Have you ever succumbed to the incredible temptation of a slots game? They are very hard to resist and this accounts for their tremendous popularity with all kinds of online and “brick and mortar” gaming enthusiasts. In the era of video gaming, there are also a huge number of video based slots games too. In fact, it is only the video versions that are available through the online casinos.
How you go about playing online slots? This brief tutorial is going to start with one very strong recommendation, and that is to use the casino’s tutorials and free games whenever available! This is the only way to really understand the ways to use the games without also accidentally losing your money too!
An Introduction to Slots Games
If you are interested in learning how to play the different types of games available, it helps to have a general understanding of how the games are played, how wagers are made, and how the games determine if you have won a prize.
While the video slot games that you will find on online slot sites are not at all complicated or complex, they are extremely “busy” when you first look at them. This might be due to the wild designs and colour schemes, the animation on the reels and display, or the array of extras such as side bets and buttons used for settings. It is because of this that is a wise idea to get used to the basic functions and operations before you stake a real money wager on a spin.
It also helps to clarify the different areas of the screen, and how the actual slot games function. For example, do you know what the payline, paytable, reels, and symbols are? If not, you have to take the time to master these items because they tell you how much you have won or what the possible prizes might be.
An Exciting World of Reels and Symbols
For example, if you look at a slots game you would notice immediately that the screen has a grid-like appearance, but the size of the grid can vary from one machine to another. For instance, one machine may look like it has only three rows and three columns while the next one may seem to have five rows and five columns.
The columns are going to be called the “reels” and they contain all of the symbols that will create the combinations you need to win a prize. The rows tend to be divided by the paylines. This is the line on the screen where the symbols must stop in order to let you take the prize.
Those symbols are important, too. If you look at the many kinds of online slots games, you would notice right away that they are full of wild and colorful graphics. Many of the games also have story lines somehow related to the graphics used on the reels and the “paytable”.
What is a Paytable?
You can see how the symbols function, in terms of combinations, by taking a good look at the paytable. This shows you how many of each symbol you need to win the prize listed. For instance, the paytable may show a row of three sevens and then the number of “coins” that you would receive in payment if that is what you were lucky enough to spin.
Because some of the modern online slots games have dozens of paylines zigzagging all over the screens, it is not always easy to fit the paytable on a single screen and some slots games use a few different screens to describe what the different combinations pay out.
The paytable is usually a very obvious part of the game, and it lays out the combinations the player needs to get on a spin in order to win the prize. These tables get more and more complex as the number of “paylines” increase. For example, an “old fashioned” slots game has a single payline and three reels, but the modern video slots game might have seven reels and dozens of paylines. The combinations of symbols that hit those paylines are what dictate the prizes won, but this is not the only factor that establishes the size of the payout.
If you look at most paytables, you would see that they also show three columns of differing payouts as well. These are the sums that the player receives for making one of three possible wagers. The slots games are played using “coins”, and each of the coins is given a “value” by the player. For example, they can choose to make all of their coins worth $5 each. They can then place the maximum wager on each spin, meaning that they can put up to three coins on each of their spins.
Does this increase their chances for winning? No, but it is often the only way to get a shot at the actual “jackpot” for the game. This is especially the case when it is a progressive jackpot in question.
What Are Progressive Jackpots?
Progressive jackpots are games that are “linked” across the Internet. For example, one casino may have a certain progressive jackpot game, and another one in another state may use the same game. As this game is being played, there is a mutually shared jackpot building up with each spin of the reels. The thing about this jackpot is that it will only be made available to those players making the maximum wagers. This means that if the slots game has a three coin maximum wager on the spin, it is only the players who wager three coins on each pull who can get a shot at the jackpot.
Additionally, the actual payout varies according to the value assigned to the coins. This is because a jackpot is never a fixed “dollar amount,” but is a fixed “coin amount”. For instance, the prize paytable may show that the jackpot is 10,000 “coins” and not a set amount of currency. This is something to pay attention to when making wagers.
Now, about those wagers, you should know that these can vary too. For example, most games have flexible values for the individual coins. A player may risk only five cents on each of the coins or stake a hundred dollars or more on each of them. When they win, the coins they receive also have the assigned value.
Games also have coin limits per spin as well. Some games have only a single coin available per spin, but others may allow a large number of coins to be staked on the spin. This matters the most when the game is a “progressive jackpot” because these require the maximum number of coins to qualify the player for the enormous prize.
Discover The Best Video Slot Portals
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Author
Gavin Lenaghan
Gavin writes on a wide range of subjects, including articles and reviews about online casinos, slots, bingo, poker, and sportsbooks. He has considerable expertise in the games, customer service, and other aspects of today’s leading gambling and betting portals.