Getting Started with Slot Machines

The first thing you may want to find out when beginning your slot session is the payout rate of the particular machine. The higher the rate the better. All machines are pre-programmed to payout a certain percentage and every player has the right to know what this percentage is. Payout percentages typically range from about 85 to 98 percent. The payout percentages may be posted somewhere on or in the area of the machine, but if it isn’t or you don’t see it, just ask a casino attendant.

Most machines will accept a min. to a maximum number of coins to be played per spin. One usually being the lowest and three to five commonly the highest. Get familiar with the payout schedule that is printed on the machine as you will notice that the machine will payout different amounts or sometimes not at all when hitting a winning combination depending on how many coins you’ve inserted. For example, the machine may advertise a jackpot of 10 000 coins, but you must become aware that in most cases you are only eligible to win this amount if you play the maximum amount of coins.

So think about what your goal is before putting in any coins. If you are determined to win that jackpot then always play the max coins, you will never forgive yourself if you hit that combination and had only played one or two coins instead of the required three.

All in all, slot machine gambling is quite easy and straightforward. Strategy doesn’t really come into play. The best advice we can give you is to know the machine you are playing, make sure it meets all your requirements, has a high payout percentage and read and understand the payout schedule before depositing any coins. You don’t want to hit the big combination only to get paid a lesser amount because you didn’t deposit the right amount coins.

Overall there are basically 2 types of slots: Flat Tops, and Progressives. Visually speaking, these two types of games look exactly alike both in a casino and on your screen, except for one feature; the Progressive games usually have a large extravagant sign displaying the value of a growing jackpot-that's right! Progressive games are called so because they have a jackpot the gets progressively bigger depending on the number of people who play, and how much they bet. The Flat Top games on the other hand have fixed jackpots.

Suffice to say, if you're playing at a progressive machine that hasn't paid out in a long while and you hit the jackpot, you're in for a mighty load of cash. Some players who like to play large jackpot games prefer to play large progressive jackpots because they typically pay out more often then would say, a Flat Top game with a large fixed jackpot. Also you should be careful to note whether the game you want to play requires a minimum bet in order to qualify for the jackpot.

Types of Slots

Also known as One Armed Bandits, Slots are the quintessential games of chance. Evolving from simple mechanical devices to the advanced electronic song and dance shows of today, slots have gone from being limited to 3 reels to as many as 10! And the number of symbols in any given game has exploded to an almost limitless number. No longer is it a simple matter of walking into a casino, or entering one online, and just automatically choosing the same game everyone else is playing-because everybody is playing something different! Today there are literally thousands of different slots games to choose from. But there is no need to be daunted by the broad spectrum of games. Slots are divided up into a few basic, easy to understand categories that make it easy to know which ones are which, and what you want to play.

Beginners Hint:

One thing to remember when navigating the sea of slots out there is that no matter what game you're playing, the object of all slots is virtually the same; to spin the reels so the symbols on them line up to make a winning combination. With this in mind there is no reason to be apprehensive about trying something new.

Big Money Little Money

The majority of Slots you'll find in both land based casinos and Virtual ones offer any combination of coin sizes from 5 cents to 10 Dollars. There is usually a significant range to choose from, so all you have to do is decide what value you're comfortable with.

During your Slots adventuring you will undoubtedly come across VIP, or High Rollers, slots casinos. Some of these casinos deal exclusively in terms of dollars, and only offer large coin sizes like $25, $50 and even as high as $500 coins. Playing these games is definitely an act of high drama, and chalk-full of excitement. If you can afford them then go to it. Obviously if you're very wealthy, playing for a meager 5 cent coin is not going to provide you the same excitement of a $100 coin size. But if you're someone on a budget who simply likes the trill of big bets and high steaks, you should be careful. VIP rooms definitely offer a more intense style of play for someone on a budget, but it is recommended that these players also budget their VIP playing. Always keep in mind that you could literally lose it all! If you're on a budget, try to keep your VIP time to a minimum-if you're not on a budget however-the sky is the limit!

Some VIP Slots casinos offer lower betting ranges as well as the high roller levels. If you really like the environment of a certain VIP casino, but only want to make big bets now and again, you can alternate in these casinos between making big bets to little bets. Some players find these slots rooms give them greater control over ther betting strategy, allowing them to make larger profits at the end of the day.

The Bottom Line of The Payline

Most standard Slots have a single payline, although there are a growing number of fancier slot games out there that offer many more. Multiple payline games work exactly the same as a single payline game except that you get paid for lining up a winning combination on each payline with every spin. But in order to access the other paylines it takes another coin bet. So in other words, in multi-payline games the more coins you bet the more paylines, (possibilities to win), are activated.

There are so many different games, each with their own variations on coins, payline, and payouts. Most machines are three reel, (see next section for an explanation of reels), with 4 or 5 different coin values. It's important to note that not all games with the same number of reels and coin values are created equal. With many games, increasing the number of coins from 1 to 2 will increase the amount of the winning payout accordingly. In other words if you bet 2 coins instead of one, you will double your payout. If you bet 3, you will triple your payout and so on. But other slots, may triple or even quadruple the payout while betting just two coins. Others won't even offer the jackpot if you only bet one coin, while still others require that you bet the maximum number of coins and activate every payline in order to be eligible for the jackpot.

Don't be afraid to experiment with different variations. In most cases it's the easiest way to figure out what you like. When playing online slots you can always refer to the games pay table, and instructions. Here you will almost always find everything you need to know about how to play the game and what kind of betting structure the game employs. The rule of slots is, "find what you like and play it!"