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Guide on Slot Machine Terminology

Guide on Slot Machine Terminology

Written by: Filip Gromovic Reviewed by: Nashon Khamala

Read time: 12 minutes

Slots are the most popular real money casino games, both on land-based and online sites. These unique machines are characterized by their shiny visualizations, randomized mechanics and engaging gameplay.

The launch and popularization of online slot games significantly engineered the expansion of the casino industry and the growth of slot machine lingo, attracting players across different ages. Today, it is nearly impossible to talk about the success of the casino industry without acknowledging the role of online slots.

Also, the optimization of most of these online machines has made it easy for more people to play with their phones and join the merry bandwagon. There are thousands of mobile slots capable of triggering thousands and even millions in payouts. All you need to do is join a brand with an optimized website or app and start spinning with your smartphone or tablet.

As with most viral inventions, slot machines have many viral terms that gamers around the globe usually use to describe their features and characteristics. Knowing these terms makes it significantly easier for you to read paytables, understand specific features and mechanics and maximize expert winning strategies. FreeSlots99 provides a comprehensive slot machine terminology guide, detailing the most popular terms so you know what they stand for.

Machine-Related Terms

The first cluster of terms we will be considering are those associated with the machine or mechanics of standard classic or video slots:

Reels: The vertical columns housing symbols in a slot are known as the reels. The first generation of machines, now known as classic versions, typically have three reels. More improvised and graphically appealing variants have been designed over the years and may have between 4 and 9 reels or even more. These newer types are video machines and are popular for their engaging presentation and highly rewarding mechanics.
Symbols: Symbols in the slot machine terminology are the icons, characters or images that appear on the reels. These icons are what trigger winning combinations and payouts when you spin the reels. Every symbol has specified payout multipliers that determine how much they pay when they land on a payline. You can find a symbol payout multiplier for your game’s paytable window.
Paylines: Paylines are specially marked-output lines on the reels that symbols must land on to set off payouts. They may also be called betways, ways, winlines or megaways in the slot machine lingo. Typically, if you land 3 or more of the same symbol in a payline, the symbol’s payout multiplier instantly triggers and you get paid. This triggering process is known as landing a winning combination on a payline.

Many titles have multiple ways or paylines on their reels that could range from 5 to 150,000+. A title with 5 paylines implies that you have 5 ways to land a winning combination per spin. Also, some machines allow players to choose how many paylines they want to activate while most just have fixed lines.

Bonus Symbols: These are special symbols that have the potential to trigger your title’s bonus features and better-winning combinations. Many selections have different bonus characters that have major roles in activating winning sequences. However, there are two specific characters that often stand out:
- Wild Symbol: Wilds in the slot machine terminology often substitute regular symbols in paylines to set off winning combinations.
- Scatter Symbol: Scatters are usually the characters that activate a game’s bonus round or free spins feature.

Note that both the wild or scatter may have more responsibilities, depending on the game.

Coins/credit: Slot machine credits meaning coins, also, are the monetary values of your chosen title. A single slot’s coin may represent $1 or 20 cents. You need to check your paytable to know the base denomination of your selection credit in fiat money to make an informed bet.
Max Bet: This is the largest possible money amount you can stake on a single spin.
Minimum Bet: This is the smallest possible money you can stake on a single spin.
RNG: RNG stands for Random Number Generator. RNG is a technology that makes it possible for machines to generate random outcomes per spin. Both land-based and online titles rely on the RNG model for their outcome distribution because of its fair and balanced sequence.

Popular Gameplay Terms

Now we will take a look at slot machine terms that are related to proper slot gameplay. These lingos often describe features and processes that you encounter when spinning your machine. Here is a rundown of the most popular gameplay words:

Return to Player: Every slot has a return to player percentage value (RTP). This value lets you know how much of all wagered money a machine pays back to players as winnings over time. If a title has 97% RTP, it simply means that its system will return 97% of all received bets as winnings and only allow the casino to keep 3% as its profit. The higher the RTP of a selection, the more profitable it is on average.
House Edge: In simple terms, the house edge is the opposite of the RTP, as it states how much profit a casino will get from a game on average. So, if a selection has a 97% RTP, then it means that any casino hosting such will gain 3% as their reward on all bets placed by their members over time. Hence, the slot machine lingo house edge refers to the advantage or the profit margin a gambling brand has over players.
Bonus Round: The bonus round or bonus game according to the slot machine terminology is a special feature that classic and video slot players activate when they hit certain combinations spinning the reels. A typical characteristic of a bonus feature is that it allows you to spin the reels without actually taking any of your deposited money. Also, it increases your win chances or payout sizes. Each special round has its own defining rule. However, there are certain ones that are quite popular:
- Free Spins: This feature awards you with one or multiple numbers of spins for a chance to score wins without using your deposit wagers.
- Cascades: A cascade sequence is a bonus that can see you enjoy a continuous cycle of wins with a single spin.
- Mystery Boxes: Certain titles bring up mystery boxes or symbols as their bonus feature. The objective is to reveal as many characters as possible and claim their prizes, which could be free spins or money.
- Multipliers: Multipliers are special numbers that have the potential to multiply your payouts. A game that offers this type of promo will require that you hit certain combinations to trigger the multiplier effect.
Paytable: The pay table or paytable in the slot machine terminology is a window where you find all the information about your machine’s symbols, bet range, bonus features, RTPs, volatility and many other major helpful information. It is an information center that shows you how to play your chosen titles and maximize your experience.
Autoplay: This is a menu that allows players to set off consecutive spins by manually tapping on the Spin icon. Many titles have this particular feature.
Volatility: Volatility or variance states the risk level of a slot in the slot machine lingo. There are three types of standard variances – low, medium and high. Low volatility means that titles will trigger combinations frequently but the payout sizes are often going to be small. Medium variance implies standard win frequency and standard payout sizes. High volatility means high win sizes but at the risk of landing infrequent combinations.

