Many novices who lack experience of spinning the reels wrongly assume that playing slots is simply a matter of hitting the Spin button or pulling the lever and then waiting for the outcome. While slots are indeed rather simple in terms of gameplay, understanding their features and how they work is a key factor if players wish to generate larger profits.
One of the first things slot novices are advised to consider when choosing an online slot is the number of paylines with which the chosen variant is equipped. The number of paylines makes a significant difference to how the slot is played and how much each spin will cost you. Read on to find more detailed information about what slot paylines are and how they work.
How Online Slots’ Paylines Work
Back in the day, when slots were first introduced to the gambling industry, they featured only three reels and a single payline that was usually positioned across the centre of the reels.
It goes without saying that slots have come a long way since then, as players’ choices are no longer limited to games where the winning opportunities are restricted and the symbols that can appear on the reels are limited exclusively to fruits or lucky sevens.
Thanks to rapid advances in technology over the past decades, this is no longer the case. Gambling software developers now experiment with the features of slots, adding more and more paylines to their creations. The unceasing interest of gambling enthusiasts is also responsible for the multitude of slots, as software developers go out of their way to satisfy the ever-increasing demand.
The profusion of slots available to casino enthusiasts is almost endless; the themes come from all walks of life, and so do the bonus games. No two games are alike in terms of graphics, animations or sound effects, meaning that players are likely to find a title that meets their requirements whenever they feel like betting on slots.
But let us get down to brass tacks and shed some light on what slot paylines are all about.
The term “payline” refers to the lines on which payouts are awarded on the basis of winning combinations. In other words, the number of paylines incorporated into a given online slot corresponds to the number of ways in which gambling enthusiasts can score a win after they set the reels in motion. Therefore, the more paylines the slot features, the greater the chances for players to score a win. For the sake of simplicity, slots’ paylines can be described as a line on which certain combinations of matching icons must appear so that players can collect a payout.
The number of paylines incorporated into modern online slots can sometimes exceed 100, but most titles feature between 20 and 25 lines. The paylines of modern slots are no longer only horizontal; they may also be vertical, diagonal, or take on zigzagging or V shapes.
Players should be mindful of the fact that the number of symbols a win line can contain is not the same for all slots. When classic slots are concerned, they generally come with a 3×3 reel grid and a single payline. What this means is that players will get a payout when three identical symbols appear on the single payline.
However, this is not the case with the majority of modern slots, where extra reels and win lines are added to the mix. Most commonly, slots come with five reels and four rows. The number of win lines in such games varies considerably, but in most cases it is between 20 and 40.
Getting familiar with the way in which paylines function is likely to be a breeze even for total rookies. As is often the case with present-day slots, players are likely to encounter games in which payouts are awarded from the leftmost reel to the right.
This means that players will receive a payout provided identical symbols land consecutively on the first, second, third and fourth reels. Therefore, even if matching symbols align on all reels except the first, no payout will be awarded.
Multi-payline Slots
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Progressive Slots
243 Ways to Win Slots System
Wild and Scatter Symbols
Typically, casino enthusiasts receive a payout provided that at least two symbols are connected. Fortunately, the majority of multi-payline slots enable players to complete winning combinations far more easily, thanks to the presence of wild symbols.
It should be noted that multi-payline slots do not necessarily outdo their classic cousins in terms of winning potential or gameplay. Still, in terms of bonus features, slots with multiple paylines are usually equipped with more thrilling and rewarding extras, which helps explain why they tend to attract more attention.
Slots with Adjustable Paylines
The approach to paylines has changed dramatically, and today slot games can feature either adjustable or fixed win lines. Many of the most popular slot titles offer adjustable paylines, meaning that players must set their coin value, choose how many coins to wager per active line, and then select the paylines they wish to activate. Thus, if you set your coin value to £0.01 and intend to bet one coin per line on 25 active paylines, each spin will cost £0.25.
The increased number of paylines greatly improves players’ chances of landing a winning combination. It is possible to hit winning combinations on several lines during the same spin, and if this happens, you will be paid accordingly. Players can easily check the available paylines, their respective payouts and how they appear on the reels by opening the game’s paytable, where such information is readily available. The paytable also includes information on the lowest- and highest-paying symbols in the game.
However, if you land a winning combination on a payline that you have deactivated, you will not collect a payout. It is important to mention that in most cases, paylines on online slots pay for winning combinations that form from left to right. Nevertheless, software developers have introduced more advanced slots where winning combinations pay in both directions, from left to right and from right to left.
As is the case with most slots that have adjustable win lines, players are usually presented with three buttons to help them decide on the number of paylines they wish to wager on.
Occasionally, there will be a button that allows players to bet on just one win line. This is the most straightforward option, and choosing it means you will be awarded a payout only if identical symbols land on the payline that runs through the middle row.
