In
the world of casino games, slots are by far the simplest and easiest to
understand games on the casino floor. With thousands of variations
available to players both online and in live casinos, there's plenty of variety
and a huge amount of slot machine games to choose from. In this article,
we'll focus on how to play slots for beginners and take you through the main
components that you'll need to know when playing slots in a casino.
Although the actual process of playing is quite easy, these machines can be a
little intimidating if you are new to playing slots.
Buying Tokens/Credits: Traditionally speaking, players would need to head to the casino cage (basically the bank in the casino) to buy tokens that would be inserted into the machine in order to play. Each round, you would have to insert the amount of tokens you want to bet and press the spin button to see the game result. What happened over time was that the casinos realized that this was taking a considerable amount of time and in the end players weren't playing as much or as fast as they could be. Because of these, major changes were implemented in casinos and nowadays most slot machines run entirely on a credit system run from within the game. What this means is now to play a slot usually you just walk right up, insert your bill (s) into the machine and are instantly given the equivalent in credits to use. For example, if you inserted a $20 bill into a $1 slot you would receive 20 credits, but if put a $20 bill into a $0.25 slot machine you would receive 80 credits. Winnings are now also done electronically and credits are printed onto a receipt which can be exchanged for cash at the cage.
Selecting A Slot Machine: When it comes down to actually choosing a machine to play at, there are a number of factors you'll want to consider as a player to maximize your experience. The first major decision is what denomination of machine your going to select. While the $5 slots may seem appealing cause of huge prizes, if you only have $100 to gamble keep in mind that's only 20 spins so your going to run out rather quickly. Your best bet is to pick a denomination level you are comfortable with, which will give you enough credits to allow you to play for a decent amount of time and not bust your bankroll quickly. This will ensure that you get more spins in per playing session and will have a greater chance of hitting a payout since you'll get more shots at the machine.
The second major factor in choosing which slot machine to play is the type of machine you enjoy since there are tons of different slots. The main types of slots are reel slots, video slots, progressive slots and bonus slots each with their own distinct characteristics and payout schedules. These days there are also a ton of themed slots based on popular game shows and TV shows which are also enjoyed by players. If you are an absolute beginner, it's probably best to stick with a 3 reel machine until you get the hang of how the machines work. If you are already familiar with the basic playing method, try out all different types of games until you find one you enjoy.
Spinning The Reels: After choosing a slot to play and buying credits on the machine, your ready to being playing the game and trying to win some money. To begin the game you must first place your wager before you can spin the reels and each machine will give you the minimum and maximum amount of credits you are allowed to play on each spin. With some machines, there is also more than one payline so make sure to check out the slot before you play to ensure that you are betting on all the payline available. This will avoid costly mistakes where you thought you had all the combinations offered only to find out that you missed a payout by not placing a wager on a specific payline. Furthermore, although not all slots require you to bet maximum credits, it's always recommended since they always pay the biggest prizes and certain features are only activated with max credits.
Did I Win or Lose?: Once you've spun the reels the machine will begin spinning and each reel will stop in succession across the machine. Usually if you've won a prize it's pretty obvious since the machine will light up, make noise and/or increase your credit balance. If you are unsure if a specific combination has warranted a payout it's best to check the payout schedule usually located on the front of the machine which shows what is paid for different combinations. If you did not win a prize on that particular round nothing much will happen on the machine and your credit balance will not increase. If this happens you can choose to play another spin or if you've had enough you can cash out your balance from the machine to play another or cash out entirely.
Regular Cash Outs: If you've become tired of a certain machine or simply what to take what's left of your money out and put it back in your pocket your going to need to cash out. To do this, press the cash out button on the machine and then take the ticket given to you with your credit balance. Using this ticket, you can either walk to one of the automated payout machines or the casino cashier and receive cash in exchange for it. If your playing slot machines online, cash outs are offered via check, bank transfer and a number of different ewallets.
Winning Jackpots: If you are lucky enough to win a jackpot at the slots, your probably going to be so overcome with shock and excitement you'll have no idea what's going on for the first few minutes. If you win a substantial jackpot a few things are going to happen - lots of noise and sirens, a light will come on on the top of the machine and a lot of jealous people are going to start crowding around you. When you try to cash out, your most likely going to notice that it doesn't work since all jackpots are usually paid by slot attendants who verify the win and either pay you in cash on the spot (known as a hand pay) or will get you a check for the winnings. This is completely normal so your best bet is to just wait until an available slot attendant comes over to the machine to congratulate and pay you for the win. If you win a mega jackpot in the millions, expect to be greeted by casino management and most likely do some press and pictures since there's nothing better than big wins for business.