How To Play Slots Online A Beginners Guide: Rules & Tips

You’ll find hundreds of classic slots, pop-culture-themed slots, progressive jackpot slots, and slots with bonus games and free spin features at every online casino.

They’re mostly the same slots you play at live casinos, but there’s tons more to explore online. Here’s where you can learn how to play real money online slots more effectively.

Types of slots

Classic three- and five-reel slots

• How they work: These are online video versions of traditional one-armed bandits. You spin reels full of symbols and get lucky if the right symbols line up across any of the paylines.
• Signature reel slots: Double Diamond, Triple Red Hot 777, Da Vinci Diamonds
• Basics of gameplay: Set your bet, click spin, and get lucky.
• Secret to know: Bet the max to ensure access to every payline.
• Things to avoid: Don’t play minimum bets, so you don’t miss out on paylines.

Multi-payline slots

• How they work: These classic and modern slots offer more paylines and ways to win. You spin reels full of symbols and get lucky if the right symbols line up across any paylines, but more paylines are available.
• Signature multi-payline slots: 88 Fortunes, Rainbow Riches, Bonanza Megaways
• Basics of gameplay: Set your bet, click spin, and get lucky.
• Secret to know: Bet the max to ensure access to every additional payline.
• Things to avoid: Again, don’t get caught up in minimum bets, which could mean missing out on additional paylines.

Progressive jackpot slots

• How they work: These slots award progressive jackpots randomly or through bonus games. You spin reels full of symbols and get lucky if the right symbols line up across any of the paylines. Gain access to bonus games that may offer a chance at the progressive jackpot by landing bonus and scatter symbols. These slots siphon a percentage of every bet for the progressive jackpot, and the jackpot grows with every bet until it’s won.
• Signature progressive jackpot slots: Mega Fortune, Divine Fortune, Mercy of the Gods
• Basics of gameplay: Set your bet, click spin, and get lucky. Gain access to bonus games that may offer a chance at the progressive jackpot by landing bonus and scatter symbols.
• Secret to know: Bet the max to ensure access to every payline and the possibility of winning the progressive jackpot.
• Things to avoid: Minimum bets could mean missing out on paylines and a shot at the progressive jackpot.

Bonus game and free spin slots

• How they work: These slots randomly award access to bonus games and free spins features. You spin reels full of symbols and get lucky if the right symbols line up across any of the paylines. Gain access to bonus games and free spin features that may offer jackpots, multipliers, and bigger wins by landing bonus and scatter symbols. Bonus games traditionally include wheel bonuses, hold bonuses, and pick’em games. Free spins let you spin free and may include various multipliers, expanding reels, extra wilds, and other bonuses.
• Signature bonus game and free spin slots: Wheel of Fortune, Cleopatra, Blood Suckers II
• Basics of gameplay: Set your bet, click spin, and get lucky. Gain access to bonus games and free spin features by landing bonus and scatter symbols.
• Secret to know: Bet the max to ensure access to every payline and the possibility of access to bonus games and free spins features.
• Things to avoid: Avoid minimum bets and missing out on paylines or a shot at the bonus games and free spins features.

What are paylines?

Paylines are the different paths across the reels on which you hope similar symbols align. That’s how you win when playing slots.

You win more or less depending on the value of the symbols and how many you can line up across the slot’s paylines. You can book multiple wins on the same spin, lining up the correct symbols across more than one payline.

Some slots have more paylines than others. Plus, you can often choose the number of paylines in play with each spin when you set your bet. Playing the maximum number of paylines makes sense because it increases your chances of winning.

What are the minimum and maximum bets on online slots?

You can play online slots for pennies or hundreds of dollars per spin. Some of the classics feature set bet amounts and fixed paylines. You play for that set amount per spin, win if you get lucky, and line up the correct symbols across any of the specified numbers of paylines.

However, most modern online slots will allow you to choose how much you want to bet on each spin. In setting your bet, you can often pick the number of paylines in play. Typically, you’ll select a coin value and a play level or a number of paylines. Multiply these values, and that’s your total bet per spin.

