I have actually found in live play that if you play the minimum a few spins and then up the bet here and there when you start hitting you will hit more often. Play half max every so often and when you drop the bet again you'll get a few good ones. Live machines are programmed by law for a certain percentage of payout - and that is calculated by number of spins. So play mostly the minimum until it starts to run with you and then up the bet. Playing the max just means you lose more overall. Spin more - don't bet more is the key to winning.

I haven't yet figured out if that hold true for online slots - anyone see patterns?