The Comprehensive Manual for Online Slots

The basics of the Online Slots universe: this comprehensive manual will teach you everything you need to know about slots, ranging from terminology to systems and tips. You will broaden your knowledge with information about slots, the progressive jackpots, and the bonus features associated with them. You can play for free or try the excitement of real money games, reviewed by professionals.

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Overview

Slots are the most popular online casino games and this is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. For decades, the games have represented an important source of income for both land-based and online casinos, due to their simple and fun nature. Since the advent of Internet casinos, slots became even more popular, as punters were granted easier access to the games. 

Today, we can group slots into many categories, based on their features, look, and the presence or absence of progressive jackpots. One of the main distinctions made by players is between classic slots which usually have three reels and a basic touch and their modern counterparts. The latter has five reels or more and the number of winning combinations is greatly increased as a result.

Progressive jackpots are precisely what they appear to be, games with a main prize that usually exceeds even the wildest dreams. The jackpot is pulled with several casinos or can be won locally, but the odds of triggering it are just as low. A small percentage of the amount wagered by players is used to fuel the jackpot and the amount is clearly displayed next to the reels for players to see.

The RTP is Critical in Online Slots

Online slots are by definition games of chance and you only need the luck to be successful in your quest. However, if you hope to win in the long run, you need to pay attention to the games that they the best. The average return to player is the coefficient to focus on and you should be aiming for games that have this number as close as possible to 100%.

The slot RTP should be available when you launch the game, so you can look it up in the section that contains information about the game. Modern slots have an RTP of more than 96%, which is the value that punters should seek to better their chances. Progressive jackpot games usually have a lower average return, but they have the upside of a potential blockbuster payout.

Play Slots for Free or Real Money

The beauty of playing slots online is that you don’t necessarily have to make a deposit to have fun. Most online casinos offer the games for free as well as real money, so you can choose based on your banker and expectations. When you play for free, you spend the virtual currency supplied by the casino, which is replenished whenever players run out.

By comparison, real money games allow you to wager the amount you have deposited, so you can’t go beyond the online bankroll. Any winnings you make, you keep including the progressive jackpots, so these video slots are more exciting. The game mechanics are identical regardless of what type of currency is used, so you can learn the ropes without taking any chances and missing out on anything.

Pros & Cons

Pros
Easy to learn
Fun to play
Big potential winnings
Cons
You depend on chance
High volatility

History

There are two competing claims to who brought out the first slot machine. In the 1890's Charles Fey, an inventor from San Francisco developed the Liberty Bell game. This consisted of three spinning reels, each one containing the card symbols diamond, hearts, and spades, plus an image of the cracked liberty bell, which paid out 50 cents when it lined up on the reels. The original machine is still on display at the Liberty Bells grill in Reno, Nevada. The other claim is from Sittman and Pitt of New York, whose machine had poker cards around the reels, with payouts based on the same ranks as poker hands.

Arcade game developer Herbert Mills from Chicago, was certainly the first to add symbols like cherries plums and lemons to the reels around 1907. With these early machines, an assistant had to be on hand to pay out winnings, and in some states, to get around gambling laws, payouts were in the form of beers, cigars or whatever was on sale where the machine was placed.

Slots machines gradually became more sophisticated and in 1963, the Bally company brought out Money Honey, the first electromechanical machine. This featured an automatic payout of coins into a hopper below the machine, removing the need for an attendant, and by the mid-1970's the first video slots were coming out. It was in 1994 that Three Bags Full, the first computerized slot game with a bonus round, was launched and by the end of the 20th century, the new online casinos were offering a range of advanced slots which are now enjoyed by millions of players worldwide each day.

From the 1970's slots were particularly popular in the UK, USA and Australia, while online casinos have made them a huge success in many more countries, and they rank alongside poker, table games and sports betting as the biggest form of online gambling. Now there are slots of all types, from 3D, to movie themed, multiplayer tournaments and a whole myriad of winning combinations. The history of slots continues to be written as more and more games are released almost weekly.


