Slot Types

21/05/2019

Canadian players, much like the punters in the rest of the world, love their gambling. According to the University of Calgary, gambling in the “Neighbour up North”, as the country is commonly referred to by the Americans, generates C$13 Billion a year. The number of Electronic Gaming Machines (EGMs are a broad spectrum carrying slot machines) in the country is 87,000. There are thirty-three thousand lottery card distributors and 60 brick and mortar casinos. It is even reported that over 75% of Canadians have gambled in the past with the average Canadian household spending just over a thousand dollars annually on gambling alone!

Enough about statistics, and on to the matter at hand. There are so many different types of slot machines out there that it’s mighty difficult knowing where to start. Which slot game to play depends greatly on what you are into.

There’s a slot for you whether you like winnings as big as the lotteries’ as is the case with Progressive Jackpot Slots, or whether you like something to casually ease time away with as is the case with classic three reel slots. There are also slot machines that are packed full of adrenaline with multiple bonus rounds and if you would like something reminiscent of a blockbuster film you enjoyed watching, you could play a branded slot.

Some slots make it easy for you to win as well by providing you with several paylines you could capitalize on. Read on for more information on slots and pokies.

Choose The Right Slot For You

Slots may quite easily be every punter’s favourite casino game. Not only are the video slots and pokies interactive but they are also fast-paced and exciting. All are welcome to play, be they conservative gamers or high rollers as slot games allow you to stake wagers as low as 10 cent with some allowing you to wager as much as C$200 per spin.

As earlier mentioned, there’s going to be something for you to play at all times. The game rules are not in the least bit difficult. Under normal circumstances, casinos give information on the use of the slot games, not to worry though, the majority of the rules provided don’t stray too far from the regular video slot machine rules, be it an actual machine in a brick and mortar casino or an online casino.

If you were to be using a physical slot machine, the rules require that you simply drop a coin into the machine and either press a button or pull a lever to have the reels roll. When the reels come to a halt, they will have either formed a winning combination and won you money or they wouldn’t have done so. The symbols forming the winning combination determine the amount of cash you win as the value of symbols varies.

In the case of video slot machines in online casinos, there is no coin input point, you must simply deposit money into your online casino account and when you start playing, the money is debited from your account.

Usually, you set your wagering amount per spin by first selecting the value of the coins per spin and then adjusting the number of coins per spin before proceeding to spin the reels. This applies to the different types of slot machines available online and offline. Speaking of which, the types of video slots available are enough to have novice punters in a daze.

The types are dependent on the number of reels or even the number of paylines available. When you play on a slot machine, the reels are the rows you see rolling. The paylines are the combinations of symbols that result in a win. Slot machines may have just 3 reels as is the case with classic slot machines or they may have as many as 7 reels. Slot machines could also have as few as a single payline much like the slot machines in the pubs back in the 80s or they may have as many as 243 paylines as is the case with more modern online video slots.

The advantage of having more paylines is that the wins are bigger. This very same advantage applies to the number of reels as there is more space for more symbols to form winning combinations.

Classic Slots

Classic slots in today’s online casino universe refer to slot machines that only have 3 reels alone. These slot machines make online gaming a breeze as there is usually just but one payline to worry about. With today’s autoplay technology, you could simply sit back and let the reels roll themselves.

In the physical world, however, the term classic slot machines is used to refer to the one arm bandits that were common in the saloons of the mid-west as well as English pubs in the 80s. There are several types of classic slot machines to be found in physical locations such as the Big Berthas. These are the largest slot machines that are still in production today. If you would like to see one, head over to your nearest casino and check out the ones nearest to the doorway as they are placed there to attract new players. They tend to have three or more reels but unfortunately, these machines don’t pay out too much. When playing the land-based slot machines, you’re likely to come across terms like loose and tight slots. These terms refer to the payout percentage of the machine. When someone plays at a machine and wins a large amount, they refer to the machine as loose. When someone doesn’t win as much at the machine, they refer to the machine as tight but these are just but speculative terms as one couldn’t possibly make.

In films, you’ll notice that slot machines can be stopped from spinning by simply pulling the lever down. This is because each spin is an event in itself and may bring you either closer or further from a win. These slot machines are referred to as class 3 slot machines or “Vegas-Style” slot machines. Today’s video slots are usually modelled after the class 2 slot machines that don’t have you competing against the house but against each for a jackpot much like a lottery.

