Slot Questions for Slot Gurus

I don't play many slots in Vegas. When I do, I'm looking for a life-changing experience so I throw a $20 into a high-payoff, low-odds machine such as Wheel of Fortune or Megabucks. I know how these machines work. I do like to be entertained a bit (the Wheel) and my $20 can usually last a number of minutes. Dumping $25 on one spin at a $25 machine wouldn't provide me much satisfaction unless I won. The penny and nickel machines always look like people are having fun, so my question is about those....

I approach a machine (say Wizard of Oz, although my example details and valuation may be off) and it says the jackpot is $1.2 million. The game has 20 lines and you can bet from 1 to 20 per bet. 20 lines X 20 per bet would be $4.00. When it says I have to play MAX BET, do I have to bet the whole $4.00?

I've also seen this worded differently: "....with max lines played....". Would that change things? Which are most common?

Finally, if I played these and hit a high pay screen and I had bet only 1 per line, would I win anything of great value, or would it be $20 or so? In other words, even if I can't make a life-changing win, can I at least win something substantial, say $500, betting only 40 cents per pull?

Thanks.

It depends on the machine. For certain progressive machines, one needs to play max bet to win the progressive. I'm pretty sure Wizard of Oz is one of those. Is it possible to have a $500 bonus win while betting 2 or 3 credits per line, 40 or 60 cents? Yes. Does it happen very often? No.

Other machines like "Beat the Field," one needs to play the extra bet in order to win the progressive. Other machines like the penny train or Temple of ___, one can win the progressive with the minimum bet, usually 20 or 30 cents depending on the machine. I usually play 2 or 3 credits per line with occassionally changing my bet, sometimes higher, sometimes lower.

I watch people playing these progressive slots and not playing max. coins and feel very sad for them. Just think of all the money these machines take in that must go toward the progressive jackpot, and with no chance of hitting the progressive, you are reducing your already lousy odds even more. It's very smart to stay away from them unless you're playing max. Of course, it's even wiser to stay away from slot machines altogether, but that's not easy for alot of us to do. I play vp and play some occasional blackjack, but I must confess that I have to take the plunge once in a while and sacrifice a few bucks in slot machines.

Always "Bet Max" to win that top jackpot.

Take a few $20s into high limits and do some hit-and-run. put a 20 in a normal $5 slot with no bonus round and bet 1 credit, you can sometimes win some goodies. Also look for the $5 Wheel of Fortune, do the max bet (2 credits) and hope you get the wheel bonus.

Not all slots require one to play max to win the progressive.