Must-Hit-BySlotMachines
Must-hit-by slot machines are progressive jackpots with a hard ceiling — the number cannot pass a stated maximum without forcing the jackpot to award. The closer the counter climbs to that ceiling, the lower the expected cost to lock in the prize. Because the math is bounded on both sides, must-hit-by progressives are the cleanest, most analyzable form of advantage play on a casino floor and the natural starting point for new advantage players learning to read counters.
Mechanics
How must-hit-by machines work
Every must-hit-by progressive ships with two published numbers: a floor (the reset value) and a ceiling (the must-hit-by amount). On every wager, a small percentage of coin-in is added to the counter. The number rises until a randomly chosen trigger value within the floor-to-ceiling band is crossed, at which point the jackpot pays out and resets to the floor. Crucially, the trigger value cannot exceed the ceiling — if play continues to push the number higher, the jackpot is forced to fire before the cap. For example, a $100-must-hit-by-$500 progressive will always pay out before the number can reach $500.01. Advantage players use the gap between the current number and the ceiling to estimate worst-case spend.
