How to play slots
It’s a great question, especially if you’re new to the world of online casinos and haven’t tried slots before! Let’s take a closer look to see what slots are, and how they work.
What is a slot?
Slot usually refers to slot machines, and the word slot comes from the slit you insert your coin into when playing physical slot machines. Today slots is usually used in the context of online casinos. Slots are incredibly popular and is probably the most popular category of games within online casinos.
The slots that exist today are the result of over 100 years of development. Most people might think of the traditional Vegas slot machines. Today these are usually found in bars, hotels or cruises. Another word for slot machines is “one armed bandit”, since the physical machines, atleast in the past, usually had a lever you would pull to get the wheels spinning. Today these machines are usually found in digital form where you simply press a button to get the games going.
It’s random
Something that seperates slots from the traditional casino games (like Blackjack, Poker, Roulette etc) is that it’s very hard to calculate the odds for slots. It’s extremely hard to find a strategy when playing slots, as everything is more or less just random. There’s still a bunch of good tips you can use though but just keep in mind, if you’re looking for a strategy game, this isn’t it.
Bet high
One thing is clear, your chances to win are greater when you bet high, preferably max. This might sound odd, but it’s actually true. The theoretical RTP (Return To Player) is better the higher you bet, as you can qualify for bonus games where in many cases the prizes are slightly higher. So in most cases, betting high will better your chances of profiting, but keep in mind that this isn’t always the case.
RTP or theoretical payback
RTP stands for “Return To Player” and is commonly used to describe what type of payback a player can expect when playing a specific type of game. If you read the rules of a slots game you can usually find out what RTP that specific game has. The RTP commonly ends up at around 96%, but there’s many games with higher or lower RTP.
But what does this really mean? The RTP is calculated by simulating the game for usually millions of rounds, to see what type of payback a player can expect. Simply put, if a games RTP was 100%, that would mean that for every dollar you bet, you should on average get a dollar back. This means that with a 96% RTP, every dollar you bet you should theoretically get 96 cents back. Keep in mind that this is theoretical and doesn’t actually mean that you’ll always get the calculated RTP.
If you’re planning on playing a lot of slots we’d definitely recommend finding out the RTP of the specific slots game you’re playing. As mentioned, usually you can find it in the rules section for your specific slots game, but not always. Some game developers don’t show the RTP, possibly because it’s not very good, who knows.
Slots with the highest RTP
What slot you decide to play will depend on a whole bunch of factors. Maybe you prefer a specific theme or layout. Maybe you prefer a specific developers animations, and another developers more traditional games. Maybe you like animals and prefer a slot machine with animal symbols. But some players simply look for the best RTP, they might feel it’s unecessary to play a slot that pays worse than another one in the long run. For those players we’ve collected a few of the games that have a high RTP.
– Blood Suckers – 98%
– Kings of Chicago – 97.8%
– Devil’s Delight – 97.6%
– Simsalabim – 97.5%
– Zombies – 97.2%
– Jack Hammer – 97.00%
– Guns N’ Roses – 96.98%
– Immortal Romance – 96.86%
– Scarface – 96.80%
You’ll want to make it a habit to read the rules of the slot game you’re playing and reading through the pay table before you start playing. You may even want to try out the game for free just to get an idea of the flow and how the game works.
Casinos that offer slots with a high RTP
Since casinos regularly modify their collection of games, there’s always a chance that a new casino offers better RTPs, if so you’ll find them on our homepage.
How slots work (video)
Here’s a good explanation of how slot machines work, both physical and digital.