If you are new to slot gaming the terminology might seem daunting at first. There is just so much to learn that it seems like you’ll never be able to wrap your head around it. However, don’t be discouraged. The only way that you will be able to familiarize yourself with everything slot related is by taking it one step at a time – click here to play. To aid you in this process this article will be breaking down three of the most common terms in the online slot industry. They are RTP, RNG and paylines.

As slot machines became more advanced, they got more paylines. Many online slots are able to have a huge number of paylines thanks to the all-ways-win system. This basically makes every possible line across the reels into a payline. A standard three-row, five-reel grid has 243 possible ‘paylines.

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Return to Player (RTP)

Return to Player is one the most important concepts in slot gaming. It refers to the percentage of total bets that are paid out to players over time. An RTP of 97% or higher is what you should be aiming for. A higher RTP increases your chances of winning. Any slot with an RTP of 94% or lower should be considered a no.

Random Number Generator (RNG)

If you have ever read anything about online slots you would know that the phrase RNG is used quite a lot. But what are they? Random Number Generators are what make slots random. A random number generator generates sequences of random numbers, with each sequence corresponding to a symbol combination.

While all slots essentially depend on random number generators, the traditional fruit machine RNGs differed from modern RNGs in the sense that they used physical environmental states to make sure that the reels always landed randomly. Nowadays random number generators are driven by computer software.

Slot Paylines

Slot payline is an extremely important concept to wrap your head around if you hope to make money playing slots. Not understanding slot paylines could be responsible for you losing so much money. A payline, also called a betting line or winning line, refers to a symbol combination that leads to a win.

The very first slots only featured three reels, three rows, and one payline. The payline was usually represented by the middle row. In order to win players had to land three identical symbols on this payline. However, modern slots can have anywhere from 1 to 50 paylines. This means that players have more possible winning combinations. The average number of payline you can expect to find in an average slot is between 25 and 30. Additionally, some slots have fixed payline while others allow you to choose how many you would like to be active during each spin.

Paylines are directly related to how much you win at a particular game. Slots that feature just one payline tend to pay out slightly more in prizes, but less frequently. On the other hand, slots with more possible offers have more winning combinations that pay out frequently, but these are oftentimes not worth as much.

Paylines On Slot Machines Games

Final Thoughts

The terms RTP, RNG and paylines are extremely important to grasp if you want to choose the right slot for you. Each of these concepts lets you know what to expect in terms of payout at any given slot machine, and it could also be what’s standing between you and that jackpot.

There was a time when I didn’t really think of the word ‘Paylines’ when playing slot games. Why should I when the games only had one of them. I’d simply spin the reels and hope I got a winning combination appear on the all-important payline.

Nowadays, the payline is the most important part of a slot game. The total number that there is determines the number of different lines that can produce winners for you. As you can imagine, games that had just the one along the middle of the reels proved difficult to get wins on, especially large ones.

There are still some games that hark back to the past, ‘Cosmic Cat’ from Microgaming only has the one payline for you to win on. Recent years though have seen the number of paylines grow and grow.

‘7^th Heaven’ from BetSoft has 18 paylines, while in the Barcrest slot ‘Arabian Charms’ there are 20. The BetSoft game ‘Rook’s Revenge’ has a total of 25, so what effect does the number of paylines have on the way you play slot machines?

There are some important decisions for you to make when it comes to paylines. Some games have a fixed amount but that isn’t often the case.

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Let’s go back to ‘Rook’s Revenge’ which has 25 paylines. You don’t have to play them all and it’s up to the player to decide just how many they want to activate on the next spin of the reels. This is of course linked to the stake that you want to make on the next game. Each payline you choose is increasing your bet.

If there’s only 10 paylines in the slot that you are playing, then activating all of them might not cost you too much. There’s also the choice of how many coins you want to bet on each line. If you’re playing at maximum stake, then the cost of playing can soon mount. If there are 10 paylines then you’ll need to be betting a minimum of 10 coins to activate all of them.

‘The Rook’s Revenge’ game allows you to play for just 1p (penny slots). That means activating one payline with a 1p stake. That won’t give you a great chance of winning though. The more paylines you activate the better, and there are many games in which you have to be betting at the maximum bet if you want to stand a chance of winning the progressive jackpot. Paylines aren’t the only way of getting good wins of course. Scatter symbols don’t have to be on the same payline to get you a win and can also trigger the lucrative bonus games that slot games have.

Gone are the days when paylines were only in straight lines. Now games feature paylines that are straight, diagonal and shapes you’d probably only see on an episode of ‘Hole in the Wall’. Working out just where all the paylines are isn’t an easy job. It’s important to have a look at the paytable as this shows you where all the paylines are. Some games do actually show you where each one is as you activate them. Take Bally’s ‘Lady Robin Hood’ which has a huge 40 different paylines.

When there are a lot of paylines then the chances of you getting a win are better. They may be ones offering small returns but any win should be appreciated, especially if you’re staking a lot of money to activate those paylines.

Tables For Slot Machines

You will only get wins on paylines that you have activated. It’s the ultimate case of ‘you have to be in it to win it’. Imagine the horror if you see a winning combination but the machine doesn’t pay out anything simply because it’s on a payline you haven’t activated. The machines mainly pay out on wins from left to right. There are some that pay in both directions though. Gambling low and activating all the paylines can be a good idea. Let the wins accumulate and then slowly increase your stake.