There are many different symbols on slot machine reels today. Three Liner- A three liner is a slot machine with three reels where players must line up three identical symbols in order to win the cash prize. TITO: Ticket In / Ticket Out- TITO slot machines will print a ticket with the winning amount on it when players cash out a machine. Although technology has completely transformed most slots, some iconic symbols have persisted through time and can still be seen on machines today. For example, the liberty bell symbol, which was on the first slot machine built in 1899, is often used on popular slots. Other classic symbols include cherries, lemons, and lucky sevens.
Gambling is making its way through the US as sports betting expands and states allow the construction of new casinos. What was once a tourist attraction for Vegas or Atlantic City visitors is now a popular pastime.
While sports betting is making the most headway in the US, online casinos and land-based gaming are making more gradual moves to new markets. Illinois recently allowed for the construction of six new casinos while nearby Michigan is gearing up to launch online casinos.
And where there are casinos, be they land-based or online, there are also slots. The glitzy, ring-dinging contraptions are often a source of confusion for rookie gamblers. But slots are actually fairly easy to understand, and I’ve compiled a beginner’s guide so you know how they work and what to expect when you spin the reels.
Are Slot Machines Rigged?
This is the first question many slot players have, and it’s a fair one. Slot machines are not “rigged” in the sense that the casino chooses when a jackpot or big win hits.
Slots are games of chance, just like blackjack, craps, sports betting, or poker. But the mechanics of slot games vary, and the house edge is bigger when you play slots compared to most table games.
The House Edge
The house edge is the profit a casino (or online casino site) makes on each bet you place. You can still win money; the house edge represents a percentage of all bets placed and what the casino will make on those based on the match of a given game.
Online slots and slot machines have a house edge ranging from 2% to 15%, though the 5-10% range is most common. By comparison, blackjack usually has a house edge of 0.5% and double zero roulette sits around 5%.
How To Play
It’s easy enough to sit down at a slot machine, put $20, and spin. But understanding how the actual games work makes the experience much more fun.
Understanding Denominations
You might find slots that advertise themselves as “penny slots.” Even though the name may make you think they cost a penny per spin, it’s not quite so simple. “Penny slots” mean that each pay line you’re betting on costs a penny. A pay line is a left-to-right pathway that connects symbols on the reels. Some are straight lines and some taking a more winding path, such as in the shape of a “W.”
When you play a slot, you choose how many lines to bet on, and this varies based on the slot you’re playing. Some have 243 lines, some have 50, and there are plenty of others in between. The more paylines you hit on a given spin, the more you win.
The more you bet, the more pay lines you have access to. So if you’re max betting on a penny slot with 50 pay lines, each individual spin would cost you $.50.
The cost of each bet changes from one slot to the next, so always check the machine or online slot you’re playing to be sure you know where your money is going.
Symbols And Paylines
Every unique symbol on a slot machine has a specific value. If the symbol ends up in a pay line with identical symbols, you earn a payout based on the value of each one in the pay line.
Slots typically make their highest paying symbols images of the main character on which the slot is based or something similar. Perhaps a pot of gold on a leprechaun game. Lower-paying symbols are usually A, K, Q, J, and 10, similar to cards at a table game.
Spinning The Reels
Palace of chance casino no deposit bonus codes 2016. This, of course, is the ultimate draw of slot machines. The reels blur as they spin into oblivion, then slow to a stop and hopefully get you a winning pay line (or multiple). Depending on how you play, you’ll have a few options for spinning.
Most slot machines have a button that kicks off the spin, while others have the traditional mechanical lever. Some have both, giving you an option. There’s no difference in outcome with either method, but it’s a unique thrill to pull the physical lever.
For online slots players, spinning usually comes in the form of a quick tap of the screen. Certain online slot themes let you auto spin, continuously repeating spins and automatically logging any wins.
Bonuses And Jackpots
If you’ve seen someone win big on a slot game, it’s likely thanks to a bonus or a jackpot. Though you might be inclined to think they’re the same thing, there are crucial differences.
Bonuses
Bonuses are triggered by events during normal slot play. This often means landing three specific bonus symbols on a single spin. There are countless ways to trigger a bonus, though, and slot makers are always thinking of new mechanics.
