How To Play Slots Online – Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

You can now play your favorite slots online in any state with licensed and regulated online casinos. There are classic video slots, movie, TV, and music-themed slots, progressive jackpot titles, slots with free spin features and fun bonus games, and a whole lot more.

Licensed and regulated online casinos have it all when it comes to online slots. Here’s a look at how you can get in on all the exciting online slot action across the US.

How to Play Slots Online for New Players

1. Choose a Slots Casino

Most licensed and regulated online casinos host hundreds of online slots. You can look through the online slots menu at any online casino to see for yourself. Check to make sure this casino has the kinds of slots you want to play. However, you’re almost guaranteed to find at least a few online slots that pique your interest at every licensed and regulated online casino in the country. Dive in yourself, or read the reviews on this site to get an idea of the available slots at each US online casino.

You’ll need to provide the online casino with a bit of personal and account information to sign up for an account. Don’t forget to pluck the bonus or promo code from our review of that online casino and plug it in during the registration process. That will ensure you get the best bonus available and can play slots with a little of the house’s money.

2. Use the Casino Filters to Find a Game

Every licensed and regulated online casino in the US has a game menu filled with hundreds of titles. There are even categories so you can further break down your search for the right game.

You should easily find a clickable slots tab. Hit it, and you can browse through a list of every slot an online casino has. There may even be other tabs allowing you to break down your search into different slot categories. Slots can be divided by developer, theme, age, exclusivity, jackpot size, popularity, and more.

Plus, if you’re after a specific slot, you can search for that title. As a fun example, try typing the word ‘Monopoly’ into the search tab at BetMGM Casino. This will unearth more than a dozen Monopoly-themed slots available at BetMGM.

3. Choose Between a Demo or Real Money Game

With so many different slots to choose from at every licensed and regulated online casino, you might spend more time picking something to play than actually playing. However, once you’ve made your selection, you should spend a little more time learning how to play it.

You can open up the info tab on the game tile in the menu, and it’ll explain the basics. You can also open the game and hit the info tab to review the rules and pay table. All the information you need to know will be available there. However, diving into a game is always the best way to learn how to play slot machines. Thankfully, most licensed and regulated online casinos host demo versions of every slot, allowing you to play around a little without risking any of your hard-earned cash.

Maybe you’re familiar with a slot. Perhaps you’ve played it before. If that’s the case, just go for it. If not, it’s a good idea to read everything you can about the slot first, play the demo for a few minutes, and see how it plays before putting any real money on the line.

4. Review the Paylines and Symbols

As we just said, you can open up any slot from the game menu at an online casino and hit the info tab on the screen to look at its rules and pay table. That will show you where the paylines are, what each symbol is, its value, how many you need to line up, and what each combination of these symbols will pay. You’ll also find information about wild symbols, scatters, free spins, and bonus games. The info tab is often a clickable ‘i’ symbol.

5. Choose the Bet Amount and Paylines

Unless you’re playing a fixed bet slot, you’ve got some choices to make before you start spinning. Whether you can change the bet, level, paylines, coin level, or coin value, all these things revolve around your total bet size. The info tab should tell you if your chances of winning increase with your bet size. You’ll also learn how much you need to bet to be eligible to win the slot’s biggest prizes, including the progressive jackpot if there is one. Then, you simply toggle the bet sizing functions to pick your bet amount accordingly.

6. Click ‘Spin’ or Use the Autoplay Feature

This may have seemed like a massive preamble, but here you are: it’s time to start spinning. Most slots have ‘Spin’ and ‘Max Bet’ buttons that’ll start a spin. The ‘Spin’ button spins the slot betting the amount you set beforehand. The ‘Max Bet’ button commences the spin with the maximum bet allowed.

Many real money online slots also have an autoplay feature. You can set it to spin a specific number of times, so you don’t have to sit there tediously clicking buttons. You can also set many autoplay features to stop spinning when you land the necessary symbols to start a free spins feature or bonus game.

Slot Game Symbols and Features

Slot reels are filled with different symbols. You’re trying to match these symbols along a payline to win prizes. Of course, not all symbols are created equal. You’ll often have to land three or more low-paying symbols along a line to book a small win, but sometimes just one high-paying symbol is enough to get you a big payday. Plus, different symbols do different things, unlocking more features, bonus games, and acting as multipliers or substitutes for other symbols.

Here’s a more detailed look.

What are wild symbols?

