How To Play Slots: A Complete Guide for Beginners

Our easy-to-understand guide will give you an all-important insight into how to play slots and learn the distinction between different aspects of the game.

To be good at slot machines, you must constantly upgrade your knowledge. Mastering them will help you stay on top of your game and closer to winning. 

As you will soon see, there is always something to learn when it comes to playing slots online.

In this tutorial, you will come to know the following:

1. Step-by-step guide on how to play slots
2. Basic mechanics of slots
3. Features and ways to win
4. How to choose a slot
5. Tips to improve winning odds
6. How much can you win at slots

How to Play Slots in 5 Easy Steps

Slot machines are considered to be the perfect choice for any player, regardless of their proficiency level and skills. They are quick to learn and easy to get the hang of.

Step 1: Choose a Slot

Once you find a reliable online casino, simply choose your preferred video slot, and open the game through a browser on your chosen device. You will be taken to a screen with reels of your slot and operating buttons such as ‘spin’ or ‘coin size’.

The bankroll will also be visible in one of the corners of your screen.

Step 2: Take a Look at the Game’s Paytable

Check out the payout potential of every symbol and remember the ones you’re after the most during the game. There are high, medium, and low-value symbols, including wilds, scatters, and other special icons, but we will get back to that later.

Step 3: Select Your Bet

Choose your preferred bet and how many paylines you’d like to use. Depending on the slot, you can adjust coins per line and coin value, or go with the ‘max bet’ option if you’d like to select all paylines at once.

Step 4: Spin the Reels

When you’re all set, click the spin button to get the reels turning. Once they stop spinning, the game will display your winnings, if you get lucky.

The reels can also be spun in another way. The feature is known as "autospin". Simply choose how many spins you wish to play, and the slot machine will take care of the rest. It's not necessary to press the spin button again and again.

Step 4.1: Gamble Your Winnings

Some slots do have a gambling feature. That means that after a spin has paid, a classic deck of cards will appear with just a touch of a button and you can double your winnings by risking your payout choosing between two options:

• Red
• Black.

You've just doubled your earnings if you picked the color black and the first card to be shown is also that color. However, if the card is red, we apologize and you lose all credits you have just acquired during this hand.

Step 5: Check Your Balance

If the slot is spending more money than giving you wins, you better stop before it eats your entire bankroll. You can always return to it at a later point.

The Basics of Slot Machines and How They Work

To truly learn how to play a slot machine, it is of utmost importance to know something about its mechanics and elements.

Therefore, becoming familiar with the slot machine symbols meaning could also work to your advantage. Most classic slot games will feature symbols like:

• Bars
• Bells
• Sevens
• Cherries.

But modern releases have quite complex animations and depictions. You will notice that wilds, scatters, and bonus images don’t often come in the classic design set.

Are Slots Completely Random?

Yes, every video slot outcome is completely random. There is a mechanism called RNG that is used for both the land-based and online version of the game.

Different Types of Slot Layouts

Likewise, software developers are in a constant race to come up with new mechanics and types of reels to keep their players engaged.

The most popular format is:

• 5x3 (5 columns x 3 rows)

• 3x3 (3 columns x 3 rows). 

But you can also encounter cascading/tumbling reels and 3-4-5-4-3 setups. You will learn more about that in the next chapter.

Understanding Slot Machine Features

The most important features of a slot machine are still wilds, free spins, scatters, and b onus rounds. Our online slots guide reveals how you can use these to your advantage.

Today, there are countless types of slot machine features. Modern providers try to come up with something new everyday in order to increase gameplay experience and boost your payout. To be honest, slots without features can be incredibly plain and boring.

Wild Symbols Feature in Slot Machines

Simply put, wild symbols offer players the chance to create a winning line by substituting for other images in a combo.

There are two types of wild symbols:

1. Static - the wild symbol appears somewhere on the reels serving as a placeholder to form winning combinations 
2. Dynamic - In some slots, they appear on certain reels only or have the ability to expand, move across the board or grow in size, which could lead to even more winnings.

Scatter Symbols in Online Slots

Scatters can appear anywhere on the screen to score a win. Their biggest ability is to trigger free spins or an interactive bonus round that involves picking. These attractive in-game modes can unlock a huge winning potential for free.

In some slot machines, scatters may even secure a progressive jackpot if they appear in a predetermined sequence.

