View our comprehensive Slot Machine Glossary. Learn all about the terms used and found when playing online slots and what they mean.
If you’re a novice player of the online slots, navigating your way around the gaming jargon can prove to be a little tricky. That is why we have compiled an extensive Casino Glossary to help you better understand your way around the world of slot machines.
As easy as slots are, this list might also help you make better choices regarding choosing the right games. Let us break it down to you in alphabetical order, starting with the numerals:
| Term | Definition |
| 243 ways to win | Video slots have fixed paylines. 243 or less matching symbols must appear on a payline to trigger a winning combination. |
| 3D Video Slots | Online video slots with 3D imagery. They have also evolved since the mechanical 2D video slots found in brick-and-mortar casinos. |
| 3-reel slot | An arrangement with 3 vertical spinning reels. The first originated land-based slot machines all had 3-reels. Since the inception of video slots to the current technological era, the number of reels on a slot machine has increased. |
At this point, it may seem redundant to mention the same category repeatedly. However, there are other categories involved in the slots genre. Here they are:
| Term | Definition |
| Active Payline | The paylines across the screen that a player chooses to keep active during a play. |
| All-Ways Slots | The paylines are not fixed, which means they can be chosen in any horizontal order. This avails several ways to win. |
| Any Ways Win | The same rules apply as in All-ways slots. Paylines are not fixed, which increases a player’s winning odds. |
| Autoplay | Punters can auto-select the number of games the slot machine will spin on their behalf. |
| Bar | A conventional slot reel symbol. |
| Base Game | The initial basic version of the game, excluding bonus features. |
| Bet | This is the amount of cash a player will wager on any type of casino game. |
| Bet Max | The maximum amount you can wager per spin. |
| Bet Min | The minimum amount you can wager per spin. |
| Bet Per Line | The wager placed per line, for each spin. |
| Bonus Feature | These are reward components that come with gameplay, often as wilds, scatters, free spins, re-spins, and more. |
| Bonus multiplier | A feature that accumulates your win by a number while a bonus round is activated. |
| Buy a Feature | A slot machine that lets you pay more to access more winning combinations. |
| Big hit | A jackpot win or an equivalent prize in value. |
| Coin | Originally means money, but also means credits when playing online. |
| Coin in | The total number of coins ready to be used in a slot machine. |
| Coin Out | The total number of coins won off a slot machine. |
| Cash-Out | Exchanging credits for real money. |
| Casino Bonus | Credits are given away to aid your casino portfolio. |
| Cluster Pays | A cluster of symbols that pays out . |
| Comps | Are awarded to top players by the casino, they include rewards and benefits. |
| Credits | Coins or cash converted and displayed as credits. |
| Demo Game | A free version of a slot machine game. |
| Denomination | Adjustable coin values. |
| Doubles | Multiplier symbols that double the winnings on a pay table. |
| Drop Bucket | Used to collect excess coins from land-based slot machines. |
| Drops | The total number of coins in a drop bucket. |
| Expanding Symbol | Wild symbols that can replace all the symbols on reels in one go. |
| Five Liner | A slot machine with 3 reels that allows player to win on up to 5 reels. |
| Feature | Extra Game in addition to the base game. These can be extra free spins or rounds. |
| Feature Buy/Bonus Buy | Paying for a feature instead of waiting for it to be presented in a game. |
| Fixed Jackpot | A jackpot with a fixed amount to be won. |
| Fixed Value Slots | The total bet cannot be changed on these slots. |
| Free-to-Play | Most slots offer a free to play version for players to try out. |
| Free Spins Feature | Triggered when you land on a certain number of special symbols. |
| Fruit Machine | A phrase mostly used in the UK which refers to slot machines. |
| Gamble Feature | A feature that lets players double their winnings. |
| Grid | Tiles made up of reels and rows. |
| High paying symbols | The most paying symbols when they land on winning combinations. |
| Hit and Run | A strategy of playing a few rounds and then moving onto the next one. |
| Hit Rate | An average rate at which a slot machine is expected to pay out. |
| Hold percentage | Also known as the house edge, it refers to the amount of money the casino makes from a bettor. |
| Hot Machine | They have the highest winning frequency. |
| Hot Slots | Slots that payout often. |
| Icons | Popular symbols such as playing cards and fruit symbols. |
| Instant Winner | A jackpot that pays out instantly as opposed to over years |
| i-Slot | A slot that allows players to reserve their position. |
| Jackpot | A high prize payable by a slot machine. |
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| Term | Definition |
| Lever | A lever that you can pull down to spin, used to be found on old slot machines. |
| Line | Symbols must land to form a winning combination on a line. |
| Loose Slot | A slot with a high return to player percentage. |
| Low Paying Symbols | A symbol with a low-value. |
| Loss limiter | A way of putting a limit to losses by playing with the autoplay option. |
| Low Volatility | A slot’s payout frequency, meaning it pays out more but the prizes are of low-value. |
| Maximum Bet | The highest number a player can stake. |
| Maximum Win | The maximum winning amount stipulated by the slot. |
| Mega Fortune | A NetEnt progressive jackpot. |
| Megabucks | A slot machine with a maximum of $3 to win the jackpot. |
| Megaways | A slot layout with 117, 649 ways to win. |
