We know online slots have found their way through the gamers.
How the outcome of each roll is determined
All slots and online slot machine, whatever their type and regardless of their theme and prizes, have some basic functionalities and they rely on randomness and excitement.
The best way to get an idea about the randomness of online slots is to think that they are machines without memory. All possible combinations are available for each spin of an online slot machine, without there being any reference to the previous one, nor any predisposition towards the next one.
Progressive jackpots
Although they are generally called “progressive”, these games also work with an RNG, so in reality the winning combination of the pot is generated thousands of times every minute, only statistically it is very unlikely that it coincides with the moment in which that a player presses Spin.
They are traditionally called progressive jackpots since the days of physical machines based on mechanical principles of randomness, which also included jackpots as an extra feature. They were the kind of machines where you were always left with the uncertainty of whether the next player behind you would take the prize, when you ran out of coins after a long streak of no luck.
In fact, currently a more appropriate term would be “cumulative jackpot slots”, in which the jackpot prize grows progressively by accumulating a small percentage of each of the spins of the players who participate in a network of machines with the same title.
That is why experts insist that contrary to popular belief, in the case of online slots no progressive jackpot is “about to fall” due to having accumulated a large amount: in reality, the biggest jackpots have the same chances of touching as those who have just started to accumulate.
Credits, pay tables and RTP
Even in progressive slots, most of the player’s wins come from combinations made from the base game screen and bonus games. This is exactly what is explained by what we traditionally call slot machine “credits”, which include information on:
Common and Special Symbols: Total number of symbols to form combinations, with their value, reels on which they are available, and (in the case of special symbols) bonuses they trigger.
Special functions: extras of the game with which to get bonuses. Some of these features include stacked wilds, cascading win combinations… and while many are common to slots from different providers, others are exclusive to certain brands.
Bonus Games: they constitute screens apart from the base or main game and are in the form of bonus mini-games. They include free spins rounds, bets to double the last prize won, and in the most sophisticated video slots with different consecutive levels of bonus games.
Payment table: it is the slot prize map. It first tells you the directionality (on consecutive reels from left to right, from right to left, or both ways). It also shows you graphically how all the possible winning combinations of the game are placed on the reels, depending on whether they are paylines (payment lines) that are drawn on the grid of the game.
RTP: It usually appears on the last screen, next to the Warnings in case of malfunction and the credits. But some casinos place it outside the game, next to the informative text with the game instructions, the range of bets it accepts, the maximum prize…
When you start a game and activate the game interface, the first thing you usually see is the name of the casino and the developer, followed by a small presentation to contextualize the game. Some video slots even show intros so developed and of such quality that they seem like little animated shorts.
Normally, the next thing that appears is a fixed screen as an information banner about the special features that the game contains, mini games and other extras such as jackpots, and then finally you see the screen with the base game.
At this point you can start the game properly, by pressing Spin, or look for the “Info” or “Pay Table” button at the bottom or top of the screen. This is where the graphic instructions of the game are, which you can see in a succession of fixed screens that you go through manually.
Activation of bonuses in slots
The different slots bonus features are one of its most interesting features. They encompass all the game components dedicated to encouraging you to achieve winning combinations in the base game, to improve the prizes won, and to create more winning options. These are some of the most frequent:
Free spins rounds
Triggered by completing a specific combination, usually with Scatter symbols (or others specific to this feature). The free spins rounds can take place on the same screen as the base game or on a separate screen if they carry extra bonuses, such as higher payouts for prizes, more density of wild cards… In many games they are reactivable, which means that if you return to taking out the combination with which they start, adds more free spins in addition to the ones you already had.
Bonus games. These are all the extra screens apart from the base game, with which you can also win prizes through interactive games. Some of the bonus games are very basic, like betting double or nothing on the last reward you just got. But others require skill and offer high-resolution images thanks to 3D animations that bring them closer to what can be considered a video game. They are one of the features of slot machines that allow greater innovation, and also the best tool (along with music and decorations) to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the game.
Verification and audits for RNGs
The theme and the type of interface are the most used resources to differentiate and classify slot machines, but the truth is that they all work with a similar system. The number of reels is really just reminiscent of traditional physical machines, because symbol-laden reels are no longer needed to hit combinations.
Conclusion
While all this information may be important to many fans, truth is we are all into having fun and there’s nothing like a good slot machine. They are easy to access, and you can win big jackpots that will make your day. And now with online slots you can access them as easy as ever, from your phone instantly. Fun is waiting around the corner!
