Understanding the Principle of Online Slots

Gamblers love slot machines and play them incredibly often. And slots are so popular due to their easy and entertaining gameplay, attractive design and a bunch of promotions and perks for the player. On the other side many people who play these amusements, do not clearly imagine how they actually work.

And this lack of knowledge bears some myths about gambling machines. For example, it is believed that one-armed bandits pay in a cycle and the outcomes repeat. This article will tell you about the slots inner workings and dismantle some myths. We shall cover such aspects as winnings probability, paylines and reels, bonuses, multipliers and so on. Keep reading.

Guide to Reels

A typical slot machine has a frame-like structure with columns and rows. Reels are columns with symbols. They spin and stop forming a particular combination (a row of symbols). They what actually show you the result of your turn.

reels

Initially, the mechanical slots only had 3 reels with 10 symbols on each. Thus, there were 1,000 combinations in total. Nowadays, virtual slots have a far greater number of symbols and thus possible combinations- up to 16.8 million.

Paylines

These are lines creating winning combinations. The slot machine payoffs you cash according to these combinations. They don’t have to be horizontal and can be vertical or cross the reels several times.

Usually, slots have multiple paylines (25-30 on an average and they can be adjustable in some amusements) and sometimes their number can exceed 100 and more. You can either play with a single one or turn on several lines.

How They Work

There is one rule. The more paylines, the more money you have to spend per spin. Let us imagine a slot machine with 30 lines. If you want to bet $1 per line and you want to cover them all, a single spin will cost you $30.

In slots, there is a coin value. This means the amount of money per line. The minimal amount can be as low as $0.1. In this case, a single turn will cost you $0.30. Multi-line amusements can have up to 243 winning paths.

A single bet with a minimal possible coin value will cost you $20. Payoffs are tricky. Generally, the more you spend per bet the more you can win. But, again, you may stake $300 4-5 times in a row and win nothing. Thus, making expensive wagers is not always advantageous.

Probability of Winnings

The winning chances with all active paylines increase drastically. The lines run vertically, horizontally, diagonally. They cover the whole space on reels and thus give you better chances to win something with each spin.

But the number of active paying lines is not the only aspect which influences the probability of a successful outcome. Each slot machine has Random Number Generator which determines the frequency of a winning outcome.

It is a processing unit and it “hits” the combination right after you press the spin button. The game actually knows the result before the reels stop. Each turn you or any other player make is completely independent.

It does not depend on the previous one. There are no “paying” periods when a machine rewards players more often.

In-game Bonuses

Each slot machine offers in-game perks and boosters which enhance your gaming experience. In-game bonuses are represented by wild and scatter symbols, free spins features and bet multipliers. Some amusements have mini-games, where you can win additional bonuses (such as FS).

in-game slot bonuses

Gamers often evaluate slots by their lucrative features. Some of these perks even trigger regular or progressive jackpots. However, the chance of hitting such a prize is 1 to several million. But there are lucky people who made their fortune with $1 wager.

Wild

Shortly speaking, these symbols make losing spins winning ones. For instance, you play 5-reeled Egyptian-themed machine. And you have 4 Tutankhamons and Sphinx. It is a pity situation and you feel like a loser. But suddenly Sphinx transforms into Tutankhamon and gives you a great reward.

This is how wilds work. They land on the reels and transform into the symbols needed to form a winning combination. In some games, they can boost your winnings at the same time. You can always check what symbols are wild in your game, clicking on the “information” menu.

Scatter

Scatter symbols differ from wilds by their function. They trigger bonus features available in the game. When more than 3 labels land on the reels, they boost your stake several times (2-5 on an average).

This depends on how many scatters you hit. And also, they cannot be replaced by wild symbols. Sometimes they activate bonus mini-events or FS features. This depends on a slot machine.

Free Spin

This feature activates a round of free turns in the game. Usually, you can get up to 15-20 FS and they are equal to the last set coin value.

Thus, slots foster playing with bigger coin values since the winning directly depends on this parameter. This feature is activated after you hit scatter or free spins symbols.

Multipliers

Multiplier symbols increase your winnings drastically. In most slot machines, you will enjoy 2x, 3x or 5, multipliers. Some amusements feature 1,000x. Such boosters require special circumstances to appear.

For instance, it can be a combination of 5 wild symbols. Once you hit them, you will get a generous reward. And this feature encourages gamers to play with higher bets.

Imagine you play with $1 and 1,000x will give you $1,000. And what if your stake was $20 or $50, $100? But, again, high wagers are risky.

Conclusions

All things considered, a slot machine is a gambling amusement with a specific inner structure and the plenty of in-game bonuses for the players. It has multipliers, wild and scratch symbols, free spins to make your playing session better for you.

slots player

It is a game of chance and the outcome of each spin is completely random. The probability of a successful outcome is higher when playing with multiple paylines. The winnings size depends on your bet amount. The more you wager the more you can potentially win.

FAQs

Gamers often want to know the difference between certain slots variations and types. The most frequently asked questions are about progressive and tournament slot machines and how they work. We shall make everything clear.

How do progressive slot machines work?

These slot machines have a jackpot as a part of in-game bonuses. This reward increases in size each time you make a bet. Considering that these slots are connected into a network, each player contributes to the prize. Thus, its size can reach millions of dollars.

How do slot machine tournaments work?

In this case, a casino gives you a certain cash amount to play with. You should spend all the coins in a limited period of time. Your goal is to gain as many points as possible and thus beat other players, who compete against each other at the tournament.