The definitive list of slot machine terms you encounter when playing online slots games for real money. It is also useful to learn these phrases and their meanings if you ever go to a brick-and-mortar casino. It helps have a great casino experience.
Save this list and come back to it when you see a new term on a slot review.
Slot Game Terms A – Z
Jump to the Slot Definitions in Alphabetical Order
The history of slot machines is a story of pioneers who altered the way people have gambled over the past century and a bit. You can still see evidence of the early slot machines in new video slots made today. Let's take a trip down memory lane and explore the fast-changing history of the most popular gambling game in the world.
List of Slot Machine Terminology with Definitions
This glossary includes popular words that every game uses and some you might have never seen before. Learn what a progressive slot is, the difference between a free spin and free play, and all about those tricky pay tables.
A 1,024-way machine is similar to a 234-way game but with an extra row of symbols. The five reels with four columns create an exponential amount of new paying combos.
A 234-way machine pays out when symbols appear on any of the reels in any position. Symbols count toward winning combinations as long as they are adjacent.
3D Video slots are graphically intense slot games with depth in their imagery to give a three-dimensional effect.
A 3 reel slot machine has three spinning columns of symbols.
A 5 reel slot machine has five spinning columns of symbols. This type of game seems to be the new standard for online slots.
A 6 reel slot has columns of spinning symbols. These games usually have additional features.
Action is the total amount that a slots player bets in a certain period of time. This number is used for some bonus offers and when clearing wagering and rollover requirements.
An active payline is “turned on” and pays a prize if a winning combination lands on it. Many machines let you activate and deactivated paylines to adjust the wager.
All ways machines have paylines that create winning combinations from left to right and right to left.
An annuity winner takes their prize in payments instead of a lump sum. This option isn’t available online.
Autoplay and autospin features let you set a wager and number of spins for the machine to complete automatically. You can usually cancel autoplay after any round.
Bars are classic black slot symbols with “BAR” printed on them in white. They are often the lowest paying and come in single, double, or triple stacked versions.
Basic slots are three-reel machines with a single payline. The prize is always the same, and there are no special features.
The bet is the amount that a player wagers on a spin.
A “bet one” setting adjusts the wager to one single coin of the selected denomination per spin.
A bonus feature, or bonus game, offers free spins, additional wilds, or another big win potential. Find instructions on how to activate the feature in the game’s paytable.
A bonus round is an in-game event where players make specific decisions to earn extra prizes. Davincis gold casino no deposit bonus.
Buy a pay refers to payouts that a player gets only if there is a certain wager amount per spin. It’s important to take notice of this as the jackpot sometimes won’t be available unless you’re betting a certain amount.
Buy a feature grants access to certain bonuses or special modes if a player is wagering a minimum amount per spin.
The candle is the light on top of a physical slot machine at a casino. You can use it to call over an employee if there is an issue, or if you hit the jackpot.
A carousel is a bank or group of slots that are together on a casino floor.
Owning a Slot Machine in Virginia While the state doesn’t want casinos within its borders, it appears to have no problem with private residents owning slot machines. According to Virginia Code 18.2-334, slots of any age can be owned by citizens. https://ninshopper.netlify.app/new-slot-machines-in-virginia.html. The Live Casino is a nice establishment located in Hanover, Maryland. You will find 4,000 slot machines including 200 from the new generations and 189 table games, includ.
Cascading wilds convert other symbols in a slot game into more wilds, allowing for massive or concurrent wins.
A classic slot machine has three reels and only a few paylines. These machines often use vintage symbols like bars, bells, fruit, and 7s.
Coins are the total amount of cash you have in a slot machine at any given time.
The coin size is the value assigned to each coin or credit when you’re betting at a slot machine. These can be as small as 1¢ or large as $100. This amount gets multiplied by the number of paylines to calculate the total bet.
A coin slot is a physical hole where you put your coins to fund the machine. Finding a coin slot is becoming rare with digital machines, although some casinos still offer physical quarter or penny games.
The collect button allows players to cash out their remaining credits from the slot machine.
Comps are complimentary prizes, drinks, food, or spins offered by the casino for loyal players.
Columns are the vertical lines of symbols that spin. This term is used interchangeably with reels.
Credits are the unit used after you insert money into a slot machine. A credit indicator is usually near the bottom of the slot machine or screen.
The denomination is the value of a single coin on a slot machine. Some machines allow the player to change the coin amount. A carousel of slots in a brick and mortar casino will usually be the same denomination.
