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Slots Terminology – The Most Complete Slots Glossary
Introduction
For those who are new to playing slots you may be unfamiliar with some of the terms that are used often. This may make playing slots a bit intimidating but it does not have to be. Instead refer to this handy glossary:
This can be any item outside the typical spin that will help you generate additional jackpots. For examples, wild symbols, free spins, scatters, multipliers, gamble features, bonus games and nudges are among the bonus features you may see.
A bonus game is where you have an additional game aside from spinning the reels to win money or increase your jackpot. Some bonus games are luck based. For example, you have several chests. You click on chests and get additional jackpots until one is empty and the bonus game ends. Some bonus games are skill based. For example, you have to catch falling apples. The more you catch, the bigger the jackpot but once you drop three the bonus game is over.
This means that for every coin you wager, a different pay schedule is allowed. For example, one coin may trigger all of one symbol that will pay, second coin may allow for other symbols to pay out and the third symbol unlocks all the possible payout options.
Classic slots are generally three reels and one pay line. It may include some bonus features but generally synonymous with the term “classic” is simple. There are usually no complicated rules or pay outs.
The use of comp points rewards players in both online and land based slots for playing. The more you play and bet, the more points you accumulate. These points can then be cashed in for real money or freebies.
this is the size of the coin you will play. You may choose penny slots, nickels, dimes, quarters, half dollars, dollars or multiple dollars. Many slots games these days are multi denomination slots games so you can choose the denomination you want that suits your budget.
A free spin is when a symbol appears on the reels and it triggers a certain number of spins that you do not have to pay for. For example, you may play a game that has an orange as a symbol. If it appears on the third reel you may get 20 free spins. In those 20 spins that occur automatically you may get to increase your winnings without investing any additional money.
The gamble feature is a fun bonus symbol that allows you to take an already earned jackpot and have the chance to multiply it by gambling it to see if you will win even more. Some online slots have this feature enabled and when you decide to gamble it takes you to a bonus game. If you win, you get your original jackpot multiplied by a certain amount.
Guaranteed play slots are almost exclusively a land based promotion. The way it works is you buy in to the slots game and are guaranteed a certain number of spins for your buy in. If you win a big jackpot off of those spins, you essentially paid less to get the jackpot.
Hand pay is a term used exclusively in land based casinos. This means that your jackpot is so large that you will be paid from a cashier instead of all the coins that are in the hopper. Today this term is becoming obsolete with the increasing use of ticket in/ticket out payment systems.
A hit is when the symbols line up on the pay line to generate a jackpot. A win.
The hopper is where all the coins are stored in a land based slot machine. When a winning combination hits, the win will fall into the coin tray, reducing the amount of money in the hopper. If there is a large jackpot, you may need a hand pay where you are paid by the cashier.
iSlots are the newest version of online slots developed by Rival Software. The term iSlots is specific to the Rival gaming series and stands for interactive slots. Other software developers will likely launch their own brand of this type of game for both online and land based slots. The idea is that there is a back story on the game. The way the game unfolds is dependent on your spins. So, you never get the same game twice even when playing on the same machine.
This is the amount of money you win when you hit a winning combination. For example, you may have all 3 like symbols on a 3 reel slot. On a max bet, this winning combination will yield $1,000. This $1,000 is the jackpot.
Loose slots is a term that is used to describe a machine that is paying out more money that is typically expected. For example, a machine that continually hits and is skewing the payout percentage is considered a loose slot machine.
Maximum bet – The maximum bet is the most possible money you can wager per spin. For single pay line slots this is easy to figure out. There is usually a starting denomination and possible number of coins per spin. If the max coins per spin is 3 and you are playing a penny slot, your maximum bet is 3 cents. It gets more complicated, though, when dealing with multi line slots. A penny slot with five reels, 20 pay lines, and 3 possible coins per pay line would mean your max bet is 60 cents per spin (3 coins x 1 penny x 20 pay lines)
Minimum bet – The minimum bet is the smallest amount of money you can pay to play the slots game. For example, you may have a multi denomination slots game that ranges from a penny to $5, with multiple pay lines and the possibility of betting up to three coins per pay line. The minimum bet is one penny but it will only activate one pay line.
Multi denomination slots game – This is a game that allows you to choose the denomination you want to bet. For example, some slots games will allow you to bet a penny all the way up to several dollars as the coin denomination. If you choose, for example, to bet quarters, all bets will be in 25 cent increments. If you want to bet three pay lines with a single coin for each, your total wager would be $0.75.
Multi pay line slots – Multi pay line slots are where there are various paths to a winning combination. In a three reel slot machine the typical pay line is in the middle. However, if the lines above and below the middle can also generate a hit, this is a multiple pay line or multi line slot. Multi line slots games are most prevalent with five or more reel slots games.
Multiplier – A multiplier takes the typical jackpot you would have received and multiplies it so you get more. For example, if you have a multiplier symbol in a jackpot that would normally pay out 100 coins and you have an x2 multiplier, you will receive 200 coins as your jackpot.
Nudges – Nudges are fun bonus features that allow you to make sure symbols fall on the pay line. If you have two reels with a symbol on it but the third reel is between symbols, the nudge will push or bump the reel so a symbol appears.
Onesies – Onesies is a term used when you play a single coin at a time. While this is often done on a classic slots machine you will also see it on multi line slots where you have the option of betting multiple coins but choose to only activate a single pay line with a single coin.
Pay line – The pay line is the path that symbols have to land on in order to pay out. In classic slots this is typically the middle line across three reels. However, there are multi line slots available where the pay line can be three or more lines. Five reel slots often have 20 or 25 pay lines available. Each pay line is activated when another coin is wagered. For example, a five reel, 20 pay line penny slot would take a minimum of twenty cents to activate all pay lines. Added to this is multiple coin options and a simple penny slot can become a lot more expensive. For example, you may have a three coin max per pay line. On the same penny machine a max bet would be sixty cents or 3 pennies per pay line multiplied by 20 pay lines.
