Online slots have taken off in a huge way and have an interesting history behind them. According to legend, slots were invented by San Francisco-based Charles Fey in 1894. He called his slot machine the Liberty Bell and initially, it saw huge popularity. The technology was built upon and developed. The famous ‘one arm bandit’ arm was added to the machine and fruit symbols replaced the original playing card symbols.
The pace of change and development was rapid. This is in part to a major oversight by one company that didn’t patent their inventions allowing others to copy and develop slot machines. In 1976 video slots were introduced and every iteration of slots brings better graphics.
When the internet came along and the infrastructure to handle online slots came along, the playing of slots took on a whole new dimension.
As such, with slot popularity arguably at an all-time high, you may be considering giving them a spin. Here are a few pointers to what you need to know.
Online Slots and the Random Number Generator (RNG)
Slots, like all casino games, rely on a random number generator to simulate what happens in a real slot machine. As such, strategies are looked at by seasoned slot players to try and work out the RNG and defeat it.
Playing Online Slots
There are several nuances to playing online slots that you should know. When you press the button and the wheels spin on the surface it looks like that is all there is to it. That’s not the case.
Before play, run through the following:
- Check the Paytable – Paytables show you which symbols offer the best payouts and whether you can access bonus rounds and other special features. It will also tell you if there are any minimum bet requirements. Some slots require a minimum bet to access the more lucrative prizes such as progressive jackpots and the like.
- Bet Size Matters – Online slots tend to let you alter your bet size. This enables you to wager more and should the reels be kind, win more. That said, most play sessions tend to involve a lot of spins before a winning one comes your way. As such, it may be more beneficial to alter your betting strategy to give you more spins rather than fewer.
Additionally, many slot strategies are about wagering more on the winning spins and less on the losing spin. Easier said than done but still a noble ambition!
- Paylines – Most seasoned players tend to go for the option of playing on as many paylines that are open to them. This avoids missing out on important combinations but requires more stake. You can wager less and play on fewer paylines but you run the risk of missing important combinations and subsequent wins.
- Spin/Play – Now you’ve got the fundamentals out of the way it is time to press the button and see what happens. The button push has replaced the ‘one arm bandit’ lever but we all still refer to slots as one-arm bandits. It is kind of catchy. The reels will spin and it is time to enjoy the anticipation.
- Leverage Bonus Features– Bonus features are where it's at where slots are concerned and there are plenty of them. Once triggered, you can leverage scatter bonuses, re-spins, wild symbols, progressive jackpots, gamble/double up, bonus games, and visual effects when you hit that sweet moment and win, which makes online slots so playable.
The paytable should explain exactly how the bonuses work and what’s available and how you activate them. As such, study this carefully so you can leverage bonuses to your advantage every time you have the opportunity to do so. - Autospin – If you are planning for a long play session you may want to consider using the Autospin option. You select the wager, and how many spins you want the slot to perform. It can be useful but some shy away from it.
Strategy
Although there are claims of guaranteed ways of defeating the RNG and winning online slots, none of them is yet to deliver. It is more than possible that no such strategy exists and as such to win at online slots you must have discipline, focus, and be in emotional control to have good play sessions as you do with all online casino games.
To that end ensure you set a session budget and a spin budget and always stay within them. The golden rule is never to chase losses or bet more than you can afford. This is the road to ruin and you should never travel down this road.
When finding a good site to play in, check reviews and licensing. If all is well then create an account and play. Just be aware that you’ll have bad nights as well as good ones. Most of all, enjoy it.
