The world of slot machines can seem overwhelming to the novice player. In order to make sense of it all, players need to understand the concepts of paylines and reels. In this article, we will take a look at these terms in detail so that you can start playing slot games with confidence.
In the old days, when slots were simpler and had fewer reels, the various pays would appear directly on the machine. Nowadays, with video screens and many more symbols per reel, it’s not practical to put this information on the machine, so you’ll find that pay tables are often embedded within the help menu.
These tables are usually arranged in different colours to show which patterns you can form a win on. They also explain how many paylines are active in each slot game, which will affect the amount of winning combinations you can form. It’s important to know how many paylines a slot has before you start playing, because otherwise you could be missing out on some serious cash.
Paylines are the patterns across the reels where matching symbols need to land in order to trigger a payout. They can vary in number and direction, depending on the type of slot you play. For example, some slots have horizontal paylines, while others have vertical ones or zig-zags. Some slots even have scatter pays, which can be triggered anywhere on the screen, regardless of payline position.