Complete guide to Online Slot Games
Online slot games are frequently perceived by many as the most basic games available on the internet gambling market. It is somewhat true that learning how to play online slots doesn't require any prior knowledge or expertise.
Nevertheless, when it comes to playing online slots, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Slot machines can have varying numbers of reels, paylines, reel symbols, jackpot amounts, and in-game bonuses, among other shapes and forms.
Payout percentages and volatility levels are additional factors to consider. Your online gaming experience may be significantly impacted by each of these. We'll explore the various kinds of online slot games that are out there in this tutorial.
To gain a solid understanding of what it involves when playing online slot games, continue reading our in-depth tutorial.
The Fundamentals of Online Slot Machines
You should be familiar with the terminology used in relation to slot machines before we get into the numerous kinds of online slot games and features. The amount of reels, rows, and paylines that make up each slot machine varies. The following is an explanation of these:
- Reels: The reels are the vertical columns on an online slot game. These will spin as soon as you hit the ‘spin’ button. Slots can come with a different number of reels. Some games even have one reel, while others can have six or more.
- Rows: The rows are the horizontal lines in the slot game.
- Paylines: Paylines refer to the invisible patterns upon which identical symbols must land in order to generate a winning combination. The number of paylines will have a significant impact on your odds. If you have a number of identical symbols but they don’t line up on a payline, it won’t result in a win. Some games come with fixed paylines, while others will allow you to increase and decrease the number of paylines.
- Ways to Win: Ways to win is another term used for paylines. This ties in with Megaways slots, which can offer up to a massive 100,000 paylines. They replace the traditional paylines and lead to more winning possibilities.
- Bonus features: Bonus features refer to the various perks of slot games, such as a free spins round, a Pick and Click round or any other random feature outside of the base game.
- Min and Max Bet: When you play a slot game, you can adjust the minimum and maximum bet limit, so you can place the bet size that suits you best.
- Maximum Win: Each slot game will have an assigned maximum win which a player can generate from a single spin. It could either entail the jackpot or simply landing a number of the highest paying symbols on a single spin.
- RTP: Also known as the payout percentage, the Return to Player refers to the slot’s theoretical return rate that players could get back from the money they have wagered. If a game has an RTP of 90% and you place a EUR100 bet, you can expect to get EUR90 back. The higher it is, the better it is for you as a player.
- Volatility/Variance: Volatility refers to the payout rate of slot games. If a game is low volatile, you can expect small wins on a regular basis, while highly volatile games will pay out substantially on an infrequent basis.
Various kinds of online slots
The market is filled with a wide variety of slot machine models. Some are found in physical casinos, while others are a bit more sophisticated and may be found online. The payoff rates of slot machines at physical casinos are infamously lower than those of their online counterparts.
Here's a brief rundown of what is offered:
- Mechanical Slots: Mechanical slots no longer exist and were available in the olden days when they were first created. They needed no electricity to operate, so they are mostly a novelty these days.
- Classic slots: The traditional classic slot is based on three reels and often only entails one payline. These are widely available at land-based casinos but are deprived of any modern in-game features.
- Fruit Machines: Fruit machines are exactly that. They are slot machines with various fruits as symbols. They are commonly found at UK pubs all over the country.
- Video Slots: Video slots are mostly built across five reels or more and are available online. They don’t rely on any mechanical reels to operate and come with various features, such as wilds and free spins bonus features.
- 3D Slots: To stand out from the crowd, game developers are incorporating 3D graphics in their games making the games immersive.
You should be aware of the various additions and features that are offered in contemporary online slot games now that you are familiar with the various kinds of online slot games. The following are a few of the most typical features:
- Wild Symbols: Wild symbols substitute other symbols in a bid to create a winning combination. Wilds come in various forms as well, including stacked and expanded which will cover entire reels and lead to bigger winning combinations. In some slot games, they also act as Scatter symbols. You can learn more about different wild symbols in the next section.
- Scatter Symbols: The main aim of a scatter symbol is to activate a special bonus round or jackpot. Usually, you would need to land at least three scatter symbols on a single spin, in order to activate a free spins bonus round or trigger a jackpot round.
- Free Spins Bonuses: Free spins bonuses provide players with a number of spins on the house. The number of spins will vary from one game to another. They may also come with multipliers.
- Multipliers: Multipliers will boost your winning combinations. These can come attached to a free spins bonus round or wilds. They can also increase depending on the game.
- Mystery symbols: Mystery symbols are a bit of an innovation and are quite new. They show up with a question mark and as soon as they land on the reels, will reveal the hidden symbol.
