How to Play Slots Online?
Here is the simple answer to the question of how to play slots: Spin the reels and hope that a winning combination of symbols will appear before you!
If you’re looking for a more elaborate answer, we got it for you. Actually, we’re now going to teach you not only how to play online slots but much more than that.
We will share our knowledge with you about different types of slot games, their paylines, symbols, wilds, bonus games, and more. You will also learn how to play slots in Vegas-style casinos and slot parlors around the US.
Beginners Guide on How to Play Slots
Did you know that online slots are the most popular type of game in internet casinos? There are several reasons why this is the case, starting with the fact that casino slots are fun to play. Eye-catching visuals, entertaining gameplay, special rules – these are the things that will keep you glued to the screen.
Of course, this is only true once you get the hang of the rules of the game. To get your slot gaming adventure off to a flying start, you need to know the basics. Here are some main rules of the game to keep in mind all the time:
Pick a Winner
Different slot games have different RTP (Return To Player), which decides your chances of winning. Make sure to pick the best slot with the best RTP!
Bonus Rounds
The main way road to success in slots is to get a winning combination on the paylines. However, depending on the game, there might be a few other ways to win (e.g., bonus games). This is why you ought to make sure to check out the game rules before actually playing it
Bet the Max
Once you’ve found your ideal slot game, it’s time to decide your stake and choose the number of paylines. If you’d like to use all the possible paylines, click the button ‘MAX BET.’
Hit the Spin
Now, it’s time to click the ‘SPIN’ button and hope that the same symbols will land on the paylines, bringing nice winnings your way.
Rinse and Repeat
Whether you’ve won or not, this is just the beginning. You just have to repeat everything all over again to keep the fun going.
How Do Slot Paylines Work?
By definition, a slot payline, a.k.a. betting line, is a winning combination of symbols. In the old days, slot machines used to have only one payline, which required you to get matching symbols on a horizontal line to win. Modern slots come with more paylines, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or even zig-zag shaped. The more paylines you bet on, the more likely it is you’re going to win. The catch, however, is that more paylines equals a larger stake.
Main Elements of Online Slots
Online slot games come in different shapes, from classic 3-reel slots with one payline to modern 3D slots with five reels and hundreds of paylines. Recent releases also come with all sorts of special features, including the scatter symbol, bonus games, and so on. Still, no matter how different they might seem, all slots have a couple of things in common, including:
- SYMBOLS – Slot games feature different symbols with different values. Most slots have low-value symbols represented with numbers, while high-value symbols come in the form of an image or animation.
- PAYTABLE — Slots have a list of all the available prizes you can get in the game. It shows you which payout you will get for each combination of symbols that might appear on the reels. Payouts can change based on how much is wagered per bet or spin as well.
- BET PER LINE – You get to decide how much money you’re going to wager on each payline. Some casinos call it ‘BET PER LINE’ or simply ‘COIN.’ Note that this does not equal the total amount you’re going to wager on a spin.
- BET – Slots let you decide how big your stake is going to be. How much money you’re going to wager on a single spin is calculated by multiplying the BET PER LINE with the number of paylines.
- WINNINGS – Your winnings are calculated by multiplying the BET PER LINE with the payout rate of the combination of symbols.
- BALANCE – It’s safe to say that all slot games have the balance on display, showing the player how much money is left in their account.
- PLAY/SPIN — This is the button you ought to click/tap to get the reels spinning. Some online slots will simulate real reels spinning as they would with a physical fruit machine, while others will instantly give you the results.
Special Features of Online Slots
To keep the players entertained, leading slot developers are regularly developing new exciting features, graphics, and sounds. This way, players know that they are in for a treat with almost every new game released. There are lots of exciting bonus games, fun multipliers, bonus rounds, and other fun things within these games. Let’s go over those features:
- WILDS – Wilds are symbols that can substitute any other symbol on the reels to create a winning combination. In modern slots, their transformation is usually accompanied by a fun animation and/or exciting sounds.
- SCATTERS – Depending on the game, scatter symbols can either pay-out regardless of where they land or may trigger another feature, such as a bonus game or a multiplier.
- BONUS GAMES – Some slots come with a game within the game, which can be a game of chance (e.g., dice) or a game of skill (e.g., shooting virtual ducks).
- BONUS ROUNDS – Instead of winning actual money, you might get some bonus rounds. How it works is that your previous bet repeats itself a few more times.
- MULTIPLIERS – As you’ve probably figured it out from its name, this feature will multiply your winnings without increasing your stake.
- SPLIT SYMBOLS – In some slots, there are symbols made up of two different icons. Such symbols take only one place on the reels but have two possible values, thus boosting your chance of hitting a winning combination.
- AUTOPLAY – Slots are meant to be fun, but some players find animations slow and boring. If you don’t feel like playing slots all day, you can let the computer do it for you, using the AUTOPLAY option.
How to Play Slots in Vegas?
How to play casino slots in Las Vegas casinos or anywhere where slot machines are legal? We are now going to teach you how to do it. To master the slot playing skills, you just need to follow the next couple of steps:- Go to a licensed casino with a large selection of slot machines on its gaming floor.
- Sit at one slot and put your money in the machine. Some machines work only with paper notes; others work with coins only. Then, some work with both.
- Decide on the number of paylines and choose how much money you’re going to bet per each spin.
- Spin the reels! Once they stop, you will see if you’re a lucky winner.
From there, all you got to do is repeat the entire process until you hit the jackpot, lose your balance, or decide to switch to another casino game. Whatever you do, remember that casino gaming is all about the fun, the thrill, and the hope of winning so enjoy yourself!
