Slot Basics

Slot machines have existed for many years, since the introduction of Charles Fey's 'Liberty Bell' in the late part of the 19th century. This was the model that all subsequent slot game have been based on and the winning formula has changed very little over the years with technology merely expanding the game and refining money collection and payout from the slot. Everyone has to start playing somewhere and we were all beginners once, so we've decided to put together a short basic guide for anyone looking to start playing slot games.

To start with we'll look at the most simple slot the classic one win line slot machine with 3 reels. This slot is made up of 3 reels which are decorated with evenly placed symbols over the reel. These reels are able to spin round in one direction. The player adds money to the machine (most modern machines have banks which can store credits for the machine and online slots will have a facility to add from electronic banking) and a fixed amount of money is taken from the bank to pay for every spin of the reels. The player will then pay to spin the reels which will then revolve for a few moments gloriously flashing all the symbols in front of the players eyes before dropping in to give a combination of symbols on the central win line. Certain combinations (often the intuitive ones like 3 of the same symbols in a row) will pay out the player a winning amount based on how difficult the combination of symbols is to achieve. A symbol winning a low amount may feature many times on the reel with 5 or 6 combinations available to pay the low win, whereas a jackpot combination may only feature once on the reels.

We can expand upon the above model to explain most modern day slots. Many 3 reel slots still exist but there are many 5 reel slots available to play that have more combinations available giving higher win values and jackpots. In our original picture our machine had 1 win line, but it's possible for slot machines to display up to 4 symbols when a reel stops; that's 20 symbols in play on a 5 reel machine so it will come as no surprise to you when you learn that machines of this ilk can have up to 25 win lines. Don't worry however about knowing where every win line is as most machines have colour codes and line indicators so you can tell exactly what you're betting on. Slots these days also allow players to increment bet amounts on lines so that on some advanced slots you can actually bet different amounts on any number of lines. Be aware however that some of the largest modern jackpot machines need the player to place a maximum bet for you to win the top prize from the machine.

Payout percentage is something all slot players need to be aware of, as it's the rate at which money is returned from the slot. For example if the payout on a slot is 50% then for every £1 wagered on the machine the player can expect to receive 50p back. The better or looser the slot, the higher that payout percentage will be, with harder or tighter slots having a much lower payout percentages.

All slot games provide clear instructions on how to play, and any player worth his or her salt will always review this guide. Online you can usually find this on the slot itself or on the page that will load the slot. Many slots now have bonus games which are far beyond the scope of this article to describe as there are so many out there, so if you are playing on one of these bonus slots it's essential you read the guide prior to play as many of these bonus games can be worth quite a bit of money.

So, there we have it, the basics of slots. Don't worry if anything sounds too complicated, it's really not, and with so many things in life the best way to learn is to do. Start playing basic slots and low levels and you'll soon find you've got the touch and after a short time this will give you the confidence to move on and try out bigger, more complex machines.