Slot Terms

Article by : Andrej Trajkovski Jun 30, 2023

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Updated: Apr 14, 2025

243 ways to win

243 Ways to Win is a slot game mechanic that allows winning combinations to form without fixed paylines. A win is awarded when matching symbols land on adjacent reels from left to right, regardless of their position on the reels.

For a slot with 5 reels and 3 rows, the total number of possible winning combinations is calculated as 3×3×3×3×3 = 243. This provides players with more opportunities to win, as each spin can generate multiple winning combinations.

Ante Bet

Ante Bet is a feature in some slot games that allows players to increase their bet to activate additional game features or increase the chances of triggering a bonus round. By choosing to activate the Ante Bet, players typically pay an extra amount on top of their base bet. This can enhance the game experience by giving access to special bonuses, higher payouts, or increased frequency of certain features, such as free spins or special wilds.

Autoplay

This option is designed for players who want to have a long session and set a range of automatic spins at a certain bet. In some cases, you just set the bet and the number of spins, and they can be limited (eg. up to 100), while other slots allow players to open advanced autoplay settings. For example, Gonzo’s Quest by NetEnt has additional settings where you can choose the following parameters to stop autoplay:

• On any win
• If single win exceeds a certain amount
• If cash increased by a certain amount
• If cash decreased by a certain amount
• If the Free Falls bonus game is won

‘I launched the autoplay mode for 100 spins and nearly doubled my bankroll after this gaming session.’

Autospin

Autospin allows players to set a specific number of automatic spins to be played without manual intervention. Once activated, the game will spin the reels automatically for the selected number of spins, following the player’s chosen bet settings. This feature is convenient for players who prefer a more hands-off approach or want to speed up the gameplay.

Bar

Bar is a classic slot machine symbol that originates from traditional mechanical slot games. It typically represents a mid-range payout symbol, often appearing as a single Bar, double Bar, or triple Bar, with increasing payouts accordingly.

Bet Max

Bet max is an option in online casinos and slot machines that allows players to automatically place the highest possible bet per spin.

Bet Per Line

Bet Per Line refers to the amount of money you wager on a single payline in a slot game.

Big Hit

Big Hit refers to a large win in a game, usually when a player lands a high-paying combination or triggers a big bonus round.

Bonus Buy

Bonus Buy is a feature that allows players to purchase direct access to the bonus round instead of waiting to trigger it naturally.

Bonus Game

This is a special mini-game different from the main game. Mainly, bonus games are triggered by certain combinations of bonus symbols or after a certain reaction, such as filling a bonus meter. Such features are designed to make the gameplay diversified and let players get more chances to win prizes or free spins. For example, on the Game of Gladiators Uprising slot by Play’n GO, gladiator symbols are Wilds which can trigger re-spins or launch extra mini-games.

‘If you manage to activate a bonus game with free spins, this will save your balance and bring extra wins.’

Branded Slots

These are slot machines based on popular media topics, be they TV shows, movies, games, or other forms. The media elements can include the main characters as symbols on the reels and other details. A good example is a range of Marvel-themed slots by Playtech, including The Avengers, Iron Man 2, and Elektra. To provide such software, providers need to partner with the brand’s owner (eg. Warner Bros).

‘Playtech and NetEnt are known for their branded slots like The Avengers and Narcos.’

Buy-a-Pay

This term mainly refers to land-based slot machines (eg. the two-coin Sizzling 7s) and describes slots that require the maximum amount of coins as your bet to activate a certain feature. In case of a lower bet, the bonus combination won’t bring you the desired result. In some cases, you can see traditional slots where players can win jackpots only when they play at a maximum bet.

Cascading Reels

This feature is based on winning symbols which explode (disappear) and allow upper symbols to land instead. As a result of this reaction, you can form one or even more additional winning combinations. In some cases, each new consecutive reaction brings extra multipliers. Some providers also name similar mechanics as Avalanche, Rolling Reels, or Tumbling Reels. Among the slots with Cascading Reels, you can try out Bonanza Megaways by Big Time Gaming.

Classic Slots

Also called old-school or traditional, these slots are a virtual version of land-based machines from the past. They are simple in terms of graphics and functions. Mainly, such slots have 3 reels and 1 row, so you can play with a single line. The most popular symbols of classic slots are fruits, BARs, and bells. Some of these games can have a Gamble feature or even a random jackpot.