Winning-Related Slot Terminology

There are many terms and coined phrases that players relate to when they land wins on the machines. Here, we compile winning-related slot machine terminology so you know what a particular word or phrase means when you come across them:

Hit Frequency: Also known as the win frequency, this is a value that shows the average rate at which a game pays. The higher the hit frequency, the better the chance for players to win. A great win frequency and high RTP rates are the keys to enjoying a super-spinning session.
Jackpot: The jackpot means in the slot machine lingo a special real money prize pool that certain machines have. Generally, jackpot titles have the same qualities as usual video machines. The difference is that the extra pot often holds a large amount of money. A jackpot slot may be fixed or progressive:
- Fixed Jackpot: This type of jackpot has a fixed amount determined by your bet size. To win it, you must set off a special sequence. A title could have many fixed money pots, each with unique activation triggers. Also, fixed pots could be worth hundreds to thousands of dollars.
- Progressive Jackpot: Progressive pots, according to the slot machine terms, do not have fixed amounts. Instead, their prize pool grows steadily when players bet on the reels. When a player bets on a progressive title, the system subtracts a small percentage of their bet and adds it to the money pot. This pot could grow to thousands or even millions of dollars before a lucky player wins it.

To win the progressive pot, you really do not need to set off any special sequence. These pots and their prize pool randomly drop on a lucky player’s account. However, to stand a chance of being the lucky winner, you must be actively spinning the reels at the time of the random drop. That is what it takes to win.

Max Payout: In the slot machine terminology it means a title’s max payout is the largest amount of real cash that a player can win on a single spin or an active session. The majority of titles have designated max payouts that, when reached, will end your session automatically while you receive the winnings.

There are three primary ways a title may state its max payout:

Fixed Maximum Money Win: According to slot machine terms, the game stays the highest fixed money it pays on a single spin or gaming session.
Bet Multiplier: Instead of stating the fixed money, certain selections express their max payout in the form of bet multipliers like 5,000x or 30,000x. In such cases, to know the amount these titles pay, you have to multiply their maximum bet values with their maximum bet multipliers.
Jackpot Winnings: Jackpot titles may not have fixed max payouts. So their jackpot prizes automatically become their biggest possible payouts which may be worth hundreds of thousands to over a million.

How Do Free Spins Work in Slots

However most gambling enthusiasts still wonder – are free spins worth it? Our FreeSlots99 experts may be able to help you find the answer.

Well Known Slot Machine Terms Around the Globe

Slot machine lingo and terms are part of the experience of being a real money casino enthusiast. The terminology for online machines has continued to expand, with most states even having their own local phrases and words. Australia, Britain and the United States are some of the major gambling jurisdictions with specific slot-related lingo that are now becoming mainstream. We cover some of the popular ones in the subsection below.

Australian Terms

Here are some of the popular slot machine terms in Australia:

Pokies: This is the local slang for slots in Australia. The name evolved from poker machines and has remained the country’s most popular term for spinning reel machines both in land-based and online casinos.
Maxi/Minor/Mini: These phrases are usually used to describe different jackpot levels from progressive pokies in Australia.
Reelsies: It is common to hear Aussies refer to spinning reels as reelsies.
Club Card: This is a loyalty card that Aussies in land-based casinos can use to earn rewards when spinning pokies.
True Blue Jackpot: The true blue jackpot phrase in Australia refers to a massive progressive pot win.

British Terms

If you are based in the UK, then you should expect to come across these words and slot machine terminology:

Skill Stop: The Skill Stop is a button that makes it possible for players to manually stop the spinning reels and discover the outcome much more quickly. A handful of land-based machines in the UK have the Skill Stop button.
Streak: This is a particular period where a standard reel slot pays players multiple times consecutively.
Trail Bonus: The trail bonus phrase describes bonus rounds that require players to complete a step-by-step phase of collecting special activating symbols.
Jackpot Repeat: A feature that could see players win a jackpot in two or three quick successions. A number of generous UK land-based manufacturers design these types of selections.

American Terms

Check out some slot machine terminology you need to know if you reside in the US:

One-Armed Bandit: A fun, troll name for slots among Americans because of their highly randomized outcome.
Hot/Cold Slot Game: Hot games are those that pay quite frequently and are considered profitable. Cold titles are the opposite, with Americans often considering these as low-paying options. However, we should state that these categorizations are mostly based on individual sentiments.
Hit and Run: The Hit and Run strategy is a popular phrase in the American gambling space. It describes the action of winning big on a machine and ending your session afterward to avoid possible losses.