I’ll be honest, for as much as I or other casino enthusiasts like to knock slots as the “little brother” of the gambling world, there’s a certain relaxation to be had from turning your brain off in-between grinds at the poker or blackjack tables. Slots isn’t a thinking man’s game, but it’s not entirely without its merits. It has fans, and those fans try to implement strategy the same as any other game of chance. But really, with a game built entirely on chance, how much strategy do you have to work with?

Strategy in slots is like a parking break in Iowa – there’s just no use for it. You can’t plan, so you can’t prepare. But, what you do have control over is how and how much you wager. There-in lies the tiniest scraps of strategy and study. Not much, but for a major enthusiast of the game, you try telling them there’s no strategy.

So what’s some good “strategic” advice to betting on slots? First, I’d have to say go in resolving yourself to the fact that you’re not going to win a progressive jackpot. If you know anything about maximizing your odds, you know you have a better chance of sleeping with the cocktail waitress than hitting a PJ. Now, you’re free to reduce the number of units placed per spin. (Believe me, on the off chance that you do hit the big one, the payoff for a $1 bet is still nothing to turn your nose up to, even compared to the jackpot payoff on a $3 bet).

Right there, you’re slowing down the pace of your bleeding, giving yourself more opportunities to win. If you’ve been in a casino lately, you know what I mean when I say you’re playing mostly to get to the “game.” We all know slots has its gimmicks. Wheel of Fortune, Space Invaders, who the hell knows, a bunch of mini-games where you’re real opportunity to win money lies. You can easily dump $20 of quarters into the machine and not have an opportunity to play the mini-games once. So reducing the amount you bet extends your opportunity in one sitting to get to the mini-game.

There, there’s your strategy.