.
£10 million for pound bets.

Games like these offer equal value to players of all currencies. You can’t gain an advantage by wagering in USD when considering that the jackpot is worth 10 million units of any currency.

Other Things You Can Do to Win in Online Slots

Understanding how different currency exchange rates can help you gain an advantage is a good start. But this knowledge becomes even more useful when combined with other slots techniques. The following methods will boost your chances of winning in slots even further.

Look for Progressive Jackpots That Have Grown

Progressive jackpots grow slightly with every wager. That’s because they draw tiny amounts from each bet until they’re won. Sometimes jackpots increase so much that they make their respective games offer over 100% payback. It’s at this point when you gain positive expected value (+EV) when playing. The only problem is that it’s impossible to know exactly when you have an advantage with a progressive game. You can only estimate when you’re gaining +EV based on the starting and current jackpot values.

Here’s an example:

You’re playing a slot with 94% payback.
The jackpot begins at $10,000.
The jackpot grows to $165,000.
You now believe that the game is offering over 100% RTP.

Keep in mind that you don’t have to play a slot just because you think it’s offering +EV. Instead, you can play after the jackpot has increased by a large amount and still improve your odds. But it’s much more exciting to think about playing with a long-term advantage – even if you’re highly unlikely to win the jackpot. Do some research to learn starting jackpot amounts for your favorite progressive slots. Knowing these values can help you track jackpots and begin playing at a point when they’re worth far more than the starting amounts.

Play Progressive Slots with Good Base RTP

Game developers seed the jackpot for progressive slot machines. This seed amount is meant to draw players right from the start so that they can begin increasing the jackpot more with their bets. The RTP figures that you see for internet slots are based on a jackpot’s starting value. The payback then increases as the jackpot grows and offers higher EV.

As covered earlier, you gain more value by playing slots when the jackpot grows. But you also want to be mindful of the base RTP since you probably won’t hit the jackpot. Your odds of winning a progressive jackpot on any given spin range in the millions (e.g. 1 in 50 million). And while you can improve these odds by playing more rounds, you’re still at a huge disadvantage when trying to win big. This is where playing slots with good base RTP is of tremendous help. These games ensure that you win a number of other payouts to sustain your bankroll in the likely event that you don’t win the jackpot.

Here are two big progressive slots with vastly different base payback:

NetEnt’s Mega Fortune offers 96.4% base RTP.
Mega Moolah features 88.1% base RTP.

You always want to prepare for the likelihood that you’re not going to collect a jackpot. A game with solid base RTP can at least offer you other payouts while you go for the top prize.

Hunt for Bonus Accumulator Slots in Land Based Casinos

Bonus accumulator slots feature meters that increase as you collect special scatter symbols. You’ll receive a bonus payout when the meter is filled all the way. These games merely sound like fun alternatives to traditional slots. But accumulator slot machines offer more than meets the eye.

You can gain a long-term edge with these games by playing when the bonus meter is nearly full. The reason being is that other players have already made the necessary bets to increase the meter, allowing you to clean up by triggering the bonus. But the first step to winning money with bonus accumulator slots involves knowing where they are. Certain Las Vegas casinos offer these games, which include titles like Plants vs Zombies 3D Ancient Egypt. The second step is to find accumulator games with nearly full meters. Finding these opportunities allows you to play with +EV.

One great thing about accumulator machines is that you can win big profits with them over time. Furthermore, casinos don’t care that you’re doing this since they’re not the ones contributing to your edge. Contrast this to card counting, where your profits are coming directly from the house. This is why casinos harass, and even ban, card counters whenever possible.

The biggest roadblock to bonus accumulator slot machines is that you won’t find many available. You have to carefully map out where these games are in Vegas and make the rounds in order to spot good opportunities. Adding to the difficulty is that there are plenty of other advantage gamblers who have the same idea. These same players become chippy if they’re scouting out the exact same accumulator slots as you.

Of course, you don’t have to wait until the meter is nearly full just to improve your odds. You can instead jump on a machine with a half-full meter and play until triggering the bonus. This won’t give you a long-term edge. However, you’ll at least boost your EV and have a stronger chance at earning bonuses.

Play Mystery Progressive Slots When They’re at a Higher Value

One more method that you can use to boost your slots odds involves playing mystery progressive games when their jackpots have increased. A mystery progressive slot must pay its jackpot at a specific amount. This is why these games are often referred to as “must win by” slot machines, because the jackpots must be won at an exact amount. These games are like any progressive slot in that they feature an RTP figure. But the payback increases along with the jackpot size.

Your goal should be to play these games when the jackpot is closer to the winning amount. Here’s an example:

You find an online slot with a mystery progressive jackpot that starts at $1,000.
This prize must win by $10,000.
You begin playing when the jackpot reaches $9,500.

It’s hard to tell if the game will offer +EV at this point. But you can at least be assured that your theoretical value will be higher when playing at this time. Mystery slots jackpots that are offered across multiple online casinos tend to hit really fast when they’re near the payout point. Therefore, you won’t have many chances to win when the triggering jackpot nears.

Playing for a $10k mystery progressive prize when it’s currently worth $9,500 is perfectly fine. You shouldn’t have to worry about the jackpot being hit too quickly in this scenario. However, waiting until the prize is worth $9,900 or more creates the risk that you won’t even get a chance to play. So many gamblers will be trying to win at this point that the jackpot may only last another minute.

Conclusion

Slot machines are completely random games in most respects. But there are some things you can do to improve your chances of winning.

Spotting currency inefficiencies is one of the easiest methods for improving your EV. All you do is find a game that scales the jackpot based on different currencies, while still requiring the same qualifying bet across all currencies (e.g. $1, €1, and £1). This combination ensures that everybody is playing for the same jackpot value. But using the lower-valued currency unit gives you an advantage, because you’re not contributing as much to the jackpot.

In essence, you want to bet with US dollars in these situations to take advantage. Meanwhile, those playing with the euro or British pound are overpaying to qualify for the jackpot. Another thing that you can do is focus on progressive slots that have an increased jackpot. You gain more value by playing games that have seen a significant boost from their starting jackpot value to the current amount.

You also want to choose progressive games that have decent base RTP. You probably won’t hit the jackpot, which means that you at least want a good chance to earn other payouts. Bonus accumulator slots are interesting in that they offer you a long-term advantage when played at the right moment. But even if you don’t wait until the meter is nearly full, you can still improve your odds by playing when the meter is at the halfway point.

Yet another way to boost your slots odds is by playing mystery progressive games when the jackpot is almost ready to be hit. You can choose a precise point to play and gain +EV since you know exactly when the jackpot will be paid. Combining one or more of these methods with favorable currency opportunities gives you a much stronger chance to win with progressive slots. With any luck, you can use these advantages to eventually win a big jackpot.