Demo mode, or practice mode, gives you a “fun balance” to play a slot game. You can not win real money, and your balance doesn’t carry over.
Expanding wilds are a unique type of wild symbol that grows beyond a single space. These often fill the entire reel they land on, creating more winning potential.
EGM is an acronym for “Electronic Gaming Machine.”
A feature is any additional bonuses, free spins, and side games that you can unlock with certain winning combinations.
A fixed jackpot is a set amount a player wins if they hit the jackpot combination. This is the traditional payout in slot machines, also called a flat-top slot.
A free play slot lets you try the game without risking any real money. The best online casinos offer this with their demo mode.
Free spins are opportunities to spin the reels and win prizes without having to wager. You earn them during game features or with some casino bonuses.
The gamble feature gives you a chance to double your previous winning spin’s prize.
To “hit” is to complete a winning combination on an active payline.
The hopper is the area below the reels of a physical slot machine used to catch winning coin payouts. These days, most slots use ticket vouchers.
The jackpot on a slot machine is the highest possible award. Quite often, players can only hit the jackpot at max bet.
A line bet refers to how much a player is wagering on a single slot machine line. This amount determines the payout if the player hits a winning combo.
A loose slot machine has a higher than average return to player (RTP).
The max bet is the highest amount of credits that a player can wager on each spin. On most slots, there is a bet max button to adjust the wager to the maximum automatically. Sometimes the jackpot is only available when playing at the max bet.
Mechanical slots are traditional, older machines, and have physical reels that stop behind a glass revealing symbols. These generally have fewer paylines than a video slot and predominantly feature 3-reels.
The min bet is the smallest amount a player can wager on one spin. Usually, it’s one credit for one payline. It could be as little as one 1¢.
Mobile slots have intuitive touchscreen controls for phones and tablets. Play them right in the web browser of your mobile devices.
Multi-line slots have many paylines. Each line increases your wager and drastically boosts your chances of winning.
A multiplier is a feature or symbol that significantly increases your winning payouts. For example, a 3x multiplier triples your win.
A nudge slot has symbols that move up or down once the reel has stopped. They provide additional wins and an added excitement to slot titles.
Numbers are symbols commonly found on the reels. The 7 was a traditional symbol, but now you can find 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A regularly.
Slot machines are known around the world as one-armed bandits. This slot machine slang originated because they have a lever, or one arm, and are programmed to take money from players.
The payback percentage is the total amount a machine pays out over time. This term is used interchangeably with RTP.
The payline is a line, or pattern, that a winning combination needs to land on to win a prize. It can be straight, diagonal, or zig-zag in many directions.
The payout is the amount you win when you hit a winning combo. This number is affected by your wager, the symbols, and any active multipliers.
The paytable is a page or section that outlines how much you can win on a slot machine. In addition to payouts, it shows the symbols, rules, and how to activate and use bonus features.
Penny slots have wager options as little as 1¢ per pay line. These machines are popular since they provide extended entertainment with little risk.
Pokies is the Australian slang term for slot machines. They may also refer to them as pokie machines.
A progressive jackpot slot has a grand prize that grows with each spin until it is won. Their payouts often reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The random number generator determines where a slot machine’s symbols land. It is based on a mathematical algorithm that allows for genuinely random placement on each spin.
The reels on a slot machine are the columns that contain various symbols.
A reel stop refers to each position on the reels.
A percentage of the total wagered money that the machine pays back to the players. This number is calculated over thousands of spins.
Rollover and wagering requirements are the total amount a player must wager to clear a bonus offer.
Rows are the horizontal lines that symbols fall on.
A scatter symbol awards the player with a payout and often unlocks a bonus round or special feature.
The second screen bonus is a special feature that takes you away from the basic reels and to a mini-game with a different format.
The “select lines” button allows you to activate or deactivate paylines. It affects your wager and likelihood of hitting a payout.
Shifting wilds, or sliding wilds, are like expanding wilds, but they grow horizontally across multiple reels.
Skill-based slots bonuses test your skill in a mini-game and award you a higher prize for better performance.
Slant top slot machines are wide and short games that save space. They allow the player to have a more immersive experience, particularly on video slots.
The slots club, or player’s club, is a VIP program for loyal players to earn comps and other rewards. They are often tiered systems that provide additional services as you progress up the ladder.
The arm on the side of a slot machine is called the slots lever.
A slots tournament pits players against each other with a set time limit or number of credits. The player with the best score at the end of the tournament wins additional prizes or free play credits. You join these games with a buy-in or invite.
Slots types include progressive slots, 3D games, Video machines, and titles with bonus features.
