New to slots? How a slot machine works, from the ground up

The rest of VultureSlots assumes you have played slots before. This page doesn't. If you have never sat at a slot machine, start here: it covers what everything on the machine is, how a spin works, and how money goes in and comes out.

The machine itself

• The screen shows the game: the reels, your credits, your bet and any meters or bonuses.
• The bill acceptor takes cash or a casino ticket. That is how money goes in.
• The ticket printer gives you a ticket when you cash out. That is how money comes out.
• The buttons (or the touchscreen) let you change your bet, spin, open the help screens and cash out.
• The service button calls an attendant if something goes wrong, such as a jammed ticket or a large win that has to be paid by hand.
• The card slot is for a casino players club card. It is optional and tracks your play for rewards.

Reels and symbols

A reel is one vertical column of symbols. Old mechanical machines had physical wheels that spun; modern machines draw the reels on a screen, but the idea is the same. Most video slots show several reels side by side, each showing a few symbols, so the screen looks like a grid.

When you spin, the reels move and stop on new symbols. Certain symbols matching in certain places is a win.

How a spin is decided

Every spin's result is picked by a random number generator inside the machine the moment you press spin. The spinning animation is just a show. Stopping the reels early, pressing the button harder, or timing your spins does not change anything. The last spin does not affect the next one.

What some machines do carry from spin to spin is visible progress, like a meter or a stuck wild. That is called persistent state, and it is what the rest of this site is about. The spin itself is still random.

Paylines and ways to win

• Payline: a fixed path across the reels. Matching symbols that land along a payline, usually starting from the leftmost reel, pay.
• Ways to win: many newer games skip paylines. Matching symbols on reels next to each other pay wherever they land on those reels, starting from the left.
• Paytable: the help screen that lists what each symbol pays and how every feature works. Look for an "i", "?" or "Help" button. Every machine is different, and the paytable is the official answer for that machine.

Credits, denominations and your bet

• Credits: when you put money in, the machine turns it into credits. Some machines show your balance in credits, some in dollars, and some let you switch.
• Denomination: the value of one credit, such as 1 cent, 5 cents or a dollar. A "penny slot" means one credit is worth a penny, not that a spin costs a penny.
• Bet: how many credits you spend per spin. Your real cost per spin is the credits bet times the denomination. Many machines let you change the bet level, and some features only work at certain bets, so read the help screen.
• Win: what a spin pays back, shown in the same units as your balance.

Getting your money out

Press Cash Out and the machine prints a ticket for your remaining balance. You can put that ticket into another machine, or take it to a kiosk or the cashier (the cage) to turn it into cash. Most casinos call this ticket in, ticket out, or TITO. Don't leave a ticket in the machine or lying around: it works like cash for whoever picks it up.

Wilds, scatters and bonuses

• Wild: a symbol that stands in for other symbols to help complete a win.
• Scatter: a symbol that pays or triggers a feature wherever it lands, not just on a payline.
• Bonus or feature: a special round such as free games or hold and spin, triggered by certain symbols or by a meter filling up.

Each game mixes these differently. Our page on bonus features explains the common ones in more detail.

Jackpots

Many machines show labelled prizes across the top, often Mini, Minor, Major and Grand. Some are fixed amounts. Others are progressives that grow as people play. A must-hit-by progressive is a jackpot that has to pay before it reaches a ceiling printed on the machine.

The house edge

Slot machines are built to keep part of the money played through them over time. Any single session can win or lose, but on an ordinary machine in an ordinary state, the longer you play the more the house edge shows. Advantage play is about only playing when a machine's visible state shifts that, and passing the rest of the time. Nothing about it is guaranteed.

Floor manners

• A machine with a players card in it, a coat or drink on the seat, or a tipped-up chair is taken. Leave it.
• Looking at a machine's screen without playing is normal. Hovering over someone who is playing is not.
• If a machine shows a hand-pay message, stay put and press the service button. An attendant will come to you.

Before you start

You must be of legal gambling age where you play, and the rules vary by country, state and casino. Only bring money you can afford to lose, and decide your limit before you put any in.

Where to go next

Once the basics make sense, read what slot advantage play is and what persistent state looks like, then try one of the free guides. The glossary covers every term the guides use.

Advantage play carries real financial risk. Nothing here is a guarantee of profit.