Initially, the slots were very primitive, similar to some of the classic models that are available today. But over time, the situation has changed. Now it is no longer three reels, one row and a couple of buttons. Playing slot machines has become much more fun due to the fact that additional features and capabilities have appeared. In this article, you will learn how to play slots in a casino correctly.
There is no place for strategies when playing slots. This is not the kind of entertainment in which you can in any way influence the result, which means that strategies are useless. Strategy is just part of the fun, nothing more. You will not need different lessons on how to play casino slots correctly. Everything is extremely simple, because you are testing your luck, and not earning. The player chooses a bet and presses the start, the rest is in the hands of luck.
When you encounter online slots for the first time, it may seem a little confusing to you. But the beauty of these games is that you don't even need to know exactly what this or that function or some special symbol means. As soon as the reels stop, the slot will show you whether you have won or not. And over time, understanding the terms and different definitions will come by itself.
Please note that in general, players receive less in winnings than they spend on bets. Little by little, players can always win in slots, but it takes a lot of luck to win a decent amount.
To do this, we will analyze the main elements of the slot machine.
Symbols are pictures that rotate vertically. Each symbol has its own value. As a rule, the less often you see a picture, the larger payouts it offers.
Bet Lines is a template for how winning combinations should line up on the reels. Although there are some slots that do not have traditional betting lines. For example, Aloha! Cluster Pays, Finn and the Swirly Spin by NetEnt or Cloud Quest and Viking Runecraft by Play'n GO.
As a rule, it is required that the same symbols line up on adjacent reels from left to right.
Drums - a series of vertically rotating symbols. When the reels stop, random symbols appear on the screen. Classic slots usually have 3 reels, while most modern ones have 5.
Spin/Start Button - click on it to spin the reels. The Autospin button allows you to automatically spin the reels a certain number of times or until the player loses / wins a certain amount, or the bonus game starts.
There are also coin price and bet level selection buttons. Due to them, you control what your bet will be on each spin.
Paytable - explains the details of the game, how to place bets in this casino slot, what winnings can be, how they are paid, bonuses, betting lines and more.
To win, you need the same symbols to stop on the reels in a certain order. Not necessarily the entire line must be filled with the same characters. Usually three identical pictures are enough to get the minimum prize. However, in this case, the gain will be less.
Wins from left to right. This means that you win by collecting the same symbols in a line from left to right. There are many slots with such winning lines, for example: Hotline
Winnings in both directions - both from left to right and from right to left. This means that you can win by collecting the same symbols in a row on the left and right. A slot with this type: Wonky Wabbits
For a long time, the number of lines ranged from 20 to 50. But in 2011, Immortal Romance appeared, the first slot with 243 winning combinations without the requirement that the symbols line up in a certain order.
Thanks to this breakthrough, you can now find slots with a maximum of 7,776 winning combinations, such as Kaiju from ELK Studios or Phoenix Sun from Quickspin. But the absolute record holder is the Laser Fruit slot from Red Tiger Gaming and its 60,466,176 winning combinations due to the increase in the number of reels.
Wilds (Wilds) substitute for most other symbols, usually except for the bonus and scatter symbols. That is, if you have a wild symbol between two sevens, you will receive a win for three identical symbols. Slot machine example: Reel Rush
In addition to regular Wild symbols, there are Expanding Wilds(Expanding Wilds), they do not just replace, but can expand, taking up more space on the reel. Slot machine example: Starburst
Adjacent Wild symbols (Stacked Wilds) can appear not one at a time, but two or more in a row on the same reel (Stacked). Example: Wild Turkey
Exciting Wild symbols (Walking Wild) move with each spin without disappearing from the playing field. Example: The Invisible Man
Apart from Wilds, there are many other symbols with special features.
Scatters (Scatters, scatter symbols) are available in almost every modern slot. These are symbols for which the position on the reels is not important. Only their number is taken into account. For example, two scatters stopped on the first reel, and the third on the fifth. The player will still get what they are entitled to for a triple of scatter symbols, usually a small cash prize and a bonus round, or free spins.Slot with Scatter Symbols: Piggy Riches
Colossal symbols (Colossal symbols) is a relatively new trend. Symbols occupying more than one cell may appear on the reels. For example, a colossal 4x4 symbol will take up 4 rows across four reels. An example of a slot with such symbols: Spinata Grande by NetEnt or Gem Rocks by Yggdrasil Gaming
Bonus game symbols (Bonus game symbols). Bonus game symbols differ from slot to slot and are often scatter symbols (Scatters), but can also be a separate symbol. They run various bonus games which can be described as a "game within a game" where players have a chance to win additional huge prizes. For example: Planet of the Apes has several bonus games.
Risk game – allows players to increase their winnings received per spin. Usually it is proposed to guess the color of the card suit. If the player is right, his winnings are doubled, if not, then he loses money. There are other variants of the risk game. For example, when you need to guess one of the four card suits, for a fourfold increase in winnings. Perhaps the most interesting option is presented in Microgaming slots from the Untamed series. Where you can adjust your chances of winning and the amount of winnings.
Respin - an additional spin provided for free in the hope that it will be possible to get the missing symbols in some combination. For example: Stickers slot
The Avalanche feature, which is also known as Cascading Reels, is when new symbols do not spin on the reels, but fall from top to bottom. Winning combinations disappear and the top symbols fall in their place, which can bring more payouts. In this case, the player does not make an additional bet. Such a feature is available in Gonzo's Quest from NetEnt.
Multipliers – multiply your winnings by a certain coefficient. For example, a 2x multiplier means your payout will double.
Free spins/free spins – usually the free spins round is triggered by three scatters, sometimes in other ways. The player will not pay for a certain number of spins, and the winnings will be real. During free spins, additional features are often activated. For example: South Park
