There are many different types of slot machines, but one of the easiest way to breakdown categories of games is by determining whether or not it is a progressive. A progressive slot machine pays out more each time that a player spins, but does not win the jackpot. For example, if a machine has a $1,000.50 progressive meter, and you play one losing spin, the jackpot would then rise to $1,000.51, or another close figure. This is a very simple example of how progressive slots function.

• How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work
• How Progressive Slot Machines Work
• How Does Progressive Slot Machines Work
• How Does Progressive Slot Machines Work Better
• Progressive Slot Machines Examples

How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work

Progressive Slots. Progressive slots and slot machines have a jackpot that increases incrementally as players play the game. These can be standalone machines, where the jackpot increases on just that one machine, or they can be networks of machines, where the jackpot increases across the entire network.

• How Do Progressive Slot Machines Work? Progressive jackpot slots work in a slightly different way to regular games. In a normal slot, players make a wager, spin the reels and collect winnings independently of whatever any other player is doing. With a progressive game, there is a jackpot prize that grows and grows until one lucky player scoops the lot.
• The jackpots in the local progressive slots range from $100,000 to $1,000,000. Wide Network Progressive Slots. These are probably the reason you got interested in progressive slot machine machines. The wide area network progressive consists of interlinked slot machines from different casinos, but within the same state.

Many slot machines, especially the most modern games, have multiple progressive jackpots in one. Games like Quick Hits, for example, have several tiers of jackpots. The lowest jackpot will be the easiest to hit, the highest will be the toughest to hit. You may need X amount of symbols to hit the lower progressive jackpot, and x+4 more symbols to win the highest progressive. Some games are more complex than others, however, and jackpots may be earned in different ways.

How Progressive Jackpots are Created

A progressive jackpot may seem confusing because of the large dollar amounts at hand. It doesn’t make much sense that a $2.50 Wheel of Fortune Slot would have a progressive payoff of $200,000 or more, but they frequently do. The common misconception is that this machine alone has collected over $200,000 in losing wagers that are now up for the taking, but this is not true. Instead, popular games like this are part of “linked” machines, usually across many casinos. If you are in Las Vegas, for example, all of the WOF spins may be pouring into the same pool of money. This is how the total jackpot size can be so large, even when the spin denominations are very small.

The actual amount that a progressive increases with each spin will be very small. The total increase will be as a percentage of your bet, combined with the house edge for the casino. If the expected win for the house on a $5 progressive slot spin is 7%, that would mean a 35 cent gain on every spin. Since it is a progressive, perhaps 2% is taken from this and contributed to the progressive jackpot total, in this case, 10 cents per spin. 10 cents per spin may not seem like a lot, but when there are millions of spins taking place across the US day in and day out, the total prize pool can rise quite rapidly.

How to Be Eligible for a Progressive Jackpot Win

The biggest caveat to being able to win a progressive slot machine jackpot is playing the max bet allowed. Almost every progressive slot requires that the player complete a max wager in order to potentially win the listed jackpot. Yes, this means that you will need to have a larger bankroll to play, but you will be sacrificing a lot of value by not betting.

While betting the maximum possible, you will be giving yourself the best chance at a positive return, regardless of how many actual dollars you are putting at risk. If you can not reasonably afford to place max bets on a progressive slot, we suggest to instead play an entirely different machine. You are chasing a low ceiling if you are placing wagers that do not have any way of potentially cashing in on the progressive jackpot. Progressives are available at virtually every wager limit though, so you can bump down in stakes and still enjoy the rush of a progressive machine, even if you can’t play at high stakes.

Fixed Jackpots vs. Progressive Jackpots

How Progressive Slot Machines Work

How Does Progressive Slot Machines Work

When you see a slot, you may notice a big potential win advertised at the top of the machine. For lower limit games, this might be $5,000, while for $25/spin games, it may be $100,000. Whatever the total may be, you shouldn’t confuse these slots with progressive machines. The total looks the same as it does on a running progress, but these numbers do not adjust; they are simply the max win possible on that particular machine, represented as dollars instead of credits.

How Does Progressive Slot Machines Work Better

Progressive Slot Machines Examples

By Bill Burton
Every slot player who has ever walked into a casino has probably had the fantasy of hitting The Big One, that life changing progressive jackpot that will put you on Easy Street for the restyour life. You imagine the thrill of lining up the winning symbols and dream about how you will spend all that money.  Then reality kicks in and deep down you know that you have abetter chance of getting struck by lighting than you do hitting the big jackpot. Does this mean you should not play Progressive slot machines? 
While the odds of hitting a life changing jackpot may be astronomical, you don’t have to avoid all progressive machines. As long as you know what to expect and have some realisticexpectations you can give them a shot. There are also some progressive machines that are better than others if you want to hit the jackpot. First let’s take a look at the basic ofprogressive machines.
The big progressive jackpot is made by taking a percentage of all the money played into the machine. This means that the jackpot continues to grow as more people play the machine until somebodyhits the winning symbols for the top award. Because a percentage of the coins played form the Progressive Jackpot, the actual paybackpercentage will be less on the other winning symbols and in some case the payback percentage on the Progressive machines will be less than other machines in the casino. This is true for themachines that offer the life changing jackpots. Not all progressive machines are the same. There are actually three different types of progressive machines.
The Stand Alone Progressive
The stand alone progressive machine is not linked to any other machines. Instead of having a fixed top jackpot it takes a percentage of the coins played and adds that to the award for thehighest winning combination .It has a meter on the front and shows you the jackpot. In most cases the payback is equal to the other machines of that denomination but it just distributeddifferently to give you a varying amount for the top prize. The progressive jackpots for the stand alone machines is much lower that the ones from machines that are linked together.
In-House or Local Area Progressives
These are a group of machines linked together and owned and operated by the casino. They may be just in a single casino or linked together with several properties if the gaming company ownsmore than one casino. The jackpots may not be the multi-million variety but they can be quite a substantial win in some casinos. They generally hit more often that the big wide areaProgressives.

Wide Area Progressives
These are the machines that offer the life changing jackpots. The machines are linked together from many unrelated casinos. These machines are operated by an independent operated rather than asingle gaming company. Slot maker IGT operates games such as MegaBucks, Quatermania, and others in many different States. The casino share in a percentage of the winnings but the operator ownsthe games. The Jackpots may be large but so are your chances of hitting the big prize. Because of the costs of linking the machine and the administrative costs to run these Area wide games, thepayback percentage on these machines is much lower than on other slots.
It’s alright to try your hand at the big progressive machines hoping that lady luck will shine on you but don’t make it the mainstay of your slot play. Instead set aside acertain percentage of your playing bankroll and use that for a shot at the big one. Winning one of these is pure luck and is a gamble along the lines of buying a lottery ticket. Don’tspend your entire bankroll chasing dream. If you want to play a progressive machine you might be better off to concentrate your efforts on the Stand Alones or In House Progressives. Your oddsare much better. Most importantly remember, playing slots is entertainment. Have Fun!
Until next time, remember:
Luck comes and goes...Knowledge Stays Forever!
Bill Burton is the Casino Gambling Columnist for the Internet portal About.com. His website is located at: http://casinogambling.about.com. He is the author of“1000 Best Casino Gambling Secrets” and “He is the author of "Get the Edge at Low Limit Texas Hold'em" available at www.billburton.com. He is aninstructor for Golden Touch Craps; www.goldentouchcraps.com. He also writes for several national gamblingpublications.