As with any game, before you can learn how to win at slots, you have to learn how to play slots. In this case, however, you’re in luck because slots rules are about the simplest of any casino games’. All you do is press a button or two, and voila: You’re playing slots. That said, of course, it can get a little more complicated than that. But as far as the basic premise goes, we could pretty much sum up our entire “Slots Rules” section with “Put your money in, and push the button.”

Now, as for those complications we mentioned, there are a few differences between games. Live slot machines, for instance, usually serve a dual purpose in that they rake in money hand-over-fist and attract new players with their bells and whistles. For this reason, casinos often place “loose” machines, or those with high payout rates, in places where they expect to see a good deal of traffic. The theory behind this is that winning is contagious; if the casino gives one player $200,000, so many people will rush the gaming floor that the House will pull in $200 million before the end of the night. Naturally, then, part of learning how to play slot machines is learning where these juicy slots are – and how you can be the lucky winner instead of one among many easily fooled losers.

In contrast, Internet slots only serve as revenue-producers for online casinos. After all, as close as today’s technology has come to emulating Vegas, digital operators can’t maintain a stage presence in every player’s home. Instead, online casinos publicize their cumulative jackpot slots regularly in the hopes of drawing in more players. Some will argue that developing a sense for when these jackpots will hit is part of learning how to play Internet slots. And yet, unlike learning how to spot loose casino slot machine games, figuring out which online slots are “due” is literally impossible. There is no special logic behind how online casinos set their payout rates except that they want to make as much money as possible. So assuming that a jackpot will hit just because it’s edging toward $1 million is a surefire way to loose your shirt.

We’ll cover both of these concepts in greater depth in our “Slots Strategy” section. But, suffice it to say, learning how to play slot machines – while easy enough – isn’t exactly the walk in the park everyone expects it to be. For this reason we’ve put together a step-by-step rundown of how these deceptively simple games work in both on- and offline formats. Much of this may, of course, seem like an insult to your intelligence. But bear with us. It’s so important you understand the fundamentals before you start playing slot machines that we recommend you give both lists your fullest attention.

Choose Your Game Wisely

With so many online slot machine games to choose from, deciding which game to play has become a crucial element of the game. Read about Cleopatra, Wheel of Fortune and the classic Fruit Machine slots games here. If you're more of a risk-taker by nature, perhaps you'd be interested in reading about progressive slot machines with great payouts.

Slots Rules for Casino Slot Machine Games

Step 1: Insert Your Money

The first step when playing a slot is to feed it. For casino slot machine games, you do this by either placing cash in a currency acceptor, or swiping an account card through a reader like those used for credit cards. Once you’ve inserted your money the slot machine will display the total number of credits you have. These credits will be equal to the amount you deposited divided by the minimum amount you can bet at that particular machine (e.g. if you deposit $100 into a nickel slot the machine’s display window will show 2,000 credits).

Step 2: Place Your Bet

This is the most critical step when you first learn how to play slots because the amount you win depends on how much you bet. In the case of casino slot machine games, typically there are three buttons to choose from: “Play One Credit,” “Play Two Credits” and “Play Max Credits.” These buttons allow you to bet on one or several of the machine’s “paylines” (See: AceHoyle.com’s “Slots Glossary” section), and each time you push them the machine will subtract the appropriate amount from your credit pool. The dilemma is that unless you push “Play Max Credits” every time, you won’t be eligible for a machine’s largest payouts. So we suggest before sitting down you choose a machine that fits your bankroll.

Also, if you’re curious about how much each bet pays out, there is normally a chart posted somewhere near each game’s display window. These typically show a list of winning symbol combinations and the amounts they pay, plus several multipliers and additional amounts (e.g. “x 2 = $2,000,” “x 3 = $3,000,” etc.). Usually, slot machines pay out an additional bonus if you played the maximum number of credits possible. So, in the case of a machine that pays $1,000 for one bet for instance, you can expect a maximum bet of four credits to net you $5,000.

