How To Play Slots: Ultimate Guide For 2024

Slot games are the easiest of casino games to play because you technically don't need any specific knowledge or skill to play them on a basic level.

However, to get the most out of playing slots, it really pays to learn how they work.

Knowing how to play slots can make the experience all the more enjoyable, and it can help to give you an improved edge when choosing what games to play or what to look out for.

To find out more about how to play slots, this guide will give you everything you need to know, plus you can learn how to play slots strategically to maximise your profits.

Slot Terminology

Before we go any further with how to play slots, we need to get some basic but common slot terminology out of the way.

RNG

Random Number Generator is how slots are operated. RNG ensures that each spin on a slot game is completely random and independent and therefore cannot be predetermined or fixed. Slot developers incorporate it into the game software and it is tested rigorously before a game is launched.

RTP

RTP Stands for Return to Player and gives a percentage return of what a player can expect to receive when they wager £100 on a slot game. The number is taken over a huge sample, and is not a guaranteed return for every player, but an overall average. The majority of slot games have an RTP of between 90% - 97%. The higher the RTP the higher the return, in theory.

Volatility

Volatility refers to how volatile a slot game can be in terms of how frequently it pays out. Low volatility slots provide regular steady payouts while high volatility slots can have long periods of little or no wins, but when they hit, they can drop a big valuable pay out.

Variance

Variance refers to the deviation of payouts from a slot machine. Low variance slots will pay within a small pay range, so you know what you’ll roughly get from bonus features and line hits. High variance slots have a much wider range of payouts where you could win as little as a few pounds to as high as thousands of pounds depending on the game.

Types Of Slots

Traditional Reel Slots

These types of slot games are the more old-school style of game that usually have three reels and one to three pay lines.

If you think of a retro one-arm bandit type of casino slot, with a glass window that reveals a small number of symbols on every spin.

Traditionally symbols include fruit, particularly cherries, (hence the name fruit machines), bells and the lucky number 7. In order to win, you have to line up the winning symbols on one of the paylines.

These slots are fixed in terms of their format. There are no video screens, extra graphics, varying features etc, they are static. Although sometimes they can involve one extra feature such as a physical wheel, which spins when triggered.

Modern Video Slots

Video slots are vastly different from the original versions. Using video technology, slots can be as dynamic, colourful, stimulating and varied as possible.

Many video slots work off 3 x 5 reels, but this can vary depending on the game. Plus paylines are usually anything from five to fifty lines, although some have many more.

Modern video slots come in every type of theme you can think of. Animals, dragons, mythology, sports, movies, superheroes, countries, and fishing are just a few examples.

Where video slots really stand out is in the audio/visual presentation and the huge range of different bonus features they offer. There is no limit to the number of features that games can have or what format they come in. Examples of bonus features can include hold and spins, wheel spins, expanding wilds, free games, sticky wilds, multiple screens etc.

Progressive Slots

Slots with progressive jackpots are becoming more and more popular in recent times.

Progressive slots differ from other slots, in that rather than having one fixed jackpot prize, they offer a jackpot that continues to grow with every spin you make.

Some progressive slots are standalone, so that a proportion of every spin made on that specific game contributes to an overall pot that will be won by someone playing that slot. Often these have a maximum cap.

However, in a lot of cases, progressive slots are linked across other machines or other networks. In a physical casino, this can mean a bank of slot games in one casino might be linked, or a range of slot games over various casinos in a geographical area could be linked. So that everyone playing that game is contributing to the overall progressive jackpot. But only one can win it.

In online casinos, progressive slots work the same. There are often linked games within one casino operator, or much wider linked games across different casino operators. Jackpot King Deluxe is one good example that runs across several games in several online casinos.

Everyone playing a Jackpot King Deluxe game is eligible to win the huge progressive jackpot, but only one will. And it will be a biggie!

Progressives are often split into smaller pots within a game. So, for example, a slot game can have a Mini, Minor, Major and Grand Progressive Jackpot which can be won in several ways.

How Slots Work

We’ve already briefly touched on RNG in terms of how slots work. But to delve a little deeper, the basic process is that slot designers or software companies create a game in terms of its concept, theme, appearance, audio, format and features.

They then ‘sell’ that game to operators, whether that's brick-and-mortar casinos or online casinos for people to play.

Some casino operators will only provide slots from one or two games providers, whereas others have a wide range of options. This is why you’ll see some games that seem to appear in every casino and others that are only available at select ones.

From a player's point of view, although you only need to press the spin button for a slot to work, there are many differences in terms of how slots look, how they play and, most importantly, how they pay out. We’ll take a look at a few of these differences below.

Reels

Many modern video slots work off a basic 5 x 3 reels format. That means they have five reels and three rows of symbols. You’ll find many of the most popular slots have this set-up such as Big Bass Bonanza, Starburst, Book of Dead etc.

However, this isn’t always the case. In games such as Sweet Bonanza, Gates of Olympus and Money Train, they work off of a taller game grid, such as 6 x 5.

This not only affects the look of the game, but also the paylines and pay format.

