Understanding Slot Machine Paylines and Payouts

Home » Understanding Slot Machine Paylines and Payouts

Slot machines are heaps of fun to play and are a great way for people to potentially win themselves some money in the process. Ever since online casinos came onto the scene, slot machines have taken off, particularly online slots.

Whereas physical slot machines typically feature 3 or more spinning reels with around 20 symbols per reel, online slots can feature more than 250 symbols per reel. Of course, there’s much more to it than this, but basically, by matching symbols and coming up with different combinations you can potentially win. Each result of each spin is governed by random number generators or RNGs for short.

As well as understanding what dictates each spin, if you want to maximize your chances of winning it’s important to understand slot paylines and payouts. Once you understand these, playing the slots will be a breeze.

What are Slot Paylines?

When playing the slots, either online or in a brick-and-mortar casino, it’s important to understand what slot paylines are.

Simply put, paylines, also known as winning lines or betting lines, are a unique combination of symbols found on the machine that results in a win. Going with traditional slot machines which only had one payline, this combination could be three cherries. Match those 3 symbols and you’d win, it’s that simple.

These days however, paylines come in a variety of different shapes and sizes including vertical, horizontal, zig-zag, diagonal, or even unique shapes such as diamonds and hearts. As online slots can have more than 200 paylines there are plenty of combinations that can potentially win you some big bucks.

The most common type of payline is known as a ‘straight-line’ payline. This is a horizontal line that spans across all 5 reels of the machine. Get five matching symbols and you win. Pretty neat, right?

How to Read Slot Paylines

Once you understand what type of pay line you’re dealing with, reading the pay line becomes much easier.

To begin with, players should look at the pattern of the pay line displayed on the screen and then look at how many matching symbols will trigger a payout. You will then need to factor in miscellaneous symbols which could disrupt your payline.

You should also make sure that you know how much each arrangement could potentially win you before placing your wager.

What are Payouts?

Okay, so we know what slot paylines are, but what about payouts?

Well, at the risk of making this sound far too obvious, a payout is the amount of money the player can potentially win when playing on a slot machine.

How much the payout is will depend on a variety of factors, including the RTP, the number of matching symbols on the reel, and indeed, the type of matching symbols on the reel.

The amount that you wager will also influence the payout of the machine. Payouts can be small amounts, moderate amounts, or in some instances vast amounts and life-altering jackpots that could potentially financially set you for life.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *