Gambling prize that increases until won
A progressive jackpot is a jackpot (a gambling
grand prize or payout) which increases each💳 time the game is played but the jackpot is
not won. When the progressive jackpot is won, the jackpot for💳 the next play is reset to
a predetermined value, and resumes increasing under the same rule.
Many slot machines
and video💳 poker machines feature a progressive jackpot. The jackpot increases by a
small predetermined amount each time the game is played.💳 Often multiple machines are
pooled or linked together to form a larger progressive jackpot which grows more quickly
because more💳 non-winning plays can be counted toward it.
Many lotteries feature
progressive jackpots. After each drawing in which the jackpot is not💳 won, a large
amount of money is "carried forward" to the jackpot for next drawing. Various
television game shows have💳 also featured progressive jackpots.
History [ edit
]
Progressive jackpots were first introduced in large casinos in 1986. The first
progressive slot💳 machine was Megabucks, developed by International Game Technology
(IGT). Every time a player participated in the jackpot but did not💳 hit it, a part of
the winnings was accumulated to the main jackpot, growing without limit. On February 1,
1987,💳 a player won the first progressive jackpot, which amounted to the sum
ofR$4,988,842.17.
Progressive jackpot meter [ edit ]
The amount of💳 the jackpot
increases by a small amount for every play on any connected machine. The amount by
which the jackpot💳 advances is set by the casino ("the house"). A machine offering a
progressive jackpot usually displays the amount of the💳 jackpot, rather boldly, to
attract players. After a player wins the jackpot, the jackpot resets to a preset
minimum level.
For💳 example, on a machine whose house edge is 5%, a generous jackpot
contribution might be 1% (one fifth of the💳 expected profit). The house is prepared to
contribute some of the profit of a jackpot linked machine because players are💳 attracted
by the:
relative novelty of progressive jackpots (generally, only a small fraction of
the house's gaming machines will be connected💳 to a progressive jackpot)
constantly
changing meter, often displayed on large LCD or LED displays
large amount of the
jackpot, which eventually💳 motivates more players to play the game.
Qualifying [ edit
]
Usually the progressive jackpot is only offered to players who wager💳 the maximum
number of credits per play. All wagers, whether or not they are maximum-credit bets,
contribute to the jackpot.💳 As a result, a game which requires a 10-credit wager to
qualify for the progressive jackpot tends to have its💳 progressive jackpot rise to
higher levels (relative to its break-even level) than a game that requires only a
5-credit wager💳 to qualify.
Usually the jackpot can only be won by winning the
combination with the highest payoff, e.g. a royal flush💳 at a video poker game, or five
of the most valuable symbols (lemons, cherries, alligators, etc.) on a slot
machine.
Often,💳 the displayed amount of such jackpots includes a base payout which is
often simply the regular payout for the winning💳 combination multiplied by the minimum
qualifying bet. If the jackpot is "reset" to this amount each time it is won💳 then in
essence the house is not providing any "seed money" for the jackpot since the minimum
that can be💳 won in such a case would simply be the amount the player would normally be
awarded for the jackpot-winning combination.
"Mystery"💳 or "must-hit-by" jackpots [ edit
]
A variation of the standard progressive jackpot is the "must-hit-by" jackpot, which
has substantial differences💳 compared to traditional jackpots.
The value of every
"must-hit-by" jackpot is determined immediately after the preceding jackpot is won by a
💳 random number generator and stored within an encrypted computer connected to a gaming
machine (or, more commonly, a network of💳 machines) and is publicly disclosed to be
within a certain range (for example, a small jackpot might be programmed to💳 pay out at
betweenR$1,000 andR$3,000). The jackpot pays on the wager that causes the jackpot to
reach or exceed the💳 threshold, with the maximum value within this range being the
"must-hit-by" amount.
Often such jackpots encompass a variety of games, with💳 each game
contributing a small percentage of wagers to the jackpot. Thus, these jackpots are
often billed as "mystery jackpots"💳 since the conditions that cause them to be paid do
not depend on achieving any specific result in the main💳 game. Furthermore, it is not
usually necessary to bet the maximum amount possible (or, often, to even bet any
minimal💳 amount above the minimum wager allowed by the software) in order to win a
"mystery jackpot" - although since it💳 is a percentage of each wager that goes into the
jackpot the odds of winning on a particular spin are💳 usually in proportion to the
amount of the bet. Or, to put it another way, one spin for twenty dollars💳 would have
the same odds of winning the mystery jackpot as twenty spins for one dollar each would,
and also💳 the same odds of winning the jackpot as would four hundred spins for five
cents each.
Often, such games have several💳 "mystery jackpots" that usually differ by at
least an order of magnitude both in terms of magnitude and frequency of💳 payout, which
can ensure that jackpots are seen to be won frequently (often, many times per day in
the case💳 of relatively small jackpots). One variation of this scheme (most often used
by gaming corporations serving brick-and-mortar establishments over a💳 large geographic
footprint) is to have one main jackpot, several intermediate jackpots paid at the
regional level, smaller jackpots paid💳 at the site level and/or the smallest jackpots
tied to each individual machine.
