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How Do Slots Tournaments Work?

slot reelsIf you have ever been a registered user of an online casino, then you may have seen their websites advertise slot tournaments. And while this may have become a common inclusion at casino sites, if you have never entered a tournament before, then it will possibly be a strange concept. But perhaps you have thought about experiencing one or more of these slots tournaments. And in this respect, it would be ideal to understand how they operate and what you can expect from them when you do.

And this is what we are here for today – to take a closer look at these slot game tournaments. We’re going to explain how they work, what sort of prizes you can expect from being a winner of a tournament, how much it costs to enter them in the first place, what sort of strategy you can use for bettering yourself in tournaments and more. This way, if you want to get involved in them, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting yourself into and likely to experience.

Many online casinos provide you with the chance to engage in slots tournaments, so it is entirely up to you which platform you engage in this at. What is guaranteed when it comes to these tournaments though, is that you will have an exciting and competitive session. And in the end, they are very simple to join, with the potential for large payouts in return for a small entry fee.

How Do Slots Tournaments Work

community jackpot people standing in shape of a trophyTo participate in online slots tournaments, you will need to be registered at a casino providing such. It is usually the case that these casino sites will list numerous slots tournaments, focusing on different games, with different prizes. Therefore, you simply need to browse through the selection of available tournaments and find one that comes with a game that you would like to play on in order to try and be the best.

You will sometimes be given a set number of credits and a limited time within which to play that game. Or you continue playing until the end of the timeframe and whoever sits at the top of the rankings with the highest wins from the slot is the winner of the tournament.

And while it is true that slot tournaments can also take place at land-based casinos and gaming arcades, they are much more popular at online gaming sites. Everyone entering the same tournament will be required to play one and the same slot game in order to win it, but the game in question usually changes with each new launch of the tournament. In this respect, you stand the chance of accessing a tournament with classic casino slots, modern video slots, progressive jackpot slots and so on involved in them. Some casinos also have tournaments surrounding slot features, such as Megaways slots tournaments or win both ways slots tournaments.

Let’s say for example that a casino is offering you the chance to enter into a slot tournament and you have to play the Starburst game from Netent. You would be given a start time for the tournament and a finish time. Within that timeframe, you need to play as much as you possibly can to obtain as many wins as you possibly can and finish at the top of the leader board. This would then provide you with the winning tournament payout.

And that’s basically the way that a slots tournament works.

How Much Can You Win Playing Slots Tournaments?

man happy money raining down graphicThe prizes that slots tournament provide will differ from casino to casino. It also depends upon if you have to pay an entry fee or not in order to participate in the tournament in the first place. Furthermore, the number of players engaging in the slot for the tournament will also dictate what type of payout is available. This is why it is important to always read the rules, terms and conditions associated with slot tournaments before you enter them.

Let’s say that you enter into a slot tournament, and you have to pay €10 in order to do so. If this is true for everyone and 100 players decide to enter it, then there will be a prize pool consisting of 100 x £10, equating to £1,000. This does not necessarily mean that the winner at the top of the leader board will get all of that £1,000 pot. Instead, that may be split between the top three finishers or something similar. And sometimes, that money can be broken down between 10s of players, meaning that the overall leader of the board could only receive £500 and the rest is split between the 9 players ranking behind him or her.

Sometimes, it’s not specifically money that you can win from entering slots tournaments, either. Casinos will sometimes provide free spins to you if you’re the winner or no deposit bonuses to your account.

Betfair, for example, has its own set of slots tournaments, and all of them provide free spins to the winner, and these can only be used on the slot game that the tournament focuses on, too. Essentially, each tournament has a limited number of spins available and once you have completed those, you will receive no further points. All tournaments are timed at a around 20 minutes or until the 250 spins have been used.

Other casinos go even further with the prizes that are available, offering rewards like free meals or drinks, free getaways in top-quality hotels and so on. And even if you don’t win a prize, then you will usually be provided with more credits during a slot tournament than the cost that the entry fee provides otherwise.

The Secret To Playing Slot Tournaments

strategic shiftVideo slot games are, as many people will know, not releases that can really be strategized over. A spin of a slot game is completely down to luck, which is why they have random number generators (RNGs) included in their mechanics. When a win hits is random. When a loss hits is random. When a jackpot hits is random. And so on.

