An exhaustive list of slot machine lingo you should know

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A beginner’s guide to understanding slots. Discover the jargon used by seasoned reel spinners & learn the terms describing different elements of the gameplay.

Unlocking the reels: An a-to-z guide of slot player Jargon
If you’re new to the world of slot machines, unfamiliar terms and phrases in the game might throw you off because you may fail to understand what they mean. Don’t worry, though; we’ve got you covered with our comprehensive A-to-Z guide of slot jargon used by seasoned players to help you grasp the basics of spinning reels.

So, as you log on to top-tier Hungarian iGaming sites like Vulkan Vegas for a few quick spins, here are some of the most common terms that should be at your fingertips. Understand them by heart, and you will never miss a beat as you engage in reel-spinning action.

Slot-related essentials
When was the last time you were flipping through the glossary? Do you have difficulty answering? Can’t even remember? We are here to present you with this long-forgotten experience! Dive into our alphabetized list of the main terms that denote the notions you will definitely encounter while spinning the reels.

• Autoplay: This option allows you to set several spins that will play automatically without pressing the spin button every other time;
• Bonus: A feature triggered by specific symbols or combinations on the reels, typically offering higher payouts and more excitement than the base game;
• Coins: The amount of money you bet on each spin. You can adjust the number and value of coins to suit your budget and preferences;
• Coin size: The amount of money that each coin represents. For instance, if the coin size is $0.01, each coin is worth one cent;
• Free spins: These are bonus spins that you don’t have to pay for because they are awarded as a gift. They are usually triggered by scatter symbols or other bonus symbols. Free spins often have extra features like multipliers, extra wilds, or re-spins;
• Gamble: This feature allows you to risk your winnings from a spin in a double-or-nothing risk game. Usually, you have to guess the color or suit of a hidden card. If you guess correctly, you double or quadruple your payout. If your guess is incorrect, you lose your initial reward;
• Hit frequency: Describe how often a slot machine pays out. It is expressed as a percentage of the number of spins that result in a win. For example, if a slot machine has a hit frequency of 25%, it means that, on average, one of four spins will be a winning spin;
• Jackpot: The highest possible payout of a slot machine. Some jackpots are fixed, while others are progressive, meaning they increase with every bet wagered by different players across a network until a lucky player wins the whole amount;
• Line bet: The amount of money you wager on each pay line of a machine. You can adjust your line bet by changing the coin size and the number of coins per line;
• Max bet: The highest possible wager you can place on a slot machine. It usually activates all the paylines and features of the game, giving you the best chance to land big wins;
• Megaways: A trademarked name for a slot mechanic developed by Big Time Gaming. It allows for thousands of ways to win by changing the number of symbols on each reel on every spin;
• Nudge: A special feature that allows you to move one or more reels up or down by one position to form a winning combination or trigger a bonus;
• One-armed bandit: A slang term for a traditional slot machine that has a lever on one side that you pull to spin the reels;
• Pay line: A line running across the reels indicating where the symbols need to land to form a winning combination. Some slots have fixed pay lines, while others allow you to choose how many you want to play with in a spin;
• Paytable: A chart that shows all the possible payouts and features of a title;
• RTP: Also referred to as payback percentage, it’s the theoretical percentage of cash a slot will return to players over time;
• RNG: The mathematical software that determines the random outcome of each spin on a slot machine;
• Scatter: A special symbol that can trigger a bonus feature, such as free spins or a mini-game, when it appears anywhere on the reels;
• Volatility: A measure of how frequently and how much a slot machine pays out;
• Wild: A special symbol that substitutes for any other symbol (except scatters and other special characters) to help you form winning combinations.

Keep expanding your slots vocabulary
The above-mentioned terms constitute the most popular jargon for reel spinners. However, they are not the only ones you should know about. That is why we recommend that you conduct more research and keep learning about the different terminologies of slots to understand the game inside out.