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Everything You Need To Know Before Spinning The Online Reels

• Ken Anucha
• August 11, 2024

Slot games remain one of the most popular casino games, continuing to dominate the casino landscape even after the shift towards online play. With their simple core gameplay and the sheer variety of different Slots on offer, it’s no surprise that they draw in such an audience.

But how much do you know about slot games? They may look simple on the surface, but there’s actually a lot to learn about these classic games, whether you want to play on a physical machine or some online Slots. So, let’s take a look at all the most important things for players to know before they spin the reels.

Understanding the basics of Slots

As purely mechanical slot machines were largely phased out over the course of the 20th century, online Slots and land-based Slots run on much the same technology. Video Slots took off in the 1980s, with the physical reels swapped out for a screen and digital images. This allowed for far greater design freedom, paving the way for new innovations in the traditional slot machine formula.

Modern Slots – whether online or physical cabinets – utilise a computer algorithm known as a random number generator (RNG) to determine their outcomes. When the player initiates a spin – by pushing a button, tapping the screen or pulling a lever – the RNG locks in its current set of values, with each number corresponding to one of the symbols on the reels.

As RNGs generate thousands of numbers every minute, it is essentially impossible to predict what results will come up in any given spin. The outcome of one spin is entirely independent of any that came before, ensuring that slot games are fair and offer the same odds to each player.

Exploring the types of online Slots

For all their similarities behind the scenes, online Slots come in a significant array of different designs and variations. If you look at the options on offer at any online casino, you’ll see just how many choices there are for players looking to spin the reels online.

The most basic online Slots are based on the oldest slot machine designs, with only three reels and few paylines. These keep the game simple and striped back to its roots, without the additional features and design twists of more modern games.

Plenty of games utilise additional paylines, with more or less of them activated depending on the player’s wager. With more than just a single horizontal payline in play the chances of a winning combination are higher.

Other games do away with the concept of paylines entirely, instead using cluster mechanics. As long as enough matching symbols appear next to each other on the reels, then this will count as a winning combination.

Combined with mechanics like cascading reels – where fresh symbols cascade down to replace those used in a winning combo – this creates a very different play experience compared to classic Slot designs.

Choosing the online slot game that best suits your tastes is important, but there are quite a few factors to consider when it comes to picking out a slot game. Look at what level of mechanical complexity you want and what sort of theme before you pick a game.