Stake

The bet level that you can play at is determined at the design stage. So, some slots will allow you to bet from as little as 10p per spin, whereas others will have a minimum bet of 20p, 25p, 40p, 50p or £1.

In terms of maximum bet levels, they also differ according to the game, but can go up to £50, £100, £150 or even more per spin in an online casino.

Paylines

With paylines, there are two things to consider. Firstly, how many paylines the slot game has and secondly how the slot pays out on those lines.

In simple terms, paylines are lines that enable you to win money if you land matching symbols on them. If you get a string of matching symbols along a payline, then it should result in a win.

Say, for example you take a standard 5 x 3 reel game, the basic five pay lines would normally be the three horizontal lines from the left, plus the V and inverted V from the top left and bottom left square.

However, paylines can go up to 50 in a standard game giving you lots of different ways to win.

Traditionally, paylines run from the leftmost reel and require a minimum of three adjacent matching symbols or wilds to pay out. The more symbols on a payline, the bigger the win.

However, as more creative and varied games have been developed, the paylines have also changed. For example, Gates of Olympus operates an All-Ways payline system, which basically means the whole game grid is a payline. In order to win, you have to land eight matching symbols across the board, regardless of where they are positioned.

Whereas a game like Starburst offers a Both-Ways payline system, with 10 paylines, which means you have to land at least three matching symbols on adjacent reels on a payline to win, but it can come from either direction - Reel 1 or Reel 5.

Pay Scales

Pay scales refer to the specific cash value that you get when you hit a win on a slot machine.

Every slot machine is made up of higher paying symbols and lower paying symbols. If you check the info screen on any slot game, it will give you a breakdown of which is which.

The higher paying symbols are usually the more intricate or themed ones, such as characters or objects, whereas the lower paying ones are often numbers or letters.

Every symbol has a pay scale attached to it in the form of a multiplier. Let’s take an example from the popular slot game Book of Dead and show you the return on each of the symbols assuming you land three of them adjacently on a payline.

Lowest paying symbols 10, J, Q, K, A - 3 symbols will return 0.5x your stake

Mid paying symbols Horus, Anubis & Osiris - three symbols will return 3x or 4x your stake

Highest paying symbol Rich Wilde - three symbols will return 10x your stake

Slot game pay scales can differ greatly though. The ones with higher symbol pay scales often give valuable line hits. However, the ones with smaller pay scales, tend to be the ones that are all about the bonus features.

Most slots have a symbol known as a Scatter symbol, which is often the highest paying symbol and the way to trigger some key bonus features. This symbol differs in every game.

The overall pay scale of a slot machine is measured in terms of what is the maximum you can win on a single spin and is given as a multiplier of the stake you bet at.

In the example of Book of Dead, the maximum win is 5000x. That means that if you are betting 10p a spin, the biggest win you can get from a single spin is £500. If you are betting £1, then it is £5000.

In order to land that maximum win, you have to hit the best possible screen, usually getting a full screen of the highest paying symbol.

Maximum wins can also vary greatly depending on the format of the game. Sweet Bonanza, for example, has a maximum win of 21,175x and that is because it uses the tumble feature, which I’ll explain below.

Slot Bonus Features

Slots are meant to be fun, that’s certainly why I play them. Obviously, the chance of making money and hitting a big win just adds to that excitement too. But, ultimately, I play slots that I enjoy, that have fun themes, soundtracks, features and bonuses. That way, even when I lose, I have had fun doing so.

With ever-advancing technology and increasing demand for bigger, better and more varied slot games, slot features are more creative and exciting than ever. Which is a great thing for casino players.

While winning line hits by landing symbols on paylines can be fun, the real joy comes from triggering slot bonuses.

All slot bonus features have some sort of trigger. It can be landing three scatter symbols, six icons, a wheel feature or a pot of cash bursting open. Here’s a summary of some of the most common slot features and bonuses you might come across.

Tumble/Cascade Feature

This is a popular feature in slot games and allows you to get multiple wins from a single spin. When you hit ‘spin’ the reels will land on a set of symbols which hopefully create a winning combination for you.

If this happens, then the symbols that created the winning line will disappear and new symbols will tumble down to replace them. If the new symbols also create a winning combination, then the process will happen again.

The tumble feature means that players can get two, three or more winning line hits, by just making one spin, and therefore only making one stake.

Megaways

Megaways slots are fairly new to online gaming but are extremely popular. They operate a unique reels structure, where every spin creates a different amount of columns and rows for symbols to land.

Symbols can be a range of different sizes and there can be anything from two to seven in one column. What that means is that every spin has a different number of ways of win, 117,649 to be exact, and the paylines change on every spin.

Often, Megaways games come with the cascade feature described above.

Free Games

A Free Games Bonus is a feature of most slot games and is often one of the most exciting things about playing slots.

Usually, free games are triggered by landing three or more Scatter symbols which are different in each slot. But the trigger can vary.

Free Games frequently come with a set number of free spins, for example, eight or 10. But sometimes they are only three with lots of chances to retrigger.

Often Free Games bonuses come with special features such as multipliers, collect symbols, or sticky wilds so they offer more chances to win. Plus, they are highly entertaining too!

