How to Play Video Slot Machines
Modern Video Slot Machines
Slot machines today are a lot more complicated than the first one-armed bandits invented over a century ago. Modern slots have so many dazzling features that one forgets they were originally meant for inexperienced gamblers. We will show you how to play these new video slots and compare them with older slots. We focus on online slots rather than land-based games.
Classic Slots vs. Modern Slots
Classic slots are a no-brainer to use. We are talking about slot machines with only three reels, one payline and a three-coin or five-coin limit per spin. If you are apprehensive about slots and the Internet, we suggest you play first with these classic slots. You do not have to look for an actual one-armed bandit; you can find classic slots online. Technically these are also "video slots" but they look and feel like older machines.
The classic 3-reel, 1-payline slots take only a few minutes to figure out. You will see the reels and the payline across them in the slot screen. Below them are a few buttons for bet, bet max (could be 2 to 5 coins), spin and cash out when you're done playing. Below this or above the slot screen, you will see the pay table.
Multi-Payline Video Slot Machines
Multi-payline video slots are more complex. One of the factors that make them harder to understand is the exotic themes they often use. What do you do if you stumble upon a Roman theme and you know next to nothing about Roman history and icons? It would make the symbols harder to understand and memorize. Avoid exotic themes that you don't understand. And try to find clear symbols that make their value obvious.
Another issue is the number of paylines. Any slot machine with more than one payline is, technically speaking, a multi-payline. But modern video slots today can have dozens of paylines going in all directions: up, down, horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zigzag and whatnot. The more paylines you want to play, the more you have to bet.
On a multi-payline slot machine, you will usually see two sets of controls. The top row lets you choose the number of coins to bet per payline for each spin, say 1, 2, 3, 5, 10 or 25 coins per line. You can change those anytime.
The bottom row consists of the betting buttons, the cash out button (when you want to withdraw your money) and the spin button. A button that says "bet one" means you can add one coin at a time to the bet and then press spin. If you click on "bet max" the reels will spin at once since that's the maximum you can wager.
You should also see a "help" button where you can view the multi-payline pay table. You should study it carefully before playing. Slot machines pay you accordingly whether or not you understand the pay table. If there are bonus payouts, you should know what the requirements are (e.g. max bets).
Video Slots Step by Step
1. Choose the coin denomination you can afford. 2. Study the pay table of the video slot. 3. Insert coins or deposit money. 4. Choose number of coins per payline. 5. Choose number of paylines to play. 6. Spin. 7. Cash out.
in summary, play classic slots with 3 reels and 1 payline until you know better. Multi-paylines are exciting but confusing to play. Read the pay table and the rules first.