How Slot Machines Work

The most played games in both live and online casinos worldwide are likely video slots. Despite the fact that millions of people regularly play online slots, very few of them are aware of how to actually win at them or even how they operate. 

Generally speaking, slots are games of chance, and there isn’t much you can do to influence the odds in your favor. But knowing some of the most crucial things I’ll cover in this manual will help you cut down on your losses and increase the number of winning sessions.

You must first comprehend how these games function in order to know how to win at slots. There are numerous theories in circulation, but the majority of them are wholly false.

 It is widely believed that slots that are funded with money from one or more players will eventually pay it out to another player, especially in live casinos. The truth is that every slot machine, even those from earlier generations, has a RNG chip, which generates numbers from a wide range and determines how a particular spin will turn out.

Payout rates and machine volatility

You might still be perplexed as to why people lose so frequently when playing slots, even after I’ve explained how completely random every slot machine is. The actual odds and payout percentages of slot machines, not some evil scheme by the casinos and slot manufacturers, are to blame. Slots have a lower RTP (return to player) percentage almost always than any other casino game, such as blackjack, roulette, or craps, as you will quickly discover.

How Slot Machines Work (1)

A typical slot machine in an online casino will have an RTP of between 94 and 96%. 

Slot machines frequently only return 90% or even less of the player’s wagers, according to live casinos around the world. The difference is quite significant when compared to card games, where the RTP is frequently above 99%, or roulette, where the RTP is 97.3%. For comparison, the casino will only profit $0.027 from every $1 bet you place on roulette, but they could profit as much as $0.1 from your $1 bet on slots. Additionally, slots have a tendency to play quite quickly, so if you don’t manage the size of your bets, you will quickly run out of money.

Even worse, if they choose the wrong game, players who don’t understand slot volatility may end up having extremely long losing streaks. When you are losing a lot of money and you witness a lucky player win a large payout, it can be even more painful. To prevent this, choose games with fewer massive payout options, unless you don’t mind taking on a lot of risk in an effort to win a lot. 

The Best Slot Machine Selection

Selecting the right games is undoubtedly one of the biggest tricks to learning how to win at slot machines. This could mean picking the appropriate machine to play on in a live casino, while it would mean picking the appropriate game title online. The websites of the slot game developers can be found online, and you’ll see that each game has a clearly marked RTP percentage that is not in any way concealed.

The RTPs of games from the same studio will vary.

The majority of players, in reality, are completely unaware of this and appear to play the game that feels and sounds right while completely ignoring the RTP. The RTP is actually the most important factor to consider because it tells you how much money an average player will lose for every $1 wagered. Selecting a game with the highest RTP is the first step you should take if you want to win. This will make it possible for you to theoretically get closer to breaking even and raise your chances of succeeding in practice.

Different Slot Types

Let’s talk about the various game types available in casinos, both live and online, now that I have covered the fundamental odds and RTP percentages of slots. One of the best and largest game selections available to players can be found at Bet365 Slots. They have access to a vast selection of games from some of the biggest vendors There were not many slot machines available in the past, but the advent of online casinos has completely changed how slots are created.

Here are the few main types of slots, with a few basic characteristics you should keep in mind:

  • Classic slots typically have a simple paytable and 1–5 paylines. The maximum win on these machines is $1,000 or less, and they don’t offer very generous payouts. The RTP and volatility of these machines are frequently high.
  • Video slots: These slots frequently include numerous bonus games, mini-jackpots, and other significant payouts and can have anywhere from 5 to hundreds of paylines. Because of this, video slots frequently have high volatility, and their RTP seldom exceeds 96%.
  • Progressive Slots: Apart from the jackpot, video slots with a progressive jackpot are typically quite standard. Their RTP typically ranges from 94% to 96%. However, they give away huge jackpots to a select group of extremely lucky and randomly chosen players.
  • Megaways Slots: Megaways Slots are some of the most enjoyable games available today. They were created by the online casino industry. These games have extremely high levels of volatility but also have enormous payouts worth thousands of bets. Megaway games can be expensive to purchase and play.

Explanation of Video Slot Features

Understanding the features that the games offer and what you are actually playing for will help you learn how to win at slots. Contrary to simple casino games like blackjack, slots frequently have rather complex mechanics.

Although it is theoretically possible to play without knowing this, the gameplay would be incredibly monotonous. Since everyone is here to have fun, let me go over some of the most prevalent characteristics of video slots.

Note that these features are a recurring theme in many different slot games, so I will explain them broadly; they may have different variations in different video slot games.

  • Pick-and-Win Games: By stopping two or three bonus symbols on the screen, you can activate this feature, which is frequently found in video slots. You choose from a variety of objects in a mini-game that is activated to reveal a cash prize.
  • Free Spins: Free spins, one of the most popular and desired features in video slots, can be truly amazing. You don’t have to pay for your spins during free spins rounds, and extra special symbols, multipliers, and wilds are added to the spins, frequently resulting in enormous wins.
  • Wild Symbols: Wild symbols, which can be found in the majority of video slots, can be used in place of all other regular symbols to help players create more winning combinations. In some games, wilds can also move to produce more wins or stick in one place for the following spin.
  • Scatter Wins: No matter where on the screen they appear, scatter symbols have the potential to pay out. Usually, stopping two or more scatters in any position will result in a respectable payout.
  • Multipliers: In video slots, there are numerous multiplier features. These features either multiply your win for the entire spin or for the payline they are located on.
  • Expanding Reels: The Megaways slot games frequently have this feature. It enables the reels to enlarge so that there are more symbols on the subsequent spins, increasing your likelihood of big wins.
  • All Pays: There are no paylines in place when a slot machine has the “all pays” feature. Instead, regardless of where they appear on the reels, all symbols pay from left to right. In some games, this can result in numerous winning lines on a single spin.
  • Pay Both Ways: The majority of video slots only pay left to right. But some slots have the “pay both ways” option, which means they also pay from left to right. Additionally, thanks to the adjacent pay feature, symbols can appear anywhere on the middle three reels and still pay out.

These features are common in modern slots, which adds to their excitement and raises their maximum win potential. Fortunately, you don’t have to master them all to learn how to win at slots.

Final Thoughts

After learning the fundamentals and understanding how slots operate, it’s time to dive into some detailed slot machine advice that will both increase your chances of winning and increase your enjoyment while playing. Make sure to open your eyes and read these slot machine tips in detail because these are some of the best advice I can give you after years of playing slots and other gambling games.