Hold and Spin

The Hold and Spin feature is, personally, my favourite bonus in a slot game. It is usually triggered by landing a set number of one specific symbol, for example, six coins with a numerical value.

With a Hold and Spin bonus, the six symbols you’ve landed stay on screen and you have chances to add more. The typical Hold and Spin Bonus begins with three spins.

Press the spin button and symbols will spin through the available spaces on the grid. The hope is that at least one symbol lands to join the original six. If it does, your spins reset back to three and you keep spinning trying to fill up all the squares on the grid.

You can often land progressive symbols during the Hold and Spin bonus, a Mini, Minor or Major coin can drop in. Plus, if you fill up all of the squares it sometimes awards the Grand Progressive Jackpot depending on the game.

Pot Burst

Slot games regularly come with some sort of visual pot that grows as you play. You might see a pot of gold, or a plant that grows, or a bar that fills up every time you land a certain symbol.

This can be exciting as you can physically see the pot filling up, and once it hits a particular point, it bursts or pops open to reveal a cash win or a bonus feature.

Although visually stimulating, it is important to be aware that in many cases, these pots are not a true reflection of when the pot will burst and can be misleading. They are there to make the slot look aesthetically pleasing and to increase engagement and excitement. The only element you can be sure of is when a slot has a fixed maximum point that a jackpot must be won by, or a specific amount of time.

You will often see progressive jackpots that have a time counter which must be won in the next hour or end of the day. Alternatively, you can have jackpots that must be won by £500 or £1000 for example.

Wilds

Wild symbols are a feature of most slot games and usually substitute for all symbols apart from the main Scatter symbol. That means that if you hit two matching symbols and a Wild symbol on a payline, then it will pay out as if you’d landed three matching symbols.

There are also many other benefits that can come from Wild symbols. Sometimes wilds can expand over a full reel to create more wins. Sometimes wild symbols come with multipliers such as x2 or x3 and sometimes they are sticky wilds, so they will remain in place when the rest of the reels spin.

Tips For Playing Slots

When you go into a casino or open up an online casino, the sheer amount of slot games can be completely overwhelming and even a little daunting. It can be hard to know where to start.

It’s important to understand that slots are designed to give the casino’s an unfair advantage so if you’re gambling - only use money you can afford to lose. There are ways you can turn the odds in your favour which we’ll get to shortly.

Choosing which slot to play is completely subjective in terms of what you enjoy, but there are a few things to consider.

Bet Level

Does the game you want to play have the stake level you are comfortable with? If not, look for games with a lower (or higher) minimum or maximum bet to suit your budget. Always manage your betting bankroll carefully.

RTP

Although not an exact science, the RTP of a game can give you an idea of the payout rates. Generally the higher the RTP, the better the payout you can expect, so aim for something with an RTP of 96% plus for the best chance of getting a good return.

Volatility and Variance

Slots vary in terms of their frequency and quality of payouts. If you’re someone who needs regular wins to keep your interest, and more steady payouts then you should go for a game with low volatility and variance.

If, on the other hand, you have the budget and patience to wait out potentially long periods of dead spins in the hope of hitting a big juicy payout then slots with high volatility and variance will suit you.

Do Your Research

This can be as simple as checking out the information screen on a slot machine. Here you’ll find the range of symbols, pay scales, paylines and features. Knowing more about a slot game, what to look out for, and what fun features you can trigger makes it more enjoyable to play.

If you want to see the slot game in action, then usually you can find YouTube videos of people playing most games online.

Themes

This might sound obvious, but there are so many different themes, audio and visuals to slot games, you can take your pick based on your own preferences.

I personally love slots with lots of colour, sound, and fun features, such as Hold and Spins, so I’m drawn to them. But there is so much choice out there, so feel free to browse and try games out until you find your favourites.

Slot Advantage Play

As explained above, slots work off RNG, making them impossible to predict or rely on. However, there are ways you can turn the advantage in your favour when playing slots.

Matched betting companies such as Outplayed can offer strategic ways to turn special offers and promotions awarded by online casinos into profitable opportunities.

For example, if an online casino offers a ‘Wager £10, get 20 free spins’ bonus, then Outplayed applies simple mathematics to work out how to turn this into an advantage for the player by calculating the expected value of the offer.

Then, looking at the terms and conditions of the offer, the criteria, and the eligible games, they provide guides on how best to play the bonus to provide the best return for the player.

If you want to find out more, then check out our guide to casino play.

Keeping Slot Play Fun

Slots can be extremely fun and exhilarating, but they can also be addictive. It can be a little too easy to just keep hitting the ‘spin’ button without realising how much time or money has been spent.

That’s why it’s always important to keep slot play fun at all times and be very conscious when playing. Tips to keep it fun include setting yourself a budget beforehand and sticking to it, taking breaks when playing, and if you hit a good win, log out for a while and enjoy the win (thinking how you might spend it) before deciding whether you want to log back in again.

If you are experiencing signs that slot play might be getting out of control, for example, spending more than you can afford, borrowing money to play, or sacrificing time with friends and family to gamble, then seek assistance through GamStop or refer to the ‘responsible gambling’ page on every online casino for support.