Slots

Autoplay spins a slot repeatedly without further input, until a set number of spins or a stop condition is reached. Several regulators have restricted or banned it because removing the decision to continue is associated with increased harm.

Bet level is a multiplier applied to your coin size on some slots, determining how many coins are staked per payline. Total stake is coin size multiplied by bet level multiplied by lines.

Bonus buy lets you pay a fixed multiple of your stake, typically 70x to 100x, to enter a slot's bonus round immediately. It is banned in several regulated markets, including the UK.

A bonus round is a feature within a slot that pays differently from the base game. Most of a modern slot's return is concentrated here, which is why the base game often feels so unrewarding.

Cascading reels remove winning symbols and drop new ones into the gaps, allowing chains of consecutive wins from a single spin. Rising multipliers during a cascade are where the largest wins usually come from.

Cluster pays awards wins for groups of matching symbols touching horizontally or vertically, rather than along paylines. A cluster of five or more adjacent symbols typically pays.

Coin size is the value of a single credit staked per payline on a slot. It is the smallest component of the bet and is multiplied by bet level and payline count to give the total stake.

An expanding wild grows to fill its entire reel, turning every position on that reel wild. Landing them on multiple reels can complete every payline at once.

A fixed jackpot is a top prize of a set amount, usually expressed as a multiple of stake, that does not grow over time. It is funded within the normal game maths rather than by a separate contribution.

Free spins are bonus rounds awarded by scatters or promotions, played without deducting from your balance. On most modern slots the majority of the game's total return is concentrated inside them.

A gamble feature offers a double-or-nothing bet on a win you have just collected, usually by guessing a card colour. It is typically close to a fair coin flip but not quite, and it adds volatility without adding value.

Hit frequency is the percentage of spins that return anything at all. A 25% hit frequency means one spin in four pays, though many of those pay less than the stake.

Hold and win is a bonus format where cash-value symbols lock in place and respins continue until no new symbols land. Every new symbol resets the respin counter, which is what makes the mechanic so effective.

Max win is the capped maximum a slot can pay, expressed as a multiple of your stake. Hitting a 10,000x cap on a 20p spin pays £2,000, and the cap can truncate a win that would otherwise have been larger.

Megaways is a licensed slot mechanic where each reel displays a random number of symbols every spin, producing a variable number of ways to win, commonly up to 117,649.

A must-drop jackpot is guaranteed to pay out before a stated time or amount. As the deadline approaches the expected value of playing rises, which is one of the few genuinely calculable edges in slots.

A near miss is an outcome that appears to just fail. Two jackpot symbols plus a third landing just above the payline. Reel weighting makes them far more common than chance alone would produce.

An online slot is a software slot game played over the internet. They typically offer higher RTP than land-based machines, far more mechanics, and a much faster rate of play.

A payline is a defined path across the reels along which matching symbols must land to pay. More paylines means more chances to win per spin but a higher cost per spin, since each line is bet separately.

A progressive jackpot grows by taking a small percentage of every qualifying bet until someone wins it. The contribution comes out of the game's RTP, so the base game is worse than an equivalent non-progressive slot.

Provably fair is a cryptographic system that lets a player verify each result was not manipulated after the bet was placed. It proves the outcome was predetermined and untampered. It does not prove the odds are good.

An RNG is the algorithm that determines every outcome in an online casino game. It runs continuously and selects the result the instant you press spin. The reel animation simply displays a decision already made.

A reel is a vertical strip of symbols on a slot. Most games use five, and the symbols on each are weighted so that valuable ones appear far less often than the display suggests.

A scatter symbol pays or triggers a feature regardless of where it lands, ignoring paylines entirely. Three scatters anywhere on the reels is the most common way a free spins round begins.

A slot machine is a gambling device where symbols land on reels and matching combinations pay out. Every outcome is decided by a random number generator the instant you press spin. The spinning reels are animation, not process.

A sticky wild remains locked in position for a number of subsequent spins rather than disappearing. They are most common inside free spins rounds, where accumulating wilds drives the largest wins.

Ways to win replaces fixed paylines with adjacency: any matching symbols on consecutive reels pay, wherever they land vertically. A 5x3 grid produces 243 ways, a 5x4 grid produces 1,024.

A wild symbol substitutes for other symbols to complete winning combinations. Wilds almost never substitute for scatters, which is why they do not help you reach the bonus round.