Clusters

Clusters are a type of paying mechanic on slots where you need to land a certain amount (usually 3+) of adjacent symbols of the same type. Cluster-paying slots don’t have paylines and can be combined with other mechanics, such as Cascades. As a rule, cluster-based slots have a larger grid of about 5×5 or even more. One of these slots is Jammin’ Jars by Push Gaming, where you need to land 5+ fruits to get a win.

Coin In & Coin Out

Coin In refers to the total amount of money a player has wagered or deposited into the slot machine or game during a session, while Coin Out represents the amount of money a player has withdrawn or won from the game.

Coin Size

Here are the slot machine denominations explained. Some slots can have not only a betting modifier but also a coin value. It’s pretty often displayed on NetEnt slots like Mega Fortune. This way, you can choose both the bet level and the coin value, increasing or decreasing the total wager this way. For example, when the bet is $25, and the coin value is 0.20, this means that you’ll play at the total bet of $5 per spin ($25 * 0.20).

Cold Slot

A Cold Slot is a slot machine that hasn’t been hitting significant wins recently. Many players believe it’s “due” for a payout, but this is not the case, as slot outcomes are determined by random number generators.

Collect Button

The Collect Button is used to gather winnings or bonus rewards that have accumulated during a spin or a bonus round. It allows players to confirm and claim their payouts before continuing with the game.

Credits

Credits are the virtual currency or points used to place bets and track winnings. Players typically exchange real money for credits or use free credits provided by the casino to play the games.

Features

The lingo slang regarding bonus features can also be very helpful. By learning these new terms, you’ll understand more mechanics, which will help you easily compare slots by their functions and quickly realize what to expect from a certain title.

We’ll tell you why Wilds and Scatters are different from standard symbols, explain what bonus games exist, and tell more about nudging and cascading mechanics. Due to these terms explained and examples from our SlotsUp team, you’ll master any casino game, even when it’s the latest release with advanced features.

Free Spins

Free spins are bonus rounds you play for free at the bet set in the main game. This bonus feature is the most popular since it’s available in nearly all slots. Depending on the game’s settings, players can trigger free spins by landing the required number of Scatters, filling a bonus meter, or meeting any other requirement.

In some cases, winnings during free spins have extra multipliers or are doubled/tripled by default. For example, Dragon Dance by Microgaming has a free spins bonus round launched by 3+ Scatters where wins automatically get a 3x multiplier. Besides, in this game, free spins can be re-triggered, which means that once you get 3 more Scatters during the bonus round, you get 15 extra spins.

Gamble Feature

This feature allows players to optionally open a double-up game and try to increase the winning when the luck is on their side. If you give the right answer, you increase the win and can either collect or continue. It can be a card game where you need to guess a colour (2x) or a suit (4x) of the next game, a mini-game where you try to guess whether the next card is higher/lower, head or tails, a ladder, a wheel of fortune, and other forms, but the concept is the same. In some cases, you can collect a part of your wins and continue gambling with the rest. Pretty often, games set certain limits for the Gamble feature, such as up to 10 rounds or up to 10x. It’s also known as a risk game and is often available on traditional slots, such as Inferno by Novomatic.

High Limit Slots

These are slot machines with larger betting limits aimed at high rollers. Typically, the winning potential is also above average, so the slots can even offer progressive jackpots. For example, Divine Fortune by NetEnt is a progressive jackpot slot, and games from the Wazdan provider can provide bets of up to $1,000 per spin, which is quite unusual in the gambling industry and attractive for players who prefer large stakes.

Hit and Run

Hit and Run is a strategy or approach in gambling, particularly in slots, where players make a quick bet, aim for a short-term win, and then leave the game immediately after achieving a profit, minimizing the risk of losing the winnings.

Hit Frequency

This rate shows the frequency of winning combinations which occur within a certain range of spins. For example, when you have 30 winning spins within a session of 100 rounds, the hit frequency is 30%. Sometimes, providers add this information and it’s considered in the long run when the slot is being tested.

Hold and Spin

This mechanic holds certain symbols in place while you have free spins within a certain bonus round or in the main game. This solution is also known as lock-and-spin since the positions of the reels where the required symbols landed are locked in place. Mainly, this mechanic is used in bonus and jackpot games where you need to land, for example, coins of certain values or jackpot symbols.

Initially, you have a certain number of spins (let it be 3), and each time a new symbol locks, the counter resets, and you get the initial number of re-spins again. The round is over when either the entire field is filled or when the re-spins are over. Fruity Wild Bonanza Hold & Spin by Stake Logic is one of the games of this kind.

Hopper

Hopper is a virtual system that tracks and processes payouts, simulating the function of dispensing winnings in digital form.