Pay table – The pay table show how you will win a jackpot. These are typically posted on the front of a slot machine in both online slots and land based slots. It will show all the possible winning combinations and what you will expect in a jackpot based on your wager. You should always check the pay table before determining your wager as some jackpots are not unlocked unless a max bet is used.
Payout – The payout is another name for the jackpot. When you hit a winning combination you can check the pay table. Your payout should match what the pay table shows. For example, if you have three bars and this results in a 10 coin payout, your payout would be 10 coins of whatever denomination you originally bet. For example, a quarter machine yielding 10 coins would be a jackpot of $2.50.
Payout percentage – This the percentage a slot machine typically pays out over the course of time. These statistics are usually available from the casino so you can determine which slots games you want to play either online or land based. The payout percentage is calculated by determining the amount of money that goes through a slot machine (slots drop) divided by the amount of money that is not paid out in winnings (slots hold) and multiplied by 100%. The higher the percentage, the better your odds are of winning. Keep in mind these calculations are determined over a long period of time so there is always a possibility of a single day defying the advertised payout percentages.
Play through – This is typically seen when there are bonuses given in online casinos though sometimes land based casinos will also use them. Play through is the amount you have to wager over and above the amount of bonus you were rewarded in order to cash it out. For example, if you receive a deposit bonus to play slots of $50 but have a x20 play through this means you actually have to wager an amount of $1,000 before you can retrieve any winnings earned off of that $50 bonus. While this may seem like a lot, keep in mind that you are often winning and losing with slots so you may put in less money than you think by reinvesting your jackpots.
Progressive Jackpot – A progressive jackpot is where the amount you will win if you hit the best possible winning combination is determined by how many people are playing the game and how much is being wagered. All machines in a particular series are networked together and the prize pool starts at zero. As everyone bets, this prize increases exponentially until it is hit. The amount that is won is the progressive jackpot. Progressive jackpots are very popular because they often reach several thousand and even millions of dollars. There is a chance that you could win millions from a single lucky spin.
Random number generator (RNG) – The RNG or Random Number Generator is a device that runs the slot machine to generate random combinations. The bigger the jackpot, the fewer combinations are programmed in to win it. As you spin the reels they will stop randomly and if the symbols align on the pay line in a winning combination you get a payout or jackpot.
Reels – The reels are the barrels that have various symbols on them. As they spin and stop each symbol on the pay line will determine if there is a winning combination. The reels are the same whether virtual or real. So, online slots use the term reels even though there are no physical reels. Three and five reel slots are the most common types of slots in both online casinos and land based casinos.
Scatter – The scatter symbol generates a winning combination if a certain number of them appear anywhere on the reels, even if they are not in line on a pay line. The scatter symbols are often rare but they are fun to have because you win even if you do not hit any combination on a pay line.
Short win – A short win is the term used when you hit a jackpot after a very few spins of the reels. For example, if you are at a land based casino and walk by a slot machine, put a single coin in and hit the winning jackpot, that would be considered a short win.
Slots Drop – The slots drop is basically how much money is put into a slot machine. This is one component of determining the payout percentage. The more money that is filtered though the slot machine, the higher the slots drop.
Slots Hold – The slots hold is the amount of money that stays in the slot machine without getting paid out as winnings. This is the second component to determining the payout percentage. The fewer jackpots that are hit on a particular machine, the more the slots hold will be.
Slots tournament – A slots tournament is where people vie for top honors of winning in slots. Typically slots tournaments are for a predetermined time and the top winner is decided after the allotted time. Winners are determined either by the amount of comp points accumulated during the tournament (more common in online slots tournaments) or by how much money was won during the period of the tournament (more common in land based slots tournaments). Slots tournaments are a great way to play slots for a longer period of time while betting less money. You may have a chance of winning cash and prizes or bonus money.
Staggered payout – A staggered payout is where the ratio of the amount of a jackpot increases with each coin that is bet. For example, three cherries on one coin may yield a win of one coin; three cherries on two coins may yield a win of three coins and three cherries on three coins may yield a win of six coins. The ratio of the win increases with each coin that is played.
Static jackpot – A static jackpot does not change the ratio for the winning amount regardless of how many coins you bet. For example, three cherries on one coin may yield a win of one coin; three cherries on two coins may yield a win of two coins and three cherries on three coins may yield a win of three coins. There is a 1:1, 2:2 and 3:3 ratio for all coins.
Symbols – The symbols are the images on the reels that make up a winning combination. Symbols can be anything imaginable and are often part of a theme the slots game is based on.
Ticket in/Ticket Out – This is a land based term that is based on an online premise. In online slots play, you make a deposit and receive credits that you play off of until you wish to cash in or withdraw your money. These days land based casinos are using a similar method for their winnings. Once you deposit money into your first slot machine, as you win, credits are accumulated or deducted. When you are ready to leave that machine you get a ticket with the number of credits you have left. You can put that into another slot machine and play off of that or cash it in and receive all your winnings in cash.
Tight slots – Tight slots are those where the machine does not pay out very often. It is the opposite of loose slots.
Video slots – This is a term for online slots where the reels are virtual as opposed to mechanical and are seen on a screen.
Wild symbol – The wild symbol is a designated symbol that will stand for any other symbol on the reel. For example if a jackpot would consist of three cherries if two cherries and a wild symbol land on the pay line you will still win the jackpot.
Winning combinations – The winning combinations are all variations of symbols that will pay out a jackpot if they hit on a pay line.