When you play slot, you are placing your money on a random number generator (RNG) which runs through thousands of numbers each second until it stops at the one that correlates to a specific symbol. This means that there is an equal chance of winning a jackpot as there is of losing your money. This type of behavior is called uniform distribution.
Luckily, there are some things you can do to help you maximize your chances of winning. For starters, learn as much as you can about the game you are playing and how it works. This will allow you to size your bets correctly compared to your bankroll. Then you can also choose which slots to play and avoid the least profitable ones.
You may also want to look into what each slot machine’s variance is. This is how often you are likely to win and the size of those wins. Choosing a low volatility slot will increase your odds of winning while a high variance machine will have lower odds but pay out larger amounts when you do win.
You will find all of this information in the pay table which is a list of all possible payouts based on the symbols and their combinations. You will also see how much you can wager and how to trigger any bonus features the game may have. Some of these tables are visual and in bright colours to make them easier to read.