Hot Slot

Hot Slot is a game that has been paying out frequently or recently awarded big wins, suggesting a higher chance of winning in the short term.

Jackpot

Standard payouts on slots are based on basic symbols and the paytable. These wins can be quite large, but they still can’t be compared with jackpots which are top prizes offered by certain slots.

These can be either fixed or progressive jackpots. When they are fixed, you win a certain multiplier according to the game’s settings. For example, Wolf Gold by Pragmatic Play has Mini, Major, and Mega fixed jackpots paying 30x, 100x, and 1,000x, respectively.

When the amount is progressive, the prize pool grows with each new real money bet players place and can be hit randomly regardless of the bet amount. One of the most thrilling progressive jackpot slots is Mega Moolah by Microgaming (Games Global), which has Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega jackpots.

Loose Slots

Loose Slots are slot machines configured to return a higher percentage of wagered money to players over time compared to other machines. This is achieved by setting the machine’s payback percentage, or RTP, at a higher rate, indicating that, on average, players will receive more back from their bets. It’s important to note that while loose slots offer a higher theoretical return, individual results can still vary due to the inherent randomness of slot machines.

Low Limit Slots

These machines have low betting limits and usually feature low volatility, which means that these games are suitable for newbies or low-rollers. For example, Mad Mad Monkey by NextGen has medium volatility and an upper betting limit of $25.

Max Win

This is the maximum winning potential offered by the game. This information is usually displayed on the provider’s site and you can also find this rate in our SlotsUp reviews. For example, Nightmares VS GigaBlox™ released by Yggdrasil Gaming in 2023 has a max win potential of up to $220,590 or 7,353x.

Megaways

These mechanics were patented by BTG. This solution means that a slot has not a traditional number of paylines but a dynamic system based on thousands of ways to win. They aren’t revealed at once and the maximum of, for example, 117,649 Megaways, is revealed when all the reels are covered by symbols to the maximum. Megaways games are available from different suppliers, and Buffalo King Megaways is one of them.

Multipliers

These are multipliers provided within a certain bonus feature of an online slot. Once a multiplier is applied, it increases your winning by the according amount. In some cases, multipliers are provided in the base game randomly, and in other cases, they can be combined with any other bonus, such as a 2x multiplier applied for combinations with Wilds, tripled (3x) wins during free spins, or wheels of fortune with multipliers on its sectors.

Sometimes, these multipliers can be huge, exceeding even 500x, which significantly increases the odds. Among slots with multipliers, it’s worth highlighting Wheel of Fortune by IGT where the bonus wheel of fortune has multipliers of 50x to 3,859x, while wins during the bonus spins are tripled.

Near Miss

A near miss in online casinos occurs when the symbols on a slot machine land in a way that appears close to a winning combination but does not result in an actual payout. This psychological effect can create the illusion that a big win is just around the corner, encouraging players to keep spinning.

Nudge Feature

This feature is designed to move a symbol one or several positions up or down if it’s necessary to form a winning combination. In most cases, it’s applied for stacked bonus symbols so that they nudge to be seen in full. One of the modern slots with this feature is Hot Nudge by Nolimit City where 3 bonus symbols can nudge to be fully visible once they land on reels at the same time.

Pay Table

This table displays the values of winning symbols once they land on paylines. In some cases, the amount each symbol pays is fixed, so you need to count yourself how much you win at a certain bet, and in other cases, it will adjust to your current bet and you’ll see the values available with your current active wager. In Benji Killed in Vegas by Nolimit City, the pay table adjusts to your bet. In these cases, when you want to track multipliers, simply select a bet of $1.

Payline

This is a certain combination requiring symbols to land upon to pay. Simple games can have 9 to 243, or any other number of paylines. In some cases, they are fixed by default (eg. Dead or Alive 2), and in other slots, a player determines the number themselves (eg. Book of Dead).

When you change the number of active paylines, the bet changes accordingly, so the fewer active lines, the lower the total bet. Yet, when the line isn’t active, you won’t get wins there, so your chances are lower.

Plus, it’s worth noting Megaways slots where the game’s potential can bring up to 117,659 lines, or even more. But you can have rounds with, for example, only 5,000 ways to win. In some cases, paylines are absent and wins are formed via either clusters or Scattered symbols.