| Mega Moolah | A 5-reel by 3-row progressive jackpot slot. |
| Minimum Bet | The lowest amount a player can bet. |
| Multiplier | A bonus feature that allows players to multiply their winnings by a fixed number. |
| Multi-Line | Slot that have more than 1 payline. |
| Multi-Line bonus slot machine | A video slot machine with more than 1 payline and offers at least one bonus symbol. |
| Multi-Way | Video slot machines with multiple winning ways. |
| Mystery Symbol | They have no fixed value or function and often turn into any symbol. |
| Near Miss | When a winning combo almost lands on a reel. |
| Next Door | When you miss a win too close. Eg Roulette: When ball drops next to your number. |
| Nudge | Symbols that nudge is often the winning symbols that stay in place and then move either left, right or down one row or reel. New symbols cascade in and if there are any more winning combinations the process repeats. |
| Nudge | A small push up or down to make a combo. |
| One-Armed Bandit | Slot machines on land. |
| One Liner | A single pay line slot where players need to line up 3 symbols for a win. |
| Optimal Play | The best playing strategy. |
| Online Slot | Any Slot machine available online. |
| Payback Percentage | A percentage of money paid out by slots in winnings to players after a certain amount of time. |
| Payline | Winning combinations are made on pay lines. |
| Payout | The amount to be given to a player after hitting a winning combination. |
| Paytable | It outlines all the winning combinations and their values. |
| Pokies | Australian slang for slot machines. |
| Primary jackpot | The highest prize that can be won by a player on a slot machine. |
| Progressive Jackpot | A jackpot that goes higher when it isn’t won. |
| Progressive Slots | Slot machines with rising prizes. |
| Pick Me | Players are allowed to pick their desired object in this bonus feature. |
| Quick Spin | Speeds up a play by reducing the number of animations on display. |
| Random Number Generator (RNG) | A random number generator is a software that generates numbers as randomly as possible. |
| Reels | Discs that have symbols which spin inside a slot machine window. |
| Return to player percentage (RTP) | The percentage of all the bets that will be paid out to players in winnings for a particular slot. |
| Respins | Free spins awarded to a player with terms and conditions. |
| Rolling Reels | When winning symbols are taken out and replaced by new symbols which then cascade on reels . |
| Rows | Horizontal symbols displayed when reels come to a stop, they can be variable or fixed. |
| Select lines | The amount of paylines chosen in a slot game. |
| Short pay | A partial amount from winnings. |
| Short wins | A massive jackpot from a short play. |
| Skill bonus | A bonus based on a player’s skills. |
| Scatter | Scatters are symbols that can show up on reel, at any point and a win. |
| Scatter wins | Wins from landing scatters on the reels. |
| Scatter Symbol | A winning symbol that can land on any reel. |
| Signature Slots | A brand of slots owned by a casino. |
| Slam stop | A quick stop of the reels by pressing the spin button again. |
| Special Symbols | Symbols with a special function. |
| Spin button | The button that initiates the gameplay. |
| Split Symbol | Two different symbols that share a tile . |
| Spreading Wild | Wilds that can spread to other symbols on the reels. |
| Sticky wild | Symbols that land on each other to make wins or trigger bonuses. |
| Stacked Wild | A wild that stays on a tile for consecutive plays. |
| Stake | The amount a player bets on a spin. |
| Streaky slots | Slots with cold or hot moments. |
| Slot schedule | It displays the slot winning payout combo and the paired payout total. |
| Slot testing | The process of finding a slot’s RTP out. |
| Slot Tournament | A slots competition played by multiple players at a time. |
| Two-liner | Slot machines with two lines. |
| Three-liner | 3 reels that need 3 matching symbols for a win. |
| Total Bet | The value of credits played. |
| Take cycle | Is based on a notion that a machine pays out according to a specific cycle, or an amount paid in by wagers. |
| Trail | A feature that unlocks levels for a final prize. |
| Tumbling Reels | They enhance a player’s chances of winning after winning combinations are landed. |
| Turbo Spin | A feature that speeds up a play. |
| Up/down slot cycle | The fluctuations that happen in a slot’s pay out percentage over a period of time. |
| Variance | The frequency of winning combinations and payouts. |
| Video Slot | A technology of slots invented after mechanical reels and before online reels. |
| Virtual Reel | Online reels as opposed to mechanical reels found on land. |
| Volatility | The risk involved in a slot machine. |
| Walking Wilds | Wilds that move when they land, until they disappear from the screen. |
| Wager | The amount betted on each spin. |
| Wager Management | A way of managing a player’s bankroll. |
| Ways to Win | Pay lines are not fixed, and symbols need to land on adjacent reels to form winning combinations. |
| Wild Symbol | A symbol that replaces all other symbols except the scatter symbol. |
| Wild Multiplier | Multiplier values linked to a wild symbol. |
| Win | When a combination of symbols are triggered as per the pay table’s win. |
| Win Multiplier | Multiplier values linked to a wild symbol. |
| Win limiter | A feature found autoplay which limits plays by stopping autoplay when a player wins a big prize. |
| Win-Both-Ways | Slots that players win from left to right, and from right to left. |
| Winning Combination | A combination of symbols that trigger a win. |
| Well | During a cashout, a well situated at the bottom of a slot machine collects coins as they fall out. |
| Wide area progressive (WAP) | Slot machines positioned in different casinos but are linked by one large jackpot. |