Another option players are likely to encounter while revelling in a slot with modifiable paylines is the Bet Max button. Obviously, hitting this will activate all paylines for the next spin.
It is not unusual to come across slots in which the paylines are numbered. Typically, players can activate or deactivate individual paylines simply by clicking on the numbers located on both sides of the reel grid. It is essential to remember that the amount you need to stake will grow as more win lines are set in motion.
Online Slots with Fixed Paylines
Some slots do not allow players to adjust the number of active paylines; these are said to have “fixed” paylines. As the term itself suggests, all available paylines are automatically activated, and players have no option but to play them all. The only adjustable elements are the coin value and the number of coins you wish to bet per line.
At first glance, slots with fixed paylines may appear to disadvantage players, but this is not necessarily the case. Such online slots typically feature bonus games and rounds of free spins to compensate for players being forced to bet on all paylines.
With these slots, players are likely to encounter lucrative features such as stacked and expanding wild symbols that can further boost their profits. Please note that on some occasions, players must bet more than the minimum stake to unlock the bonus games and free-spin rounds on slots with fixed paylines. Because of this, such slots may be unsuitable for some players, especially those who have more modest bankrolls at their disposal.
Online Slots with Win Both Ways Format
Online slots with paylines that pay both ways are extremely popular because they provide twice as many ways to win compared with slots where payouts are awarded from the leftmost to the rightmost reel.
There are hardly any deviations in gameplay, and players are not expected to do anything differently to benefit from the win-both-ways feature.
As already mentioned, a large proportion of online slots feature a specific number of paylines that pay out whenever a winning combination is formed from left to right on the reels. Players are often frustrated when they fail to collect a payout simply because they have landed a winning combination in the opposite direction, with symbols matching from right to left.
Win-both-ways slots aim to eliminate this drawback. On such slots, winning combinations are generated in both directions, from right to left and left to right. On some online slots, the win-both-ways feature is active only during free-spin rounds, while winning combinations in the base game pay out only when identical symbols match on the paylines from left to right. Typically, the payouts remain the same regardless of the direction in which the winning symbols match. Please note that in the majority of cases, players will score a win provided that at least two identical icons have appeared on one of the paylines.
The lines on win-both-ways slots are not actually mirrored when you land a winning combination from right to left. The only condition is that the winning symbols appear in consecutive order.
Such online slots are among the most sought-after titles because they offer more winning opportunities and spare players the frustration that results from near misses on regular “one-way” slots.
However, players should bear in mind that the odds on win-both-ways slots are often adjusted to compensate for the introduction of this lucrative feature. Players might notice that winning combinations appear less frequently on such games or, if they are frequent, that they offer smaller payouts. In some cases, if a wild symbol lands towards the middle of the line, players are awarded only the larger of the two prizes, which partially diminishes the value of the win-both-ways feature.
If you intend to play a slot that provides payouts in both directions, be aware that such games occasionally do not allow players to adjust the number of win lines, as all lines are automatically switched on.
Some of the most well-known multi-payline slots that award payouts in both directions are Siberian Storm, The Catfather, and Starburst, among others.
Cluster Pay Slots
While searching for a multi-payline slot that ticks all your boxes, you might also come across games featuring the so-called cluster-pay feature. This is common in the NetEnt library, and what is specific about these games is that they are devoid of traditional paylines and payouts are awarded when matching symbols form a cluster.
The first slot to introduce this twist to traditional paylines was Aloha!, a Hawaii-inspired video slot.
While playing this game, players receive a payout whenever they see a cluster of at least nine matching symbols. In this slot, a symbol is included in a cluster provided that the same symbol lies vertically or horizontally adjacent to it.
Other slots that pay in this way include Emoji Planet, Lost Relics, The Legend of Shangri-La and Twin Spin Deluxe.
All Ways to Win Online Slots
Leading software developers such as Microgaming have introduced the so-called all-ways-to-win games, in which the concept of paylines is eliminated altogether. There is still a specific number of winning combinations that pay out, but there are no paylines as such.
In such games, all symbols, from the most lucrative to the lowest-paying, assume the role of scatter symbols. Players collect a payout each time they hit a winning combination from left to right, regardless of the line on which the symbols appear. A payout is awarded as long as the player lands winning symbols on adjacent reels.
Popular titles in this category include Battlestar Galactica, The Dark Knight Rises, Thunderstruck II, Terminator 2 and Game of Thrones.
243 Ways to Win Slots
Over the past few years, software providers have experimented with nearly every aspect of slots, including how payouts are awarded. This led to the introduction of slots in which winning is possible in 243 different ways.
Basically, games with this format work in much the same way as other slots, the most obvious difference being that the option to switch paylines on and off is unavailable. Another important point is that players will receive a payout no matter where on the screen matching symbols appear.
