- Slots are generally considered the easiest type of game to play as no skill and previous experience are involved. Practically, anyone can collect a payout as long as Lady Luck is on their side as the outcome of each single slot spin is governed by Random Number Generators and is based entirely on chance.
- A slot machine with a pay schedule where the pay schedule for each winning combination is multiplied evenly by each coin wagered. Pay Line Usually the line in the middle of the slot window but also it can be three lines, five lines or even more on video slots.
- Slot machine terms is the second part of the glossary at gamerisms. Hold and re-spin bonus slots, Nudge Slots, Onesies, Reel Stop and RNG are some of the lingo and jargon related to these mini-games found at this slots glossary. Part 2 also includes 7 examples and features of Multi-Player or Community play slot games Slot Machine Terms: D.
Players can use our glossary of slot terms to find out about different slot machine types, basic slot functions, and more. This guide will cover terms such as progressive jackpots, random number generators, slot volatility, and many more.
Bet
The amount of money wagered on a slot.
Bet Max
Bet the maximum amount of coins
Bonus Feature
Any additional way to win in addition to the reel pays
Buy-a-Pay Slots
On these machines, each coin you put in buys a winning combination.
Candle
A light on the top of the machine that flashes to indicate a problem with the machine
Carousal
A group of slot machines.
Classic Slots
Traditional slots that consist of 3 reels and can include multiple paylines, as well as wild and scatter symbols.
Coin Size
The denomination of the coin that you must play at a machine.
Coins
Units of currency that slots can be played in.
Coins Per Line
The amount that's bet on each payline.
Coin Per Spin
This is how many coins you choose to bet on each game.
Credits
Currency or tokens used to represent money.
Fruit Machine
The UK version of slots which commonly have features such as the option to hold the reels, nudge and bonus games.
Hit
This is a slot player’s way of describing a win.
Hit Rate / Frequency
A term used to describe how often a slot machine pays a winning combination.
Hold Percentage
The amount of money (in percentage form) that the house hold backs from players over time.
Hopper
The area where the money is stored in a slot machine.
Jackpot
The highest possible win on a slot machine
Loose Slots
The dream of every slot player is to find loose slots those machines that return a high percentage to the player.
Low Level
Slot machines at seating level position where a person can sit and play.
Maximum Bet
The highest possible bet in coins for a game.
Slot Machine Glossary Meaning
Multi-Denominational
Slot machines that accept a few different coin denominations.
Multi-Line
A slot machine with more than one pay line.
Max Bet
The maximum number of coins that can be played per spin. With most progressive slot machines, the max bet must be played in order to qualify for the big jackpot prize.
Mechanical Slots
Traditional mechanical slot machines that have actual reels inside.
One Armed Bandit
Slang term used to refer to slot machines. Because of their ability to leave the slot player broke
Payback
The percentage of winnings a machine will pay out in relation to the amount of money put in.
Pay for Play Machines
One-two-three coin option slot machines with staggered payoffs - the more coins played, the higher the potential winnings.
Pay Line
The line at which the symbols must align to determine a win or not.
Pay Out
The amount of money of credits paid to the player for a specific combination or win.
Pay Out Percentage
The % of bets that a slot machine will pay back over the long term.
Pay Table
A table or board on the slot machine showing the payoff for each winning combination. It will also indicate bonus features, max bet options.
Pokies
Australian slang for slot machines.
Progressive Slots
A group of slot machines linked together which have a communal big jackpot.
Progressive Jackpot
A big jackpot that grows progressively as more people play and more money is deposited. For every spin, another small amount is added to the jackpot total. Generally the progressive jackpot is linked with other machines.
Progressive Ticker
A section on the slot machines that indicates how much the current progressive jackpot is worth.
Random Number Generator (RNG)
A device that generates new numbers on a completely random basis and controls the spinning of the slot machine reel. The RNG is used in many casino machines to provide absolute randomness.
Reels
The rotating narrow barrels on which the symbols appear. Slot machines have between 3-5 reels.
Rollup
The process of dramatizing a win by playing sounds while the meters count up to the amount that has been won.
Scatter Pay
A pay out found on video slots that wins without having to line up. This often activates the bonus feature or bonus game.
Slant Top
A type of slot machine which is wider and shorter than normal machines, and which are becoming popular is casinos, replacing the traditional ones.
