When you play a slot machine, you get paid when matching symbols line up on active win lines. In a progressive jackpot game, those winning combinations can also earn you a special jackpot prize. Winning these prizes requires a little luck, but the odds of hitting a progressive jackpot are much higher than that of winning a standard prize from a fixed RTP slot game.

You’ll find a progressive jackpot in most slot games, although they won’t all have one. Some progressive jackpots are part of a wider network, while others are specific to one game. The larger jackpots are the ones that are shared across many different machines. These are called wide-area or jackpot network progressives, and they’re capable of growing to astronomical amounts because so many people play them.

The jackpot on a progressive slot will usually increase by a small amount with every spin. The amount is usually displayed in real-time so players can see how the prize is growing. This small share is the player contribution, and it’s what helps make a progressive jackpot so huge. The casino (or house) takes the expected profit on a spin, and then adds a tiny percentage of each wager to the jackpot total. It’s not unusual for a jackpot to exceed $1 million on a big game, such as the Mega Fortune slot from IGT.

There are some myths about how to win a progressive jackpot, but the truth is that it’s just as difficult to hit one of these prizes as winning any other type of slot prize. In fact, there’s no silver bullet that will improve your chances of winning a jackpot, but you can try some methods to increase your odds of triggering the hardest objectives, like landing on a single space in a jackpot wheel or beating a bonus game.

Another common myth is that you’re more likely to win a progressive jackpot when the prize is ‘due’. It’s true that the prize is more likely to be won when it hasn’t been claimed for a long time, but there are a lot of factors at play in a slot’s probability of paying out.

Some of the biggest jackpots in the world are tied to slots that are connected to a network of online casinos and physical brick-and-mortar venues. This means that millions of players are contributing to the prize with every spin of the game, and some of them will be lucky enough to trigger the bonus feature that can lead to the top prize.

Depending on how the jackpot game is configured, it may offer two or more ways to win the prize. You can either opt for a lump sum payout or a lifetime payment, which will be paid out annually over a 25- to 30-year period. Most casinos will display these options clearly in the rules section of the game. Some will even show you the total payout over time on their home page, so you can compare the different options and pick the right one for your needs.