A spin refers to a single round on a slot machine.
Choosing the Right Slot Machine. Leave Comments 0. There are theories abound when it comes to picking the best slot machine at the casino. The most common theories relate to brick-and-mortar casinos, but we’ll also talk about choosing slots at gambling sites. Let’s start with finding a slot at a traditional. Choosing Slot Machines: Illustration of a Slot Machine Paytable The figure shows reel combinations along with their jackpot depending on the number of credits bet. Paytables don’t typically explain how much credits are worth. In general, the top row is the maximum jackpot of the machine. In general, it’s believed that casinos usually put their tight slot machines, yet the ones that. RTP Of The Games Are Important. RTP is the perceived return of a percentage to a player, which the. How to choose a slot machine.
A slot machine with staggered payouts offers a larger payout when you bet more coins.
The symbols are the images, numbers, and bars on the slot machines reels. Each symbol has an associate payout, and some unlock special features.
Tight slots are machines with low RTP and are not in the player’s favor.
The total bet is the amount wagered based on your current settings. The coin size and number of active paylines get multiplied to calculate the credits per spin.
Lever Machines Examples
A game with unique reels may not use a traditional column layout. The reels may be in a hexagon, tower, or side-scrolling display.
Slot machine variance refers to a game’s consistency. A low variance has frequent smaller prizes, and a high variance has larger, but less frequent, wins.
Video slots, unlike mechanical slots, have no moving parts. The spinning reels are simulated on a screen with amazing graphics and sound effects. All online slot games are video slots.
Instead of listing several paylines, a game might list a specific number of ways to win. This number could be 234 – 1,024 different winning lines.
A wild slot symbol substitutes for any other symbol in the game (except for scatter or bonus symbols) to help you create a better winning combination.
A wild multiplier is a feature that positively affects the payouts of combinations that include wild symbols.
A win happens when you hit the correct combination of symbols that appears on an activated pay line.
Winning both ways means a paying combination can occur from left-to-right or right-to-left.
Released November 3rd, 1995, 'Casino' stars Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods The R movie has a runtime of about 2 hr 59 min, and received a user score of 80 (out of 100) on. The casino online movie. The movie Casino is about Sam 'Ace' Rothstein played by Robert De Niro. His character is based on Frank 'Lefty' Rosenthal who was a gambler and bookie. This movie has Joe Pesci as Nicky Santoro who is based on Chicago enforcer Anthony 'The Ant' Spilotro. This is the movie that was directed by Martin Scorsese after Goodfellas.
A zig-zag payline moves in a crooked line across the rows and columns of the reels. There are often some very interesting payline layouts.
Use This List of Slot Machine Terminology to the Fullest
Who knew slot machine terminology was so involved? Now you have a one-stop-shop for all the slot machine slang you could ever need.
When you’re ready to try your luck at a few online games, head to one of the legit online casinos below. New players have excellent welcome bonus options that include free spins on popular slots.
Play Online Slots For Real Money
Now that you know all the slot terms, you are ready to play. Here’s a complete list of our top recommended online slot casinos
| RANK | ONLINE CASINO | BONUS | # OF SLOTS | RTP | START |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Las Atlantis | BONUS280% up to $14,000 | # OF SLOTS132 | RTP95% | |
| 2 | El Royale Casino | BONUS250% up to $12,500 | # OF SLOTS132 | RTP94.97% | |
| 3 | Super Slots | BONUS300% up to $6,000 | # OF SLOTS189 | RTP95.32% | |
| 4 | Slots Empire | BONUS220% Welcome Bonus | # OF SLOTS133 | RTP94.98% | |
| 5 | Wild Casino | BONUS100% up to $5,000 | # OF SLOTS189 | RTP95.32% |
Slot Machine Glossary FAQ
Below are some common questions we get regarding various slot machine terms.
A progressive jackpot slot machine has a growing grand prize that continues to climb until a player hits it. These tend to reach life-changing amounts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
What is the arm on the side of a slot machine called?
The arm on the slot machine is the slot’s lever. You pull it to spin the reels. Many games now use a button format, and the lever is just for show.
What do you call slot machines that pay out more often?
Slots machines that payout often are known as loose slots. They have a higher return-to-player (RTP), so you stand to win more often.
Paylines, sometimes just called lines, indicate the direction and location a winning combination must land to award a prize.
At one point, the Aria in LasVegas had a machine where you could wager $5,000 on a single spin.
Everyone knows how a slot machine works. You put your money in, pull the lever and hope that the reels match up for the big payout. What you may not know is that the history of slot machines is fascinating and shows just where they’re headed in the future.