How to Play Slots Online?
You don’t have to go to Vegas every time you feel like playing slots. You can play them on your computer/smartphone. If you don’t know how to play slots online, we’re now going to help you. Here’s how you play online slots:- Check out the MobileCasinoParty casino reviews to find an excellent casino and sign up.
- After registering an account and making your deposit, go to the game library and choose a fun slot to play.
- Set up the paylines and coin size. Do it in such a way so that you’re able to make several spins without going bust even if you don’t win anything straight away.
- Press the ‘SPIN’ button and hope for the best!
With online casino slots, you don’t have to spin the reels every time manually. Instead, you can turn on the AUTOPLAY function, which will spin the reels for you. AUTOPLAY gives you the freedom to do something else (e.g., play some other slot game).
Playing Different Types of Slot Games
Online slots are all about variety, with themes ranging from history to rock music. We’ve even found some pornstar themed slots out there. They also come with different numbers of reels and paylines, ranging from one to thousands.
For instance, there’s one Microgaming-powered slot with 3,125 ways to win.
Nevertheless, online casinos tend to separate slot games into several main categories. We’re now going to discuss some of those.
Fixed-Jackpot Games
Most online slot games belong to this category. The biggest prize you can win in the game is always the same. For example, in the BetSoft Casino Slotfather II game, the jackpot equals 300 coins, which means that if with the maximum bet per line of $1, the jackpot would be $500.
Progressive Slots
Regular slots have fixed jackpots that never change. With progressive slots, the jackpot increases over time. The more people play the game, the higher it gets. The result is that lucky winners who hit the progressive jackpot can walk away with millions of dollars. The Guinness World Record for the biggest jackpot won on online slots is over $20 million. A lucky guy from Wales won it by playing a progressive slot called Mega Moolah.
Classic Slots
The ‘Liberty Bell’ fruit machine is considered to be the precursor to modern casino slots. Created in the late 19th century, the machine had three reels and only one payline. In order to win, you had to get three matching symbols in the horizontal line. The game is as simple as it gets, which is why it still has a huge fan base. People love playing these games both in land-based parlors and in online casinos.
Crossover Games
By crossover games, we mean slots in combination with other games. For example, there are some poker-slot combos, in which cards are used as symbols. Payouts are calculated according to card values in poker, with Royal Flush (A, K, Q, J, 10 in the same suit) being the game’s jackpot.
How to Play Slots – Do’s & Don’ts
The whole point of playing slots is to have fun. If you win, great. If not, at least you’ve had a good time. Of course, you can’t have a good time if you’re losing all the time. To boost your chances of winning some money on online slots, here are some things you should do and some you need to avoid at all costs.
- Do your research to find a slot game that’s generous with the payouts.
- Take advantage of FREE SPINS and other bonus deals available to slots players.
- Plan your bet budget so that you can make at least 50 spins in one go. For example, if you got $200 to spend on slots, your bet per spin should be around $4.
- Never bet more than you can afford, or your slot adventure might end too soon.
- Never play a game for real money unless you’re familiar with its rules.
Short Guide on How to Play Slots in Online Tournaments
If you know how to play slots, you know that this is the game in which you’re pitted against the casino. If you win, the casino loses, and vice versa. Knowing all this, you might find it surprising that it is possible to play slots against other players. How can this be possible? The answer is that you can compete with other slot fans in slot tournaments.
The one player who wins the tournament walks away with the main prize. Depending on the casino, it can be anything from a real-money prize to a holiday voucher. Sounds good? If so, you surely want to learn how to play slots and win in online tourneys!
To do that, you can’t pick just any random slot game. Instead, only the game selected by the casino is what counts. You get to play that game over a certain time window (day, week, month), and the player who finishes at the very top of the tournament leaderboard is the winner.
In order to join the tournament, you might be required to pay a small fee, which is usually somewhere in the ballpark of $5. There are also some free tournaments out there, but they’re usually not as lucrative as their paid counterparts.
Frequently Asked Question
You have to be of gambling age in your state in order to be allowed to play slots. This goes both for slots in land-based casinos and slots played online. The big question is what’s the minimum gambling age in your state? The answer, however, depends on where you live. In some US states, you need to be 21 to be allowed to gamble, while the gambling age in some states is 18. To learn more about the subject, feel free to check out our Gambling by State page.
Some online casinos have their own mobile apps, which you can download to your smartphone/tablet in order to play all sorts of games, slots included. Alternatively, you can use the web browser of your mobile device to open the casino website and play the slots this way. Note that some slot games aren’t designed to work well on small displays such as the one you have on your smartphone. The good news is that a big majority of them do work very well on mobiles.
There are more than 130 casinos in Las Vegas at the moment of writing, and almost all of them have at least a few dozen slot machines on the game floor. Those casinos situated along the Las Vegas Strip are the ones where you can find the largest selection of slot machines. For example, there are more than 2,000 slots to choose from at the MGM Grand Las Vegas.
The answer depends on your preferences. If a slot game provides you entertainment, it’s a great choice. From the financial point of view, the best slot machines are the loosest ones, that is, the ones with the RTP in the late 90s. For example, if a slot has an RTP of 99%, it means that the house gets to keep only 1% of the total money wagered on the game.
There are several ways to do it, starting with the one that involves grabbing promo offers. There are some online casinos that give away free spins on certain slot games on a regular basis. Claiming such offers is the way to play slots for free. Another method is to play free slots on sites like MobileCasinoParty. Note that these are demo versions of real slot games, so playing them does not bring you a chance of winning any money.