Today’s post will go in a slightly different direction. We’ve talked about progressives on games like Quick Hit and when you need to max bet to ensure you’re eligible to win them. But there are plenty of games where you don’t need to max bet to win a progressive. In fact, there’s been a lot of games in the past few years where you can low roll and win – and those pictures and videos are popping up all over the place!
So if you’re a low roller and are hoping to land a giant jackpot, even if it may be a challenge to make it happen, here’s some suggestions of games you can play, and what you need to know. If we’ve done a more in depth piece on a given game it’ll be linked here.
Big Progressive Chance While Low-Rolling with Small Bets:
- Mighty Cash – You can min bet with the lowest Mighty Cash setting on many of the Mighty Cash variants and still be eligible for any progressive. Some don’t let you control the Mighty Cash bet, so you’ll have to bet higher, but you can still win any progressive.
- Dancing Drums/Double Blessings/88 Fortunes/5 Treasures/other Duo Fu Duo Cai series games – 88 cents (5 gold symbols) bets are the minimum required to have a chance at the Grand jackpot. You could opt for 68 cents (4 gold symbols) if you wish to only play for the Major and not the Grand). The progressive, once triggered, is predetermined.
- Lightning Link/Dragon Link – as low as 50 cents, since all balls are available at all bet levels (just less likely to hit at lower bets). Filling the screen at any bet will automatically trigger the Grand jackpot. The Grand and Major progressives can also be triggered randomly, albeit a rare situation.
- Lock it Link – All progressives can be available at low bet levels, just with a lower likelihood than higher bets within a denomination. You must get the progressive at the point of triggering Lock It Link to win it, though – they do not show up anywhere else.
- Ultimate Fire Link – Balls with words (progressives) are available at all bet levels but the progressives can be proportional on those depending on denomination, so similar to other games the bet size will impact the odds of getting a progressive. This is not a predetermined bonus, unless you’re playing the theme in a non-RNG scenario like on New York Video Gaming Machines, where the theme is now available to play.
- Fu Dao Le and its sequels/spin-offs – You can get into the progressive screen on any bet, but like the Dancing Drums, etc. set of games you have higher chances of entering it at higher bet. Once in, you can win any progressive. Like the Dancing Drums set, while you’re picking symbols, it’s a predetermined outcome.
- Money Galaxy – The Konami game has its own twist on the Link mechanic, with three tiers of screens to clear to land the big jackpot – but there’s plenty of money to win if you fall short! You can win at any denomination or bet.
- Spin it Grand – This Aristocrat offering follows the Lightning Link model pretty closely but just with the determination of what won handled a bit differently. But landing all of the fireballs during a Spin it Grand bonus will trigger a jackpot, and like Lightning Link is available at any bet.
- Star Watch – This is another Konami offering that has the ability to grab the top progressive on any spin. You can technically win at any bet level, but to have the most chances at spins you need to be betting $2, which is higher than most games on this list, and why this falls last.
This isn’t meant to be a complete list, but a relatively comprehensive one. We will update this post and add to the games as we discover them.
Land the Grand at a Low Bet Videos
Slot Queen captured a player while she was recording at a casino where they won over a $19,000 Grand Lightning Link jackpot on a 50 cent bet:
You can also check out this Slot Moments post featuring minimum bet Grand Jackpots!
Do you see a game missing from this list? Share in the comments!
I hit the grand on dancing drums @ pechanga on a 3x bet. But I feel like it’s rigged nonetheless. I just swipe my hand in a random zig and get on with it.
I feel it’s rigged though because 1 time I picked all 8 coins so the next coin would determine the jackpot. Clear as day i picked as coin to the far left but the screen glitched and the coin that flipped was the 2nd from left. Mini jackpot. Luckily the cameras were directly on the machine and they played back and saw me click the other coin. So I fought with the floor manager, arguing that my selection was bull. The machine glitch meant that if it’s not predetermined, I should have gotten anything but the mini.
I told them like this, if it’s not rigged then I should be awarded the major jackpot which was at 1400 or something. Because the mini is shown, and they can’t go back and show what the coin I selected was (because it’s rigged) so take demand they take off the minor and the grand for the interest of fairness and award me the major. I got 250 free play and 200 cash and that’s all. But for sure the gold coin potluck China town games are all rigged to payout the mini for sure so do not be that person taking 2to5 mins picking the coins. Just swype the screen on a swift motion and get back to the spinning
This comment was edited by the site’s editor to remove language but ensured accuracy/clarity of the comment remained.
Hi Shaaf – the thing to keep in mind is bonuses like the Dancing Drums jackpots are predetermined – the machine goes into the coin selection knowing what it’s going to pay you. The outcomes are weighted (you’re not going to win the Grand at the same frequency as the Mini). You know it’s predetermined because it doesn’t show you what’s under the other coins.
As such, it’s not rigged – the game is simply designed in a certain way. There are certainly games with fair pick (non-predetermined) bonuses, and they’ll show you what the values of the non-picked options are. Rigged presumes the game doesn’t pay what it promises, but the game is designed to pay back a certain amount over time, and part of that is how often each jackpot can be won.
My Husband won $2500.00 on buffalo Gold on $0.60. First or second spin, first time playing it. We’ve been a fan of the game ever since. LOL
That’s amazing! That game has such potential and when it lines up, it’s brilliant!
Do you have the RTP on physical slot machines?
I do not. Most games have around a half dozen RTP options and they’re generally not publicly posted – at most a range will be listed which tends to be similar per game.