How to Play Casino Slots Online

Have you ever wondered how to play slots on the internet? We’re going to tell you all the essential things one should know before entering the vast jungle of online casinos. This is a guide for everyone, for people totally new to gambling, and for experienced casino players who still haven’t discovered the exciting world of iGaming.

Fruit machine, slot machine, poker machine, and one-armed bandit are all names for the same kind of games. Fruit machine is a common name for the game in the UK, and the expression originates from many games having fruit symbols. In some places, it’s called a poker machine because playing cards are some of the most common symbols, but the name isn’t very accurate because you’re not making poker hands in slots. One-armed bandit comes from how the games used to look back in the day when the players span the reels by pulling a handle – looking like an arm – on the right-hand side of the machine.

In some ways, a slot machine is the most basic game in the internet casinos because the player can’t affect the chances of winning – they’re completely random. It is, of course, vital to know where and how to play, though. And although you can’t affect the outcome, the games become more advanced all the time with game developers creating new features and pushing the technical evolution with better and better graphics and animations.

A slot has a predetermined number of reels. The old-school most basic games have 3 reels with 3 rows, giving the player a total of 9 positions, each containing one symbol. The most common setup on such a grid is 5 paylines, where 3 run vertically on the rows and 2 run diagonally from the upper left corner to the bottom right and from the bottom left corner to the upper right. To make a win, the player needs to land the same symbol type on one of the paylines, and a predetermined sum will be paid out.

Once you have learned the basics, you’ll realize that there are games with more advanced setups these days. The possibilities of winning often increase the more reels and rows a game has, but it also depends on the number of paylines and the rules to make a win. Some games, such as Dead Riders Trail and Cygnus 2, award wins as long as the symbols are on adjacent reels, creating thousands of ways to win. In most games, a win has to start on the first reel to the left, but you’ll also find versions awarding combinations landing in clusters, such as Cluster Tumble and Star Clusters Megapays.

Except for many different ways to make wins, the online slots usually have special bonus symbols too. You’ll almost always find a wild symbol, substituting all regular symbols, and another common symbol is a scatter that can activate free spins and other high-paying features. The scatters usually don’t need to be connected on a payline, but activate their respective features as long as you land a certain number anywhere on the reels. 

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Now you’re ready to start spinning, and you need to choose an online casino where you can access the games. Things to consider are where the casino holds its licence and if it’s available in your country. You should also try to access one working with the biggest game developers so you’ll know that you can play the best games out there.

There’s a registration process for most casinos, and once you have become a member and deposited some money into your account, you’re ready to hit the reels. The slots are often divided into different categories to make it easier for you. You will probably find sections for new games, most popular games, and jackpot slots, among others.

If you still don’t feel secure enough to bet your money, most online casinos will let you try the game in demo mode with play money. Simply click on a game you’d like to try out, and it will start on your desktop computer, notepad, mobile phone, or whatever device you’re using.

Whether you’re playing in demo mode or with real money, you should, first of all, decide how much you want to bet. The bet is for one spin, and it will stay the same until you lower or raise it. Every game has a minimum and maximum bet, and we guess you will stay closer to the minimum one while learning how to play. 

When you’re ready, you can choose to make one spin at a time by hitting the spin button or pressing auto-spin to spin the reels with your predetermined bet for a fixed number of times or until you interrupt it. The auto-spin is usually interrupted automatically if you trigger free spins or some other advanced feature.

Keep on playing for as long as you enjoy it. Just remember that you should never gamble with money you can’t afford to lose and that you should only play when it’s fun. One significant number that you can look out for in the game’s information is the return to player (RTP). It’s a percentage of how much of the stake goes back to the player on average. It doesn’t say anything about if you’re going to win or lose money in one session, but the higher the number, the better. Most slots have an RTP of around 96%, which is the amount that is returned to the player. Playing for €100 with an RTP of 96% will, on average, give you back €96. Once again, remember that your iGaming session can end up with both a lot more or a lot less money than you started with.

Good luck spinning the reels, and remember to have fun!