How to Play Slots

Online Slots are simple casino games to play and enjoy. However, managing your budget and maximising your winnings is very important and may well be the difference between you enjoying your chosen slot and online casino and running out of credit all too soon before landing that big win.  It’s vital then that you learn how to play slots and master each one. Online Slots Fan is here to help - read on to learn how to become online slots ace...

The basics on how to play slots

Spinning the reels and placing a bet couldn’t be easier. Each online slot comes with a great big “SPIN” and “Max Bet” buttons. It’s tempting just to click and click away and enjoy the fantastic slot machine you’ve chosen to play. However, any of those buttons could mean you’re eating into your budget quicker than expected.

All slot machines default to a very high stake setting and may make short work of your allocated budget with it whittled away after just a few spins – unless, of course, you hit some lucky big spins! So, what to keep an eye on and what will make you a slots ace? Well here’s a rundown of what all online slots players should know:

How to play slots: Coin Size

This can make or break a player’s budget. Depending on the type of player you are, from a high roller £10 per spin player to 10p, the coin size should be the first thing you check.

The coin size is a carry over from the offline world, where offline players could chose to play at a 10p, 25p or even £1 slot machine. Online slot machines, however, let you play any of your favourite slots using any coin size – just one other advantage of playing slots on the web. You’ll see the coin size option in the bottom left hand corner on the online slot and should include “+” and “-“ buttons (see above for the example in the Hitman online slot. Clicking on either will allow you to alter the domination of the coin size, potentially changing it from 1.0 to 0.1 – a massive difference. Don’t forget though, that a smaller stake will mean smaller winnings but all wins WILL BE directly proportional. The result is even the smallest budget will result in the same relative big win thrills.

Coin size isn’t the only factor that will determine your slot playing ability...

How to play slots: Paylines

Paylines are metaphysical lines that run across the reels. The more paylines a slot machine has the more chance a player has of lining up symbols across the reels. Paylines come at a cost though. Each payline will cost you a coin (see coin size information above). Depending on the demonization you have selected the total amount of each bet will be the coin x the number of paylines. So, for example, a 10p coin size on a 5 reel, 25 payline slot machine will mean a cost of £2.50 per spin.

You can, however, also select the number of paylines you wish to play. This will limit the cost of the bet and make your budget last much longer.  Online Slots Fan is not an advocate of this though. The online slot was designed to be played with the maximum number of paylines selected and playing with just 1 or 2 can be become dull and unrewarding. We recommend you keep all paylines selected but change the denomination of the coin size if you want to limit your spend.

How to play slots: Getting the most out of Bonus Features

Many online slots have integrated bonus features and, depending on the type of slot and bonus, may warrant a change in style of play and strategy.

Bonuses are usually triggered by events on the reels, either through the lining up of certain symbols across a payline or an appearance of a certain symbol anywhere, as with scatters.  The result could be anything from:

• Free spins (sometimes with multiplier bonuses on anything won from them)
• Off-screen bonus game where players are invited to pick from a selection of objects for rewards, normally coins but sometimes freespins.

Normally online slots with bonus features put special emphasis on them. Play on the reels, therefore, can appear just for triggering them alone. However, most are still generous on the reels, providing regular wins that have significant payouts. Those slots without bonuses games put special importance on the wins generated from their reels and many slot purists prefer this method of winning. So don’t be put off when playing a bonus slot if your balance is creeping down and wins on the reels are just injecting a little bit of cash, stick at it because you never know when you’re going to land that big bonus game!

Get more information on Bonus Slots with Online Slots Fan.

Our final tip: Know your slot. There are hundreds to try but always read the information and the paytable. Make sure it’s the type of slot you like, what you need to do to win, symbols to watch for and how much you can win. See our online slot games information for more on our preferred slots.