There are many different slot games to choose from on the internet, but the basics essentially stay the same. They are a simple form of gaming that novices and casino veterans alike can understand and enjoy, with a range of themes, special features, and winning opportunities offered by each title. This guide will cover the different aspects of how to play slot games and will also look at how you can get some wins when you play.

Choosing a slot

When you come to choose a slot, there are a number of things to look at. Firstly, you should look at the Return to Player (RTP) percentage. The RTP indicates how much a slot pays out to a player, so an RTP of 96% means 96% of all money paid into a slot game will be paid out to winners, with the remaining 4% going to the providers and the online casino you are playing at. Most slot games will range from around 92-97%, but you should remember that the number doesn’t mean you are certain to get any money back. The RTP of each slot should be easy to find on the developer’s site, the online casino, or on online reviews.

You may also want to consider the volatility of the slots, which determines the variance or risk factor of the game. Low volatility slots offer players a good chance of winning, but the wins are likely to be fairly small. High volatility slots offer less chances of winning, but when you do get a win, they pay out more. 

High volatility slots will require more patience and persistence, and often more money before getting a win, whereas low volatility slots can be less risky. The decision on whether you play low or high volatility slots, or both, is completely down to personal preference. It can be harder to find the volatility of different slots as it is not listed as standard like the RTP.

Players will find that there are slots covering all different themes, such as Egyptian, Norse mythology, Irish, and safari. There are also some branded slots from popular television programmes or films. As a result, there is likely to be a slot that appeals to you, but don’t forget to check the RTP and volatility levels!

You may be interested to read player reviews and online reviews on slots to discover what people really think about the game. You can find opinions on enjoyability, how often it pays out, special bonuses, and other features, which can help you to choose a slot.

It is also recommended to only play slot games, as well as any other casino or online bingo games, at trusted online casino sites. If a casino holds a gambling license and the slot uses a Random Number Generator, then the slot is certified to play.

How to play slots

Slots are usually formed of 3 or 5 reels with 5 rows, although some slots may be in different formations or shapes, for example, some are arranged in a swirl and the icons will follow the spin round. 

Each slot will have different pay lines, or other ways of winning, such as by forming clusters/groupings. Typically, slots may have around 25 pay lines, although there are some providers which have many more. For example, Megaways slots can have thousands of paylines! Traditionally, pay lines run across the reels, but they can now also be vertical, diagonal, and zigzag all over the reels. They can also go from left to right and right to left, giving you many opportunities to win.

 Details on what the pay lines are and how to win will usually be described in the game information, along with the value of each symbol on the reels. On some slots you can also choose how many pay lines you play with. Megaways is one type of slot game with massive amounts of paylines, but each line has a lower value than on other slot games with fewer paylines. You are more likely to get a payout, but less likely to win big from a single line!

Some games let you select your coin and bet value, some let you choose how many paylines you want to play, and others just let you choose your bet amount. While these features don’t increase your chances of a win, they do offer you further control of your spending and more control of what you win. Choosing a coin value determines how much your coins are worth, so you can make them worth £0.01 or £0.10 for example. Bet level is how many coins you want to gamble. 

Choosing paylines gives you greater control of your win than allowing the game to play with the standard settings. Together, both of these features will determine how much money you stake and stand to win. You can choose ‘max bet’ if you want to play with all pay lines and with the maximum amount of coins. 

Betting more money will mean you win more money, but it doesn’t increase the chances of you winning more. Just as you stand to win more by betting more money, you also stand as much chance of losing more. Slots enable you to set limits so you don’t lose more than you can afford.

 Now you are ready to play! You can choose to either manually press the spin button on each round or press auto-spin to spin the reels automatically. It won’t affect your chances of winning which way you choose. Some players may think that they can stop the reels at a point of winning, but as the basis of slot games is randomness, this is not the case. Similarly, the speed at which you spin the reels has no impact on whether you will win or not.

Slot features

On every slot there are some common special features that regularly appear. First, there are Wild symbols. These can substitute for any other symbol to make a winning combination on a pay line. There are also special Wilds on some slots, including Expanding Wilds (that cover a whole reel), Stacked Wilds (cover a reel), and Sticky Wilds (remain in position for more than 1 spin).

Slots also often have Scatter symbols, which usually prompt some kind of bonus feature. For example, many slots offer free spins if 3 or more Scatter symbols appear anywhere on the reels.

When registering with a casino, sometimes they may offer a welcome bonus which includes free spins for certain slots. These, and other offers, give you the opportunity to effectively win free money (as you don’t wager any of your money on each spins), so they are well worth using. If it is part of an offer, make sure you check terms and conditions though, as some will require a minimum deposit.

Some slots also have other features like “gamble” where you can risk your winnings on the flip of a coin for example.

There may be bonus rounds too where you can pick random objects which could offer free spins and multipliers- which would then be applied on any winnings you get.

Now that you understand the basics of slot games it’s time for you to start spinning. Why not try out some of the best casino sites to find your new favourite online slot game.