Slot Club Member
A loyalty program run by many casinos (online and land casinos) which provides regular players with extra points and bonuses.
Slot Schedule
Posted on the front of slot machines. All the information needed to determine the denominations you can play and the winning amounts.
Spin
Spins are when the reels appear to be in motion before coming to a stop .
Stacked Wilds
This happens when many wild symbols are positioned on top of each other on the reels.
Stand Up
Slot machines that need to be played standing up.
Stops
Anywhere that a real stops – between or on symbols.
Symbols
The pictures or graphics on the reels that need to line up in order to win.
Take/Pay Cycle
The cycle of slot machine whereby it is expected that the machine will payout after a certain amount of coins have been fed into it.
Taste
A reference to the small amount often paid out to keep a player seated and continuously betting.
Tight Slots
Slot machines that pay back a low percentage of the money played into them.
Tilt
A malfunctioning machine.
Video Slots
Slot machines without reels, but rather a video screen that generates a picture of reels spinning.
Wild Symbol
A joker type symbol that will act as the required symbol to make up a winning combination in a pay line.
Wild Multiplier
A wild symbols that not only substitutes for other symbols but also multiplies any win it is part of.
Winning Combinations
The amount of ways to win as displayed by the paytable.
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Basic Machines
Machines with a simple, straightforward payout scheme. Examples: Double Jackpots, Crazy Doublers, Double Diamonds, Mag Sevens, Black Golds, Ten Grands, Blazing Sevens, Flaming Sevens, Home Runs, Red White Blues.Big Bertha
An oversized machine from the electro-mechanical slots era, characterized by a huge handle, and containing eight to ten reels.
Bonus Feature
Free spins and/or a bonus round available on some machines.
Bonus Multiplier Slots
Machines offering proportionally larger top jackpots when you play max coins. The top jackpot symbol, (usually 7s) pays when max coins are deposited.
Buy-your-Pay
Each coin triggers a specific symbol payout. For example, one coin might trigger cherries to pay while two coins might trigger cherries and bars to pay, and three coins might trigger cherries, bars and 7s to pay.
Carousel
A group of interlinked slot machines, sometimes on a round platform in the middle of the casino floor.
Coins Size
Coin size is a unit of measure, the denomination or the value of each coin that the machine accepts. If the machine accepts quarters, then the coin size is 25¢ regardless of the number of coins you bet.
Computer Selection Table
The table in the computer chip that contains all possible symbol combinations and provides the designated payout percentage. The spinning reels are simply a visual enhancement; the computer table determines the outcome of each spin.
Credit Meter
Tallies the credits earned rather than dropping coins in the tray after each win.
Double Machines
When designated symbols line up, double machines pay double or triple winnings.
Doubler
A machine that pays double winnings if a designated symbol lands in conjunction with other paying symbols.
Down Slot
The machine has a low average payout.
Drop Through
A coin that drops through to the tray without registering before the spin. Drop throughs can result in a player mistakenly playing fewer than max coins.
Fill
A full hopper.
Full Pay Machines
Machines paying a larger payoff for full-coin pay.
Hopper
The location inside the machine where the money is stored.
Jackpots
The largest prize at any given slot machine.
Liberty Bell
An early slot machine invented by Charles Fey.
Loose Slots
Machines with a higher payoff.
Low Level
Slot machines where players can sit and play.
Max Bet
The maximum number of coins allowed on each spin. Often, you must play the max bet on a machine to qualify for the jackpot.
Mills Slots
The predecessor to modern slots: the first to use standard fruit symbols, the first with a jackpot’invention credited to Charles Fey.
Multi-Line
Slot machines with two or more pay lines.
Multiplier Slots
Machines that pay on a graduated scale. For example, a winner plays one coin and receives 5 coins, pays 2 coins and receives 10 or more coins, etc.
Near Misses
One-half turn of one reel away from a jackpot. The computer selection table can include many near misses for each actual jackpot hit.
Number of Coins Bet
The number of coins bet is always a multiple of the coin size For example, if you’re playing a 25¢ machine and you deposit three quarters or in any manner bet 75¢ on a spin, your number of coins bet is three.
One-Armed Bandit
Popular slang for slot machine.
Onesies
Slot players who bet one coin per spin.
Patterns
Random short-term statistical trends, not to be confused with long-term statistical averages. The short-term trend may be better or worse than the long-term average.
