Prior to deciding to walk-in or login to your favorite casino you should have already determined what it's you want to achieve. Common goals of slot playing include making a particular total amount, having the best time or a combination of the two.
If your goal happens to be winnings, get a reasonable number in mind and stick to it. Say you bring $300 to wager at your favorite machines, a reasonable goal will be to walk out with $360; A 20% return is great, especially if you enjoy yourself while doing it. As soon as you reach the goal you set, get up. You have won.
Casinos are venues designed for entertainment, so going to a casino, online or otherwise, with a set dollar amount to spend in order to have fun for a while is a wise decision. Again, make the goal specific. If you want to spend three hours playing, pace yourself. Don't choose a machine out of your price range. As soon as you reach the established time, leave. In the event that you are up or still have money left, perfect, the evening worked out better than you planned!
Understand the guidelines
The first two goals will be the guidelines set before play, but in order to maximize your payout you must pay attention to the game you are playing. Know how many coins or credits has to be played to hit the jackpot. As you might imagine, when you finally nail the correct combination for the big win, missing the payout because you didn't play enough credits is a highly unsavory situation to search out yourself in (this certainly will additionally be considered when picking a machine and pacing yourself). So read the instructions.