Many changes have been made to the way slots look and feel. Today, players can benefit from dramatically refined designs and visuals, which translate into a far more engaging and enjoyable experience. Significant improvements have also been introduced to slots’ special features, as software providers continue to break new ground by tweaking ordinary elements and taking them to a whole new level.
Back in the day, slots typically offered only a single payline, spread horizontally across the reels, which meant just one possible winning combination per spin. However, technological advances have led to the emergence of slots with multiple paylines, which significantly increase the number of winning combinations. In most cases, multi-payline slots feature at least nine lines, but the number can sometimes exceed one hundred. Today, paylines can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, zigzagging, or V-shaped.
Selecting the number of paylines and multipliers to play is a crucial aspect of every experienced slot player’s strategy. If you are not familiar with how slot paylines and multipliers work, we suggest you read the following article.
Selecting the Number of Active Paylines
Choosing the number of paylines to play often depends on the type of slot you have selected. In some games, the number of active paylines is fixed, meaning you cannot deactivate any lines; instead, you must play all of them on every spin. The total number of paylines in these slots can vary greatly from one title to another. In such cases, the only parameters players can adjust are the coin value and the number of coins they wish to bet per line.
Conversely, if you choose to play a slot with a progressive jackpot, you will be required to place the maximum bet and activate all paylines if you want to qualify for the life-changing prize. Should you deactivate some lines and still hit the winning combination, you will not be eligible for the progressive jackpot and will receive a smaller payout instead.
On some video slots, you can adjust the number of active paylines. First, select your coin value and decide how many coins to bet on each active line. For example, if you choose a coin value of £0.02 and bet two coins on a slot with twenty active paylines, you will wager a total of £0.40 per spin. Please note that you can win only on the paylines you have activated; if a winning combination appears on a deactivated line, you will not receive a payout.
Some players prefer to activate only a portion of the paylines and bet two or three coins on each. This approach suits those who do not play progressive slots and therefore are not required to place the maximum bet on every line. It is also recommended when the slot’s bonus symbols do not need to land on active paylines to unlock bonus rounds or other special features. In this way, players can keep their bankrolls in check.
It is important to remember that the number of paylines you activate does not affect the game’s payback percentage; it remains the same whether you play ten or twenty lines. Moreover, every spin is governed by a Random Number Generator, so winning combinations do not occur more frequently on one line than on twenty lines.
If bonus symbols must land on an active payline to trigger special features, it is advisable to activate as many lines as you can afford. After all, bonus features account for about one-third of the payback on most multi-line slots. For this reason, consider playing all available lines – even with just one coin per line – as this allows you to benefit from bonus rounds and other lucrative features and potentially bag larger prizes.
Alternatively, you could activate all available paylines and stake two or more low-value coins per line, provided this remains within your budget. Playing all paylines increases your chances of hitting multiple winning combinations simultaneously and spares you the frustration of seeing a win appear on a deactivated line. Nevertheless, many players consider this strategy unsuitable because it can deplete funds quickly.
As mentioned earlier, slots have advanced greatly since their early days. When video slots first gained popularity, they typically featured a maximum of five reels arranged in much the same way. Most offered three horizontal paylines, while the remaining two were V-shaped – one of which was inverted.
That is certainly no longer the case, as most modern slots can offer up to 50 paylines, and sometimes even more. Their structures have also evolved; today, you will find paylines that follow zig-zag, vertical, or horizontal patterns.
Naturally, having more win lines benefits players by providing a wider range of betting options and increasing the likelihood of forming winning combinations.
Because modern slots provide far more possibilities than single-line machines, their volatility also varies considerably.
Low-volatility slots allow for longer sessions, as they tend to award frequent but smaller payouts. Conversely, slots packed with multiple bonus features and the potential for hefty wins are usually at the higher end of the volatility spectrum.
These games are far from harmless, as they can award massive payouts; however, they can also drain your bankroll more quickly.
Before you start playing, remember that whether you spin the reels online or in a land-based casino, the payouts you can expect are proportional to the amount staked per win line.
Slots Without Paylines and All Ways Win Slots
Developers that specialise in slot creation go to great lengths to capture players’ attention, so it is unsurprising that these games have undergone numerous improvements and modifications over the years.