From the house perspective, a key financial
consideration💳 of such jackpots is that the portion of players' wagers directed to the
jackpot are, in essence, only funding the💳 portion of the jackpot within its specified
"range." The gaming operator needs to fund each jackpot's minimum amount from the💳 house
edge of the main game, which is usually at least a third of the "must-hit-by" amount
especially in games💳 with multiple jackpots as this creates an assurance that each
jackpot will always be several times the value of the💳 jackpot "below" it. If the random
number generator gives each value within the jackpot "range" an equal chance of being
💳 the "winning" value then under these conditions "seed money" from the house would
likely account for over half of the💳 jackpot's total funding, for which the house would
presumably need to compensate by increasing the house edge of the main💳 game.
To
counteract this issue and increase the average amount wagered before each jackpot is
won, the mathematical formula used to💳 calculate each jackpot is often skewed in such a
way that makes it likely the actual average and median jackpots💳 will be well above the
average of the published minimum and maximum values. A simple example formula that
would achieve💳 this (expanding on the aforementioned example) would be simply to
calculate the jackpot as beingR$1,000 plus the square root of💳 a random number between
zero and four million, which would result in a 75% probability of each jackpot being
betweenR$2,000💳 andR$ 50,000 and a 25% probability of a jackpot being betweenR$1,000
andR$2,000.
Break-even point [ edit ]
In some games such as💳 video poker, blackjack, or
Caribbean Stud Poker, it is possible to compute an optimal playing strategy based on
the average💳 payoff (the amount of payoff times the chance of payoff). Because the
jackpot of a progressive game constantly grows, it💳 sometimes exceeds the break-even
point for players, such that the jackpot wager becomes a "positive expectation bet" for
the player,💳 with an average return to player (RTP) of greater than 100%. When the
progressive jackpot is less than the break-even💳 point, there is a negative expected
value (house edge) for all players.
In the long run, with optimal strategy, a player
💳 can profit by only playing progressive games when their jackpots are above the
break-even point, although the "long run" can💳 be quite long, tens of thousands of
plays.
The break-even point cannot be easily calculated on a slot machine game, because
💳 the payback percentage for the game is normally unknown to the player. The break-even
point in poker-based games can be💳 calculated because the payback percentage for the
game is a function of the paybacks and odds of the poker hands,💳 which is based on a
standard 52-card deck. The return of a slot machine is based on the published paytable,
💳 but also on the normally unpublished reels. For a five-reel slot machine, the player
would need to know each symbol💳 on each of the slot machine's five reels in order to
calculate the odds. For a three-reel slot, the reels💳 are normally weighted, and this
would not be possible. However, in some circumstances the manufacturer may publish the
payout of💳 their machines.
Many online casinos allow the same game to be played in
multiple currencies, in which case the break-even point💳 and average return to player
can change depending on the player's currency choice. This is because the jackpot
amount may💳 be converted between currencies so that the same amount is paid out to the
winner no matter their currency choice,💳 but the wager required to qualify for the
jackpot is not. For example, consider a game that pays aR$1000 /💳 €900 / £700 jackpot,
but requires a fixedR$1 / €1 / £1 wager to qualify for the jackpot. In such💳 cases, it
is beneficial for the player to play in dollars, as the qualifying wager is a smaller
proportion of💳 the jackpot. Thus the break-even point will always be lower and the
return to player will always be higher while💳 betting dollars.[1]
Advantage play [ edit
]
Those who only play when the progressive jackpot provides them with a positive
expectation situation,💳 still generate revenue for the casino. Even though the player
has an advantage over the house, the casino still profits💳 from each play, because the
bulk of the progressive jackpot has been pre-paid by the prior non-winning
players.
Advantage gamblers sometimes💳 organize teams of players to play machines where
the progressive jackpots generate a positive expectation situation. Such teams often
displace💳 ordinary players, making the machines unavailable just when they are the most
attractive to gamblers generally. Team members often have💳 cell phones and work in
shifts, calling a teammate to replace them when they're ready for a break. Some casinos
💳 have a policy of "no team play", and will eject players suspected of playing on such
teams. Such tactics do💳 not work at online casinos because there are effectively an
unlimited number of duplicate machines for players to play at,💳 so the game cannot be
monopolised by one player or small group.
Player's clubs [ edit ]
Most casinos offer
slot clubs,💳 which pay back a percentage of a gambler's wagers on their games in the
form of cash rebates or other💳 perks with a monetary value. Participating in a slot club
can reduce the break-even point of a progressive jackpot game💳 because of the value of
the rebate on each wager.
Other jackpot games [ edit ]
Progressive jackpots are not
limited to💳 slot machines and video poker. Poker games sometimes include a progressive
bad beat jackpot. Caribbean stud poker is another casino💳 game which often has a
progressive jackpot available, and some online casinos offer progressive versions of
blackjack, roulette, and other💳 casino games. Many lotteries feature progressive
jackpots.
Progressive blackjack [ edit ]
A progressive blackjack game usually does not
differ from conventional💳 blackjack, apart from the addition of an optional side bet
which gives the player a chance to win a progressive💳 jackpot. The side bet wins if the
player is dealt one of several specific card combinations such as four suited💳 aces. The
awards can range from several dollars up to 100% of the jackpot depending on the
different card combinations,💳 and the winning hand paytable can differ between
casinos.[2]
