Classic and video slots often make up the largest category of games at online casinos. Dozens of developers all vie for the chance to win one-up each other with the best graphics, soundtracks, game mechanics and payouts. Some slots offer big fixed or progressive jackpots, while others use innovative game mechanics. The classic 3-reel slots have been surpassed by 5-reel, and more, video slots.
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Contents
Choosing the Perfect Theme
If you take a top-down approach to choosing a slot, you’ll want to start by selecting a theme that resonates with you. There are many categories, such as ancient Egyptian/Roman/Greece and Aztec/Mayan/Inca. The truth is that there are hundreds of others, limited only by the developers’ imaginations. Additionally, you’ll probably want a slot where you can appreciate the artwork, music, sound effects and animation.
Choosing the Perfect Variance
Once you have settled on a theme, you’ll want to consider volatility, often called variance. These words are the technical jargon that refers to the potential payouts and frequency of them. Every slot has its own mathematical payouts probability built into it, and are classified into one of three categories: low, medium or high.
Low volatility slots involve more payouts, but these are relatively smaller at around your bet size. They generally allow you to play for longer. Expect payouts to come in under about 400x bet. One of the most popular low volatility slots is Starburst from Netent.
High volatility slots are a higher risk which generally require a higher player account balance. It is the opposite extreme to low variance slots. With this slot type, you’re more likely to lose your money faster. Still, the maximum payout potential is much higher. Payouts can start from around 3,000x bet but can climb much higher. Book of Dead from Play’n GO is a classic example of a high volatility slot with a fixed 5,000x bet maximum payout. Slot Vegas from Big Time Gaming has a 45,000x bet maximum payout.
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Progressive jackpots like Mega Moolah and Mega Fortune have paid out millions in prizes and among the most well-known in their category.
It’s important to remember that the stated maximum payouts are theoretical, calculated based on a billion or more spins. Thus, the odds of unlocking the maximum bet are extremely remote.
Medium/Mid volatility slots fall somewhere between the two extremes. Plenty of popular games fall under this category. Examples include Energoonz or Wild Blood II from Play’n GO. NetEnt offers Gonzo’s Quest and Immortal Romance.
Ultimately, your choice of variance will depend on what you’re after by playing. If it’s a few leisurely rounds, then stick to the low end. If you want the chance at some higher payouts but don’t want to go full-on high volatility, try the medium range. If you like the high risk and high reward thrill of playing for the chance of big payouts, high volatility might be suitable for you.
Understanding Return to Player (RTP)
The return to player of a slot is built into the software by the developer. It refers to the theoretical average amount that you would win back by playing a vast number of games. For example, suppose you have $100 and decide to play a slot with an RTP of 95%. You’d theoretically win back 95% on each spin, which implies a house edge 5% (100% – 95%). As you can see, you’re always at a disadvantage when playing slots or any casino game for that matter. So why do punters still enjoy slots? The simple explanation is that while the odds are against players, anything can still happen.
Where possible, choose a slot with a higher RTP as there is a better chance for your fun to last longer. RTP’s generally range from the low end of 92% to the high end of 97%.
Source: Slots.info
Understanding common Special Symbols and Features
All slots have regular-paying symbols that combine into paylines or clusters to reward payouts according to the paytable.
Special symbols such as wilds are the slot-equivalent to the joker in card games. It can usually substitute for other regular symbols. There are variations of this symbol, beginning with expanded wilds. These are wilds, larger than the standard single space and can cover an entire reel. Then there are stacked wilds where 1×1 sized wilds can appear on top of one another on reels. Walking wilds typically shift from right to left or left to right on every spin until they fall off the reel. Sticky wilds remain in the same place for a certain number of spins.
A scatter symbol is often used to trigger free spins when it appears in any position in sets of 3 or more. Sometimes, these scatters will also reward scatter-wins. Unlike with regular symbols, it does not matter where scatters land provided there are enough of them.
Free spins are usually unlocked with a minimum number of scatter symbols. They allow you to play a pre-determined number of games for free. Sometimes you can win more free spins from within the feature referred to as re-triggering. Some free spins come with a unique feature. For example, in Book of Dead, a symbol is chosen at random to become an expanding symbol. In Mega Moolah, a 3x win multiplier is applied to all wins in free spins. In Wild Blood 2, there are three free spins modes, each with a unique feature.
Bonus features add more flavour to a game by spicing things up with some variety, leading to more wins. A common one is a pick and click feature, where you can win cash, multipliers or other features. In the slot Lara Croft Temples and Tombs, the game offers a win multiplier trail which multiplies your win at a growing rate on each consecutive roll. Some slots offer bonus wheels which can award features, cash prizes or multipliers. Others offer re-spins which award a free spin, often accompanied by some other game modifier like sticky wilds.
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Slot Choice: The Sky’s the Limit!
As you can see, the sky is the limit when it comes down to choosing a slot. At FortunaOnlineCasinos, you can find many online casinos offering some of the best slots around.