The introduction of all-ways-pay slots has caused quite a stir among casino enthusiasts, reinventing the way slots are played. Unlike traditional games in which matching icons must align on an active payline, all-ways slots pay out whenever identical symbols appear on neighbouring reels.
In most cases, players receive a payout only when the matching symbols appear from the leftmost to the rightmost reel, regardless of the line they form. In other words, win lines are eliminated altogether.
The symbols in these slots function similarly to scatter symbols, which also award payouts regardless of their positions.
Rules and Basics
Slot Types
Choosing Online Slots
Line Number and Multiplier
Classic Online Slots
Although the most common all-ways format offers 243 ways to win, players can now enjoy slots that pay in 720, 1,024, or even 3,125 different ways. Naturally, these games dramatically increase the chances of landing a winning combination.
However, this vast winning potential comes at a price: players must stake more to take full advantage of it.
While exploring the diverse range of slots, you may also encounter games that pay not only from left to right but also in the opposite direction; these are known as both-ways-pay slots.
Aristocrat Technologies was a trailblazer in this area, effectively turning slot play on its head by integrating the mechanics of scatter symbols into the core gameplay. Branded as Reel Power, the concept has since been adopted by many leading slot developers.
Although these slots use the multiple-ways-to-win format rather than conventional paylines, their distinctive feature is that players purchase reels, not extra lines.
Players usually have the option to activate between one and five reels. Even if you choose not to purchase all five, you can still win on the central reel.
If you do purchase all five reels, winning icons must appear on adjacent reels from right to left for a payout. Importantly, the exact positions of the symbols are irrelevant; you will be paid whether the matching icons appear on the middle, top, or bottom rows.
It is also worth noting that free spins are the most common special feature in Reel Power slots.
Choosing a Multiplier
Multipliers are another common feature of advanced video slots. As the name suggests, they boost winnings by a given factor. Typically, multipliers are easy to recognise because they are represented by a number followed by an “x”, indicating the size of the multiplier.
Many modern slots provide a Level setting that players can adjust according to their preferences and goals. If you choose a coin value of £0.05 and set the Level to 2 on a slot with 20 paylines, you will bet two coins per line – £1.00 per spin. It is advisable to adjust the coins per line and coin value in line with your bankroll. Betting ten coins per line at the maximum coin value, for instance, could exhaust your funds rapidly.
Base Game Multipliers
Multipliers during base play are relatively uncommon, but they do exist. They are usually attached to specific winning combinations, meaning that whenever you land such a combination, your win is multiplied two, three, four, or five times. For example, landing five identical pineapple symbols with a 5x multiplier would award five times your original stake.
Bear in mind that base-game multipliers are usually smaller; larger multipliers would erode the built-in house edge.
Bonus Games and Free Spins Multipliers
Multipliers appear more frequently during bonus games and free spins, where they can dramatically boost your winnings. Their presence during free-spins rounds also enhances the entertainment value of the slot.
Sometimes players are invited to select multipliers hidden behind special symbols during a free-spins round. This gives the impression of control over the outcome and adds to the overall thrill.
When this mechanic is used, multipliers usually operate on a sliding scale: the more free spins you receive, the lower the multiplier is likely to be. The number of free spins awarded varies widely, but is commonly 5, 10, 15, 20, or even 50.
Wild and Scatter Multipliers
As already noted, the primary function of wild symbols is to substitute for other missing icons on the reels, helping players complete winning combinations. For instance, if three wilds appear at once, they may enable three separate wins.
In some games, wild symbols also come with multipliers. Suppose you are playing a slot where pineapples act as wilds and carry a 3x multiplier. If you have two cherries and need a third to win, the pineapple will complete the combination and triple the payout.
In certain slot variations, scatter symbols can also act as win multipliers. When a scatter multiplier appears alongside a winning combination, it increases the payout by a specified factor. However, scatter symbols usually serve only to unlock bonus games or free spins, and it is rare to find one that also functions as a multiplier.
Bet and Win Multipliers
While playing slots, you may encounter multipliers that operate differently, applying either to your winnings or to the amount staked.
This distinction is important because, in some cases, the winnings you collect may be lower than your original bet.
It is always wise to consult the slot’s paytable beforehand, as it details the rules, payouts, and types of multipliers in use.