There are classic slots called buy-your-pay slot machines that should probably be reserved for the more experienced gamer as they accept up to five coins but each coin you put in is to possibly buy you a winning combination. The correct number of coins earns you a winning combination but the wrong number of coins does not earn you a thing even if the winning combination appears on the screen. It could be frustrating at some time, especially when you feel you’ve come close every time but never really hit it. Furthermore, someone could win with a single coin in the machine next to you further breaking your morale. There are also wild play slot machines that offer the most fun as they offer you multipliers when you form a winning combination that has a wild symbol forming a part of it.

To bring the concept of 3 reel slots a little closer home, here’s a list of classic slot games that fit the criteria and are still just as fun to play. We begin with a release from one of the worlds best casino game creators, Microgaming’s high variance classic slot going by the name Wheel of Wealth which features the usual three wheels and single payline only with the unexpected multipliers and wild symbols. What makes this classic slot special is its wheel of fortune bonus feature that can award you up to 1000 coins. This slot machine gets plenty of gameplay to date since its release back in 2009.

The second slot up is a classic slot from another of the worlds best online casino creators NetEnt, Jackpot 6000. This low variance slot machine is unlike the usual classic in that it has a jackpot.

Next up is a Playtech release that can only be found in casinos that exclusively offer Playtech games going by Alchemist’s Lab which, true to its name, is sure to mint you gold from little amounts invested since it’s a high variance slot machine. This game has a bonus round that can be activated by simply landing three book symbols on its single payline.

Another great classic slot you could play is the Super Nudge 6000 slot from NetEnt which has the usual 3 reels in its lower and upper reels set. It also has a nudge feature that helps you make winning combinations.

Pokies

Down under and in New Zealand, the term pokies is used to refer to slots. There are several different types of online pokies in the online casino universe but those that gain plenty of gameplay by far are the 5-reel slots and the slots with multiple paylines, the majority of which provide punters with bonus games.

The older generation slots are also at punters’ disposal but they don’t all offer bonuses such as free games and/or second-screen features. The addition of free spins and score multipliers is quite the welcome move online as long as its slots were talking about. Coming across games with a gamble feature is no longer a scarce occurrence. The gamble feature allows punters to stake their winnings for either twice or four times the value or nothing by simply guessing what the colour of a card’s suit is.

Online pokies have become popular over time, obviously because of the convenience they provide. You no longer have to go outside your home to play your favourite game anymore. You simply need to log on and get going. Another reason is the variety they provide. Nowadays, you could even play 3d slots for an even more immersive experience. Pokies are supplied to online casinos by developers like Ainsworth, IGT and Aristocrat who also make pokie machines that are found in physical locations like land-based casinos, hotels, pubs and sports clubs.

The major “online only” casino software providers include Playtech, NetEnt and Microgaming. Seeing these three providers is signs that there is plenty to choose from if one decides upon playing online pokies.

Penny Slots

In the USA, the penny is worth the least among the denominations available- it’s worth a single cent. There have even been debates with people seeking to have the penny scrapped from the currency and have the 10 cent coin, the nickel, be the lowest-value denomination.

It is therefore easy to understand what casinos do in labelling slot machines penny slots. By doing so, they’re manipulating the punter’s psychology into getting him to spend some cash at the machine. They make the penny slots seem more affordable than the nickel or the quarter slots as the punter is probably under the assumption that he is spending far less than he would elsewhere- after all, it’s just a penny, right? But in reality, most of the slots coerce players into betting on several paylines or into staking more than a single penny per line making it easy to go over a whole dollar per spin in a situation where one is playing a 5 reel slot with 25 paylines.

It is, therefore, imperative that players do not simply rely on their own assumptions but actually do a little reading to keep themselves in the know. Casinos aren’t necessarily only there to keep you entertained but they need to also make their ends meet.

Playing video slots is supposed to be fun but it takes the fun away when you feel like you’re being swindled. These games are purely games of chance and every spin is an independent event dependent on nothing but luck. If you would like to play something that gives you a bit of an edge, you could play fruit machine slots that at least allow you to hold reels and nudge them in a bid to give yourself more of an advantage.

You can always increase your advantage by setting a budget that only carry the amount of money that you are ready to lose. Never stake money that you had set aside for other things that you depend on such as money for your medical bills or money for your electricity bills.

People usually increase their bets when they’re on a losing streak assuming that their winning streak is soon to come but in the real sense, every spin is an event on its own and you could fall into a never-ending losing streak. Never chase your losses either and when you choose to play, set yourself a time limit. Never assume that the previous session has any effect on your current session.

It is normal for human beings to look for patterns in occurrences but keep in mind that gambling is expected to be and is entirely random to keep both you and the casinos safe.

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Written by: Petricia
slotscanada.ca
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