The best Slots to play Online
Players love big jackpots and there is no better way to hit a jackpot than to play slots and enjoy their vibrant graphics, brooding sounds and entertaining animations. Slots have been popular since always, but since 1980s they have surpassed table games and are qualified as the most popular game both in both land-based and online casinos. Except for the big winnings for a relatively small outlay, the clang of the bells when hitting a winning combination together with the excitement is what makes slots a pretty enjoying way to spend a chill afternoon or a relaxing evening. Truthfully speaking, there is no other game where you can make one spin and change your life forever.
The Classic Slot Machine vs. Online Video Slots
If you are a newbie in the online gambling world don`t get confused when you first decide to play an online video slot. If the classic slot machine was based on three reels and if in order to win you had to get three identical symbols in the middle row, it is high time you got educated about the Online Gambling World where everything is possible. Here, except for the classic three reel slot, among the best online slots you will find five reel slots which are becoming more and more frequent nowadays. To win, you no longer have to look for three identical symbols in the middle row, since winning combinations can appear in the top or bottom row following a diagonal and zigzag pattern. Don`t be afraid, there are universal rules which apply to all slots and this guide deals with every single one of them.
Advantages of Online Video Slots
The buzz you get once playing a slot in a land-based casino is unquestioned, however playing an online video slot and not being limited to a particular place or time is just one of the many advantages of online gambling, especially if you choose to play the best slots available on the market. Here are some top reasons why you should start playing online video slots today:
Play in whatever place you choose
Land-based casinos are limited in terms of location. This means in order to get to a one you will have to use your car, a public transportation or if you are lucky enough you will have one in a walking distance from your home. Even so, you will have to follow some dress-code rules which can be often annoying. Online Slots on the other hand are easily accessible and you can spin the reels on the online slots just in a minute. You only need an internet connection and you can play them while spending time in your pajamas at the comfort of your home.
Better Payout Percentage
The payout percentage or the popular RTP attribute is higher in online casinos than in land-based casinos. It is true that the RTP varies from developer to developer and from game to game, however, generally speaking RTP in land-based slots is between 70 and 90%, whereas the RTP of online slots is between 95-98%. Top online slots offer a RTP even higher than 98%. This means that if a slot has a 98.05% RTP, out of 100 coins 98.05 go back to the real cash slots players over time.
Better Slots Selection
Probably the best reason why we prefer online slots to land-based slots is the much bigger selection of different slots all available in a click. Traditional casinos often have financial issues in terms of holding and maintaining slots and this is just one of the many reasons why their number in land-based casinos is limited. On the other hand, online casinos offering slots do not have to think about such problems and some of them offer a hundred or more titles. Plus, creating an online slot is cheaper and quicker.
Easier Banking
If you run out of cash in a land-based casino you will probably decide to use the casino`s ATM or pay with a credit card. No matter how simple this may sound, such transactions in traditional casinos usually have hidden costs and outrageous fees are applied.
Privacy
Going to a less known casino means using a car or a public transport, while visiting the neighborhood casino where everybody knows you is often seen as embarrassment. Plus, if luck is on your side and you hit big you will immediately be reported to the government to pay taxes. By playing online slots, your activity is completely private plus it is up to you to choose how much you will take out of your winnings to pay taxes.
How Do They Work
Randomness is the key slot feature. Just like a coin flip, every spin you make is totally random. This means that once you initiate the game the computer chooses a random symbol on the first reel, then on the second and so on. The payback of the machine is the probability of hitting a winning combination. This means that stereotypes such as ”if the machine hit the last jackpot yesterday, today there will be no winnings” are completely untrue and every spin has an identical chance for winning as the previous or the next spin.
So, the ultimate goal of the slot game is to hit a winning combination on the reels, which may bring cash or prizes depending on the bets placed. The procedure is the following: first you check the paytable for the winning combinations, then you decide how many lines to wager on, next you choose the coin value and the number of coins you are going to bet, you spin the reel and your job is done. The RNG comes to scene next and determines if you are going to win or not.
