How to play video slots
Video slots, online slots, fruit machines or pokies, no matter how you call it all land based and online casinos offer these games. They are the most popular with every casino player and come in numerous variations. I will try to explain how to play online video slot as easy as possible.
The video slot:
Above is a standard screenshot of an online video slot. First off all video slots have 5 reels with symbols on them. And they come with different number of lines, paylines, winlines. From as low as 3 up to 100 and even something called ways, but I will explain that later.
When you start up a video slot you will see something like the above image. First you see the number of paylines, in this case 20. Below the slot are different buttons. The help button, mostly called paytable button is the first thing you have to look at. Here you can find all information about the video slot. What symbols award the highest prize, what symbol is wild and what are the bonus games.
The bet button let’s you adjust your bet per line. In the case above I have set it on $0.10 per line, so with 20 paylines I will bet $2 with every spin. Be sure to check the bet per line before you spin, because some video slots are set in a very high bet when you start them up. Also at some casinos you can choose your bet per line but also increase the number of coins played per line. So if you set your bet per line on $0.01 and then adjust the number of coins to 5 you will actually bet $0.05 per line.
Also the number of lines can be adjusted, you can play all lines, so in this case 20, or less than 20. I know there are people who play less than the maximum of paylines. I do not recommend it, I always play all paylines, this way you have the biggest change to get a win.
Autoplay is an option that most casinos offer, this way you don’t have to hit the spin button every time. You can adjust the setting any way you like.
Symbols:
Most video slots come with certain symbols. You always have the lower and higher symbols that payout accordingly. But there are also some special symbols.
The wild symbol counts as any symbol on the slot, so it can complete a payline. Be aware that in most cases the wild does not count as scatter or bonus symbol, but as always there are video slots that do. Also the wild symbol in some cases doubles or triples a prize when it completes a win and can also appear in different ways.
There are normal wild symbols, one symbol on each reel is wild. You have stacked wild symbols, there are 2 or more wild symbols on each reel below each other. Expanding wild symbols, if the wild is in sight it will expand to cover the entire reel. But I have seen video slot that also offer random wild symbols, traveling wilds and shifting wilds.
Scatter symbols are also very popular on video slots and also in a lot of the cases are needed to initiate a bonus game. A scatter symbols does not have to align on a payline to count. That’s why it is called a scatter. As long as the scatter symbols are in sight you are awarded a prize and this prize is usually a multiplier of the triggering bet. And in most cases 3 or more scatter symbols award a bonus game.
Bonus symbols also can appear in any video slot. Usually these symbols are only there to initiate a bonus game. Sometimes you just have to get 3 or more, but sometimes they only appear on certain reels. Be sure to check the paytable to find out what symbols are used and in what order you need them to get a bonus game.
Bonus games:
These days bonus games are becoming a standard on any new video slot. People love to get bonus games because in a lot of cases they can award huge rewards and are always fun because they are different from the normal spinning on the video slot.
Free games are most common and always a very good bonus game. It means that when you get a number of scatter symbols or special bonus symbols you are awarded a free spins bonus game. You get a number of free spins, so no costs, and also in most cases all prizes you win during your free spins have a multiplier. But like I said, free spins are popular and online casino are inventing more ways to make it interesting. So there are a lot of video slots with free spins bonus games that add extra features. For instance more wild symbols, totally different symbols than the normal play and more. Free spins can often be retriggered, this means that when you get the required bonus or scatter symbols during free spins, you will get more free spins. Again read the paytable to know if this is the case or not.
Another bonus game that can be found on many online video slot are pick X or Y games. Usually you have a number of choices and a number of spots to pick from. You keep picking and revealing prizes during these games. How many picks you get and how much you can win is different at any video slot. Also these bonus games can not be retriggered because you are not spinning the reels.
Ways:
Like I mentioned before, video slots come with different number of paylines. From 5, 20 to even 100. And you are only awarded a prize when you have the same symbols on a certain line.
Since a couple of years there are some new video slots that offer something called “ways”. These video slots don’t have paylines. All you have to do is get the same symbols from left to right on each reel, no matter where on the reel. See my screenshot of “Immortal Romance” with 243 ways above. Here I have 5 of those “houses” from left to right, it wouldn’t matter in what order, as long as they are visible from left to right. With ways you always have a lot more possibilities to win. In most cases 243 ways. But I even know video slots that have 3125 ways.
In conclusion:
There are really hundreds of different online video slots available and a lot of them offer different bonus games and features. I am a true video slots lover and always review the latest video slots. You can check my video slots page for a lot of different reviews with screenshots and a suggestion of where to play them. I tried to make it easy to navigate, so created different categories like number of lines or type of casino software. Be sure to check back on a regular basis to find the latest video slot releases.
And remember that video slots have a very high payout rate, in almost any online casino it is 95% or more. And they can be played with very small bets or with huge bets, so for every type of player.
