Slot machines are the most-played game in any casino for one good reason – they offer the biggest potential wins. While you can double your money instantly in roulette or blackjack, when you win a slots jackpot, you can win millions in a few seconds flat.
Modern slot machines offer more than just large jackpots. Free spins bonus rounds, features which make them more like video games than slots, and tailor-made themes which appeal to your interests are some of the best things about online slot machines.
This is your complete guide to slots. It will teach you how to play slot machines, all about the different types of machines, some ways to win slot more often, and much more.
How to Play Slot Machines
Playing slot machines is easy. While there are different types of slots (see below) they are all played in the same way. If you’ve never played an online slot machine before, follow these steps.
(1) Choose a slot machine which has the features you want. We’d advise selecting one which has a high RTP (Return to Player) and at least one bonus round such as a free spins feature or cascading reels.
(2) On some slots, you can decide how many paylines you want to play. We advise activating them all so that you have the best chance of winning.
(3) Before you hit “Spin,” make sure to set your bet amount. Each slot is unique in this sense – you can set a straight money limit, while other slots ask you to decide the numbers of coins you want to play per line and the value of each coin. Some slots also have “bet levels” with higher levels increasing the overall bet size.
(4) When you’ve set your bet, hit the spin button, and wait for the reels to stop spinning. Any wins and losses will be calculated automatically. Most slots will show you which paylines you made.
(5) Repeat the process. You can reset your bet size on each spin, or you can set the bet to play for up to 1,000 spins using the “autoplay” feature.
Every slot software company configures its games slightly differently, but the above process explains how to play 90% of them. If you’ve never played before, we advise playing some of our free slots until you get the hang of it. It won’t take long – most players have slots figured out in 10 minutes or so.
Types of Slot Machines
There are different types of slots available at online casinos. Some slots sites offer one type, but most of them offer hundreds of games including all of the following kinds.
Classic Slots
These are typically fruit machines with three reels and a handful of paylines. They’re digital versions of the games found in bars, pubs, and clubs across the world. They aren’t always feature-rich, but they’re simple, and some of them offer large jackpots. If you want to spin and win without all of the extra features, you should try classic slots.
Penny Slots
There are high limits slot machines which accept bets of thousands of bucks per spin, and then there are penny slots. These are designed for fun-loving players who don’t want to risk too much but mostly play for the enjoyment and a shot at a decent jackpot. Most penny slots accept minimum bets of a penny and maximum bets of a few currency units. For example, Casino Technology games are penny slot machines.
Video Slots
The internet has enabled many cool things, and one of them is video slots. These slot machines are a lot like video games. They can have storylines, multiple bonus rounds and features, levels, and other interesting features. If you enjoy more involved games which you could play for hours, modern video slots are the way to go.
VR Slots
Virtual Reality hasn’t replaced the real world…yet However, there are lots of VR slots online. You’ll need a headset and an account at a virtual reality casino to play these games. Typically, the casinos are VR generated, but once you plug into a game, it appears on your headset the way it would on a screen. We’re in the early stages of VR casino games, and these slots will give you an exciting glimpse into the future.
Crypto Slots
Slot machines which accept Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies offer two advantages: they are often Provably Fair, and you can remain semi-anonymous when playing at crypto slots sites. Bitcoin slots work the same way as regular slot machines. The only difference is the currency you deposit and possibly win.
Jackpot Slots
Progressive jackpot slots offer the biggest payouts of all. Games like Microgaming’s Mega Moolah offer multimillion jackpots. The best progressive slots also have lots of bonus rounds and features. Jackpot slots tend to have a lower RTP because a part of every bet you make will contribute to the progressive jackpot. That goes for every other player currently enjoying the same game. This network effect is what allows progressive jackpot games to offer such large payouts.
Free Slot Machines
These are not real money slots. You can play them to practice your strategy or to try them at some casinos. Free video slots can also be played at social casino sites. Eventually, you can upgrade to play for real money if you want. You can also play free slots on social media sites like Facebook.
What’s the House Edge On Slot Machines?
The casino has an edge, or built-in advantage, on every game in the casino. For example, in blackjack, the house edge is around 2%, whereas, in keno, the house edge can be as high as 35%.
The house advantage on slot machines is determined by the RTP. This is an acronym for Return to Player. This figure tells you how much out of every $1 bet on a slot machine is returned to players. For example, Gonzo’s Quest slot has an RTP of 96%. That means the house edge is 4%.
Every slot has a different RTP. Some people will even argue about exactly what the RTP is for a slot machine. We don’t nitpick over a percentage point or two. A ballpark figure is good enough to find out if the slot is worth playing.
As a rule of thumb, you can assume that progressive jackpot slots have a higher house edge. For example, Hall of Gods by NetEnt has an RTP of 95.5%. That low compared to Devil’s Delight, which has an RTP of 97.6%.
Should you play a high RTP slot with a smaller jackpot or a lower RTP slot with a larger jackpot? That’s your call. We’d recommend playing high RTP slots when you want to meet wagering requirements on bonuses, and playing lower RTP slots with bigger jackpots when you’re feeling lucky.
Slot Machine Volatility
Each slot machine has what’s known as volatility or variance. We’ll cut to the chase and explain exactly what these terms mean.