Play the maximum coin level or number of paylines, and you’re guaranteed access to every available payline and the possibility of entry into bonus games, free spin features, and a shot at the progressive jackpot (if there is one).

Meanwhile, with the minimum coin level comes a sense of safety. You’ll lose the minimum, but you won’t be giving yourself the best chance to win. Plus, more often than not, you must bet more than the minimum to have any shot at any bonus games, free spins features, jackpots, and progressive jackpots.

What is RTP?

Return to player (RTP) rates partially indicate your chances of winning on a slot. Generally, the higher a slot’s RTP, the better your chances. However, RTP is no guarantee. Instead, RTP gives you an idea of how much of the money put into a game that players can expect to win back over the long haul.

Let’s take NetEnt’s Mega Fortune as an example. It’s a popular progressive jackpot slot with a bonus wheel game and a 96.6% RTP. Betting the maximum amount gives you a better shot at one of the three progressive jackpots in the bonus wheel game. However, you can still win a progressive jackpot by betting the game’s $0.25 minimum.

Mega Fortune’s 96.6% RTP tells you it will pay back 96.6 cents of every dollar put into it over time. That doesn’t mean that you’re going to get back 96.6 cents of every dollar during your time spinning. This is a long-term calculation. It applies to the life of the slot and all players who use it.

Let’s say you and 999 other players all put $100 into the game. That’s $100,000, and the group as a whole can expect to win $96,600 back. But let’s also say one of the players wins a $90,000 jackpot. That leaves just $6,600 the rest of the group can expect to win back.

A few players might book small wins, but on the whole, the RTP will be eaten up by that one big jackpot win, leaving most of the group as net losers in the game.

Still, you want to play slots with the bigger RTPs because they give you and the group of players that play them a better chance to win.

Check out our Highest RTP slots page for examples of these games.

3 simple slots strategy tips

When you play slots, you must first accept that no proven strategy will help you win. The outcome of every spin is random, making slots all luck and no skill. No skill means no strategy. Getting used to slots by playing on sweepstakes casinos in is a great way of refining your strategy.

However, by choosing higher RTP slots, learning how they operate, and betting the right amounts, you can be better positioned to get lucky. In fact, you can quickly improve your slot play by following these simple tips.

1. Read the rules

Every slot publishes a complete set of rules with pay tables. These tell you how the game works, what symbols you’re looking to land, where the paylines are, how the bonus games work, and how much you might win. Hence, understanding the rules and pay tables is the first step toward winning.

2. Set the right bet

The second step is adjusting your bet accordingly. Quite often, you can toggle the paylines and coin value. More paylines and bigger bets often mean more ways to win. You can set your bet smaller if the rules say you’re still eligible for all paylines, prizes, and bonus features. Just remember, smaller bets mean smaller losses but also smaller wins. Of course, you should always gamble within your personal and financial comfort zone.

3. Max bet

More often than not, you must bet the maximum amount allowed for access to every available payline and a shot at bonus games, free spin features, and a chance to win the progressive jackpot (if applicable). Some slots even tell you the more you bet, the better your chances of winning. Add that to the fact that bigger bets equal bigger wins, and betting the max improves your odds of winning and winning big.

How to sign up and play

Here’s a guide on how to sign up for an account and play your favorite online slots.

• Step 1: Click any of our links to visit one of the best online casinos.
• Step 2: Click the registration tab on the licensed casino’s website.
• Step 3: Fill out the registration forms with all required info, including any bonus or promo code.
• Step 4: Provide the online casino with a copy of your ID to get verified. This will help prevent fraud and ensure access to fast withdrawals.
• Step 5: Make a deposit using one of the available banking methods, ranging from services like PayPal to your credit cards.
• Step 6: Click the slots tab.
• Step 7: Pick a slot and click on its game tile.
• Step 8: Read through the slot’s rules and paytable under the info tab.
• Step 9: Set your bet, click spin, and get lucky.

Check out our Slots page for an example of the slots you might want to play.