How to Play Casino Slots for Beginners Guide

Date puplished:

October 8, 2025

Last updated:

October 9, 2025

Online casino slots are the ultimate battlefield for websites that offer games of luck. Their number, variety, and diversification can define the success of a casino portal; therefore, software providers and online pages compete fiercely on this aspect.

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It’s not uncommon to encounter pages that offer 10000+ slots from 100+ software companies. Popular categories include New, Hot Now, Egyptian, Megaways, Classic Greece, Fruit Machines, and Joker Games, among others. But why are slots so important? Why do customers need 10000+ to remain happy and loyal to an online casino games provider? I have prepared an online slots guide to help you become more familiar with this area.

Terminology from A to Z

After selecting the casino you like, you will face the dilemma of which games to prefer. It’s of vital importance to comprehend how to play online slots with an easy beginner’s guide for online casino games like slots that covers the necessary terminology, explains the different categories, and provides other useful elements to help you improve your experience and, why not, increase your margins when playing.

Bet Max: Automatically sets the bet amount to the maximum amount that the software provider, the casino or the regulator has defined.
Big Win: Usually any win that is equal to or larger than 10x of your bet
Bonus Feature (or Bonus Game): A special game that triggers via collecting 3 or 4 scatters and unlocks multipliers and extra win symbols
Bonus Buy: The tool that allows players to buy their entrance to the Bonus Game at any time, by using funds from their balance. It usually sells at 100 times or 80 times the bet amount and has become very popular in recent years.
Click & Collect: A Type of game where a Collect button can appear on the reels and signify a quick win that “collects” all cash prizes that appear on the reels.
Cold Slots: Games that haven’t paid in a while and are expected to pay soon. Or not. God knows…
Coins: denominations of the balance that are used by many games instead of an actual cash balance. It has become less popular recently as players tend to get confused when calculating bets or wins with the coins measuring system.
Collect: Button that appears randomly in the game and collects all prizes of the round.
Free Spins: a popular player reward that is triggered either as part of the bonus game or as part of a free bonus/incentive that online casinos offer to players. An integral part of any slots guide.
Hold: The theoretical percentage that a slot game pays out to customers. It is usually measured as a % and is defined clearly in the game settings.
Hot Slots: Games that have paid more than the theoretical hold over the last 24 hours. This is a category that can be found on several online casinos, but the games are updated regularly (usually every half hour). Consequently, you’d better rush to get them when they are indeed hot.
Line Bet: refers to a bet that covers specific paylines of the grid. Max Bet usually covers all lines.
Multiplier: added by software providers to the game’s table, increases the payline by Xx times the amount of the multiplier.
Near Miss: Some players also call it “Teaser”, and it refers to a win that almost lands on the slot. It’s used widely when a closed call misses the Bonus Game trigger. Hacksaw Gaming is famous for adding characters’ disappointment sighs and curses on its own game when a near miss happens.
One-Arm Bandit: the original slot machines, used in Europe and the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. Those over 40 years old these days would remember the cherries, bars and 7s symbols that filled the game’s reels.
Reels: The discs that spin and create paylines. The main playing tableau of any slot. Some games feature 3, 4, 5 or more reels. However, the original games had only 3.
RNG (Random Number Generator): the algorithm that powers the operation of modern casino games (excluding live dealers). RNG is an essential part of every slots guide, since it’s the mechanism that defines the amount of money returned to players by each game. It needs to be mentioned on the settings and info page of every game.
Scatter Symbol: Scatters are used to trigger the infamous bonus game of each slot. Three or four scatters on the screen will trigger the special feature, unlocking bonuses and multipliers.
Slot Tournament: A cash prize event that typically features players who wager on various games from the same software provider. Lucky winners will share a pot of cash.
Video Slots: Modern version of the one-armed bandit games and 3-reel slots. They usually include animated graphics and video content to enhance the gameplay’s entertainment value.
Wild Symbols: Special tiles that can replace any symbol and create paylines. Imagine them as the equivalent of the Joker in many casino card games.

