Online slots, eh? You would be genuinely hard-pressed to find a bigger gambling success story certainly in the 21st Century, but maybe even in the whole entire history of gambling as it is. Honestly, the rate at which the online slot industry has expanded is pretty bewildering; to think it only started in the early 2000s is mental when you consider its position now – absolutely bonkers.
Oh yes, people just absolutely love spinning the reels on a wide variety of online slots, mainly because it is just so much more practical to do so. No more trekking to the casino slots hall to get your fix, now it can all be done online! There are a few things to consider before you jump into this exciting gambling world, however, otherwise, you will quickly find yourself losing money like there’s no tomorrow, unless you understand this online slots guide.
The basics
Right then, first off let’s go through some of the online slots basics, as no guide worth its weight in salt is complete without this. Online slots, in many ways, are pretty much the same as regular land-based slot machines, so if you have ever played on one of these you will be just fine.
Here are a few key bits of vocabulary to remember:
- Reel Grid: This is where all the action happens, usually on a 3×5 configuration in most online slots.
- Payline: Every gambler loves a payline, as this is where your winning symbol combinations will be made. Some online slots can have as many as 50 these days, appearing in different patterns across the reels.
- Wild Symbol: A bonus symbol that can swap with all other symbols apart from the scatter in the vast majority of cases to make winning combinations.
- Scatter Symbol: The scatter is often your ticket to a bonus round, and will almost always reward you with a number of free spins.
RTP and the race to find the online slot with the best odds
Now, that’s the basics out of the way, the next thing on the agenda is how to make sure you are picking the right online slot to play. Some are harder than others, and if you want to make sure you are winning more than you’re losing you will have to be clever about your decision.
Something called RTP is your best friend here. It stands for Return To Player, and is given as a percentage that reflects how much the gambler can expect to see back from his stake. Aim for anything above 97% and you are giving yourself a fairly good chance of winning.
The importance of bonus rounds
Something else to be acutely aware of is how important bonus rounds are if you want to win big. You simply have to take advantage of these features, because without them it becomes incredibly difficult to win big. Many seasoned online slot gamblers actually play the game in free mode first, simply so they can get to grips with the bonus games if there are any.