Casinos would not be real casinos if they would not have those endless rows of shiny slot machines which make funny sounds all the time when people bet or when someone hits the jackpot. Slot machines, also called slots, fruit machines or nicknamed as one-armed bandits, have always been widely popular with gamblers because they are so simple to play without the need of any gaming knowledge. They are also enormously exciting and fun to play.
Of course, slots are also there at online casinos. Even though the unique atmosphere of playing at a slot machine in a physical casino might be lacking with online casinos, there is one big advantage of playing online slots. This advantage is that the gaming opportunities are often much bigger and diverse. Some slots have such advanced graphics that they might look eerily similar to computer games.
Differences between slots
Broadly speaking, all slot machines work quite similar: you pull the lever or push a button to play. Then some symbols appear on your screen. If a number of matching symbols are all lined up in the same row, you will win! This is of course an oversimplification version of most modern slots as those often have many different combinations and bonus lines instead of the old-fashioned horizontal line only in the middle of the screen.
We can therefore hardly describe the average rules which apply to slots as these can differ vastly between different machines. Before you begin to play on a slot machine at an online casino we therefore advice you to read through the rules of the game so you know everything. There are good reasons to quickly browse through the rules of each individual slot machine as you may find out that the slot machine in question may have some hidden win lines and other options you otherwise would not know about. This of course only adds to your chances of winning!
Other differences
There are plenty of more differences between slot machines. Besides the fact that slots often have a huge variety of themes (from ancient Egypt to well-known films to old-fashioned fruit machines with citrons and cherries) there biggest differences have to do with limits and potential earnings which you can win. Many of you might be interested in low-limit slots where you can bet as low as just a few cents each turn. If you are just playing for fun mostly or do not have a big gambling budget these are the slots to look out for. The slot machines with a mega jackpot however often have a higher limit. Even though it is often possible on those slots to play for just 0.50 euro per play, it can often be the case that only bets of at least 1 or 2 euro per turn allow you to compete for the jackpot which can be as high as multiple millions of euros or dollars.
About one third of all casino profits come from slot machines. Of course, this also means that a big amount of payouts happen to those playing on slots and that this is where you often find the biggest jackpots. Jackpots of several dozen millions of euros are therefore not rare at all!
Pay lines
A term which is important to remember when it comes to slot machines are the so-called pay lines or pay-out lines. Nowadays slots are much more complicated than the old-fashioned fruit machines in which only three wheels would spin and you would win if the symbols on the middle horizontal row would match. Many slots have now maybe 7 or 10 wheels which are spinning next to each other when pulling the lever or pushing the spin button to play. Besides the middle horizontal line there are often many different lines where you can win – for example if the symbols match diagonally or even on a completely random line. Often you can choose with how many pay lines you want to play at the same time. If you want to play with multiple pay lines (and thus will increase your chances of winning) you of course have to wage a higher amount of money. Playing on three pay lines basically means that you are betting three times instead of once.
We advice to carefully read the terms and game rules of each slot machine as this will often explain how many pay lines there are, how much you have to bet to be able to have a shot at winning the jackpot – and think what your preference is. It is possible of course to pay on just one pay line for only one euro per spin, but you can also spread your one euro by playing at ten pay lines at the same time for 0.10 euro per pay line. Your chances of winning will be higher – but when you win, the profit will be lower this way.
Hidden games
Modern slot machines often are interrupted by sudden games which you can unlock. If for example you might win a special bonus on a spin, it can be that such a game is suddenly loading on your screen. These games can differ wildly, it can be a short racing game, waging a bet on a virtual dog race or a skill game. All points you earn during these games will be transferred into extra credits for the slot machine. Such games not only make playing slots very exciting – it also makes sure you will not easily be bored.
Jackpots
As we wrote earlier a lot of people decide to play on slot machines in the hope of securing the jackpot – which can run as high as several millions of euros. A look at the main page of each online casino and you can see at which level their jackpot games currently are.
Not all slot machines at a casino are linked to the jackpot. The great majority of slots are stand-alone slots with their own winning schemes and standard profits which will never surpass a certain level. Let’s say that at one given slot machine the main price is 10,000 euro, which you can win by getting five citruses in a row. If you win this, the gambler after you has a chance just as high as you did on the next spin as the price and winning chance never changes (this is being checked by the gaming authorities).
Progressive slots en jackpot games
There are no such standard main prices by the so-called progressive slots. Even though you can win standard prices with lower winning combinations, the jackpot is far from standard. With these kind of slot machines the jackpot will continue to rise with every bet waged until someone finally wins the jackpot. You can compare it with the lottery which might have an increasingly big jackpot until finally someone wins it.
Of course these are always the most popular slots to play on. Do make sure you read the rules of the slot machine to make sure you know how to be able to have a shot at the jackpot. It can be that there is a minimum requirement (for example 1 euro per spin) to win the jackpot and that every bets waged which are lower than that are being excluded.