Types of Slots

The right guide to online slots begins with a clear distinction between the various slot types. Although modern casinos are home to no less than a dozen types, I’ll stick to the most important ones.

Video Slots

Games that are enriched with graphics, music, animation, impressive bonus games and elements that require a stronger technology.

Fruit slots

Offspring of the genuine, primitive slot games that could be found in brick-and-mortar casinos a few decades ago. Fruit slots have a loyal fan base that appreciates the originality and retro aspect of the games.

Joker slots

Similar to fruit slots but with joker symbols instead of fruits.

Megaways

Games with an added horizontal line (or more) that helps generate more paylines. Megaways games can produce up to 243k paylines on a single round. Big Time Gaming invented this mechanism, but the license has been sold (or rented out) to several providers globally.

Bonus Buy

Slots that allow players to buy into the bonus game by simply paying from their balance. Instead of waiting for the bonus to trigger via the regular scatter tile mechanism.

Jackpot games

Slots that include a jackpot payout or participate in network progressive jackpots. Playtech and Amusnet are among the most popular providers of jackpot slots.

Pot Slots

Games with a pot mechanism allow each pot to fill up with each spin. Once the pot has been filled up and exploded, players can unlock bonus rounds, multipliers and extra wilds.

Thematic Games

Egyptian, Viking, Classical Greece, Mythological, Irish, and many more themes are prominent in the modern casino world. Software providers often replicate the success of certain slots by launching multiple versions of them. Usually, each version adds more features.

Fishing games

Big Bass Bonanza from Pragmatic Play led the way for what has now become the most popular slots saga in the world. The fishing mechanism usually includes a hunting tool that can “fish” prizes from the grid and even launch special bonus games.

Dice games

Last in our guide to slots but no less popular is the dice games category. A mechanism of growing popularity replaces tiles with dice and unfolds mystery boxes and paylines

How to play online slots an easy beginners guide

Playing slots online has never been easier with a wealth of amazing games available on the best casinos. There are some simple steps you need to follow, and they are usually the same in every online slots guide.

Check the casinos in our list to find the casino with the best welcome bonus and the best game collection.
Please create an account, verify it and proceed to the cashier.
Make a deposit using a bank card, e-wallet or even your cryptocurrencies.
Check the games for their RTP, Bonus Games, Volatility or progressive jackpots.
Read the game details (including how often the bonus is triggered, the number of reels, and the number of expanding wilds) so that you know what to expect.
Choose your bet (usually between $0.10 $100 per spin).
Make sure you have checked all side bets or extra bets.
Start the game!

What you need to know

After playing casino games for hours and researching the mechanics of each category, my casino slots guide can be the most complete piece of documentation on this category. To fully comprehend everything mentioned in this review, you will need to understand a series of essential terms and definitions before playing slots with real money. Here are the most important ones:

Reels

The number of vertical lines that carry symbols during each spin. There are slots with 3, 4, 5,6 or even seven reels, with the latest trend launching games that can expand to include up to 10 reels. In general, modern online casinos invest heavily in games that extend and expand sideways, creating more paylines. The Megaways mechanism (see above) has introduced this new trend that has taken over the casino world by storm.

Paylines

Traditional slots had three pay lines. They were based on a 3×3 grid, paying all horizontal lines. Fast forward 100 years, and modern games have introduced the first 30 paylines, with Megaways bringing this number to 243 and then to thousands more. Paylines are the theoretical lines that can be drawn on a casino game, and based on their direction and winning symbols they cover a respective payout is calculated.

Special Symbols

Wild, Scatter, Bonus symbols, and other elements can appear on the slot reels to trigger paylines and bonus games. Or even multipliers. Modern slots have many special symbols that can be anything, such as hero faces, coins, wilds, and expanding reels. When writing this reliable online slots guide, we need to emphasise the importance of reading the details of each game before you play. The most common point of confusion is the number of wilds and scatters required to trigger the bonus game. Especially in the new era in which each game can include multiple bonus games.

