Slots Terminology
Navigating the world of online slots can be much more enjoyable when you understand the terminology associated with these popular casino games. Here’s a comprehensive list of slots terminology to help you become a savvy player:
Bankroll
The money you have in your online casino account is called the bankroll. You can place bets as much as the sum of your real money account and bonus account at an online casino.
Bonus
A slot player can earn bonus credits during the game, when certain bonus winning combinations appear on reels and lines.
Coins
Coin means the bet you place for one spin in a slot game.
Free Slots
Several reputed online casinos have free slot playing feature, so that new players can test the quality of the games and software, get used to playing slots, learn the rules at their casino.
Free Spins
Certain symbol combinations, as well as a certain number of scatter symbols appearing on the reels earn the player bonus games that are called free spins.
Free spins are played like a normal slot game, and you have the chance of winning money without placing bets with your own money.
It’s possible to win more than 1 free spin at once. Usually, the machine automatically plays your last bet in free spins.
i-slots or Interactive Slots
Slots that feature a storyline are called interactive slots, or i-slots. As you hit certain paylines and make a progress while you’re playing, you’ll see a different stage of the story for your next spin.
Jackpot
The big prize in a slot game. Except for the progressive slots, the slot jackpot is usually a fixed amount.
Maximum bet
You can not bet more than the stated maximum bet amount in a slot game. Except for the progressive jackpot, you can bet as much as you like. However, you have to place the maximum bet to win in progressive jackpots.
Multiplier Slots
Your winning is multiplied when you play a multipler slot game.
Paylines
A slot consists of reels and lines. Reels are the parts that spin while you’re playing, whereas the lines are the lines that symbol combinations appear.
When winning symbol combinations appear in a line, then the line becomes a payline.The payline does not have to be a straight line: multipayline slots feature several types of paylines in different forms such as straight payline, triangular payline, zigzag payline, and the like.
Pay Table or Pay Schedule
A pay table is a chart that includes information about the winning combinations and how much money can be won with these specific combinations.
Payout Percentage
The slot game does not give all it has when a player hits the jackpot. Instead, it gives a certain percentage of the money collected. This is called the payout percentage and it is different in different casinos, for different type of slots and other games.
Progressive Jackpot
Some online casinos feature several slots that are linked together and all bets played in these numerous slots are accumulated as one jackpot. As several players contribute to it continuously, the jackpot progresses continuously too and that’s why it’s called progressive jackpot.
When a player hits the jackpot in any of the slots tied to the progressive jackpot, he wins the big prize, and then the progressive jackpot begins from zero or some minimum limit again.
There’s no fixed limit for progressive jackpots and the prize increase until a player wins. Because the chances of winning the progressive jackpot is low, it’s common that the jackpot grows to hundreds of thousands and even millions.
Also, players are required to place the maximum bet to win the progressive jackpot.
Random Number Generator
In a slot game, the symbol combinations that appear on lines and reels are generated with a software called Random Number Generator (RNG) which provides that the selection of symbols are automatic and without anybody’s sided interference. In this way, the games are fair.
Reels
Reel in a slot is the part that turns when the player hits the spin button and different symbol combinations appear on the screen thanks to them.
Scatter Symbol
A scatter symbol is a symbol that appears on the reels in a “scattered” manner and offers the player different additional winnings:
A certain number of scatter symbols (as written in the instructions of the particular slot you’re playing) can earn you free spins, can multiply the payout (this will be stated in the payout table of the game) or can add cash directly to your win.
Symbols
Symbols in a slot game refer to the pictures on the reels. Only with certain symbol combinations a player can win money.
Wild Symbol
A wild symbol in a slot game can be used in the place of any other symbol, like the joker in card games.
If you’re playing a 5-reel slot, and you have 4 same symbols and 1 wild symbol on a line, you hit the jackpot because that wild symbol can be used in the place of the same symbol featured on the other 4 reels.
Wild symbols can be used in place of all symbols in a slot, except for scatter symbols.