Here are some more examples of slots with a different number of paylines:

• Double Diamond (IGT) – 1 payline
• Fire Joker (Play’n GO) – 5 paylines
• Ugga Bugga (Playtech) – 10 paylines
• Sweet 27 (Play’n GO) – 27 paylines
• Jurassic World (Microgaming) – 243 paylines
• Buffalo (Aristocrat) – 1,024 paylines
• White Rabbit (BTG) – 248,832 paylines

Penny Slots

Penny slots are slot machines that allow players to place very low wagers, often as little as $0.01 per payline. However, many modern penny slots require multiple paylines to be activated, making the actual minimum bet higher than a single cent. These games are popular for their affordability and extended playtime.

Pick Me

Pick Me is a bonus feature in slot games where players select from multiple on-screen objects to reveal hidden prizes, such as cash rewards, multipliers, or free spins.

Pokies

Pokies is an informal Australian and New Zealand term for slot machines, whether physical or online.

Progressive Jackpot

This jackpot type is based on the provider’s jackpot network where the total prize pool continuously grows from each real money bet placed by any gambler playing this slot. The prize pool starts from a certain seeding amount (the minimum), so once the jackpot is hit, there is already a new prize pool which also starts growing.

Players with any real money bet can hit this prize at any time, and no one knows when the jackpot hits. The only condition is playing a slot connected to this jackpot chain. For example, Games Global (Microgaming) has Mega Moolah and WowPot jackpot pools. It’s worth noting that the main game RTP of jackpot games is below average since there is a certain contribution (eg. 5%) of each bet to the prize pool.

Progressive Slot Machines

Progressive slot machines are types of slot games where the jackpot prize increases over time as players make bets. A small percentage of each bet is added to the jackpot, which continues to grow until a lucky player hits the winning combination and claims the prize. These machines can be standalone or part of a network, with networked progressive jackpots involving multiple machines across casinos, which can lead to massive payouts. The larger the network, the bigger the potential jackpot.

Random Number Generator (RNG)

Also known as RNG, it’s one of the gambling sayings players can hear a lot. It’s a technology randomly determining the outcomes of each round you play, which makes it fair since it’s impossible to influence or predict the outcomes. You can often meet eCOGRA or iTechLabs certificates showing that the software from a certain provider is RNG-tested, which means that independent auditors control whether the games are really random and non-rigged.

Random Wilds

Unlike the case when Wilds are just a part of a paytable, Random Wilds are provided as an extra bonus during the main or the bonus games. The forms of this bonus vary, so you can experience the entire reel turning Wild, like on the Immortal Romance slot by Microgaming (Games Global) where the Wild Desire feature randomly triggers at the start of the spin and can turn up to 5 reels Wild.

Reels

These are the slot elements which spin once the game starts. They are covered by symbols which form winning combinations once the reels stop. Depending on the slot configuration, you can find 3-reel (Goblins Cave by Playtech), 5-reel (Twin Spin by NetEnt), or more complex mechanics, such as 1-2-3-2-1 on Gems and Riches by Wizard Games.

Respin

This feature triggers an extra spin which you don’t pay for. In most cases, it’s launched by bonus symbols, and they can stay locked while the other reels re-spin. Besides, re-spins are a part of the Hold & Win mechanics. For example, Respin Rhino by Lightning Box has a Lock and Respin feature and Money Train 2 by Relax Gaming has another mechanic when a re-spin is triggered when 2 bonus symbols land anywhere on the reels.

Return to Player (RTP)

We also know this characteristic as the payout rate or the payback percentage. This percentage shows how much is paid back to players in a certain game, while the rest is the house edge (the amount earned by the casino). For example, a 96% RTP means that the house edge is 4%. This way, each $4 from the $100 bet is paid to the casino, while the rest is distributed between players.

Rollover Requirements

Rollover requirements, also known as wagering requirements, refer to the amount of money a player must wager before they can withdraw bonus funds or winnings derived from bonuses in an online casino. These requirements are usually expressed as a multiple of the bonus amount. For example, if a player receives a $100 bonus with a 30x rollover requirement, they must wager $3,000 ($100 x 30) before being eligible to withdraw any winnings. Rollover requirements ensure that players engage with the casino before they can cash out bonus-related funds.

Rows

Rows refer to the horizontal lines of symbols that appear on the reels. Typically, rows are stacked vertically in a grid formation. The number of rows in a slot game can affect the game’s overall layout and payout system. For example, a slot machine with 3 rows will have three horizontal symbol spaces per reel, while some modern slots feature multiple rows that can create larger symbol combinations or more ways to win.

Scatter

Scatters are symbols that can pay regardless of their position on a payline or the slot’s grid in general. Mostly, Scatters are bonus symbols that trigger bonus rounds like free spins. For example, House of Fun by Betsoft has Jackbox symbols as Scatters, and 3 of them trigger free spins. In this case, Scatters land only in the main game, which means that the bonus round can’t be retriggered.

