They all operate on the same principle. Therefore, to learn slot machine rules, you'd better overview the gaming machines, divided into four main groups, or the so-called historical groups: Classic slots: They usually have three reels, one to five lines - these are the last of the old fashioned mechanical slots. Slots can be very rewarding on the long run, and finding the slot game with the lowest house edge is a real treasure. At the basic level, slots are the easiest and simplest games out there, and nevertheless, they keep being abundantly offered at online and land-based casinos.

1. How To Play Slot Machines
2. Casino Slot Machine Rules

Slot game is very easy to master if the player is familiar with all the options of slot machines and knows which buttons are used to choose the betting amount, the paylines, make bets or activate the slots reels. No matter what type of the game you play and how much you are going to spend during the play (your bankroll) the procedure of a slot game is always the same. If you visit a real casino and are not sure about the game rules or payouts, feel free to ask the casino employee how to play slots. However, if you play slots online, you can learn the complete rules of slot machines at SlotsDoc.com.

Slots Rules

Before starting to play and risking money you must decide on your bankroll which is the amount of gambling dollars you are ready and can afford to wager or lose on playing the slot games. The second and very important step is to select the “appropriate” slot machine with a high payback percentage and a coin denomination that suits your overall bankroll. This is crucial if you don’t want to lose all you have in a moment and wish to “stretch” your cash. Today casinos offer many themed slots of different types and that is why you can select a game that is really pleasant to play, with great images, animation and sounds. After you decide on a slot machine, then it is time to play. These are the basic rules of playing real casino slot machines (installed in land gambling halls) and online slots:

• LOUISIANA SLOT MACHINE PAYBACK STATISTICS. Gaming regulations require that gaming machines in casinos be programmed to pay back no less than 80% and no more than 99.9%. For video gaming machines at locations other than casinos, the law requires a minimum return of 80% and a maximum return of 94.
• MAXIMIZING SLOT PAYOUTS. Slot machines are not games of strategy. Live casinos and online casinos offer them as games of pure chance. Only rarely does skill come into play, although skill-based slots loom as a coming attraction.On most slot games, there’s nothing you can do to change the outcome.
• Three-reel slot machines usually have a single progressive jackpot on the top payoff, and you must bet maximum coins to be eligible. On a three-coin dollar slot machines, for example, you can’t win the progressive if you bet only one or two coins.

Casino Slots

1. Buy special slot coins, chips, tickets or use slots club card.
2. Choose an “appropriate” slot machine.
3. Insert a coin into the slot machine coin receiver.
4. Choose the coin denomination by pushing special +/- Coin buttons if you are playing a multi-denomination slot machine.
5. Select the number of coins you wish to play. Use Bet the One Credit or Bet Max Credits buttons.
6. When you play multi-reel video slots select the number of paylines to bet on.
7. Pull the lever or push the Spin Reels button to set the reels spinning.
8. After the reels stop Cash Out to get the winning.

Online Slots

1. Download the casino software.
2. Sign up to create a casino account.
3. Make a real money deposit.
4. Select the online slot game you wish to play.
5. Choose the coin denomination by clicking on the special +/- buttons.
6. Select the number of paylines by activating special Payline indicators or clicking the Lines +/- buttons.
7. Choose the number of coins if possible.
8. Click Spin or Bet Max to activate slot games.
9. After the reels stop spinning check the Paytable.
10. The winnings are automatically added to your money balance.

NB: The names of the buttons and options found on the slot machine can vary. You can learn about the most common buttons, options and features in detail by visiting our slot machine basics page.

Slot Machine Technology

The main feature of slot games which distinguishes slots from other casino games is, of course, the spinning reels. The reels on slot machines stop on their own or by a player pushing the Stop button (this is the so-called skill stop option), the period of spins and the time of stop are influenced by the RNG which generates random numbers determining the game results. When the reels stop, the symbols on the lines player bet on are compared to the winning payline patterns in the game paytable. If there is a match then the win is calculated and paid out. The amount of the win is the value of a bet per line multiplied by the winning amount in the paytable.

Modern slot machines and online slots use a different number of symbols on the reels. This influences the number of possible combinations that can occur during the game and thus affects the slots odds. Here are several examples of 3-reel and 5-reel slots with different number of symbols on the reels. You can see how the number of possible combinations in the game depends on the number of symbols on each reel.

However, modern technologies have allowed to increase the player odds by offering a great variety of bonuses, special substitute symbols and paylines which substantially influence the game results. Today a player can try 3-reel classic slots with up to 5 paylines and 5-reel video slots with the number of paylines from 1 to 100! Casino comps can be also counted as a great benefit and an additional chance to save up money for playing and to decrease losses.

Slot machines usually offer different coin denominations from $.01 to $100.00. These are multi-denomination slot machines which allow the player to choose the coin denomination they want to play rather than always bet the set amount. Multi-denomination slots have an extra +/- button which when pushed allows the player to increase or decrease the coin denomination. These machi¬nes automatically calculate the number of credits to pay out in exchange for cash. Large slot machines which offer bets of $5, $10 or more on one line are often for high-rollers and are usually placed in special casino areas.

