Reading pay tables and how you can be a big winner

When playing online casino games such as video slots, it is important to have an understanding of how the Pay Tables work as this can show you where big money can be won. Reading pay tables used to be quite simple as the classic 3 reeled mechanical devices were quite easy to understand. You had about 10 or 12 combinations of 7’s or bars with progressively higher pay-outs until you struck the jackpot. If you felt like playing more coins, you could just switch to that column instead.
 

Modern slots are amazing and their pay tables have gotten way more complicated, but we’ll help you understand them.

 

Reading and understanding pay tables

On most video slots you will be given direct access to the pay table by a rules or information button. Generally, this button is designed to fit in with the overall theme and design of the slot and they almost always appear at the bottom left side of the reels.

When clicking on the ‘i’ button you will find a few pages with the pay-out layouts on them. The first page will almost always cover the basic symbols which are the low value card symbols on the slot. These will show you how many credits you can win for pairing three to five of these symbols in a row. The bigger paying symbols will generally appear at the top of the page and their pay-outs will always be much bigger.

On the second page you will find the pay-out structure for scatter symbols than can appear at random on any of the reels. The trigger for your bonus round will also be revealed and is often made up from a combination of wild symbols. The wild symbols generally substitute for all symbols except the scatter. On the third page and onwards you’ll find information on the feature rounds, jackpots and free spin possibilities.
 

Understanding the role of lines and coins on payments

The information button generally covers all required info regarding the winning lines. Modern day video slots usually have 25 to 30 pay lines but some games offer up to 100 or more winning line combinations. The number of lines you select is multiplied by your bet amount to work out the total cost of you spin. If you select all 30 lines at $0.05 then your spin will amount to $1.50 per spin. This total amount determines the pay-out you’ll be able to receive from the pay table. If you score three jacks with a 10 credit pay out then you will win 10 times 0.05 which will result in a 0.50 win for that specific line. Don’t fear as you’ll normally hit about five or more lines per win which builds up the pay-out balance to something higher. These wins generally get raised by an addition of a wild or scatter symbol.
 

Learning how pay-outs work

Smaller wins that are normally generated from card playing symbols or fruits are the bread and butter of slot machines as they pay smaller returns, and these don’t always cover the entire cost of the spin. They do however keep your bankroll from disappearing too quickly to enable you to play longer and provide you with a bigger chance of scoring bigger wins. Five of these symbols in a row can amount to some decent winnings but they will never come close to the pay outs the high value symbols can give you. The higher value symbols can generate between 2,000 to 5,000 credit wins on a lucky spin.

The bonus symbols such as the scatter and the wild symbols are generally the ones you want. These symbols don’t require a particular line and they will pay-out from wherever they appear. Landing three or more scatters can pay out a generous sum of credits.

The wild symbols are the favourite symbols of any slot as they come with the most value and they generally trigger the bonus rounds which lead to epic wins. The wild symbols also substitute all other symbols except the scatter symbols and they often lead to a ton of winning combinations on the reels creating a bigger pay out for you. Some slots even offer “Sticky Wilds” which means the wilds will remain in place on your reels for a couple of spins, giving you plenty of winning combinations in a row.

The exciting bonus features are often a main attraction of many video slots as they sometimes include mini-games and they come with amazing rewards.