Progressive Jackpots

Contents

• Progressive Jackpots
• How the Progressive Jackpot Works ?
• Types of Progressive Jackpots
• Must-Hit-By Progressive Jackpots
• Open-Ended Progressive Jackpots
• Random Progressive Jackpot

Progressive Jackpots
Whether we are talking about a progressive jackpot at an online casino or the local gambling hall, the basic working of this prize are fairly simple. In this article we will focus on the online casinos, but it is safe to say that similar rules apply to the progressive jackpot slots and games at the land-based casinos.

How the Progressive Jackpot Works ?
The simplicity of the progressive jackpot is it’s strongest side. Ever wondered how the progressive jackpot accumulates every time you spin the reels of a video slot machine? Well, the progressive jackpot works as follows: every time a customer places a wager (i.e. spins the reel of the slot machine), a predetermined portion of that bet is “transferred” into the jackpot pot; simple as that. This is why the progressive jackpot prize only increases when a wager is made. With slots which offer the choice of a bet, the higher the wager, the more money is added to the progressive pot. For example, if you bet $1 per spin, maybe only $0.07 go into the jackpot (the prize indicator will increase by that amount), while if you wager $5 per spin, the jackpot may climb by $0.50; there are some exceptions, which we’ll cover a little further down this guide. The jackpot continues to accumulate until it is won by the winning combination required. As you can see, the workings of the progressive jackpot are very simple. The details, however, may differ by quite a lot, depending not only on the casino, but on the game itself.

Types of Progressive Jackpots
In general, there are three ways we can differentiate between progressive jackpots: Must-Hit-By (Must Win By), Open Ended and Random.

Must-Hit-By Progressive Jackpots
The “must hit by” progressive is simple, the jackpot starts at a set dollar amount and rises with the players’ contributions. It could be won at any time, but it must hit by a known, predetermined amount, which is always displayed by the casino. The closer the jackpots gets to that amount – the higher the chance of winning it. Even if no one is lucky enough to win this type of jackpot by the time it reaches that “hit-by” number, it is guaranteed that the player, whose contribution was the one getting the jackpot to reach the must-win-by limit, instantly wins the jackpot. It doesn’t matter what the outcome of the final spin was (i.e. the player doesn’t have to hit the winning combination), that player is automatically the winner. Of course, most games would automatically set up the winning combination on that final spin, but that’s not a hard-set rule. The drawback of this type of progressive jackpot is that, generally speaking, these are the smaller amount jackpots, 스포츠토토 and they also have smaller contributions towards the jackpot prize pool, taking longer to get closer to the must-win-by level. The benefit, on the other side, is quite obvious – you know you have better chance to win it as you get closer to that amount. Keep in mind that, just because the jackpot amount may not be nowhere close to the “hit-by” level, it doesn’t mean that the jackpot won’t be won. These jackpots rarely get to the actual must-win-by amount; as the jackpot gets closer, more people start playing, increasing the chance of someone actually winning it by getting the winning combination.

Open-Ended Progressive Jackpots
Contrary to the previous type, the open jackpot is exactly as the name suggests – open-ended. The progressive prize amount will start at a certain number and will climb, based on player activity and contribution, until someone gets lucky enough to hit the winning combination. How long this would take is random, unlike the must-hit-by, where we know that the jackpot must be paid at or before reaching a certain amount. The benefit here is that these are the type of jackpot wins you read about, those making people millionaires overnight. The open-ended progressive is the largest, as it allows for theoretically endless accumulation. Of course, the laws of mathematics and probabilities doesn’t let this jackpot spend much time without a winner, but it is the one type everyone wants to win. The drawback is that it doesn’t hit as often as the smaller ones, and that there are more players going after it, reducing one’s chances.

Random Progressive Jackpot
The final type is a sort of a hybrid progressive jackpot, although a lot of video slots offer this type. It behaves as a progressive jackpot, whereas people pay a tiny contribution towards it with every wager, but at the same time it is not dependent on a winning combination, unlike any of the traditional progressive jackpots. It grows with every wager, but it could hit at completely random time, regardless of the actual outcome of the spin. These random progressive jackpots tend to be much smaller and are won quite often, giving the player an extra layer of fun and money prizes. One example of a slot machine offering this type of progressive is the Hairway To Heaven, where there is a minor random progressive jackpot (a few hundred dollars) and a major one (a few thousand dollar). Both of them are won frequently, but when they would actually hit – it’s anyone’s guess.