Slots Paylines

Slots payline can be defined as a line (straight or zigzagged) that crosses one symbol on each reel and is what the players bet on; or a combination of symbols on the slot machine reels for getting which the player is paid out if he has made a bet on that combination. Paylines are usually depicted as standard patterns in the paytable. Let’s consider an example of the payline patterns on the free slot machine game available at SlotsDoc.com. This is a 5-reel video slot game with 25 paylines which means that the player can bet on 1 to 25 paylines and get paid out for any of the 1-25 combinations that occur on the reels.

NB: For any combination to win, the reels MUST have at least two identical symbols one after another, and the first one MUST occur on the first reel. Otherwise the combination doesn’t pay out.

For a better understanding of the slots paylines let’s consider the examples of winning combinations on the reels and the payline patterns from the paytable they correspond to.

Payline Patterns

There are 25 standard paylines used in most 5-reel slot games. As you see, slot paylines can be lines of different directions: straight, zigzagged, diagonal, vertical or horizontal. To be easily distinguished each payline is marked with a definite color.

The examples below show what the paylines look like on the reels. Moreover, all the combinations you see on the slot game reels are winning ones as they contain sequences of at least 2 matching symbols starting from the first reel.

If you want to try playing online slot games with different number of reels and paylines we suggest you use our slots catalog. Choose the slot games by type, software or theme and play online for free or real money.

Slots Rules

Slots is the easiest casino game to learn and play. It's also one of the online casinos' most popular game today.

First you place your bet. Typically you can bet one, two or more coins (up to five or ten on some slot machines). Depending on the machine, the coins may be $.05, $0.5, $5 or other values. So if you bet five coins on a $1 machine, your bet is five dollars.

Next you click a button to spin the wheels. This is the same as pulling the arm on a real slot machine. Now all you do is wait and see if you win!

Where the wheels stop determines if you win and how much. The goal is to get the symbols (cherries, numbers and so on) to line up on the payline in one of the winning combinations listed on the pay table. Each game will have its own pay table. For example, three bars in a row may pay 20 to 1. Three cherries in a row may pay 3 to 1. Some machines have three or five paylines, or pay on the diagonal. Check the casino rules for details. To get this information, you usually just click a help button or visit preview games page.

Some online casinos offer so-called progressive jackpots. That means that a jackpot builds as more and more players play the casino's progressive machines. The first person to hit the winning combination (e.g. 777 or others) wins the total jackpot. To be eligible for the jackpot you usually have to play the maximum number of coins. Then the jackpot resets to a lower value and starts to increase again as more people play.

How To Play Slot Machines

The result of each spin of the wheels is determined by a computer program that generates random results. This is true for both online slots games and slot machines found in terrestrial casinos. The machines can easily be set by the casino to generate whatever payout they choose. For example, they may set it to 96%. That means for every 100 dollars bet, the machine will, on average, pay out 96 dollars. The other four dollars goes to the casino and that's how they make their profit. Of course, that's just on average. It's possible, if Lady Luck is on your side, to make hundreds or even thousands of dollars with just one spin. On some large progressive jackpots you can win even millions, as Anthony P who won $1,594,649.21 at Captain Cooks Casinoon May 30, 2002.

Slots Strategies

It's a common myth that slot machines are the worst gamble in a casino. The truth is that making bad bets at the craps table or blackjack table can give far worse odds than any slot machine. The odds you get when playing slots are similar to those for roulette.

Another commonly held belief is that a slot machine that just gave a big payout won't pay out again for a while. Actually, statistically speaking, the odds are the same for every spin and every spin is completely random and independent of all past spins. So there's no way to predict the next spin and a jackpot is just as likely to be hit right after the last one was hit as it is after a thousand dry spins.

Strategies
Most slot machines reward you for playing the maximum number of coins. For example the jackpot may pay 2000 coins with 2 coins played, but 4000 coins when 3 coins are played. If you don't feel comfortable playing the maximum coins you might consider moving down to a machine that accepts lower-value coins so you can play the maximum. For example instead of playing one coin at a dollar machine, play the maximum number of coins at a quarter machine. Some online casinos let you play for nickels (All Slots Casino has some of the lowest betting limits starting from 1c).

Play at casinos that advertise the best payout percentages. These casinos are eager for your business are willing to reward you with better payouts. The build-in payouts for slots games are different in each casino for each slot game. Some of the casinos pays out well over 99% for some slots (e.g. Zodiac Casino) while others rip up to 10% on each spin! Check out our payouts page to find casinos with the highest payout percentages for Slots.

If you're playing a progressive machine, remember that you'll probably have to bet the maximum number of coins to be eligible to win the big jackpot. You may find the largest currently available jackpot at our Jackpots page.

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