Pay Cycle
The commonly held belief that slot machines run on pay cycles: after taking a certain amount of money, the machine pays out a certain amount of money. This is why people look for a machine that hasn’t ‘hit’ for a period of time. In reality, slot machines pay out on a percentage basis over a long period of time, typically up to one year, not in short-term cycles.
Pay For Play Machines
Slot machines with the option of playing 1-3 coins. Winnings are proportionally higher for each additional coin after the first coin (called a staggered payout).
Pay Line
Usually the line in the center in the window, the line on which the designated symbols must align in order to receive a payout. Some machines have multiple pay lines.
Pay Table
The pay table is the section of the slot machine (usually at the top) that lists all pertinent information about payoffs. It includes the payoffs for each winning combination; any bonus features, and if the max coin bet pays any bonus. Payouts are quoted in number of coins.
Payback
The winnings a machine pays out in relation to the amount of money put in, stated as a percentage.
Slot Machine Glossary Software
Payout Percentage
The percentage that the slot machine returns to the player, often calculated over a year’s time.
Primary Jackpot
The big jackpot for any machine’rarely hit.
Progressive
Slots offering the largest jackpots. Machines have a base jackpot figure which grows with each coin played. After a jackpot is won, the machine is reset to the base jackpot.
Progressive Jackpot
The top jackpot that grows progressively as more coins are dropped into the machine. Machines are sometimes linked together among several casinos to form a larger combined jackpot.
Progressive Slots
A linked group of slots with a growing common jackpot. The amount of the jackpot depends on the amount of money played in all machines. When a jackpot is won, the jackpot is reset to the low jackpot, where it begins to accumulate again with each coin played.
Reels
Three or more rotating barrels with symbols. The object is to line up the symbols in a winning pattern.
RNG
Random Number Generator. Computerized slots are programmed by the manufacturer to randomly select numbers on a continuous basis whether the machine is in play or standing idle. Each number corresponds to a pattern of symbols, with the fewest numbers corresponding to jackpots. The same chip that generates the numbers is programmed with the slot’s average payout, and determines the generated numbers based on the average payout.
Session
A defined period of time to play the slots or to play on one slot machine, rather than endless play with no built-in goals or stop loss.
Short Win
Large jackpot won in a short period of time with a small cash outlay.
Sizzling Slot
A slot with a high payoff.
Slot Placement
The physical location of slot machines, usually mixing tight slots and loose slots, and often placing loose slots in high-traffic locations.
Slot Schedule
Information, such as type of slot, coin denomination and winning amounts, posted on the front of each slot machine.
Slot Testing
System used by slot players. Slot testers play a single roll of coins all the way through without taking any winnings in an attempt to determine the possible payout for the machine.
Slot Types
Two major types: basic, straight, or flat-top, which pays out a static top jackpot, and progressive, which pays out a dynamic jackpot, dependent on coins taken in by a group of linked machines.
Slot-Mix
Mixing loose slots and tight slots according to a slot placement plan. Loose slots are often placed in high-traffic locations to tempt casino patrons and encourage play.
Slots Drop
Amount of money dropped into the slot.
Slots Hold
The opposite of slot payout; this is the percentage that the house keeps.
Sound of Rain
The sound of coins dropping after a payout.
Sputtering Slot
Slot with a low average payout.
Stand Up
Slots that require players to stand while playing.
Static
A jackpot that is pre-determined and does not change.
Straight Slots
Machines that pay out fixed amounts that are posted on the front of the machine.
Symbols
The images on the reel. Symbols can be anything, but often include cherries, lemons and 7s.
Take Cycle
The opposite of a pay cycle’the belief that the machine will not pay out until taking in a predetermined amount of coins.
Tight Slots
Machines with lower payouts.
Tilt
When a slot machine locks up due to a malfunction, the tilt light illuminates, and an attendant resets the machine. The machine has run out of coins, a coin has jammed, or the hopper is full. If you deposited money or if you won money, the machine has a memory, and the attendant will ensure that you get your winning or get your coin back.
Up Slot
The machine has a high average payout.
Video Machines
A slot machine using video to simulate spinning reels.
Well
The container at the bottom of the machine where winning coins fall.
Slot Machine Glossary
Wild Symbol
The slot machine equivalent of a joker symbol in cards.