Terminology

It is advantageous to know some of the basic terminology used with slots machines and the list below can help anyone new to playing these games get started with confidence.

Bet:  The wager placed on the outcome of a game.

Bonus Feature: An extra feature additional to the payouts received by lining up matching symbols. Examples include Wild symbols and free spins rounds.

Free Spins:  A number of spins ranging from 1 to 20 or more, that play out automatically, ideally accumulating wins as they do so.

Gamble Feature:  A bonus game during which players make a simple 50/50 choice, doubling their win if correct and losing it if incorrect. Further guesses can double the win again and again.

Jackpot:  The maximum possible payout on any particular slot machine.

Max Bet:  The maximum number of coins that can be bet on a spin of the reels.

Payline:  To get a winning combination, symbols must fall along a payline which runs from one side of the screen to the other, in different patterns. Some machines have as few as three paylines, others have 100 or more.

Progressive Jackpot:  A jackpot prize that grows each time a player feeds money into the machine and is won by a single player.

Reels:  Several adjacent, vertically spinning barrels, with various symbols upon them. The basic aim of a slots game is to get these reels to come to a stop with symbols lined up in a winning combination.

Scatters:  Special symbols that do not have to be lined up on a payline to create a win, often triggering a bonus round.

Wilds:  A special symbol that replaces other symbols to help create wins.

Winning combinations:  The different arrangements of symbols that will pay out a prize to the player. Online slots can have hundreds or even thousands of these combinations.


Rules

Most video slots have at least two rounds, a base game where the reels spin, and one or more bonus rounds. The aim during the base game is to line the symbols along the paylines in winning combinations. The bonus games can take multiple forms and each game features different ones. With wild symbols, scatter symbols and multiplier symbols, there are many ways for them to line up and create a win.

With each game being so different, it is a good idea to learn about each slot before playing it, and here is an introduction to some of the basic types. Most games feature a Paytable that explains how to play and what combinations will win.

3-reel slots: These are the traditional looking games, based on the slots that have been around for many years in bars and land based casinos. They tend to have up to five paylines.

5-reel slots: These are the more advanced video slots games which have bonus rounds, multiple winning combinations and lots of paylines.

Multiline slots:  Slots with more than 25 - 30 paylines, which can cost more to play, but have higher payouts.

Progressive slots:  A game where the maximum payout grows the more people play it. Each time someone pays to play the game, a percentage of the money goes towards the progressive jackpot until it is won by a single player. some games now feature up to four jackpots of different values.


Strategy

The outcome of a spin on a slots machine is totally random, and unrelated to the outcome of any previous spin. Computer programs ensure that it is not possible to influence any results, so there is no skill that will change where the symbols will land. There are still a number of ways to make playing slots even more fun, and extend your bankroll further and for longer.

Players are spoilt for choice when it comes to the range of slots games available, and each individual should choose ones that suit their own personal preferences and budgets. Always look at the paytable to determine what the minimum and maximum bet sizes are, what prizes can be won, and the chances of hitting the jackpots. Some games payout lots of smaller prizes while others pay just a few, bigger prizes, so it's up to the player to decide which they want to try out. Games are often based around a particular theme, which can include anything from ancient civilizations to outer space, monsters to superheroes, and warfare to enchanted forests.

You should also look at the bigger picture before embarking on a slots-playing career. Which online casinos suit your budget and spending habits? Where can you get the best and most valuable promos to help fund your playing style? You can find all the information you need on all the leading slots-providing online casinos on the OCR site. Choosing an online casino that will provide the best bonuses and promotions to help you play more games is always a good idea, while many will offer customers special bonuses just for playing slots games. Which sites will suit your own style and game preferences? Which offer the best selection of slots that match your tastes? All the information needed to select these casinos can be found here at OCR.

