Slots Glossary
If you’re a budding slot machine player, then you may have encountered a few terms that you’re not totally familiar with. Our slots glossary will take you through absolutely all of the slot machine terms that you should know – it might just help you win in the future.
Annuity winner – The winner of a lump sum, like a progressive jackpot.
Bet – How much you’re choosing to wager on the game.
Bet max – Automatically bets the maximum on the game by playing all lines with the highest bet.
Bonus feature – An additional feature within the game, these can be triggered at random or by certain symbols. Common bonus features include free spins, pick and wins or bonus games.
Coins – The value you give to a coin, which you then feed into a slot machine.
Coins per line – The number of coins that you choose to bet on each payline of the game.
Coins per spin – The total number of coins per spin, worked out by multiplying the coin per line with number of active paylines.
Five liner – A slot game with five paylines to bet over, usually an older game.
Fixed value – A jackpot that is always a certain amount, as opposed to one that grows like a progressive jackpot.
Free spins – A bonus round that will let you spin the reels for free with the same value as the spin that triggered it.
Jackpot – A prize that you win from a game, can be both fixed or progressive depending on the game.
Multiline – A type of slot game that features more than one payline. These can be fixed or customisable.
Multiplier – The amount that your bet will be multiplied if you win.
Payline – A line that goes from left to right on most games, on which you have to match symbols to win. Some games allow you to choose how many of these you want to be active, others just have a set amount.
Progressive jackpot – A type of jackpot that is created by players’ wagers, a percentage of each wager goes to the prize fund. It’s usually started with a seed amount and then added to until it is won.
Reels – The number of vertical lines of symbols, most games have between three and five.
Rows – The number of horizontal layers of symbols, generally you’ll find most traditional games have three.
Scatter – A type of symbol that pays out from anywhere on the reels. In most games, landing three scatter symbols will automatically start a free spins bonus round.
Stacked wilds – Wild symbols that can appear in a stacked formation, taking up more than one position on the reels.
Symbol – This is one of the most common slot terms, basically all of the icons on the reels are referred to as symbols. These can come in many shapes, like fruits or playing card symbols. They can also be themed on the type of game, bringing in elements of the overall theme.
Total bet – The amount that you bet per spin, calculated by taking into account your bet per line, number of lines and any additional side bets.
Traditional slot – Usually this refers to a three reel slot game, which can also be known as a one armed bandit. These are really simple games that won’t take you long to get accustomed to. They tend to lack bonus features and multiple paylines.
Video slot – A slot game with video elements that can be played online.
Wager – Just the same as bet, how much you’re playing on the game.
Wild symbol/wilds – The name wild is derived from wild card, they’re basically like a joker on the reels that take the place of other symbols. This substitution means you are more likely to win, though there will be certain symbols that they can’t sub in for. In some cases, wilds also multiply the value of your win.
Winning combination – A combination of symbols that leads to a jackpot being triggered. On most slots, you need three or more of a matching symbol to be able to win big.
Now that you’re an expert in all of these terms, why not get down to playing in our slots lobby? Keep this page bookmarked in case you want to come back and check any of them at a later date.