Slots, fruit machines, reels and variance part I

12 Feb 2010

By David Newstead

It's all very confusing, these slots, reels, paylines and so on. Add fruit machines - or are they AWPs? – and progressives to the mix and the result is confusing to say the least. I often encounter questions at my slot games website about the difference and which people should play. So I recently wrote an FAQ which I thought could be useful to summarise here...in two parts. Yeah, who would have thought slots and fruit machines were so complicated? Anyway, this first part covers the basics, the second will examine why you should choose a slot over a fruit machine, and vice versa.

Okay, the basics: Reels are the cylinders on slots and fruit machines that contain the game's symbols. Offline, the frequency on which the cylinder contains certain symbols determines the value of the symbol itself, with the most infrequent being the most valuable when lined up. Online, the appearance of certain symbols is determined by a RNG, or Random Number Generator. Though this may take the fun out of it for some, rest assured that RNGs in online slots have a better payout percentage for players than their offline counterparts. We'll cover payout percentages later…

Paylines: these are metaphysical lines that run across the reels. Paylines can vary for each slot machine, ranging from 1 to 100 different ways of winning. Normally 3 or more matching symbols that run along a selected payline result in a win. However, none matching combinations can still result in wins when affected by a feature or bonus.

Right, features and bonuses: some slots and fruit machines contain qualities that increase the chances of winning. The most common is the wild symbol feature. The wild is capable of substituting itself for symbols missing from a potentially winning combination. In doing so it will make you win more and more frequently, which, let's face it, is really rather good.

Scatter symbols are those symbols that do not need to appear in any sequential order, only needing to be visible on the reels. Nearly always guaranteeing a payout, where the more scatters hit equal greater wins, these symbols are also the trigger to bonuses. There are two types of bonuses. Originating from differing parts of the world and therefore a cultural preference, Australians traditionally prefer bonuses based on free spins, whereas Americans have a penchant for off screen bonus games – usually pick object x from an array of objects. These are the key to triggering jackpots in many modern online video slots.

Overall, bear in mind that online slots have payout percentages roughly between 93-96%, so slots with and without bonuses will all ultimately produce the same odds of winning. The difference is how frequently and how much. Your choice boils down to your character, whether you prefer a game that wins often but not much, or one where you win rarely but when you do, you really do! It is this that is known as variance. Generally low variance are those slots without bonuses, where the wins are moderate but frequent, with no huge bonuses that suddenly pay out huge amounts that have to be accommodated for in the payout percentages. Anyway, if high variance and big, sudden wins are your cup of tea then maybe progressive slots are the games for you…

Progressives: These are the beasts of the slot world. They have side pots attached to the regular game that build with every bet. Sometimes it's just a fraction of the bet added to the prizepool, sometimes more – the result is a range of jackpot slots that have guaranteed payouts between £10,000 or up to £1,000,000. However, these grow until they're won and have, amazingly, produced wins as great as €6,000,000 before (see Mega Moolah!!)

Slots I recommend: low variance – Avalon. High variance – Cashville and somewhere in the middle – Thunderstruck. For those in the know, yes, I do like Microgaming slots and their online casino software generally.

Variance isn't such an issue with fruit machines, but we'll come to them and the difference between those games and slots in part II. Until then have fun and good luck at your chosen casino games.

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	Slots, fruit machines, reels and variance part I 12 Feb 2010 By David Newstead It's all very confusing, these slots, reels, paylines and so on. Add fruit machines - or are they AWPs? – and progressives to the mix and the result is confusing to say the least. I often encounter questions at my slot games website about the difference and which people should play. So I recently wrote an FAQ which I thought could be useful to summarise here...in two parts. Yeah, who would have thought slots and fruit machines were so complicated? Anyway, this first part covers the basics, the second will examine why you should choose a slot over a fruit machine, and vice versa. Okay, the basics: Reels are the cylinders on slots and fruit machines that contain the game's symbols. Offline, the frequency on which the cylinder contains certain symbols determines the value of the symbol itself, with the most infrequent being the most valuable when lined up. Online, the appearance of certain symbols is determined by a RNG, or Random Number Generator. Though this may take the fun out of it for some, rest assured that RNGs in online slots have a better payout percentage for players than their offline counterparts. We'll cover payout percentages later… Paylines: these are metaphysical lines that run across the reels. Paylines can vary for each slot machine, ranging from 1 to 100 different ways of winning. Normally 3 or more matching symbols that run along a selected payline result in a win. However, none matching combinations can still result in wins when affected by a feature or bonus. Right, features and bonuses: some slots and fruit machines contain qualities that increase the chances of winning. The most common is the wild symbol feature. The wild is capable of substituting itself for symbols missing from a potentially winning combination. In doing so it will make you win more and more frequently, which, let's face it, is really rather good. Scatter symbols are those symbols that do not need to appear in any sequential order, only needing to be visible on the reels. Nearly always guaranteeing a payout, where the more scatters hit equal greater wins, these symbols are also the trigger to bonuses. There are two types of bonuses. Originating from differing parts of the world and therefore a cultural preference, Australians traditionally prefer bonuses based on free spins, whereas Americans have a penchant for off screen bonus games – usually pick object x from an array of objects. These are the key to triggering jackpots in many modern online video slots. Overall, bear in mind that online slots have payout percentages roughly between 93-96%, so slots with and without bonuses will all ultimately produce the same odds of winning. The difference is how frequently and how much. Your choice boils down to your character, whether you prefer a game that wins often but not much, or one where you win rarely but when you do, you really do! It is this that is known as variance. Generally low variance are those slots without bonuses, where the wins are moderate but frequent, with no huge bonuses that suddenly pay out huge amounts that have to be accommodated for in the payout percentages. Anyway, if high variance and big, sudden wins are your cup of tea then maybe progressive slots are the games for you… Progressives: These are the beasts of the slot world. They have side pots attached to the regular game that build with every bet. Sometimes it's just a fraction of the bet added to the prizepool, sometimes more – the result is a range of jackpot slots that have guaranteed payouts between £10,000 or up to £1,000,000. However, these grow until they're won and have, amazingly, produced wins as great as €6,000,000 before (see Mega Moolah!!) Slots I recommend: low variance – Avalon. High variance – Cashville and somewhere in the middle – Thunderstruck. For those in the know, yes, I do like Microgaming slots and their online casino software generally. Variance isn't such an issue with fruit machines, but we'll come to them and the difference between those games and slots in part II. Until then have fun and good luck at your chosen casino games.