Online Casino Slots Differences

Have you ever fantasized about spinning the slots and landing a jackpot, but you've never had the guts to really dive in and learn how slots work? What about online slots? Online slots are a different animal than your average land-based slot. For one, an online casino can offer a larger collection of slots than your average land casino. Online slots are also far more convenient, and nothing is more important than convenience in this modern world. Most of us are busy on a day to day basis, and constantly multi-tasking! Devices like smartphones, tablets and laptops have made it far easier to juggle everything in our life and still find a little downtime in-between to play our favorite casino games. Slots, undoubtedly have adapted extremely well to an online format.

Most online gambling platforms will have a section of their site delicately purely to slots. If you're on an instant play based casino, all you'll need to do to preview their games and press the slots button from the menu, and you'll be able to preview each slot game. They'll often list the titles of the game along with a thumbnail featuring artwork from the game. The thumbnail is the perfect preview of what to expect visually from the slot. Some casinos also divide their slot selection up into other subcategories, especially if they have a vast collection of slot games. They might divide the game up by theme or feature, but I'll get into that more later.

Varieties of Online Casino Slots: Classic vs. Video

If you've chosen an online gambling platform that truly specializes in online slots, it'll be obvious - because the number of different types of slots might be kind of confusing if you aren't familiar with the terminology and the types of slots that exist. There are two basic types - classic slots, and video slots. However, there are other types of slots as well, but all types often fit within those two categories.

Classic slots are for players who prefer a simplistic, straightforward game over something that relies heavily on excessive bonus rounds and flashy graphics. Classic slots can be spotted in a few different ways. Classic slots will always have three reels, and usually one horizontal payline that stretches across the reels. There are a few classic slots that might have more pay lines or even more reels, but for the majority of games this is the most common format you'll find. Another marker of a classic slot is usually the sort of symbols available on the reels. Classic slots usually feature fruit symbols, like cherries, oranges and lemons. They'll also feature bells, lucky sevens and bar symbols. These slots usually don't have many special features, though they might host a wild or scatter symbol, or maybe include one bonus game. Classic slots are perfect for players who are new to the slots world, or players who just are feeling a little nostalgic.

Video slots are often slots with multiple pay lines and more than three reels. These games are usually far more complicated than a classic slot. These slots usually feature at least five reels, sometimes more. They usually have very detailed and immersive graphics, sounds and moving images. They often come with bonus rounds that are triggered by specific combinations. They might come with special features like expanding reels, or cascading reels. Video slots are often games that one or more progressive jackpots are often attached to, which gives everyone a little extra incentive to play.

The Role of Random Number Generators in Online Slots

Random number generators are essential to guarantee fairness in slot games and online computer generated casino games period. An RNG is a microprocessor that uses random numbers to determine the position of reels in slots. A random number generator guarantees that every spin is independent of the previous spin, so there is no telling what the outcome of your spin will be. There is no pattern to follow and no way to predict what the spin could result in. While each slot does have a payout frequency and ratio that cannot be changed, the payout frequency is just the probability of landing a winning combination, which can be high or low.

Paylines, Rows, and Reels: Structure of Online Slots

The structure of online slots is simple enough, but varies from game to game. That means it's important to have a comprehensive understanding of the general online slot format. Every slot game will come with several reels and a certain number of pay lines. There is a total bet and a bet per pay line. Some games offer adjustable pay lines, while others are fixed. If the pay lines are adjustable, it'll change the total of your bet. In many games you place a bet that is multiplied by the number of pay lines it hosts. You'll also want to make note of what direction winning combinations pay out. Some pay from right to left, and some pay from left to right. Some games might pay both ways, but only during free spins rounds, for example.

Return to Player (RTP) and Volatility in Online Slots

Slot volatility is how often a slot pays out, while the retune to player percentage is how much a casino game pays back to the player. So if your game has an RTP of 90%, that means the slot will pay $90 back in winnings for every $100 you wager. It doesn't matter whether the volatility of the game is high or low, because the RTP can still be 90%. RTP is the average, but does not guarantee any results. If the slot is lower in volatility, it means the more often you win the lower the payout will be. If your slot is higher in volatility, it means that you'll win less often, but when you do win, the win will be more valuable.

Differences in Slot Themes and Designs

Apart from these technical differences, like slot volatility and RTP, theme and design will be another distinct difference you'll run into while playing. Most software development companies publish a broad variety of games every year with diverse themes. They have fantasy based games, history games, satirical games, holiday themed games and more.

Progressive vs. Non-Progressive Online Slots

There are two types of jackpots you'll run into while playing slot games. One type is a progressive jackpot, a progressive jackpot is a jackpot (or several) that stores a portion of every losing bet placed on a slot machine, thus the jackpot grows continuously until it's awarded, then it's reset to its default amount. Progressive jackpots are immensely popular as they can oftentimes lead to huge payouts. A non-progressive jackpot is just a fixed jackpot. For example, if the jackpot attached to a game is $50,000 and it's nonprogressive, that means the jackpot will never increase or decrease in size.

Feature Differences: Bonus Rounds, Free Spins, and Multipliers

Every slot game (apart from classic slots) usually comes with special features. Typically, games will come with special symbols that activate specific bonus rounds. For example, a very common special feature is a free spins feature. If you land three scatter symbols, you'll trigger multiple free spin rounds. Other bonuses can come out of the free spins rounds, and usually a multiplier will be attached to the free spin rounds. So if you land a payout of $5 from a match, and there is a multiplier attached to each round, that means your $5 payout will increase.

Brand-Specific Differences in Online Casino Slots

If you're getting familiar with online slots, you should obtain some base knowledge about brands. For example, RealTime Gaming is a long running reputable online casino provider. Most players who are familiar with RTG, know exactly what sort of game features to expect from them, as well as bonus rounds, special features and graphic quality

Online Slots vs. Land-Based Casino Slots: A Comparative Study

So, the gameplay of online slots versus a physical slot machine doesn't differ much on the surface. The mechanics will be relatively the same, as well as the bonus rounds, the special features, and the themes. After all, online slots are modeled after land based slot games. The major difference is simple convenience and playability - online slots allow for more flexibility and more options. You don't need to walk to another machine to switch games. You don't need to wait for your favorite machine to be free if someone else is playing on it either, with online slots whatever game you want to play is always available to you!