The Origin of Slot Machines
The term “slot machine” originally referred to standard vending machines when it was first coined back in the 1880s. The name comes from dropping a nickel into the coin slot to get the product you wanted.
By 1885, the first machines designed for gambling were created, but they bore little resemblance to what we call a slot machine today. These were novelty machines that featured things like toy horses racing around a small track, and patrons of bars and saloons would often bet nickels or tokens that could be redeemed for drinks and cigars.
In 1891 a Brooklyn establishment developed a machine that was closer to what we know today. This machine had five drums, and each drum had 10 different card faces on it, which made it a primitive slot poker machine. Like before, people would put nickels in and get drinks or cigars as prizes based on the hands they won. The 10 of spades and jack of hearts were not included on most machines, which made it harder for people to get a royal flush. A big problem, however, was that automatic payouts were impossible due to a large amount of winning combinations.
History of Slot Machines at the Turn of the 1900s
Finally, in 1894-5, a Bavarian-born San Franciscan named Charles Fey created the “Liberty Bell”, the first true slot machine. This used three spinning reels with five symbols on each. These symbols were the eponymous bells, hearts, spades, diamonds, and horseshoes. The simpler and smaller method allowed automatic payouts of actual cash, and three bells produced the biggest payout of 50 cents. Over 100 of these machines were made, but only four survive today due to the 1906 earthquake and subsequent fire.
Slot Machine Lever Crossword
Competitors quickly refined the original design. By 1909, they were finding ways to circumvent the bans on slot machines that were being imposed by many states and cities. The card suits were replaced with the now-ubiquitous fruits, and anyone who got three like fruits would win some chewing gum of that flavor.
Most of these early “chewing gum dispensers” didn’t have slots for nickels, and the financial transactions were done over the bar itself. They did, in time, have slots for ejecting chewing gum. The “bar” symbol was developed in 1910, and it was originally a variation on the logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. In 1916, the first true jackpot originated when the Mills Novelty Company developed a way to regurgitate all the machine’s coins with certain reel combinations.
By 1920, however, many states caught on, and even these machines were banned. In 1931, gambling was legalized in Nevada, and slot machines quickly became a top method of making money. By 1951, Nevada was the only state that had legal slot machines, but other states and other countries started having changes of heart because of the amount of money that could be made.
By 1963, the first fully electromechanical slot machine, “Money Honey”, had been invented. This allowed things such as bottomless coin hoppers, automatic payouts of up to 500 coins, and 3- or 5-coin multipliers, allowing extra ways to play and win. In 1976, the first true all-video machines were created, where people could just press a button.
In 1986, the method of linking multiple machines of the same type was developed, allowing higher super jackpots linked to anyone playing on those machines. Improvements in computer technology and random number generation have led to the slots we love today.
Why Are Slots So Popular?
First, they’re designed to make the player seem like they have more control over the game. This is despite the fact that they actually have less control over how they fare than they would with anything else in a casino. There’s no dealer involved, no other players and no one standing by to remind you of what you have to do. There’s just you and the machine.
Slot Machine Crossword
Second, they’re designed for people to have fun. Unlike card games, which involve a lot of pressure, psychology and personal skill to win, the only thing you have to do is pull the lever or press the button to enjoy the sounds and pictures. If you do manage to win a good amount, you are greeted with bright lights and virtual confetti on top of your winnings.
Located in Grand Ronde, Oregon, Spirit Mountain Casino features hundreds of the most popular slots on the market. This measure will stay in place until further notice. For details on our safety measures please see our. SlotsArguably one of the most popular games in any casino, slots provide hours of entertainment for gamers of any skill level. Does kenneta oregon resort still have slot machines. Thank you for your understanding and patience.Spirit Mountain Casino Requires Face Masks & Smoking is not allowed indoors or within 20 feet of any entrance.
Third, they’re designed to bring out all of our ideas about luck. Since they are computerized to ensure a completely random outcome, we get to see if crossing our fingers or holding that rabbit’s foot actually means something.
Simple Machine Lever
What the Future Holds for Slot Machines
The technology continues to evolve and adapt to new trends in gaming. Millennials are less likely to use slot machines than their elders because they prefer skill to sheer luck. To solve this problem, new skill-based machines are being developed.
As sports betting is expanding, another concept being reviewed is a combination betting machine that would allow players to bet on sports and slots at the same time. Voice controls are also on the horizon for many slot machine manufacturers, and so are machines that accept cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.