Slots

Slots are so called because you put your money into a slot in the machine.  They are also called one armed bandits - one armed because they traditionally had (and often still do have) a lever on the side of a machine to operate it.  Bandit comes from the unlucky players who lost money to the machine.

They are extremely popular, especially for novice gamblers, due to their simplicity; put your money in, press a button (or pull a lever) and see if you win.  They are also popular due to the incredible amounts which can be won with a tiny stake.

$39.7 million dollars - the highest amount won on a Vegas slot machine

The Basics

They consist of at least 3 reels which each contain symbols.  When you place your bet and press the button these reels spin around and come to a stop. If you match several symbols then you win some money.

Betting on Lines

Most machines offer the option to bet on several lines at once so that you can match symbols on the top, middle or bottom lines, and also diagonal lines.  Some machines have ad hoc lines which you can bet on.  The more lines you select the higher your stake because you bet on each line as a separate bet.

It is recognised that you are better to bet on the maximum number of lines because if more than one line has matching symbols on then this acts as an accumulator - you win more than you would if you had bet on one line twice and won twice.

Slot machines can be played by players of any experience as they are so simple to use