Hold & Spin
Land enough special symbols and they lock in place while the rest respin; each new one resets the respins. Fill the screen for the top jackpot.
Examples: Dragon Link, Lightning Link, Spooky Link, Ultimate Fire Link, Phoenix Link, Press Your Luck
Link progressive
Several themes share a set of jackpots across a bank of machines, usually with a pick or orb-collection bonus to award them.
Examples: Magic Treasures Gold, Duo Fu Duo Cai, Fortune Mint, Jin Ji Bao Xi
Free games
The main bonus is a round of free spins, often with extra wilds, multipliers or stacked symbols.
Examples: Huff N' Puff, Devil's Lock, Dancing Drums, Rich Little Piggies, 5 Dragons, Clinko
Wheel bonus
A spinning wheel on the top box awards credits, free games or jackpots.
Examples: Wheel of Fortune (reels), Big Bubble, Buffalo Grand, Smokin' Hot Stuff, Wheel of Fortune (video)
Classic reels
Mechanical-style three-reel games, often with multiplier wilds and few or no bonus rounds.
Examples: Quick Hit, Blazing 7s, Cash Machine, Double Diamond, Red, White & Blue / Triple Red Hot 7s
Persistence
Meters, pots or characters build up and stay with the machine between players, so a game left "close" to a bonus is worth noticing.
Examples: Hexbreaker 3, Jade Monkey Deluxe, Pillars of Cash, Flaming Pots, Fu Dai Lian Lian, Mystery of the Lamp
Multi-game
One cabinet holds several classic games, usually played four or more at a time.
Examples: Wonder 4
Ways to win
Pays on matching symbols left to right anywhere on adjacent reels (243 or 1,024 ways) instead of fixed paylines.
Examples: Buffalo, Buffalo Gold, River Dragons, 88 Fortunes, Timber Wolf
Video poker
Draw poker against a fixed pay table, so the return is known from the pay table and how well you play.
Examples: IGT Video Poker
Reading a machine before you play
- Denomination vs betThe denomination (1¢, 5¢, $1) is the value of one credit. Your bet is credits × denomination, so a 1¢ game at 500 credits costs $5 a spin. Many games let you switch denomination from the screen.
- Who's eligible for the top jackpotSome games only award the Grand or a progressive at the maximum bet or above a set bet level. The help screens say so; read them.
- Progressive metersA climbing Major or Grand means it's progressive. On ships, jackpots are usually set up locally for that ship or bank of machines.
- Banked featuresOn persistence games (pots, meters, piggies), a machine left close to a bonus has a slightly better short-term value. That's why some players "hunt" them.
- VolatilityHigh-volatility games pay rarely but bigger; low-volatility games pay small amounts more often. Volatility doesn't change the long-run return, only how bumpy the ride is.
- PaybackA slot's return is set by its software and the operator. On a ship it isn't published, so treat every slot as a game with a sizeable house edge. Our game math guide explains holds and volatility.
Why video poker is different
Video poker deals from a fair 52-card deck, so the pay table fixes the return: full-pay 9/6 Jacks or Better returns about 99.5% with perfect play, while the 8/5 version common on ships returns about 97.3%. Check the full house and flush payouts before you sit. See the video poker profile and our offer calculator, which uses 8/5 Jacks or Better.
Slot results are random, and the house keeps an edge on every game. Play for fun with money you can afford to lose. If gambling is a problem for you or someone you know, call 1-800-GAMBLER.