Picking the right online slot machine is crucial. The most important feature when choosing a machine is the pay table. Too many players opt for games offering huge jackpots, but the odds of hitting that outsized jackpot are astronomical. Games offering super large jackpots have smaller secondary prizes and even those are paid less often. Big winners' fortunes are financed, not by the casino, but by many losers.

Instead of chasing that giant jackpot, pick an online slot machine with a relatively modest top prize. You have a much better chance of winning 800 coins than you would have chasing 20,000 coins.

Also, avoid online slot machines where the majority of all possible payouts are in the 2, 3, 5, 10 and 15-coin range. Although you might get frequent wins, the amounts aren't big enough to prevent your bankroll from slowly but surely grinding down to zero.

The best strategy is to seek a single pay line, two-coin machine with an 800 coins to 2,000 coins jackpot and a pay table featuring a good range of medium sized payouts. You are looking for a pay table where the payouts for one-coin play are something like this: (from highest to lowest)
800 - 80 - 60 - 40 - 30 - 20 - 10 - 5 - 2.

Online slot machines with this type of pay board give you a chance to get ahead. Wins in the medium pay out range occur more frequently, because most of the money does not have to go towards building that giant jackpot.

To succeed at online slot machine play you need staying power. Going after those mid-range payouts enables you to stretch your playing time without having to deposit additional money - you simply recycle your winnings. The longer you can re-circulate your starting bankroll, the better your chances of eventually lining up the jackpot combination

The Up / Down Method

This strategy is good for all slots but is not an advised method of play on progressives. Instead of betting the same amount of coins / credits for every spin, change your bet for each spin. For example, bet 1 coin, 2 coins, 3 coins, 2 coins and so on. On a 1 cent slot with 20 paylines, playing all paylines you would bet 20, 100, 200, 400, 500, 400, 200 and so on. This Up / Down Method gives you the chance of getting the higher win multiplier without using too much money. If you are lucky you will hit winning paylines when you are on the higher bets. This strategy is great for machines that offer free spins or bonus round because you can get free spins at a higher bet level than you would usually play.

Not playing all paylines

This strategy is good for all slots with multiple paylines. Instead of betting on all paylines bet bigger on just a few lines. This way for a slightly bigger bet you can receive bigger wins. The only problem with this strategy is that you could also miss out on winning paylines but remember you would have won less anyway. This strategy can be a great way of stretching you gambling money further while still having the chance of the big win.