What’s the secret to winning online slot machines? The short answer? There isn’t one. You pick how many lines you want to play. You select a wager for each line. Then, you spin. The random number generator takes care of the rest. Right?

Indeed, part of the fun and simplicity of this popular way to gamble is that anybody can do it. There are no odds to memorize. There’s no hand selection, complex wagers or late surrender. There are no fellow casino players gumming up the works. In fact, your cat walking across the keyboard and inadvertently hitting “spin” has just as much chance of winning the jackpot as you do.

While all of the above is true, there is still some ephemeral magic in having confidence that only comes from knowing what you are doing. It’s an attitude thing. When you feel sure of yourself you feel like a winner. Although you can’t escape the randomness of slot machines, you can still look for a good deal and an edge.

These two tips that will put some swagger in your step the next time you head to your computer desk to sit and spin.

1. Spin for Free

That’s right. One way online casinos entice new customers to let them into their living rooms or on their smartphones is to offer free spins on specific games without a deposit bonus. There are a couple caveats, however, as with most things that are free.

First, you need to find these deals. Online casinos are not in the business of giving out free chances to win their real money. They want you to make a deposit. So, you will need to go on an honest to goodness “treasure hunt” if you want to track these offers down. But, it’s worth it if you get 10, 20 or even 200 spins that yield real cash.

Second, you need to read the fine print of a no-deposit bonus. That’s because, although there is no deposit needed to win money, there may be a deposit or wager requirement to cash it out. Not unlike the 100 percent deposit match offers that you see everywhere, there can be complex schedules of when you can get your hands on it. So, even when something is free at an online casino, remember what Mike said in the gambling movie Rounders: “Caveat emptor, pal.” (that is “buyer beware.)

2. Look for a High RTP

RTP stands for “return to player.” This refers to the number of coins returned to the player over time. For example, let’s look at a game that lists an RTP of 95. This means for every 100 coins wagered, 95 will be returned to the player. The remaining five coins is the casino’s margin, or vig.

But as an aside, don’t get this statistic twisted! Many people have faulty logic when it comes to justifying gambling. It does not mean that you only stand to lose a nickel of every dollar you gamble with. It means to infinity, this game will only withhold 5 percent of every dollar. So you, and myriad other gamblers may lose it all on a particular machine, while others double their money, while some other lucky lady hits the seven-figure progressive you were all paying into and hoping to win.

But, back to RTP. Some developers list the RTP for a particular online game right in the pay table. Always look at the pay table before you play. Even if the RTP is not listed, you at least know the way the machine pays. Whether you need to have a max bet to win the progressive or how many lines are on the board (new games have up to a whopping 1,024) is information you need to have to play effectively.

Basically, you are looking for those games that have a 95 RTP. Playing anything lower than, say a 91, is simply bankroll suicide.

Here is where you need to show some discipline and hunt around for your best deal, as opposed to just picking a machine that has a movie theme you like or a lively video bonus you get a kick out of. If you want bells and whistles, play an app for free. If you like the taglines of the movie so much, watch it again on Netflix. We are looking for wins here.