Online slot games come in all shapes, sizes, and potential payouts. This is what makes them exciting to experience, especially when all the symbols on the reels line up and give you a huge payout. However, if you’re new to casino games, but want to try out slot machines online, the sheer number of options available might be imposing.
But don’t fret! Playing online slot games is not as hard as you might think. Here are some useful tips on how to play online slots so that you can enjoy seeing those reels spin, and land amazing paylines on your way to a big cash out on your winnings.
Step 1: Picking Your Online Slot Game
Before anything else, the very first thing you need to do is to pick which online slot game you want to play. There are countless amounts of slot games available that have different themes, motifs, and gameplay mechanics to choose from.
For beginners, it is best to pick simpler slot games to help them ease into the mechanics of the game. Luckily, modern online slot games generally employ the 5-reel, 3-row system which is easy to understand. The choice to increase the number of reels from the traditional 3 to 5 is to increase the amount of pay lines players can win following a spin.
Other than this, you can always look for online slot games that catch your attention. This could be due to the slot game having an interesting theme. This way, while you’re getting acclimated to the general rules of playing slot games, you can also enjoy the symbols, spinning reels, and overall design will keep you engaged.
Step 2: Check the Game’s Available Symbols and Paytable
Part of slot games’ mechanics is its paylines and multipliers. These are the symbols that populate the reels, and after you spin them, you are rewarded depending on whether the symbols manage to land on winning paylines or not.
Before we get to the paylines, you should first check the game’s paytable. This is essentially the slot game’s chart that contains the different symbols you will encounter as you begin betting and spinning. It is important to figure out which symbols have the best multipliers, since landing these during your spins will greatly amplify your potential winnings. It also lets you get a better idea of the game’s betting odds are.
Modern slot games generally have two types of symbols: the regular symbols, and the special symbols. Regular symbols are those you typically see on the reels, and the more intricate their designs are, the higher their multipliers will be.
Special symbols have unique abilities that help you land winning paylines. Wild symbols, for example, are symbols that can substitute for the other regular symbols. Encountering this can help you get winning combinations more often than not. Scatter symbols are generally associated with the slot game’s special features, namely, Free Games. You can equate this to Free Spins, which as it name suggests, grant you free spins without you needing to bet.
Step 3: Check Which Paylines You Can Bet On
Speaking of paylines, after you have determined the symbols you should be aiming for in the slot game you’re playing on, the next thing you should check is the game’s paylines.
Slot games generally grant you winning paylines whenever you land symbols in a particular pattern that starts from the leftmost reel all the way to the rightmost reel. You can look at how many paylines the game allows for your symbols to give you winning spins, since they generally disclose how many combinations are available in the game.
Once you’ve determined this, you should then check if the slot game allows you to bet on a specific number of lines before you spin. This is done so that you can see how much a line is worth. However, most online slot games have fixed paylines, which also means they have a fixed betting range. That said, it is also important for you to check what the minimum and maximum bet you can place so that you can gauge how much you can comfortably shell out.
More experienced slot game players often check out whether the slot game allows them to bet on specific pay lines as part of their slot game strategies. As you get more familiar with the betting systems of online slot games, eventually you too can adopt slot tactics to give you the advantage and maximize your bets.
Step 4: Read and Understand the Slot Game’s Special Features
While slot games generally have the same gameplay loop, the thing that differentiates one from the other is the number and types of special features they contain. Special features are in-game mechanics that help make the gameplay dynamic and interesting on top of granting you more chances of hitting winning paylines.
Every modern online slot game has its own set of special features. They could have the standard Free Games or Spins, as we’ve mentioned before, or other symbol-specific features like Cascading Wins, Expanding Wilds, Slippery Wilds, or mechanics that involve modifying the game board such as Shifting Reels and Expanding Reels.
Slot games that have progressive jackpots also have a special feature where you can potentially win the ever-increasing jackpot after the conclusion of any one spin. However, you should also be aware of how much you have been betting during your spins, since you might run the risk of losing your bankroll if you’re not constantly monitoring your earnings.
Step 5: Click on the Spin Button
After checking out the paylines, the game’s minimum and maximum betting options, and having fully understood the game’s special features, you can then assess how much you want to bet before you play. Online slot games have a set betting range, so you need to decide how much within the possible betting amounts you’re comfortable with. Once you’ve settled with the amount, you can then choose it, and press the Spin or Play button.
After you press the Spin or Play button, the reels will begin to spin, and after a short interval they will stop and reveal symbols. If you manage to land some of the symbols on a winning payline combination, you win, and your earnings will depend on that symbol’s multiplier and how much you bet.
Once you’ve finally settled into the flow of the slot game you’re currently playing on, you can use the Autoplay feature most online slot games have. As its name suggests, it makes the game spin the reels automatically – all you have to do is place your desired bet and input how many spins you want the game to automatically do.
The Autoplay feature can be stopped at any time by pressing the “STOP” button. However, you cannot adjust the bet you initially set once you’ve activated the Autoplay. If you want to change your bet, you need to stop the Autoplay, input your new bet, then restart the feature.
That said, as part of responsible gaming, when you use the Autoplay function, you have to constantly monitor whether the spins are giving you decent winning payouts. So long as you are landing winning paylines, and not bleeding too much of your bankroll, you’re in the clear. Otherwise, if you’re noticing that you aren’t hitting good payouts, it’s a good idea to stop the Autoplay and assess whether you still want to play or not.
Conclusion
Playing online slot games is a fun experience, once you get the hang of it. Always remember these steps whenever you play a new online slot game to ensure you enjoy and increase your chances of winning!