Double Your Winnings With Slots Multipliers

Among other popular features in slots are also multipliers. They have the power to quickly increase your wins by two, three, or even over ten times their actual value.

While multipliers usually appear during bonus rounds and free spins, it is possible to trigger them in the base game as well.

Playing Online vs. Land-Based Slots – What's the Difference?

Online slot machines are the modern version of land-based machines, and they practically work the same way.

The main difference is that video slots can be played anywhere, anytime.

You may also need coins or cash to play in a real casino, while online you transfer money from a bank to your gaming account.

Nonetheless, there are some other differences to keep in mind when playing land-based slot machines, such as the lower average payback percentage.

Cabinets are also louder and livelier and have a slower pace of play where the spin cycle is almost 20 seconds. This can induce extra costs and affect your concentration.

How to Pick the Right Slot Machine

One of the key factors that you need to consider is how to choose the best slot machine.

Still, with so many different slot types, there isn’t a guaranteed choice anymore. Instead, you can always go for the title if one of the following criteria is present:

• Higher coin value, as it gives a greater payback percentage
• High Return to Player rate (RTP) is great if you don’t take risks
• High volatility slots pay out less often, but when they do, they offer higher winnings
• Check our slot reviews and learn more  about the game
• Select low wagering requirements when claiming a bonus.

Is RTP Important When Choosing the Best Slot?

Before you start playing a slot, you should take into consideration the payout rate. RTP stands for “Return to Player” and is always expressed as a percentage.

To put it into a nutshell, this figure represents the amount of money a player can expect to win from their bets.

For a better understanding of how RTP works in slots, take a look at our RTP guide for beginners on our website.

8 Tips That Will Improve Your Odds of Winning at Slots

If you really want to be a pro at winning online slots, there are a number of things to know inside out at any time of the day.

Tips can improve your odds and help you take a real shot at major prizes. Let’s see the eight golden rules of winning:

1. Practice makes perfect: use all free slots available to learn more about the game before spending money on it
2. Don’t chase the jackpot, it can only trigger at some random point anyway
3. Know your limits and don’t get caught up in the moment, quit while you’re ahead
4. Play low volatility slots to avoid losing a lot of money at once
5. Choose slots with a high payout percentage
6. Make use of features, bonus rounds, and mechanics
7. Study the paytable and go for the high-paying symbols
8. Pick a reputable casino with certified software and RNG.

Another great tip would be to take advantage of bonuses and promotions.

Online Slot Machines: Do's & Don'ts

To truly become proficient on the subject of “how to play slot machines”, staying aware of one’s limits can be best achieved via a do’s and don’ts list.

How Much It Costs to Play Slots

It is said that knowing the cost of play is the only factor in keeping your gambling within limits. 

There are several things to consider when it comes to estimating your expenses for online play slots:

• House advantage can vary by +/– 3% at online casinos and it represents the average amount you will spend over time
• Playing faster or slower or betting higher and lower amounts will affect your cost of play accordingly
• If you want to know your actual cost of play on slot machines, you can find more information about your gaming activity in your casino profile. If not, you can always ask the casino for a gambling activity report. 

You can also check out Chipy Play for Coins section. This is highly recommended if you want to stay on track and familiarize yourself further with how to play slot games.

How Much Can You Win Playing Slots?

As you may soon discover, winning depends on the player and their mindset. Setting a target and working towards that goal is a good strategy, but even more important is learning how to properly manage your gambling bankroll.

There is no exact formula that describes how to play slots at casino and win.

It simply happens. When you least expect it.

Some of the biggest and best wins at online slots occurred randomly and unexpectedly.

How to Properly Manage Your Gambling Bankroll

Proper bankroll management can help you increase the longevity of your bets and have a meaningful gaming session at the casino. The best advice you will get is to keep the size of your bets consistent.

Depending on the budget, your bankroll should be equal to 10 times your average bet. So, if you want to spend 2 or 3 hours playing slots, make sure you have a balance of 200X or 300X the size of your average bet.

Final Thoughts

Now that you’ve acquired vital knowledge on how to play slots, it’s time to put your skills to the test. Always keep in the back of your mind that slots are a game of chance.

Just know your game and stick to do’s and don’ts. Some tips and tricks can also make a difference.

In the end, if the question ‘how do you play slots’ still resonates in your head, go over our guide again – maybe it will help you realize how to beat slot machines after all!