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]