Low Variance Slots – These slot machines pay little and often. You can expect lots of wins to keep your balance replenished. You can play low variance slots for hours with a relatively small bankroll. Bloodsuckers is a low variance slot from NetEnt.
Medium Variance Slots – This type of slot machine sits somewhere in the middle. You’ll experience some win clusters and some dry spells, but overall you probably won’t run out of money quickly as you might on a high variance slot. Starburst is a medium variance slot machine.
High Variance Slots – These video slots pay less frequently, but the wins tend to be bigger when they come. “Dry spells,” which are long periods of spinning without a win, are common when playing high variance slots. Iron Man 2 is a high variance slot from Playtech.
Slot Machine Bonus Offers
Most of the best slots sites will offer new players something to entice you to play. They will also reward loyalty with free spins and extra bonuses. Here’s how the various slots bonuses work.
Free Spins – You can score free spins as part of a casino welcome package. For example, a casino might offer you 100% up to $500 + 200 free spins. You’ll have to deposit to claim these free spins.
Free Spins No Deposit – You can also claim free spins without depositing a penny. Typically, this will be a smaller number of free spins such as 10 or 20. You will also have to wager them before you can withdraw them.
Free Spins No Wager – There are some free spins bonuses with no wagering requirements. As casinos fight for a competitive edge over each other, more and more of them have offered wager-free spins in the last few years. You will have to make a deposit to activate these, but you can keep 100% of what you win.
Slot Machine Bonus Features
The best slot machines have bonus features and extra rounds to keep players entertained. Some of these can also be seriously lucrative in their own right. While slots software companies are always innovating and coming up with new bonus features to outdo the competition, there are some common threads we can pull together from across the entire range of online slots. These are the top slots bonus features.
Scatter Symbols – These are special symbols which often activate bonus features. They can also offer extra payouts. For example, you might get a 100x payout for landing five scatter symbols on the reels.
Wild Symbols – These are special symbols which can replace other symbols. Quite often, they can’t replace scatter symbols. To understand how wild symbols work, consider this: if you have four symbols in a row and a wild symbol lands on the fifth reel, you will be paid for a five-of-a-kind win. Wild symbols can also have special features such as expanding to cover entire reels, sticking on the reels, moving or migrating on the reels or morphing into other symbols.
Giant Symbols – Some slot machines have symbols which appear in 2×2, 3×3, 4×4 or even massive 5×5 grids. It all depends on the number of reels, rows, etc. These can create big wins when they land, especially if they are wild.
Multipliers – These multiply any wins during the feature. For example, all wins might be multiplied by 5x during a free spins feature. Some symbols can also trigger multipliers – e.g., you might win double the payout if a wild symbol completes the combination.
Free Spins – There are free spins bonuses, and then there are free spins bonus rounds. These are built into online slot machines and are usually triggered by landing a certain sequence of symbols. For example, you might win 50 free spins for landing five scatter symbols in view.
Bonus Wheels – If you’ve ever seen Wheel of Fortune on TV, you already understand how bonus wheels work. In online slots, they offer cash payouts, free spins, access to other features, and more.
Picking Games – In a picking round, you pick objects on the screen to reveal objects behind them. These could be cash amounts which you instantly win, or you could have to match three or more symbols to win a larger prize.
Cascading Reels – On some slot machines, the symbols which create a win will disappear and new ones will replace them. This can lead to epic win runs with multiple wins from a single spin. Some of these will also incorporate progressive multipliers into them.
Win Both Ways – Most slot machines pay from left to right. Some slots pay both ways or have bonus features during which they pay both ways.
Gamble Feature – Lots of classic slot machines allow you to double up on wins by playing red or black, a coin toss, or some other simple game. You can often do this multiple times in a row to boost your wins many times over.
Progressive Jackpots – Each spin on some games contributes to a collective jackpot. If you land the right combination of symbols or are just a lucky player, you can win the progressive jackpot. Some slots also have jackpot rounds which you must play to win these.
How to Win Slots
Slot machines are appealing because they can pay life-changing amounts of money in seconds. You can increase your chances of winning by remembering these slot machine tips.
(1) Understand RTP – We’ve already mentioned this, so we won’t dwell on it here. Play slots with higher RTPs unless there is a special reason not to. For example, if a slot has a low RTP and a progressive jackpot like Mega Moolah, that is a good reason to do so.
(2) Form a Strategy – While slot machines are completely random as to when they pay, you should still tailor your strategy to the machine you are playing. For example, if you’re playing a high-variance slot, you’ll need a bigger bankroll to see of those dry spells. If you’re playing a slot with a free spins round which has a large multiplier or cascading reels, bet bigger in the hope of triggering it and capitalizing on those wins. Each slot is different. You should play it for free and figure out a strategy before you play for real money.
(3) Manage Your Bankroll – In a game of chance like slot machines, one of the only effective strategies is bankroll management. One good way to do things is to start by betting small, and when you’re in “house money” then up the ante and place bigger bets. Another way is to divide your bankroll equally between 10 games – a mixture of low, medium, and high variance slots with different types of features. Jackpot wins will only come if the Random Number Generator says so, but this sort of bankroll management maximizes your chances.