Useful Tactics:

  • Never forget that slots are random. It's a fact worth pointing out again, and although some lucky players have become multi-millionaires in one click, these games don't require any skill to play, and not strategy will change that.
  • To win a progressive jackpot, players need to Bet Max. Imagine the despair you would feel if the progressive jackpot combination came up, but because you were not betting the maximum number of coins, you couldn't claim it!
  • Keep looking for new slots games. Casinos always want to offer their customers the newest and best games, and hardly a week goes by without at least one new game being released. With slots based on just about every subject imaginable (within reason!), players will invariably find some games they have not tried before.

Tips

These are the essential slots tips that you should know right from the start, to play like a professional.

Getting Started

Kickstart your gambling adventure with these basic steps to enjoy the best results with online slots.

1 Join a licensed casino

Set up an account at a gambling operator that is licensed and regulated by a prestigious authority.

2 Make a deposit

Choose one of the payment methods accepted that suits your expectations and load your account.

3 Pick slots with a high RTP

Find the games that have an average return to player of at least 95% for a better chance of winning.

4 Try the game for free

Use the demo version whenever possible to get a better sense of what the game has to offer.

5 Try progressive jackpots slots

Put your lack to the test with online slots that carrier jackpot for the opportunity to win big amounts.

Glossary

Beginners can have a hard time understanding the core online slots terms but we can help. These are the terms and expressions you should know before playing online slots at Internet casinos.

Slots Terminology

Slots Variants

There is a high number of slots today and it is constantly growing. The moment you explore the huge collection of games at an online casino, you will be impressed by the diversity. You can find everything from fruity slots to modern ones, but these are the most popular slots:

Classic Slots

Classic Slots are simple and straightforward slot games with three reels and basic symbols such as bars, cherries, and lucky sevens. They pay homage to classic games from land-based casinos

Video Slots

Video slots are more complex games with five or more reels, often featuring multiple pay lines, bonus rounds, free spins, special features, and occasionally progressive jackpots.

Fruit Machines

Fruit machines are essentially slots with fruit symbols populating the reels. It originated in the UK and became popular all over the world, so you can find this type of online slot that most casinos.

Pachinko

Pachinko is a popular game in Japan that combines elements of pinball and slot machines, where players shoot metal balls into a vertical playing field to try and win prizes.

3-Reel Slots

3-Reel Slots are slot games with three reels and basic features, that usually revolve around traditional symbols such as bars, cherries, and lucky sevens.

5-Reel Slots

5-Reel Slots are the modern versions of slots games, with five or more reels and a wide range of features and themes. Most of the progressive slots fall into this category.

Progressive Slots

Progressive slots are games with a jackpot that increases every time someone plays the game and when somebody hit the winning combination they claim the entire amount.

Interactive Slots

Interactive slots are games that give players a greater degree of involvement through interactive elements such as skill-based bonus rounds, that allow players to influence the outcome of the game.

Multi-Player Slots

Multi-player slots are the select versions of the games where players can compete against each other and their performance is displayed and updated in leaderboards.

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FAQ

Online slots are virtual casino games that simulate the experience of playing slot machines in a land-based casino. You can play them on computers and mobile devices for free and real money.

Yes, it is safe to play online slots as long as you choose a licensed and regulated online casino. Make sure to check for this information before signing up for an account and depositing.

This depends on your preference for the game’s theme, features, and pay lines as well as progressive jackpots. Look for the games that have the highest return-to-player (RTP).

You can win real money playing online slots if you make a deposit and choose the real money version. Don’t gamble more than you can afford to lose and you have a lot of fun playing for real.

A progressive jackpot slot is the version of the game that has a special prize that increases constantly. It is guaranteed to hit at one point and when that happens someone wins everything.

Online slots are games of chance, so there are no strategies or tips that can guarantee victory. Games with high RTP, bonuses, and special offers can help you maximize your chances.

This can be a fun way to spend time at online casinos if you prefer games of chance. These are less demanding than table games and poker since you don’t need any previous experience to succeed.

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