Step 3: Spin The Reels

If you choose “Play Max Bet” on most casino slot machine games, the reels will spin automatically. If you choose either of the other two buttons, though, you will have to initiate the spin yourself by pushing a “Spin Reels” button. Sometimes you will be able to choose between pushing this button and pulling a lever at the side of the machine. In either case, today’s casino slot machine games are almost always computerized so that both options only initiate their software; the lever, or “arm,” is only part of some machines as a quaint throwback to the very first slots – which required you pull a crank to set their reels in motion – and you won’t benefit from using it instead of the button.

Step 4: Sit and Watch

The next step when playing casino slot machine games is the easiest: You sit there and wait for the symbols to stop moving across the display.

Step 5: Wait for the Machine to Tally Your Payout

Once its reels have stopped, the machine will tally up any wins and add their payouts to your credit pool.

Step 6: Repeat as Necessary

Assuming you don’t break the bank your first spin, your next step is to repeat all five previous steps until you do, or until you run out of credits or get tired of playing slots.

Step 7: Cash Out

Naturally, when you hit for some major dinero or feel like moving on, you’ll want to cash out and take your money with you. This is the final step when playing casino slot machine games and usually entails pushing two buttons. The first is the “Cash Out” button which will cause the machine to drop a number of tokens equal to the amount in your credit pool into a its coin tray. If it drops far more tokens than you can handle alone, do not leave the machine in search of a casino employee. Instead, push the “Change” button (typically located on the far left). This will turn on the red light at the top of the machine and sound a buzzer inside the casino’s staffroom, notifying its personnel that you need assistance. Normally, it will take four to five minutes for a changeperson to show up, but occasionally it takes longer. Regardless of how long it takes, though, hold tight. Otherwise, while you’re gone your tokens might form a lasting relationship with that nice, old lady from Sheboygan you’re sitting beside.

Internet Slots Rules

Step 1: Insert Your Money

As with casino slot machine games, the first step when playing Internet slots is to devote a portion of your personal income to a game. This is a little easier with Internet slots because the online casino you’re playing slot machines at will usually transfer your full member-account balance to your chosen slot the moment its software finishes loading. The game will then translate this amount into credits, which again, will be equal to the amount you deposited divided by the minimum amount you can bet at that particular machine.

Step 2: Place Your Bet

Internet slots tend to have some pretty fancy graphics, but the downside to this is that, unlike casino slot machine games, they don’t all share similar button configurations. Now, this doesn’t mean that you should expect a bunch of options that aren’t on traditional machines, just that the position of these elements can vary from slot to slot. Our advice, then, is to approach each new game as if you were learning how to play slot machines for the first time: Read everything on its control panel before you begin playing slots, and when you’re done, read it again for good measure.

Step 3: Spin The Reels

Like casino slot machine games, Internet slots allow you to choose when you’re ready to play. The difference is that some don’t automatically start up their reels the moment you push “Play Max Credits.” All this means is that you’ll have to add an extra step and push the “Spin Reels” button every time, regardless of how much you wager.

Steps 4, 5 and 6:

Watch the Reels, Wait For the Machine to Tally Your Winnings and Repeat These three slots rules are exactly the same for Internet slots as they are for casino slot machine games. Please review the steps above for more information.

Step 7: Cash Out

Cashing out on Internet slots is a little different from doing so on casino slot machine games: Instead of having to lug buckets of tokens to a cashier’s window, all you have to do when playing slot machines online is push “Cash Out.” When you do, the game’s software will automatically credit your member-account balance with the appropriate amount. Also, should you lose your Internet connection at any time during a session, all Internet slots will automatically transfer your full credit balance – including any winnings from the spin in progress – back to your player account.

Some Final Notes on Slots Rules

When playing Internet slots, you can choose between doing so for cash or for free. While the end result differs in a very obvious way, choosing to play for free will not affect a game’s rules overall. And yet there is one notable difference in that free slot games will always preloaded your full play-money balance, while some cash games may require you to transfer credits from your player account manually. If a pay game does this, you will see an “Insert Money” option when you first load its page. Clicking this will prompt the online casino’s software to open a separate window that will guide you through the process. Once you’ve selected an amount, the window will close and those credits will automatically show up in a box in the corner of your game screen.

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