Slot Machines : The Rules

No offline or online casino game is easier to play than a slot machine. In fact, learning to play them only takes a few seconds. There is almost nothing to learn about them since there are very few rules. You just have to spin the reels and play!

Know the rules of slot games

Even though slot machines are a very easy game to understand, there are many different features they can have. This can sometimes change how the slot works but they do not really make it more complicated. You can learn all about the rules of slot machines in the text below

Winning money

If you want to win money at a slot machine you will need to get a winning combination of symbols on the screen. There are several possibilities that have different payouts, and these are shown in the pay-table of the game.

Spinning the reels

To spin the reels of a slot machine you simply have to pull a lever or press a button. However, before you do that, you can change the settings of the slot. The first one is to change your bet size. This is done by selecting the number of coins you wish to play and the coin values they should have. If you play a slot machine with multiple pay-lines you can often select the number of pay-lines that you want to play. This is very simple. Simply press the button for the pay-line activation as many times until it shows the number of pay-lines you want to play. Once you have selected your bet you can spin the reels. When they stop spinning you can see the symbol combination of the game round, and if you have a winning combination you will be credited the money. If you do not get a winning combination you have lost your bet. Whatever happens, you can play the next round afterwards.

The Random Number Generator

The Random Number Generator (RNG) is a technical term for a piece of software that produces a sequence of numbers and takes into account various properties. Nowadays, all slot machines use an RNG. The software determines the random combination of symbol that a player will get when they spin the reels. Once you load the game the slot machine will start the RNG. It generates hundreds of numbers corresponding to symbols every second. When a player clicks the button to start spinning the reels the RNG will stop. The last number generated will be the one that will represent the symbol combination that the player will see on the screen.

The various functionalities

Not all slot games have the same functionalities. Because of that the outcome of a spin is not always the same. For example, some games have only one pay-line, while others have multiple pay-lines, and sometimes you need to activate how many lines you want to play. Some slots games also have bonus games with special rules, free spins or free spins that can multiply your winnings, or other special features. The symbols in the games are not identical either. Some symbols may have a particular function, for example a joker or wild symbol that can take the place of other symbols, and there can also be scatter symbols that will be activated no matter where they are displayed on the screen.

The jackpots of slot machines

A slot machine can have different types of jackpots: fixed, progressive or pooled network jackpots. The first is a traditional jackpot. It is a fixed amount that is not changed. It will be released when a player manages to get the rarest symbol combination of a slot game. There are also progressive jackpots. In this case, the pot is not fixed. Quite the contrary, it will gradually increase when it is played, and a small percentage of the stake of each player is put into the jackpot. Finally, there are the pooled network jackpots. These are progressive jackpots that can be won at different slot machines in several online or offline casinos. This category includes for example the famous network jackpots Mega Fortune from Net Entertainment, Mega Moolah from Microgaming and the Marvel Jackpots from Playtech.

Knowing the different kinds of slots

Considering their immense success, is not surprising that there are so many slot machines available. You can find slots in many different variations. In the article below you can find out more about the mechanical slot machines, electromechanical slot machines, video slots and online slot machines.

Mechanical slot machines

The story of the first slot machine started with a machine called Liberty Bell. It was developed by Charles August Fey, an American who was originally from Germany. He was using springs, levers and notches to produce a mechanically operated game. For many years after that all one-armed bandits were inspired by this machine and they had complex combinations of machinery to spin the reels. When you pulled on the lever the reels began to rotate. A braking system allowed them to stop. A sensor then analysed their position and transmitted it to the payment system that would pay out depending on the combination you got. The mechanical one-armed bandits originally only had three reels but that number was gradually increased. Today, these slots are very rare in land-based casinos. If you want to see them you will probably have to go to a museum or a collector.

The electromechanical one-armed bandit

Until the mid 1960's all slot machines were mechanical. Then the first electromechanical models appeared, the oldest one is Money Honey that was developed by Bally in 1964. These one-armed bandits still had reels but the operation used electronic elements. Over the years the devices became more and more important. Today, the vast majority of one-armed bandits in land-based casinos are electromechanical devices. When a player pulls the lever the random number generator software will be activated and choose a random combination for the game round which will in turn tell the brake system when to stop the reels. The pay-lines appeared together with this type of slot machine.

The video slot

A new type of slot machine made its appearance in the 1970s and it was a combination of electronics and information technology. These were the video slots. They no longer used reels. These were replaced by a digital display on which the symbols where spinning. Many special features emerged with these devices as well, among them bonus games, wild and scattersymbols. The video slots are very common today in land-based casinos and can be found virtually everywhere.

Online Slots

Today, you can find many different kinds of slot machines on the Internet. You can play downloadable online slots in an online casino that requires a download and installation of a casino software. These games offer excellent game-play with beautiful graphics and nice sound effects. There are also casinos without download and in these you can find slot games based on Flash that can be played directly in your browser. The online casinos also offer two game modes: one is free and you do not have to stake your own money, and the other one uses real money. This means that there are slots that allow you to win a lot of money and slots that you can play for free.