Being a winning slot machine player is possible. But all slot machines are designed specifically so that you can provide the house a long term edge, so the home will come out ahead if you play long enough. The only real way to counteract the house edge on slot machine games is to play a game with a really big jackpot, bet the max every time you play, and hope that you hit the jackpot. Then whenever you do hit the really big jackpot, guess what you need to do next? Stop playing that game.
Don't get me wrong. I'm not proclaiming that you shouldn't play slot machines. The truth is, I think slot games, especially the good ones, are a lot of fun. But you want to keep in the forefront of your mind that mathematically, what you are doing when you're playing a slot machine on a long-term basis is paying for entertainment. You may calculate how much you are paying for that entertainment by multiplying the house edge times your average bet times your number of spins per hour.
One example is in case you are playing a slot game with a payout of 95%, then the home edge is 5%. (The casino keeps 5% of every bet you make long term.) And if you are average bet is $3, then you're going to pay an average of 15 cents per spin to the house. (5% times $3.) Assuming you are making 500 spins hourly, that game costs you $75/hour to play, which may or may not be a reasonable price for you entertainment. That relies upon your bankroll.
Another thing to factor into your calculation is simply how much the perks and bonuses you're getting back from the casino are worth. For anyone who is playing in a land-based casino where you are getting free drinks while you play, in which case you can subtract the expense of those drinks from you are hourly cost. (Or you can add the expense of those drinks to the value of the entertainment you are receiving--it's just a matter of perspective.) My recommendation is to drink top-shelf liquor and premium beers to be able to maximize the entertainment value you're receiving. A Heineken can cost $4 a bottle in a good restaurant. Drink two Heinekens an hour, and you've just lowered what it costs you to play each hour from $75 to $68.
Slot clubs also give back a portion of your losses each hour, so definitely be sure you join the casino's
quality online slot gambling club and ALWAYS use your card to track your play. There is absolutely no reason not to do this. Casinos also reward their larger slot players with comps like meals, show tickets, and free rooms, which all add up to reduce the total amount of money you are spending each hour that you're playing on their machine.
So how to be a winning slot machine player? I'd sum it up by saying know just how much it's costing you to play each spin and each hour, make use of all the comps and also the perks, and go for the big progressive jackpot.