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Many players will sit down at a slot game and learn as they go. They spin and see what happens. They figure out how the game works by trial and error. In the end it works but it costs money when you are still in the learning stages. If you properly read a slot machine before you begin, there’s no guess work and you’ll be in a much more informed position from the very first spin.
Start With the Paytable
The paytable is the single most useful source of information in any slot game. And it’s available to you before you spend a single penny. It tells you the value of each symbol, the layout of the paylines, the effects of special symbols and how to trigger bonus features.
Most of the players just pass it up. Those reading it before playing has a clear picture of what they are working with before the reels start spinning. This means they are never surprised by how the game behaves during a session.
Identify the High and Low Value Symbols
When you open the paytable, the first thing you should look at is the order of the symbols. There is a range of symbols in each slot, from most valuable to least valuable. When you know which symbols are worth the most, you can better follow what’s going on and figure out why some spins pay out a lot more than others.
High-value symbols usually appear less frequently on the reels. Low-value symbols fill the gaps. When you know to play casino slot machines with this picture in mind, wins make more sense and losses feel less arbitrary.
Understand How Paylines Work in That Specific Game
The number of paylines can vary a lot between games. Some just go left to right. Others pay one way or another. Some games employ cluster mechanics, where clusters of matching symbols anywhere on the reels will trigger a win rather than symbols landing on a fixed line.
You’re confused because you’re judging a win based on what you see without understanding the payline structure of that game. You will see a visual diagram of the paytable for the different paylines and it takes less than a minute to review, so there is no reason to skip it.
Look for What Triggers the Bonus Features
Before you start spinning, find out what triggers each bonus feature in the game. How many scatter symbols do you need for free spins? What activates the bonus round? Is there a special symbol that only appears during certain features?
If you know the answers to these questions, you’ll know what to watch out for during a session and won’t be surprised when something strange happens on the reels.
Check the Volatility and RTP
Most reputable platforms will show the volatility level and RTP of each game somewhere in the information section. These two values tell you how the game is likely to play out over time, how often it pays, and how much it pays back to the players over a large number of spins.
If you see these before you start, you are able to set reasonable goals for the session and pick a game that fits with your budget and your goals for that day.
Wrapping Up
Reading a slot machine correctly only takes a few minutes and takes away a lot of the stress that comes with trying something new for the first time. Read the pay table, get to know the symbols and paylines, know how the bonuses work, and look at the RTP and volatility. With these steps, you can play with knowledge from the very first spin.
