How To Play Slots: Ultimate Guide

Slot games are the easiest of casino games to play because you technically don't need any specific knowledge or skill to play them on a basic level.

However, to get the most out of playing slots, it really pays to learn how they work.

Knowing how to play slots can make the experience all the more enjoyable, and it can help to give you an improved edge when choosing what games to play or what to look out for.

To find out more about how to play slots, this guide will give you everything you need to know, plus you can learn how to play free slots strategically to maximise your profits.

Slot Terminology

Before we go any further with how to play slots, we need to get some basic but common slot terminology out of the way.

RNG

Random Number Generator is how slots are operated. RNG ensures that each spin on a slot game is completely random and independent and therefore cannot be predetermined or fixed. Slot developers incorporate it into the game software and it is tested rigorously before a game is launched.

RTP

 RTP Stands for Return to Player and gives a percentage return of what a player can expect to receive when they wager £100 on a slot game. The number is taken over a huge sample, and is not a guaranteed return for every player, but an overall average. The majority of slot games have an RTP of between 90% - 97%. The higher the RTP the higher the return, in theory.

Volatility

Volatility refers to how volatile a slot game can be in terms of how frequently it pays out. Low volatility slots provide regular steady payouts while high volatility slots can have long periods of little or no wins, but when they hit, they can drop a big valuable pay out.

Variance

Variance refers to the deviation of payouts from a slot machine. Low variance slots will pay within a small pay range, so you know what you’ll roughly get from bonus features and line hits. High variance slots have a much wider range of payouts where you could win as little as a few pounds to as high as thousands of pounds depending on the game.

Types Of Slots

Traditional Reel Slots

These types of slot games are the more old-school style of game that usually have three reels and one to three pay lines.

If you think of a retro one-arm bandit type of casino slot, with a glass window that reveals a small number of symbols on every spin.

Traditionally symbols include fruit, particularly cherries, (hence the name fruit machines), bells and the lucky number 7. In order to win, you have to line up the winning symbols on one of the paylines.

These slots are fixed in terms of their format. There are no video screens, extra graphics, varying features etc, they are static. Although sometimes they can involve one extra feature such as a physical wheel, which spins when triggered.

Modern Video Slots

Video slots are vastly different from the original versions. Using video technology, slots can be as dynamic, colourful, stimulating and varied as possible.

Many video slots work off 3 x 5 reels, but this can vary depending on the game. Plus paylines are usually anything from five to fifty lines, although some have many more.

Modern video slots come in every type of theme you can think of. Animals, dragons, mythology, sports, movies, superheroes, countries, and fishing are just a few examples.

Where video slots really stand out is in the audio/visual presentation and the huge range of different bonus features they offer. There is no limit to the number of features that games can have or what format they come in. Examples of bonus features can include hold and spins, wheel spins, expanding wilds, free games, sticky wilds, multiple screens etc.

Progressive Slots

Slots with progressive jackpots are becoming more and more popular in recent times.

Progressive slots differ from other slots, in that rather than having one fixed jackpot prize, they offer a jackpot that continues to grow with every spin you make.

Some progressive slots are standalone, so that a proportion of every spin made on that specific game contributes to an overall pot that will be won by someone playing that slot. Often these have a maximum cap.

However, in a lot of cases, progressive slots are linked across other machines or other networks. In a physical casino, this can mean a bank of slot games in one casino might be linked, or a range of slot games over various casinos  in a geographical area could be linked. So that everyone playing that game is contributing to the overall progressive jackpot. But only one can win it.

In online casinos, progressive slots work the same. There are often linked games within one casino operator, or much wider linked games across different casino operators. Jackpot King Deluxe is one good example that runs across several games in several online casinos.

Everyone playing a Jackpot King Deluxe game is eligible to win the huge progressive jackpot, but only one will. And it will be a biggie!

Progressives are often split into smaller pots within a game. So, for example, a slot game can have a Mini, Minor, Major and Grand Progressive Jackpot which can be won in several ways.

How Slots Work

We’ve already briefly touched on RNG in terms of how slots work. But to delve a little deeper, the basic process is that slot designers or software companies create a game in terms of its concept, theme, appearance, audio, format and features.

They then ‘sell’ that game to operators, whether that's brick-and-mortar casinos or online casinos for people to play.

Some casino operators will only provide slots from one or two games providers, whereas others have a wide range of options. This is why you’ll see some games that seem to appear in every casino and others that are only available at select ones.

From a player's point of view, although you only need to press the spin button for a slot to work, there are many differences in terms of how slots look, how they play and, most importantly, how they pay out. We’ll take a look at a few of these differences below.

Reels

Many modern video slots work off a basic 5 x 3 reels format. That means they have five reels and three rows of symbols. You’ll find many of the most popular slots have this set-up such as Big Bass Bonanza, Starburst, Book of Dead etc.

However, this isn’t always the case. In games such as Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus and Money Train, they work off of a taller game grid, such as 6 x 5.

This not only affects the look of the game, but also the paylines and pay format.

Stake

The bet level that you can play at is determined at the design stage. So, some slots will allow you to bet from as little as 10p per spin, whereas others will have a minimum bet of 20p, 25p, 40p, 50p or £1.

Keeping Slot Play Fun

Slots can be extremely fun and exhilarating, but they can also be addictive. It can be a little too easy to just keep hitting the ‘spin’ button without realising how much time or money has been spent.

That’s why it’s always important to keep slot play fun at all times and be very conscious when playing. Tips to keep it fun include setting yourself a budget beforehand and sticking to it, taking breaks when playing, and if you hit a good win, log out for a while and enjoy the win (thinking how you might spend it) before deciding whether you want to log back in again.