Playing casino games is not rocket science, although players who understand how they work have a slight advantage. Therefore, it doesn’t hurt to learn a couple of things about your favorite games and improve your overall experience.
Some games, such as blackjack, are a perfect combination of luck and skill. That’s why tips and tricks such as the ones presented in this article are always welcome. However, online slot machines (and their land-based counterparts) rely only on the element of luck.
Nevertheless, it doesn’t hurt to know what features are present in almost every slot. That way, you’ll be able to easily find a suitable title in an oversaturated market of slots on the web. Read on!
RTP – Return to Player
Return to Player is perhaps the most important feature slot lovers take into account when choosing a slot. Simply put, it’s a number that indicates the overall amount that is returned to players through prizes.
We have to start with an assumption that slot developers and operators must earn their share from players, and that’s exactly what RTP stands for.
For example, if the RTP is set to 95%, that means that players will get approximately $95 back in prizes for every $100 invested in the game. The remaining $5 is, technically, a fee that players pay for playing the game. Naturally, some players are luckier than others and get more prizes, while others get nothing.
Learn About Reels with Fishing Frenzy
Let’s take, for example, the Fishing Frenzy slot. Once you open the game, you will notice that there are six lines that spin – these are usually called reels. The number of reels may vary, but the most common variation has five reels and three rows. Rows indicate the number of symbols per reel, meaning that three symbols are often visible when you spin the reels.
The number of reels and rows affects the number of paylines up to a certain extent, although new technologies allow slots to increase the payline amount regardless of the grid structure. Speaking of paylines, let’s see what they are.
Paylines
Simply put, paylines are fictional lines that can reward you if filled with a combination of symbols. When slots had only three reels back in the day, there was only one payline. However, that number increased with time as the number of reels and rows increased as well.
In most cases, paylines only pay left to right, which means that if you match symbols on the second and third reel, you will not get a reward.
However, many slots offer dozens of variations, and some of them even include thousands of possible paylines due to unique gameplay systems.
Slot Volatility
If you decide to play online slot machine games on Mega Casino UK, you need to take slot volatility into account as well. Slots can have high, medium, or low volatility. What does that mean?
Essentially, high-volatile slots are slots with higher risk. The prizes in this game type are not that frequent but are overall higher compared to low-volatility slots. On the other hand, slots that have their volatility described as low often reward players but the prizes are not as lucrative as the ones in high-volatility slots.
Volatility has nothing to do with the RTP. It’s a thing of its own that doesn’t affect the overall Return to Player figure. It’s a matter of personal taste. Some players prefer risking more and receiving bigger rewards, while others enjoy playing it safe.
Bonus Features
There are so many bonus features in online slots that this section could be expanded into an entire book. However, the two most common ones are free spins (also called bonus rounds) and wild symbols.
Bonus rounds are triggered after you land some special symbols such as scatters. During free spins, slots often offer additional goodies such as increased multipliers.
Wild symbols are sometimes called substitute symbols because their main job is to substitute for other symbols. Therefore, if you land a wild and it is between two identical symbols on a payline, it will assume the role of that symbol and award you like you actually made a combo.