Scatter Pays

Unlike the case when Scatters serve as bonus symbols, Scatter pays mean that regular symbols are Scattered (can pay from any position). Some games are fully based on Scattered symbols, so the general slot’s mechanic is different. Such slots don’t have paylines, and you just need to land a certain number of the same symbols (usually, 8+) anywhere on the grid to get paid, and unlike clusters, these ones shouldn’t be adjusted. For example, Gates of Olympus by Pragmatic Play pays for 8 to 15 regular symbols of a kind landing anywhere.

Signature Slots

Signature Slots are a category of slot games uniquely designed to reflect a specific theme, style, or brand associated with a particular game provider, casino, or franchise. These slots often feature distinctive graphics, animations, and gameplay mechanics that make them stand out from other games in the same category. Signature Slots can also be based on popular TV shows, movies, or characters, which adds an extra layer of attraction for players familiar with those brands. They typically showcase the signature style of a game developer or a casino’s signature offering.

Slot Tournament

A Slot Tournament is a competitive event in online casinos where players compete against each other to achieve the highest score or win within a set period of time, typically by playing a specific slot game or a selection of slot games. Players are usually given a set number of spins or a certain amount of virtual credits to use during the tournament. The goal is to accumulate as many points as possible based on wins, combinations, or other criteria. The top players with the highest scores at the end of the tournament win prizes, which can include cash, free spins, or other rewards.

Stacked Wilds

This feature makes multiple Wild symbols land upon each other to cover the entire reel. In some cases, this can be a large Wild symbol covering the entire reel, and pretty often, such symbols are nudging or trigger additional bonus features like re-spins. One of the slots featuring such a feature is the old good Sakura Fortune by Quickspin.

Symbols

The images covering the reels are called paying symbols. Each of them has a certain value displayed in the pay table. In most cases, you need to land 3+ standard symbols or 2+ high-paying ones on a certain payline or in a cluster to get paid. In most cases, combinations are counted from left to right and the symbols should be adjusted to each other.

The amount you can win varies depending on your bet since the symbol’s multiplier will be applied to your current bet. For example, on the Fire Archer slot by Pragmatic Play, the most valuable symbol is the main character who pays 2x, 6x, or 20x for 3, 4, or 5 symbols on a payline (or $2, $6, and $20 at a $1 bet per spin).

Besides, slots can have bonus symbols like Scatters, Wilds, and different modifications like Super Wilds.

Tumbling Reels

As well as Cascades or the Avalanche mechanic, Tumbling Reels mean that winning symbols disappear and the round continues when upper symbols land and form more winning combinations. This way, you have a chance to form a long chain of winning combinations within a single spin. In some cases, the option is progressive, and each new combination has a higher multiplier. Tropical Tiki by Pragmatic Play is one of the slots with the Tumbling Reels feature.

Video Slots

Such real money slots are advanced in terms of theme, graphics, animation, and sound effects. Their features are just engaging, so you can try out varied modifiers of traditional features like free spins.

Volatility

It’s also known as variance or risk. This characteristic shows whether the game is paying frequently and whether the winning amounts are large. Low volatility means that the slot is paying frequently yet the wins are small. High volatility is, vice versa, for slots with infrequent yet large wins. And medium volatility is the middle ground between these two qualities.

Mainly, high rollers prefer high volatility slots, while careful players and newbies will enjoy low and medium levels. Interestingly, these levels can merge to form low-medium or medium-high scores.

Ways to Win

Some slots have not just a certain number of paylines but a wide range of diversified ways to win (such as Megaways). This means that a game can support a wide range of possible winning combinations. For example, Buffalo by Aristocrat has 1,024 ways to win. As for the Megaways slots, they can activate up to 117,649 ways to win or even more.

Wild

This bonus symbol can substitute for other standard symbols once it lands in a combination which lacks a certain symbol to bring a winning. Pretty often, such symbols have extra options, such as a 2x multiplier, an opportunity to launch re-spins, and more. As for the types of bonus symbols, you can meet the following variations:

• Roaming Wild
• Expanding Wild
• Walking Wild
• Stacked Wild

Win Both Ways

Win Both Ways is a feature in slot games where winning combinations can be formed from both the left to right and right to left on the reels. This increases the potential for wins, as players can achieve winning combinations in either direction, rather than just the traditional left-to-right paylines. It enhances the game’s excitement and offers more chances for payouts during gameplay.