Such slots are firm fan favourites, and their popularity can be attributed to the multitude of ways in which players can collect a payout. An important detail not to overlook with these slots is that they occasionally have low variance. This means that players should expect a handful of bigger wins and a greater number of modest yet frequent rewards.
Yet keep in mind that playing slots which offer 243 ways to win is not a guaranteed route to massive payouts, as many players wrongly believe.
At present, this is one of the most common win formats, and it is characterised by three symbol positions on each of the five reels (3x3x3x3x3).
Some of the most popular slots with this format include Immortal Romance, Reels Gems, Medusa II and Twin Spins, among others.
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The popularity of such slots did not take off, which is why players will not encounter many games offering this win format. What is specific about slots of this kind is that the number of icons that can appear on the reels differs, unlike the win formats mentioned above.
In these slots, the first and last reels feature three icons each, while the second and fourth reels feature four icons each. The middle reel, on the other hand, is furnished with five icons.
Occasionally, such slots pay in both directions, and players will be paid out regardless of where identical icons have landed, provided they appear on adjacent reels. One of the most prominent providers of this type of slot is IGT.
1,024 Ways to Win Slots
If you are looking to try slots that award prizes in 1,024 different ways, you should check out games supplied by Yggdrasil, IGT or Microgaming, among others.
A slot that offers 1,024 ways to win has four symbol positions on each of its five reels (4x4x4x4x4).
One distinctive trait of these games is that payouts are typically awarded from the leftmost to the rightmost reel. In addition, players win a prize provided they see three or more identical symbols in a row.
The massive winning potential of such slots is undoubtedly one of the main reasons for their popularity. If you find such games appealing, you might want to try titles such as Gorilla Kingdom, Lion Blitz, Lost Temple, Battle Heroes and Lucky Kiwi, among others.
3,125 Ways to Win Slots
Slots that offer payouts in 3,125 ways have also started to gain momentum among players, which is hardly surprising given the mind-boggling number of ways in which a win can be scored. What is specific about such slots is that they are equipped with 6 reels, each of which contains 5 icons.
Interestingly, the first software provider to create such slots was Microgaming. Its Dolphin Coast slot is likely to impress with the staggering prizes it offers, along with free-spin rounds and multipliers.
NetEnt has also created such slots, with Reel Rush being a fan-favourite title. One peculiarity of this slot is that the 3,125-ways-to-win format is available only once the free-spins feature is activated. The same can also occur thanks to the Avalanche feature, which makes symbols explode.
Megaways Slots
As a creator of casino content with an enviable track record, Big Time Gaming is predominantly known for its Megaways slots. What makes these games stand out is that the number of icons on each reel can differ, which is possible thanks to the random reel modifier. The introduction of this technology is a breakthrough because it allows players to enjoy games in which they can land a win in up to 100,000 ways.
Each reel of these slots can contain between two and seven icons, and winning combinations can appear from the leftmost to the rightmost reel. The minimum number of identical symbols required to receive a prize is three.
The mind-blowing number of ways to win is not the only reason why Megaways slots are so popular. Their in-game features, such as unlimited multipliers, cascading reels, bonus buy and mystery symbols, are also unlikely to go unnoticed.
Choosing the Number of Paylines to Play
Players are advised to select the number of paylines carefully, as this can have a major impact on their bankroll and the profits they might generate. It is important to remember that each payline on a given slot can be considered a separate bet, meaning that each active line will cost players one additional coin of their chosen value.
Before placing a bet, players should check the slot’s paytable to see which symbols pay the most and how many icons are needed to secure a payout.
If entertainment is your main goal and you have a smaller bankroll, you can activate only some of the paylines and thus extend the time you spend playing the game. However, playing only one or two lines significantly decreases your chances of landing a winning combination.
Nevertheless, if you have a modest bankroll, you should refrain from betting multiple high-value coins on all available paylines, especially if there are more than 25 of them.
Playing the maximum number of paylines is likely to deplete your bankroll more rapidly. If you play 25 lines and bet £1.00 per payline, each spin will cost £25.00. If you have set aside £100 for the session, you might exhaust your entire bankroll in just four spins. Bear in mind that losing on four consecutive spins is not unlikely when playing slots, especially those with higher volatility.
Still, we do not want to talk you out of betting on all win lines or opting for the maximum bet amount. Players are advised to activate all paylines and wager multiple coins per line only if they are comfortable with losing that amount per spin or if they have a substantial bankroll.
It is important to note that players are advised to place the maximum bet whenever they play progressive slots, as this will make them eligible for the colossal prize. If you are not determined to chase the life-changing prize, you had better stick to smaller bets. You can either reduce the coin value and the number of coins you bet per line, or choose to activate fewer paylines. At the end of the day, it all depends on the size of your bankroll and your goals when playing slots online.