Strategy

Is there one? Is it possible to define an online slots strategy? Numerous books and articles have been written on this topic, but the question remains unanswered to this day. There is a set of rules that can reduce players’ losses and help trigger more bonus games. However, casino slots, like all other casino games, are governed by the House Edge advantage, which defines the payout before you even start playing. Online casino games guide hosts a series of articles that will try to explain the slots mechanics, without promising any winning strategies or such.

Slot Bonus Features

The holy grail of every slot game. The bonus feature triggers multipliers, pot wins, cash collect or jackpots that will boost winnings. All players try to enter the bonus game as fast as they can after they start the game. Game providers acknowledge this, and in recent years, they have constructed bonus games that include wonderful animations, graphics, and a more intense soundtrack. To enter the bonus games, players need to get (usually) 3 or 4 scatter symbols. Additionally, some providers offer players the option to buy into the bonus game by deducting the funds directly from their balance. A controversial approach that leaves players with questions on whether it’s worth it or not.

Jackpots

Jackpots are usually pots of cash that are paid out randomly to players who prefer certain slots. The so-called Jackpot slots. Jackpots can be split into a few different categories:

Game jackpots: smaller sums that are paid out during the game, usually randomly. They range from Mini to Mega and are amounts that occur by multiplying the bet amount (usually 10x, 100x, 1000x).
Cash Collect jackpots: In games with the cash collect mechanism, jackpots can occur if coins or symbols fill all squares during the jackpot game
Progressive jackpots: pots of cash that are filled with a small contribution from every bet. Progressive jackpots globally have paid out amounts up to $18 million and have been very popular in the past. However, due to their scarcity, younger players aren’t as keen on them as older ones.

What our casinos offer?

We love bonuses and offers, and so do most players. Although a portion of them will opt for no bonus, the vast majority will take anything online casinos offer. Here is what you will usually get:

Free Spins: Everyone loves free spins. Especially when they are offered without a condition (e.g., a deposit), online casinos will offer tons of free spins on your registration and/or on your first deposit.
Welcome Bonus: an incentive to register and make a deposit. Usually comes as a combination of a 100% deposit boost and free spins.
Reload Bonus: most casinos will offer you a 100% or 50% bonus on your 2nd, 3rd or 4th deposits. If you are a loyal customer, this reload might be extended to include every deposit you make.
VIP program: an essential part of online casinos nowadays. Players collect points with every bet they place. Based on these points, a VIP ranking is created, and players receive rewards based on their rank or VIP level. On many occasions, it comes with additional rewards.

FAQ

We love bonuses and offers, and so do most players. Although a portion of them will opt for no bonus, the vast majority will take anything online casinos offer. Here is what you will usually get:

RTP stands for Return to Player, and it refers to the % of the money bet on a game that is returned to the player in the form of winnings. RTP is the most important setting of a casino game, and companies need to share this with the player in the slot’s info pack.

Every RNG casino game has a specific range of volatility, which defines the ratio of win frequency and size. In other words, volatility is the factor that decides how often and how much the game will pay out money to the players. When combined with the RTP rate (which we checked earlier in our free slots guide), the two metrics basically dictate the game’s operation.

You can, but you can’t know how much and how often. Such games on the best online casinos are heavily regulated for their win settings (those in FAQ 1 & 2). These will define when and how much you will win. But these are strong mathematical algorithms that can’t be predicted. As such, they will return the money to you, but you can’t know when. There is definitely a house edge, which means that, in the long run, the casino will always make a profit.

There are just too many, and no one can say for a fact. With over 10000 casino games available on the best casinos online, it’s mainly a matter of personal taste and gameplay preference. However, there are certain software providers whose games are very popular. These are – of course – Pragmatic Play, Playtech, Evolution Gaming, Amatic, Amusnet and Skywind with another 100+ providers launching new games each week.

It depends on where you are playing these games. All the casinos featured in our guide to online slots are checked, regulated, and licensed by international authorities (like eCogra and iTechLabs). These certificates are a must-have for any online casino that aspires to attract legit players. Playing slots on these pages is legal, and the algorithms are checked before each game is launched. As such, you don’t have to worry about the safety of your money and personal data.