Slots Glossary

Slot Machine Terms - Slot Machine Definitions

Slots Terms

Bonus

When playing a bonus slot machine, this feature gives the player the ability to win extra money or spins.

Coin size

This is the amount of money that a player must insert in order to play a slot machine. For instance, the coin size on a nickel slot would be five cents.

Hit

This is what experienced slot machine players refer to as a winning spin. You will hear this often when walking the floor of a casino.

Max bet

The largest amount of coins that you can bet on one spin. In most cases, a slot machine will offer the ability to bet more than one coin in order to give you the chance to win a larger jackpot.

Progressive jackpot

A jackpot that continues to increase in size based on the number of coins that are bet. Many progressive slot machines are linked to one another in order to make the payout even larger.

Payline

The winning line that determines the payout. In many cases a slot machine may have more than one payline.

Payout

The amount of money that is paid when a player wins.

Payout percentage

This is the amount of each bet that is paid back to the player that wins. For instance, a 99 percent payout percentage means that 99 cents on a dollar goes to the player, and the casino takes the leftover.

Pay table

This is located on the slot machine, and shows how much money can be won, as well the winning combinations.

Random number generator

This is a program used by casinos in order to ensure that all slot machine victories are random. All in all, it helps to keep a fair and honest environment, while also giving everybody an equal chance to win. Additionally, a random number generator also means that strategy is more or less pointless.

Reels

These spin around inside the slot machine to determine what symbols show up on the screen.

Scatter Symbol

A scatter symbol is one that can appear anywhere on the reels. It does not have to fall on a pay line to activate a winning combination. Scatter symbols are usually wild as well.

Symbols

These are located on the reels that spin inside the slot machine. Symbols will vary based on the type of slot machine that you are playing. The most common ones are fruit and numbers.

Take cycle

This is a strategy by players that says a slot machine will not payout one time after the next. But since each machine is based on a random number generator, this is nothing more than a myth.

Winning combination

In order to win, the combination of symbols that must occur on the payline.

Wild symbol

Some slot machines have a wild which can represent any symbol in order to give the player a better chance of winning.

Zombie

This is a player who stays at the same machine for hours on end. They never change seats, or think about moving to another machine.