Characteristics of the Best Online Slot Machines
For the newbie out there, the first slot spin in their life may be quite confusing and sometimes even irritating. It is true that the slot-related vocabulary is very rich, however there is a small list of basic terms everybody needs to start playing on a good note. Check the list below:
Paylines
The paylines determine the winning combinations in the slot game. A more detailed explanation of a payline is the following: a line that runs through the reels, intersecting with a symbol on each reel. The number of available paylines is different for different slots. It varies from one to one hundred. Most slots have less than 10 paylines, but some of the newly introduced ones which are often described as the best slots on the market feature up to a 100. The rule applied in the past was that a payline has to be a straight line, but today paylines follow a variety of patterns: up, down, diagonal and zigzag. Check the paylines of each slot in the paytable.
Reels
The job of the reels is to spin after you have placed your bet. They appear in the form of disks that spin inside the slot. You know whether you have hit a winning combinations based on their final resting position. The online slots are often divided in two categories traditional and video slots based on the number of reels. Traditional slots are three reel slots, whereas the contemporary video slots have five reels.
Coin values
One of the most important aspects of the slot game are the coins and their values. Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are dealing with real coins. In the slot-related vocabulary coins are just a currency used to place bets. Before you make a spin you have to select a coin size. For instance if you choose a coin size of £1 and you bet 10 coins per spin, your total bet is £10. One important fact to note is the connection between the coin values and the payoff. The larger the coin size, the larger the potential payoff.
Bet Values
Bets or bet values is a special feature in slot games which allows you to personalize your gambling experience and it is closely connected to coin values. You are usually given an opportunity to choose between Level 1, Level2, Level 3 bet values etc. Level 2 Bet means that you are doubling the value of the selected coin. Max Bet refers to the number of credits a player can bet per spin. The highest potential jackpot prizes are usually calculated for the max bet spins. The best online slots offer jackpots up to £1,000,000.
Symbols: Regular/ Wilds/ Scatters
Most modern video slots are dealing with a theme which is illustrated through the images used as symbols in the game. For example, if you are dealing with a beach themed slot the symbols used will probably be sandy beaches, cocktails, bikinis, sunglasses, hats, yachts etc. Today’s slots are based on different themes, so absolutely everything can function as a symbol in the game. Your job is to check which symbol has a special function of a wild or a scatter.
A wild is a substitute for all symbols except for the scatter. This means that if you get two identical symbols plus a wild you hit a winning combination. It is important to highlight that the wild symbol in the online slots often has a function of a multiplier. If you get a winning combination with a wild which at the same time functions as a multiplier your winnings will be multiplied depending on the value of the multiplier.
The scatter, on the other hand, differs from all other slot symbols since they do not have to follow the pattern of the payline in order to generate winnings. They usually appear at random anywhere on the reels and a certain number of scatter symbols results with a payout. Scatters are often connected with bonus round features. For details read below.
Free spins
Free spins can be triggered automatically or they are activated as a bonus feature once a winning combination appears on the screen. Free spins, as the name itself suggest, require no wager and they are usually activated when you get three scatter symbols. The free spins features and retriggering go hand in hand. Once you are using your free spins, you may set off another round of free spins which is usually activated by getting the same three identical symbols that initially activated the free spins mode. Although, theoretically retriggering can occur indefinitely, in reality it happens rarely.
Bonus Rounds
Bonus Rounds have a huge impact on your winnings since they can only influence positively on your final payouts. However, nowadays people seem to be more interested in the excitement they offer instead of their influence on the payouts. Modern bonus rounds appear in the form of mini video games where player interaction and expertise is required. There are slots which offer up to 7 different bonus rounds activated by getting three identical symbols.
Progressives
A slot which offers a progressive jackpot is a gaming machine where the value of the jackpot increases a small amount each game. Usually, several slots are linked together to form one large progressive jackpot which grows more quickly. The logical explanation behind this is the following: multiple players are contributing to the jackpot at the same time.
Double Up / Gamble
The Gamble feature is presented as an opportunity to increase your winning when playing all modern and traditional slots. The story is the following: you are given a chance to risk all your winnings in order to generate more winnings. The gamble feature is also popular under the name double or nothing feature. If you decide to activate it, you will be given a simple game to play in which you will have to guess the color of the card (black or red) or you will have to guess if the following number is higher or lower.
RTP
The RTP attribute mentioned in the intro stands for return to player and it gives the value of the payout percentage i.e. the amount of money a slot machine should return to its players over a period of time. It is known to vary from game to game, but the best online slots have a RTP between 95 and 98%. The RTP of land-based slots is much lower and it varies from 70 to 90%.