Slot machines go by multiple names depending on where you live. In the United States, we talk about slot machines, slots, and a slot interchangeably. But in the United Kingdom, they play “fruit machines”. Australians play “pokies”, which is short for poker machines. No matter what you call the games, though, they’re some of the most popular (and profitable) in the casino. Some experts estimate that an average casinos makes 3/4 of their profits from the slots.
These games are called slot machines because you used to have to place a coin in a slot in order to play. Modern technology has changed that, though–most modern games are equipped with a reader that accepts either cash or a special ticket with a bar code.
Older machines used a lever to begin play, but modern machines just have a button that you press. (Many machines still have the lever, but it’s just for show, although it works if you pull it.)
Most slot machine games involve no degree of skill at all, but a few games, called “skill stops”, can involve a skill element.
Players win at slots by matching symbols on the various reels, either in a straight line or some other pattern. In fact, slots can be categorized according to the number of reels they have and according to the number of paylines they have. The reels are the images that spin inside the machine. Paylines are the patterns in which the symbols can line up in order to produce a winning result.
3 reel and 5 reel slot machine games are both common and popular today. The number of paylines available can be as low as a single payline, but some machines have as many as 25 paylines. One new kind of slot machine game, called 243 ways, eliminates paylines entirely–as long as there’s a match going from left to right, in any pattern, the player wins.
One of the aspects of slot machine play that low rollers particularly enjoy is the wide variety of denominations available. You can play a slot machine for as little as a penny per payline, but high rollers can play for as much as $25 or $100 per line. Every denomination you can imagine in between are also available–nickels, quarters, dollars, etc.
Newer slots also offer all kinds of bonus features like scatter symbols, wild symbols, and bonus games. These can be entertaining and exciting to a degree non-gamblers would find hard to believe.
We’re huge fans of slots and slot machine gambling, so we thought that a site with a lot of videos of various games might make for a fun little place to visit on the Internet. The rest of the pages on this site focus largely on videos of people playing (and winning at) slot machine games.
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