- Cascading Reels: Also known as Avalanche Reels, whenever a winning combination is formed, all winning symbols will disappear and be replaced by new symbols landing from the top, essentially triggering a respin.
- Pick Me Bonuses: A Pick Me Bonus is usually triggered by a number of scatter symbols. You will be presented with a number of options and must pick between them to reveal the prize behind them.
Various kinds of wilds
Although they are commonly found, wild symbols are not always reliably present in a game, which makes them an indispensable part of the slot machine experience. Their primary goal is to take the place of other symbols to assist you in forming winning combos. Nonetheless, there are numerous varieties of wild symbols, and each one offers unique advantages and benefits.
- Sticky Wild: A sticky wild essentially stays locked into place wherever they land. In some games, they will also trigger a respin. In others, they will stay put for the duration of a free spins bonus round.
- Walking Wild: Walking Wilds are highly beneficial. They are a known feature in NetEnt’s slot game Jack and the Beanstalk. Basically, when they land, they will trigger a respin and move one position to the left with each spin. This will keep on going until they disappear off the reels. They are very similar to sticky wilds but can lead to a higher number of payouts.
- Multiplier Wild: A multiplier wild will boost your wins by a multiplier.
- Stacked Wild: Stacked Wilds cover the entirety of a reel leading to considerable wins.
- Colossal Wilds: These symbols will come in different shapes, such as 2x2 and 3x3. Regardless of their size, they take up a considerable number of positions on the reels, leading to big wins.
- Expanding Wild: An expanding wild is somewhat similar to the stacked wild. They will land on a reel and cover it in its entirety.
- Scatter Wild: In addition to replacing other symbols, they can also double up as scatter symbols by triggering a particular bonus feature, such as the free spins bonus round.
How to choose the top slot games to play online
You cannot consistently win at slots by using any winning approach. Similar to this, there is no such thing as a hot or a lose game because random number generators regulate each and every reel spin, guaranteeing that the odds are the same for every spin.
To make sure you have the best opportunity possible, follow these pointers and strategies:
- The Payout Percentage: Pick online slot games with the highest payout percentage when possible. Jackpot games are notorious for having low payout percentages. The average RTP for slot games is 96%. If you can get games with this percentage or higher, you will be playing it safe.
- The Volatility levels: This would depend on your personal preference. Some games love small but regular wins, while others will prefer big wins on an irregular basis. If you are opting for a highly volatile slot game, you should be aware of the effect this game will have on your bankroll.
- In-game features: Picking games with multipliers, wilds and bonus features will ensure that you have better chances of recouping your losses and improving your payouts.
- Paylines: Opting for a game with a fixed number of paylines ensures that you are betting on all paylines. Sometimes games with adjustable paylines will come at a higher price per bet.
- Stay in control: Avail yourself of responsible gambling tools to ensure you don’t get too engrossed in your gambling session. Have loss and deposit limits in place.
- Casino bonuses: If there is a bonus with fair terms and conditions, there is nothing wrong with taking advantage of them.
How to use slots for gaming
Now that you are familiar with the many kinds of slot games and their lingo, you ought to be able to investigate the greatest RTP slot games available. A brief search for volatility and payoff percentages should turn up results because there are thousands of slot games available.
Always attempt a slot game in free demo mode first, if at all possible, to gain a solid understanding of the variance and game mechanics:
- Pick the best slot game: Browse through the thousands of slot games and pick the one that is best for you, including variance, RTP, theme, maximum wins, etc.
- Look at the paytable: Have a good glance at the paytable and if you need to adjust the number of paylines.
- Arrange the bet size: Very often, when you open a slot game, it will showcase the maximum bet right away. Reduce it to the best bet size for you.
- Play: Click on the ‘Spin’ button. If you don’t want to manually click on the ‘spin’ button, you can opt for the autoplay function.
In conclusion, some of the most enjoyable and fun games available are those found on the internet for slots. You might wish to proceed with a little more caution as you have no direct control over the result. There's a solid reason why thousands of online slot games are accessible. It's where most of the money in casinos comes from. The result is not directly within your control. Everything is up to fate and random number generators.
It would be prudent to choose the greatest online slot games according to your own preferences. To guarantee you have the greatest possible gambling experience, consider factors such as payout %, volatility, maximum wins, and in-game features rather than just choosing a game because it has a cool theme or eye-catching colors. You are welcome to switch to a different game if you find yourself in a losing run and are having no luck. It is imperative that you take regular pauses when engaging in any form of online gambling, not just slot machine gaming. It will provide you a new perspective on the session and allow your adrenaline rush to subside.
Above all, don't forget to enjoy yourself!
