In the not-too-distant past, slot-machine players were the second-class citizens of casino customers. Jackpots were small, payout percentages were horrendous and slot players just weren’t eligible for the kind of complimentary bonuses — free rooms, shows, meals — commonly given to table players. But in the last few decades the face of the casino industry has changed. Sports betting and internet gaming are growing rapidly and are becoming a larger piece of the revenue pie for casinos. But they are still no match for slot machines. Though commercial casino gaming revenue dropped in the U.S. in 2020 due to the coronavirus disease pandemic, a hefty 63 percent of that revenue came from electronic gaming devices and in many jurisdictions, that figure tops 80 percent. (The American Gaming Association considers slot machines “electronic gaming devices” and includes video poker, instant racing, and similar platforms in the category.)
Slot machines are more popular than table games for a reason. It’s easy — just drop coins into the slot and push the button or pull the handle. Newcomers can find the personal interaction with dealers or other players at the tables intimidating — slot players avoid that. And besides, the biggest, most lifestyle-changing jackpots in the casino are offered on the slots.
The following article will tell you everything you need to know about slots, from the basics to various strategies. We’ll start at square one, with a primer on how playing slot machines works.
In the early days of slot machines, all of the games used mechanical reels. But now, most slot machines display reels on video screens, and they usually take and dispense payment through bills, vouchers, and tickets rather than coins or tokens. Slot machines offer several denominations, where the denomination is the value of each credit played. There are games in penny, 2-cent, nickel, 10-cent, quarter, dollar, and even $100 denominations, and some machines allow players to choose which denomination they want to use. Once you pay the machine, your money is converted into credits. Slots can take 45, 90, and even 500 credits at a time.
Once payment is inserted into the currency acceptor, the equivalent amount of credits is displayed on a meter. On reel-spinning slots, push a button marked “play one credit” until you’ve reached the number of coins you wish to play. Then hit the “spin reels” button, or pull the handle on those few slots that still have handles, or hit a button marked “play max credits” or “bet max,” which will play the maximum credits allowed per spin on that machine. 메이저놀이터
On video slots, push one button for the number of paylines you want to activate, and a second button for the number of credits wagered per line. One common configuration has nine paylines on which you can bet 1 to 5 credits. Video slots are also available with 5, 15, 20, 25, and even 50 or more paylines, accepting up to 25 credits per line.
The symbols that stop on a payout line determine whether a player wins. The classic symbols are cherries, bars, double bars (two bars stacked atop one another), triple bars, and sevens. But there are plenty others, such as fruit, playing card symbols, and images based on the theme of the game.
A single cherry on the payout line, for example, might pay back two credits; the player might get 10 credits for three of any bars (a mixture of bars, double bars, and triple bars), 30 for three single bars, 60 for three double bars, 120 for three triple bars, and the jackpot for three sevens. However, many of the stops on each reel will be blanks, and a combination that includes blanks pays nothing. Likewise, a seven is not any bar, so a combination such as bar-seven-double bar pays nothing.
Video slots typically have representations of five reels spinning on a video screen, but there are slots with more reels. Paylines not only run straight across the reels but also run in V’s, upside down V’s, zigs and zags, and other configurations across the screen. — In addition, video slots usually feature bonus rounds and “scatter pays.” Designated symbols trigger a scatter pay if two, three, or more of them appear on the screen, even if they’re not on the same payline.
Similarly, special symbols will trigger a bonus event. For instance, the bonus may take the form of free spins, pick-a-prize interactions, or mystery bonuses. The player may be presented with a “second screen” bonus. An example of a second screen bonus comes in the long-popular WMS Gaming Slot “Jackpot Party.” If three Party noisemakers appear on the video reels, the reels are replaced on the screen with a grid of packages in gift wrapping. Players touch the screen to open a package and collect a bonus payout. They may keep touching packages for more bonuses until one package finally reveals a “pooper,” which ends the round. These bonus rounds helped video slots grow in popularity, but they aren’t as prevalent today, as game designers experiment with format.
When you hit a winning combination, winnings will be added to the credit meter. If you wish to collect the credits showing on the meter, hit the button marked “Cash Out,” and on most machines, a bar-coded ticket will be printed out that can be redeemed for cash. In a few older machines, coins still drop into a tray.