Of course, there are certain things that you can do when engaging in slot tournaments to better your gameplay. The first of these strategies is to ensure that you make the most out of the time limit given. If you only have 20 minutes within which to play the slot with the credits provided, then you need to try and ensure you use all of the spins within that timeframe. Therefore, it is ideal to go through spin after spin after spin in rapid succession. The outcome will be the same regardless of whether you take a spin every 30 seconds or every 3 seconds. You could even make proper use of a slot machine’s auto-spin function.

Try using the maximum bet function, because this is usually changeable within a game. Make sure you’re playing the maximum stake, because the higher your stake, the higher your potential return from a slot. Naturally, winning a tournament requires you to win as much as you can from playing the game. And at the same time, if the slot game has variable active slot paylines, it is ideal to always play them at the maximum number.

And one final piece of advice that we have for you is to try not to celebrate the big wins too much. If you hit a special feature round and get huge payouts, there is little point in jumping around the room screaming, because you’re still playing within a time limit. Celebrate once the tournament has come to an end instead.

Different Types of Popular Slot Tournaments

tournament slot game examples

Slot tournaments have undoubtedly grown in popularity, and more people today enter them than ever before. But there are different types of these tournaments to get to know about, just so you can look out for them when you access an online casino. Therefore, you will be able to choose the slot tournament format that is suitable for you.

Scheduled Slot Tournaments

You’ll see that these are the most common type of slot tournament with the more casinos that you visit. These all have pre-set times and dates, and they can last for varying periods of time from 20 minutes and upwards into two or three hours or several days/weeks.

Sit-and-Go Slot Tournaments

Drawing in smaller crowds of players, sit-and-go tournaments allow you to have an excellent experience without putting too much into a game. Prize pools in these tournaments will generally be lower than in others, because the competition does not last as long as them. In fact, sit-and-goes will frequently only last a few minutes.

Buy-In Tournaments

Unlike some other slot tournaments, you will always need to pay a fee to access a buy-in slot tournament. It is usually a small entry fee, and if you have ever played poker before, then you will recognise this entry fee as being quite similar. Costs for entering these tournaments can differ dramatically, with some only charging £1 and others requiring higher fees of £100 or so to engage in.

Survival Slot Tournaments

Catering primarily to those players who consider themselves highly competitive, survival slot tournaments feature a small set of rounds. Each of these rounds ends with the tournament cutting out the worst-ranked players from the leader board. To win a survival slot tournament, you need to make it through to the final round, and unlike some poker tournaments, you cannot rebuy your way into it.

Freeroll Slot Tournaments

These tournaments may be harder to find online, but they remain exceptionally popular because they can be quite lucrative. How? Because they’re free for players to enter and can provide a large payout if you finish at the top of the leader board. All you need to do is find a casino that provides freeroll tournaments and enter it. Then show up when it’s time for it to start and play as normal.

Slot Tournament Rules

While it is true to say that each different online casino will have its own set of rules when it comes to the slot tournaments that it provides, there are some general basics to always follow. They are:

Make Sure you Read the Terms and Conditions

If you aren’t informed on the terms and conditions of a slot tournament, then you’re outrightly asking for trouble. These rules explain the restrictions, the qualifications and the necessities you need to undertake when entering the casino’s tournament. Really, they’re not difficult to read and understand, and doing so could see you being on the winning end of things rather than the losing side.

Only Utilise the Credits Provided

The casino will provide you with the necessary credits for playing the slot game in question. A certain number of these will be given to you when you enter it, and if you are found to be topping up your number of credits for the game in order to try and improve your chances of winning, you will likely be disqualified from the competition.

Only Play the Slot in the Set Time Limit

You will be provided with the timeframe within which you must access the slot in question. Any gameplay on it outside of that will not qualify towards your tournament ranking.

Make Sure You Use All the Credits

While not specifically being a rule, it’s more so a rehash of the strategy mentioned earlier. Not using all the credits provided to you by the casino is a little detrimental to your intention of winning the tournament. And the credit cannot be used once the tournament timeframe has come to an end.

Wait for the Result to Be Recorded by Judges

Once the slot tournament has come to an end, judges will record each of the participants’ results. If you leave the tournament prior to this happening, they may skip past you and you definitely won’t win anything in this case.

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