diff --git a/core/src/rpc_subscriptions.rs b/core/src/rpc_subscriptions.rs
index 42dccbf3e1..ad7368f3a9 100644
--- a/core/src/rpc_subscriptions.rs
+++ b/core/src/rpc_subscriptions.rs
@@ -159,8 +159,11 @@ where
             let root = if root.len() == 1 { root[0] } else { 0 };
             if desired_slot.len() == 1 {
                 let slot = desired_slot[0];
-                let desired_bank = bank_forks.read().unwrap().get(slot).unwrap().clone();
-                let results = bank_method(&desired_bank, hashmap_key);
+                let results = {
+                    let bank_forks = bank_forks.read().unwrap();
+                    let desired_bank = bank_forks.get(slot).unwrap();
+                    bank_method(&desired_bank, hashmap_key)
+                };
                 for result in filter_results(results, root) {
                     notifier.notify(
                         Response {
diff --git a/core/tests/rpc.rs b/core/tests/rpc.rs
index ec5b907513..8dd6d8d01b 100644
--- a/core/tests/rpc.rs
+++ b/core/tests/rpc.rs
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ use solana_sdk::{
     commitment_config::CommitmentConfig,
     hash::Hash,
     pubkey::Pubkey,
+    signature::Signer,
     system_transaction,
     transaction::{self, Transaction},
 };
@@ -24,7 +25,6 @@ use std::{
     fs::remove_dir_all,
     net::UdpSocket,
     sync::mpsc::channel,
-    sync::{Arc, Mutex},
     thread::sleep,
     time::{Duration, Instant},
 };
@@ -210,9 +210,11 @@ fn test_rpc_subscriptions() {
         ..
     } = TestValidator::run();
 
-    // Create transaction signatures to subscribe to
     let transactions_socket = UdpSocket::bind("0.0.0.0:0").unwrap();
-    let transactions: Vec<Transaction> = (0..100)
+    transactions_socket.connect(leader_data.tpu).unwrap();
+
+    // Create transaction signatures to subscribe to
+    let transactions: Vec<Transaction> = (0..1000)
         .map(|_| system_transaction::transfer(&alice, &Pubkey::new_rand(), 1, genesis_hash))
         .collect();
     let mut signature_set: HashSet<String> = transactions
@@ -220,15 +222,15 @@ fn test_rpc_subscriptions() {
         .map(|tx| tx.signatures[0].to_string())
         .collect();
 
+    // Track when subscriptions are ready
+    let (ready_sender, ready_receiver) = channel::<()>();
+    // Track when status notifications are received
+    let (status_sender, status_receiver) = channel::<(String, Response<transaction::Result<()>>)>();
+
     // Create the pub sub runtime
     let mut rt = Runtime::new().unwrap();
     let rpc_pubsub_url = format!("ws://{}/", leader_data.rpc_pubsub);
 
-    let (status_sender, status_receiver) = channel::<(String, Response<transaction::Result<()>>)>();
-    let status_sender = Arc::new(Mutex::new(status_sender));
-    let (sent_sender, sent_receiver) = channel::<()>();
-    let sent_sender = Arc::new(Mutex::new(sent_sender));
-
     // Subscribe to all signatures
     rt.spawn({
         let connect = ws::try_connect::<PubsubClient>(&rpc_pubsub_url).unwrap();
@@ -237,18 +239,12 @@ fn test_rpc_subscriptions() {
             .and_then(move |client| {
                 for sig in signature_set {
                     let status_sender = status_sender.clone();
-                    let sent_sender = sent_sender.clone();
                     tokio::spawn(
                         client
                             .signature_subscribe(sig.clone(), None)
                             .and_then(move |sig_stream| {
-                                sent_sender.lock().unwrap().send(()).unwrap();
                                 sig_stream.for_each(move |result| {
-                                    status_sender
-                                        .lock()
-                                        .unwrap()
-                                        .send((sig.clone(), result))
-                                        .unwrap();
+                                    status_sender.send((sig.clone(), result)).unwrap();
                                     future::ok(())
                                 })
                             })
@@ -257,37 +253,50 @@ fn test_rpc_subscriptions() {
                             }),
                     );
                 }
+                tokio::spawn(
+                    client
+                        .slot_subscribe()
+                        .and_then(move |slot_stream| {
+                            slot_stream.for_each(move |_| {
+                                ready_sender.send(()).unwrap();
+                                future::ok(())
+                            })
+                        })
+                        .map_err(|err| {
+                            eprintln!("slot sub err: {:#?}", err);
+                        }),
+                );
                 future::ok(())
             })
             .map_err(|_| ())
     });
 
     // Wait for signature subscriptions
-    let deadline = Instant::now() + Duration::from_secs(2);
-    (0..transactions.len()).for_each(|_| {
-        sent_receiver
-            .recv_timeout(deadline.saturating_duration_since(Instant::now()))
-            .unwrap();
-    });
+    ready_receiver.recv_timeout(Duration::from_secs(2)).unwrap();
 
     let rpc_client = RpcClient::new_socket(leader_data.rpc);
-    let mut transaction_count = rpc_client
-        .get_transaction_count_with_commitment(CommitmentConfig::recent())
-        .unwrap();
+    let mut mint_balance = rpc_client
+        .get_balance_with_commitment(&alice.pubkey(), CommitmentConfig::recent())
+        .unwrap()
+        .value;
+    assert!(mint_balance >= transactions.len() as u64);
 
     // Send all transactions to tpu socket for processing
     transactions.iter().for_each(|tx| {
         transactions_socket
-            .send_to(&bincode::serialize(&tx).unwrap(), leader_data.tpu)
+            .send(&bincode::serialize(&tx).unwrap())
             .unwrap();
     });
+
+    // Track mint balance to know when transactions have completed
     let now = Instant::now();
-    let expected_transaction_count = transaction_count + transactions.len() as u64;
-    while transaction_count < expected_transaction_count && now.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5) {
-        transaction_count = rpc_client
-            .get_transaction_count_with_commitment(CommitmentConfig::recent())
-            .unwrap();
-        sleep(Duration::from_millis(200));
+    let expected_mint_balance = mint_balance - transactions.len() as u64;
+    while mint_balance != expected_mint_balance && now.elapsed() < Duration::from_secs(5) {
+        mint_balance = rpc_client
+            .get_balance_with_commitment(&alice.pubkey(), CommitmentConfig::recent())
+            .unwrap()
+            .value;
+        sleep(Duration::from_millis(100));
     }
 
     // Wait for all signature subscriptions
@@ -300,12 +309,12 @@ fn test_rpc_subscriptions() {
                 assert!(signature_set.remove(&sig));
             }
             Err(_err) => {
-                eprintln!(
+                assert!(
+                    false,
                     "recv_timeout, {}/{} signatures remaining",
                     signature_set.len(),
                     transactions.len()
                 );
-                assert!(false)
             }
         }
     }