Wild symbols can usually substitute for all other symbols except the ones that unlock jackpots or other features. Wilds make it easier to win. You may need to land three King symbols to book a small win, but two Kings and a Wild will get the job done too. Wild symbols may also be the ones that unlock jackpots or other features when you land three or more.

What Are Scatter Symbols?

Scatter symbols are special. These symbols often trigger free spins features, bonus games, and jackpot wins. Sometimes scatters can work as multipliers or wilds that substitute for other symbols.

What Are Multiplier Symbols?

Multiplier symbols are exactly what their name suggests. These symbols trigger a multiplier on any winnings. You may need to land three King symbols to book a 10-coin win. However, land a 5x multiplier symbol alongside the three Kings, and it’s a 50-coin win instead.

What Are Sticky Symbols?

Sticky symbols stay fixed on the reels through the next spin or round of spins. These symbols are often in play with multi-round features like a free spins feature. The sticky symbols stay on the reels in the same place through multiple spins, often producing multiple wins around them.

What Are Bonus Symbols?

Bonus symbols are really special. These symbols often trigger bonus games, big wins, and jackpot wins. Sometimes bonus symbols can also work as multipliers or wilds that substitute for other symbols when you don’t land enough to trigger the bonus round or jackpot.

What Are Free Spins?

Free spins give you the chance to spin for free. This feature is often triggered when you land three or more scatter symbols or wild symbols. It usually offers you a different number of free spins according to how many of these symbols you land. Most free spins run automatically, adding up your total winnings until all your free spins are complete. Many free spins features also include an automatic multiplier, or you can land sticky symbols, trigger different multipliers, or gain additional free spins throughout.

Understanding Slot Pay Tables

A slot’s pay table tells you how to win. That means understanding the pay table can be the key to winning (other than just getting lucky).

The pay table displays every symbol in the game. It tells you the combinations you’re hoping for and what each will pay. It also tells you the game’s rules, including how many paylines there are, whether the paylines only work from left to right, or if there are multiple ways to win. The pay table is also where you’ll find out how to trigger a bonus game, free spins feature, or jackpot win.

How Do Bonus Rounds Work?

Bonus rounds and bonus games are almost everybody’s favorite slot feature. They’re most often wheel spins or pick’em mini-games offering bigger prizes and access to the slot’s jackpots. If you’re playing a progressive jackpot slot, the bonus game is most often where you’ll get your chance to win the progressive jackpot.

Most of the time, you’ll need to land a certain number of scatter or bonus symbols to trigger the bonus game. Then, it’s up to the slot how each bonus game works.

For example, Microgaming’s Mega Moolah has a simple wheel-spinning bonus game that gives you a shot at its four progressive jackpots. There are colored sectors on the wheel, each corresponding to one of the four Mega Moolah jackpots. You win the one it lands on.

Then, NetEnt’s Mega Fortune has a little more intricate bonus wheel game where you can win one of its three jackpots. You spin the outer wheel for a guaranteed cash prize. Land an arrow, and you’ll move on to a second wheel with even bigger prizes and arrows leading to the inner wheel. You spin for a chance at the jackpots inside the third wheel.

In the meantime, Spin Games’ Amazing Ripley’s Believe It or Not slot has a diverse bonus round that starts with a Mystery Picks pick ’em game where you can win instant prizes and free spins. Plus, you might reveal a trivia question or an additional wheel bonus. The trivia round rewards you for your answers, and the wheel bonus lets you spin different wheels for a variety of prizes, including the game’s biggest jackpots.

5 Tips For Playing Online Slot Machines

• Read the rules and pay table. This’ll tell you how to win, the required bet size for the biggest prizes and jackpots, and whether your chances of winning increase with the size of your bet.
• Slots are not skill games. There’s no trick or any kind of system that’ll give you an edge. Slot wins are random, and you have to get lucky to win.
• Set a limit and stick to it. Set a limit for losses and wins, and don’t deviate. If it’s not your day, you’ll know when you reach that loss limit and live to fight another day. Plus, a win limit will ensure you walk away up and don’t give away a win by being greedy.
• Gamble responsibly. Never bet more than you can afford to lose. You’re very likely going to lose. If you bet with what you consider expendable income, it won’t hurt too much or affect other aspects of your life.
• Have fun. Consider slot play an entertainment source. Stop playing when it ceases to be fun or when the money you’re losing could be better used elsewhere. Never chase losses or count on a slot to pay out because of the time between wins or your confidence it will happen.