Free slots

Common Online Slot Machine Terms

There are many terms used in slot machine gaming to refer to forms of play, payouts, machines, etc. The most important to know are the ones that determine how and what is played.

For example, when you are asked for “Coin Size”, it refers to the denomination of coin you will be playing. “Coins per spin” is the amount of that denomination you will play per reel.

A “Hold” is the percentage of coins that the machine automatically takes for profit. In online slots the profit is much lower and is usually between 3%-5%. A “Max Bet” is the maximum amount of coins you can choose to spin at any given reel.

The term “Progressive Slot” refers to machines that operate on a network and share one big jackpot. That big jackpot is known as a “Progressive Jackpot”.

Slot machines are said to hold “Pay Cycles” and “Take Cycles”, this is a theory that when a machine has taken a certain number of coins it is due to pay out and after it pays out the next cycle is to take what has been given.

A slot machine's “Payout Percentage” is the percentage of money that has been proven to be paid out over a certain period of time for each particular machine.

The table that shows each of the winning combinations for each slot is called the “Payout Table”. These are just a few important terms but for more information on a complete list of terms check out a slot machine glossary.