Bonuses take many shapes and sizes. Many give you a number of free spins with added flair, like a whole row of wild symbols or a payout multiplier.
In many cases, bonuses also give you the opportunity to win a jackpot.
Jackpots
Jackpots are the big wins, the multi-hundred or -thousand dollar hits that you see in movies and on TV. There are two common jackpot types.
Some jackpots can be hit during normal play, and others are triggered by bonuses.
Local Progressive Jackpots
Every time you spin the reels on a slot, you’re contributing to the larger jackpot pool. Machines usually have a top box component or a special area used to display the current jackpot levels.
Local jackpots take from either a single machine or a small group of slot machines, such as a bank of five neighboring machines. As a result, these jackpots don’t get quite as high as their wide area progressive counterparts but can still reach multiple thousands of dollars.
Wide Area Progressive Or Linked Jackpots
Wide area progressive jackpots take from every dollar put into a large number of machines. Because they can pull from a wider pool of players (even across multiple casinos), these jackpots can reach much higher amounts. These are the jackpots that can reach hundreds of thousands of dollars or higher.
Need Help? Slots Have Guides Built-In
If you’re having trouble figuring out how a slot works, try clicking the “Help” or “?” button. Most video slots and all online slots have this option. It will open a page that tells you the value of each symbol, how to hit the bonuses, and more helpful info.
Tiki torch slot. If you’re playing on a mechanical slot machine on the casino floor, you can always ask a casino employee for more information.
![Machine Machine](https://buffaloslots.net/buffalo/wp-content/bh-cpcache/images/uploads/2018/12/white-buffalo-slot1.jpg)
Have you ever played a slot machine and wondered how they came up with the symbols they use? And why cherries in particular? Well, pull up a chair because you’re going to hear about the history of anti-gambling laws – and chewing gum.
Slot Machine Symbol Meaning
Lucky Charms
The earliest slot machines officially on record date back to 1891 in Brooklyn, where a poker-based machine with five drums and 10 cards per drum became popular at the local drinking holes. But the traditional slot machine as we know it today was invented in 1895 (don’t quote me because some say it was in 1887) by Charles Fey, a mechanic from San Francisco. Fey’s simpler version had just three drums with five symbols: diamonds, spades, hearts, horseshoes, and the Liberty Bell. You can even swing in the Nevada State Museum for a look at the original Liberty Bell machine if you’re ever in Carson City.
These Bell machines became widespread in saloons and barbershops across the United States in the very early 1900s. But anti-gambling legislation also became popular around the same time. It was bad enough that by 1910 (when slots were first banned in Nevada), the Mills Novelty Company of Chicago put out a machine that was billed as a trade stimulator. It was a game of chance where people could win cigarettes or candy. In this case, the “prize” was gum.
Chew on This
Slot Machine Symbol Meanings
Except people usually didn’t take the gum. The real prize was cash; the gum was just there to throw off the authorities. The charade was made complete by taking the playing card-style symbols off the drums and replacing them with the flavors of gum you could “win.” That’s how we ended up with cherries – and oranges, plums and lemons, among other variants. That’s also why slot machines are sometimes referred to as fruit machines, especially in England.
That’s only four symbols, though. The fifth symbol, which used to be the Liberty Bell, was replaced by the familiar “BAR” symbol that we know today. This symbol represented the label on the gum wrapper, which featured the logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. Trivia time: the band “1910 Fruitgum Company” claimed its name from the same wrapper. The Mills Company, in collaboration with Fey, produced 30,000 of these machines.
Rise of the Machines
By nominally offering prizes of gum or other foodstuffs, these slot machine variants were able to continue spreading throughout the United States, but they couldn’t stay ahead of the law forever. Legal cases were brought against many operators of slot machines, and the passing of Prohibition laws in 1920 reduced their footprint even further because the saloons were shut down.
As anti-gambling laws relaxed, the charade with the gum was lifted, but the cherries and the other symbols remain to this day. So do many of the Bell machines. You can even buy one from antique dealers or private collectors if you’re willing to shell out a few thousand bucks. Just don’t expect the gum to be fresh.