Monopoly is a game that requires both luck and skill, your next move largely dependent on the roll of a die. However, I can give you a few pointers that might just help you win Monopoly, provided Lady Luck is also willing to lend a helping hand.
The absolute key to Monopoly success is to build a large collection of properties that your opponents will stay and pay at as they roll around the board as well as stopping your opponents from having too much property at the same time, to save your own pennies. To learn how to do this, as well as some finer details, read on.
1) Buy as much property as you can!
In the early rounds of the game you should buy as much property as you can, buy everything you land on! It is true that you don't really make a lot of money from people landing on your property until you own a whole street. However don't let this stop you buying property. Even though you may have no other properties of a particular colour, someone else might. This opens the prospect of trade, and as one property may be more valuable to someone else then to you, you can sell it at an inflated price. For example, you can buy a property for $200 but then sell it later for an inflated price of $1000, therefore giving you a profit of $800 to spend on houses and/or more property.
2) Keep a money buffer
Okay, I lied. I said buy as much property as you can. However, what I mean is buy as much property as you can, within reason. At the start of the game put some money aside that you promise to yourself that you won't spend until you have a whole street. Anywhere from $200-500 is fine. This way when you do have a street you can actually afford to buy houses straight away. This means you make money straight away, getting ahead of everyone else. Aim to build three houses as quick as you can, as there is quite a big jump in profit in between having two or three houses on your block. For example, rent on a particular property jumps from $300 to $750 with the addition of just one house.
3) Learn when to stay in jail and when you get your bum out of there!
When you are starting the game, jail is a bad thing. Get on your best behaviour, volunteer in the jail's food court', just do whatever you can to get out of there! Normally this means forking over $50 to get out of jail, although you can give rolling doubles' a shot if your particularly lucky. You should get out of there because while your bumming around in jail others are cruising around the board snapping up lucrative property! However if you're lucky enough to get sent to jail in the later stages of game stay there! Don't pay the money to get back out there, as just around the corner there will be a Monopoly of properties owned by others that will steal money off you. You should stay in jail as long as you can, reaping in money from others who land on your properties, yet avoiding their properties. Just try not to roll a double!
4) Learn the best sets of properties to buy
All properties are valuable in the game of Monopoly; however, they are not created equal. Some properties have higher pay-offs (however cost more money to buy). You should aim to own a few streets of these ones. However don't neglect the cheaper ones. They'll still earn you a good few dollars. The best sets of properties to buy are those that follow the Jail 6-8 squares later. This is because a lot of people end up rolling from Jail (after just escaping from it), and that probability shows that rolls of 6 - 8 will be popular rolls. If you can gain this set of properties, you may be able to make a lot of money due to the fact that a lot of people will land on them.
5) Improve your negotiation skills.
Your negotiation skills are the absolute key to winning Monopoly! It is very unlikely that by luck you will end up with an entire set of streets by just landing on them. You will have to bargain them off other people. It is best to try and obtain a set of a particular color before you have two of them, because when you have two of them people will try to sell you a third at a very high, inflated price. However, once you have 2 of 3 you should pay the very high price for the third property. Once you put hotels on your set of streets your money will be almost guaranteed to come back to you. On the other hand, try not to sell a third property to any other player at any cost! The only time at which you might consider this if they are offering you a property that would complete your set.
While utilizing these tips, you may just become the winner of your Monopoly game. However, just remember that lady luck must also be on your side (otherwise try tampered dice) so that you land on the right squares. So go on, practice makes perfect! Go out there and shock your evil opponents with your new Monopoly skills.