How to Play Slots Online - Beginners Guide to Slot Casino Games
Understanding how online slot machine games work is crucial if you’re planning to place your bets and spin the reels to get those big wins!
At Stake Online Casino, slots are the most popular online casino games amongst both beginner and experienced players, with many titles, themes, and gameplay mechanics to choose from.
There are some differences between slots at online casinos and land-based casinos that you need to be aware of so you can make the most of the games at Stake.com to maximise your winning chances.
Discover how to play slots online, as well as tips and tricks to profit from these popular casino games.
What is a Slot Game?
A slot game is a type of gambling game that uses a random number generator (RNG) to determine how the reels spin and which outcomes are possible.
There are various types of slot games, but they all invite players to make an initial bet before spinning the reels. Each game has its own pay table and offers prizes for anyone who matches winning combinations on the game grid.
What’s more, most online slots have unique features and bonus rounds, increasing winning chances and making things more exciting for all players.
Classic video slots: These games often employ simple gameplay, symbols and mechanics and are played on 3-reels to 5-reels, offering payouts for matching symbols in the base game.
Megaways slots: Megaways slot titles typically offer more than 100,000 different ways of winning and offer huge jackpots at the same time. Check out our Megaways slots guide for more information.
Jackpot slots: As the name suggests, a jackpot slot features a sizeable jackpot as the star attraction, offering big wins to lucky players.
Progressive jackpot slots: Progressive slots are where the life-changing wins are at, often offering prizes worth millions. Discover our guide to progressive jackpot slots to learn more.
Cascading reels slots: Also known as tumbling reels, rolling reels, or avalanche reels, these cascading reels slot games feature a gameplay mechanic where winning symbols have the ability to be replaced with newer symbols, offering bigger wins.
Check out our recommended slots to get a flavour of the different titles that are among the most popular games at the Stake Casino. While you're at it, don't forget to read our monthly summary blog to discover the hottest slots and gaming providers of September.
How to Choose a Slot Machine
There are different ways to choose a slot machine, and your pick depends on various factors. For instance, as explained above, you could choose a slot machine by type.
If you don't know where to start, read our beginners guide to choosing the best casino games to play.
Equally, you might want to play the latest releases at Stake.com, so choosing to play new releases is a good option for high quality graphics, special features, and inventive game mechanics.
How to Play Slots Online
Playing slots online at Stake.com couldn’t be easier. Whether you're a beginner at online casinos, or a seasoned slot player, slot games are popular for their simple rules and exciting gameplay.
Learn more with our online casino guide, or follow our 5 steps to playing slots below:
Begin by looking through our extensive slot library, including Stake Originals to discover the popular online slot games. With free demo modes available, you can play demo slots before making your slot selection to bet on. We've even got slot guides available on our blog where you can read about the best Lunar New Year themed slots to best Easter-themed games to our most popular game themes and heaps more. Choose your online slot game of choice, and open the game on your desktop or mobile device.
With your bankroll ready, review the betting options and the slot game's paytable. It also helps to read the game’s rules and find out how to unlock the game’s various bonus features.
Choose the amount you want to bet, then place your bets. You may want to opt to use the 'max bet' button.
Click the spin button to spin the reels, and enjoy the variety of online gambling at the Stake Casino.
Understanding Slot Terms & Features
Now that you know the basics, it’s time to familiarise yourself with the key terms related to online slot games:
Reels: A reel is a column on which the symbols are displayed in a slot game.
Paylines: A payline indicates how you can match symbols for a win, and they can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. A slot could have 5 or 5,000 paylines depending on its design. Learn more about how slot paylines work, and how you can utilise them to your advantage!
Symbols: The symbols in a slot game are those that appear on the reels to help you form winning combinations. Learn more about the various symbols and how they pay out with our slot machine symbols guide.
Max Bet: The maximum bet indicates how much you can wager every time you spin the reels in a slot game.
Volatility: Slot volatility is given as low, medium, or high, indicating how frequently a game pays out. For instance, a low-volatility game pays out smaller wins more frequently, while a high-volatility slot machine payouts are higher, but less frequent.
RTP (Return to Player): Given as a percentage, the return to player indicates how much is paid out per 100.00 bet on average. So, for instance, if a game has an RTP of 97%, the house edge is 3%, and 97% is returned to the players. To learn more, discover our casino house edge guide.
Jackpot: A jackpot in a slot game is a special cash prize that you can win, either during the base game or after unlocking a special bonus round.
Wilds: Wild symbols can appear in slot games and substitute for all other slot symbols to help you form winning combinations. Sometimes wilds expand or are sticky, helping you to further improve your winning chances.
Scatters: Scatter symbols typically trigger the bonus rounds in slot games. Usually, you have to land at least three scatters in view to activate a bonus round.
Bonus rounds/bonus games: There are lots of different bonus games in slots, but they typically comprise free spins, re-spins, or some form of gambling feature to help you win prizes.
Multipliers: Multipliers can land on the grid to increase the amount that you win. For example, you might unlock a multiplier between x3 and x10, increasing the amount that you win during the game.
Free Spins: Free spins rounds are usually triggered by scatter symbols and offer you a specific number of free spins. These bonus games might also come with other features, such as multipliers or gamble features, to enhance your wins.
Bonus Buy: Where possible, a bonus buy feature enables you to buy into the bonus game for a specific amount of money instead of waiting for the bonus round to trigger organically in the game. Read up on our bonus buy slots guide for more information.
Differences Between Online Slots & Land-Based Slots
The premise of land-based and online slot machines is the same, but they operate in slightly different ways. The house edge is typically higher at brick-and-mortar casinos due to the increased cost of operating the games. Read our blog to dive deeper in to the major differences between land based and online slots!
Online slots can be played on desktop and mobile devices, meaning you can play online slot games on the go and from wherever you are. This is a big advantage as you don’t have to travel to a land-based casino to get your slot fix.
Online slots utilise a random number generator to award payouts and prizes to players. Slot developers determine the game’s volatility and the return to player percentage, but aside from that, payouts are completely random.
Each symbol that lands during a slot game is worth a specific amount of money when it forms part of a winning combination. You can find this information in the slot’s paytable, which is attached to the game in question.
How to Win at Online Slot Games: Slot Machine Strategies, Tips, & Tricks
Although slots are games of chance, there are some helpful tips to bear in mind before spinning the reels:
Check the RTP: Checking the return to player percentage gives you a good idea of how much the game pays out on average. The higher the RTP, the lower the house edge, so it’s worth bearing this in mind.
Consider volatility: Volatility is also important when choosing the best slot games to play. For instance, if you’re only interested in big wins, high-volatility games are better for you, while low-volatility slots are better suited to players who are happy with smaller, more regular wins.
Try different types of slots and providers: Every slot provider brings something unique to the table, so don’t be afraid to try out different games from the leading developers to spice up your online gaming experience. For example, you may want to start with simple 3-reel slots, then as you get more confident, you could opt for megaways versions of games.
Develop a strategy that works for you: It's important to develop a betting strategy that works best for you! Check out our progressive betting strategy guide for an example of a strategy that you may like to adopt.
As well as slots, check out our selection of live casino games and classic table games for the best possible variety. For more information, refer to our comprehensive how-to guides before starting at Stake Casino.
