How to Play Slots: Bitcoin Slots Glossary

Want to spin and win with bitcoin? Cloudbet’s crypto slots offer a blend of simplicity and big-win potential, making the casino a favorite among crypto casino players. But before you jump in, it’s worth understanding the lingo. Let’s decode common crypto slot terms, empowering you with the knowledge to play slots like a pro on Cloudbet. 

We’ll delve into the core mechanics, common terminologies, and provide insights to enhance your understanding and enjoyment of slot games. Whether you’re a novice eager to learn the ropes or a seasoned player looking to refine your skills, this guide has something for you.

Reels: The foundation of every slot game

Reels are the vertical columns that display game symbols, forming the heart of every slot machine. Any slot game involves spinning the reels to match symbols in order to win prizes or take part in bonus rounds. Spins stop randomly to reveal new configurations of symbols. The number of reels varies between games, influencing the complexity and potential outcomes. While classic slots often feature three reels, the majority of modern slots utilize five reels, which creates a wider range of possible combinations.

Reels matter: The number of reels directly impacts the potential for winning combinations and the overall volatility of a slot game.

• 3-Reel Slots: Often referred to as classic slots, these games typically offer a simpler experience with fewer paylines and a higher frequency of smaller wins.
• 5-Reel Slots: The majority of modern slots feature five reels, which allows for a significantly larger number of winning combinations and the incorporation of more complex bonus features. This often translates to a more volatile experience with the potential for larger payouts, but potentially less frequent wins.

“X” Ways to Win: Dynamic slot game structures

Paylines are predetermined patterns that crisscross the reels, acting as guides for winning combinations. When matching symbols align on an active payline, a win is awarded. These patterns are not limited to simple horizontal lines; they can be diagonal, zigzag, or even more intricate, depending on the game’s design.

Understanding paylines: The number and configuration of paylines significantly impact your chances of winning.

• More paylines, more opportunities: Activating more paylines increases the probability of landing winning combinations, as each active payline represents another opportunity for symbols to align in your favor. However, keep in mind that betting on more paylines also increases your bet size per spin.
• Payline patterns: Familiarize yourself with the payline patterns in a game before you start spinning. Some games visually highlight winning paylines, making it easier to track your wins.

“X” Ways to Win: Dynamic slot game structures

Deviating from traditional paylines, this tells you how many combinations you can make on the slot in order to win. All you need to do is match adjacent symbols on the paylines that your slot allows. In this system, wins are rewarded regardless of their specific position on those reels. This means that, as long as matching symbols appear on consecutive reels, starting from the leftmost reel, a win is triggered.

For modern slot games, “X” ways is an advantage because the system often results in hundreds or even thousands of potential winning combinations per spin, which significantly enhances your win opportunities compared to traditional payline structures.

Max Bet: Maximize slot game returns

The “Max bet” option allows players to wager the maximum allowed coins on a single spin. While requiring a larger upfront bet, it proportionally increases the potential payout for any winning combination, including jackpots.

When to consider max bet:

• Progressive jackpots: Many progressive jackpot slots require a max bet to be eligible for the grand prize.
• Maximizing returns: If you’re aiming for the highest possible payouts and are comfortable with the associated risk, max betting can be a viable strategy.

Multiplier: Amplify slot game payouts

This is a symbol which multiplies the payout of the winning combinations landed from the spin. It can be awarded in bonus rounds or free spins. When a multiplier forms part of a winning alignment, it can multiply the standard payout by a predetermined factor, such as 2x, 3x, or more. Multipliers can significantly boost your winnings especially when they’re part of large winning combination or bonus feature.

Wild: Slot game versatility

Each slot game has its own wild symbol and they substitute as any other regular symbols within the game to help you create a winning combination. Wild symbols do not replace other bonus or special ‘scatter’ symbols, but they’re versatile placeholders. You can think of them like wildcards in a deck of cards, able to adapt to different situations to create a winning hand..

Wild Multiplier: Combining functionality for bigger impact

This is a multiplier that attaches to the wild symbol and can double or even triple your winning amount. Wild multiplier symbols merge the substitution capabilities of wilds with the payout-enhancing effect of a multiplier. Not only do they substitute for other symbols, but they multiply the payout of any winning combination. It’s highly sought after by players because of the versatility and potential for amplified wins.

Expanding Wilds: Increase slot game win opportunities

Imagine Wilds, but across a whole reel. Expanding Wilds act as a regular wild symbol by substituting every symbol on the reel as wild by expanding vertically or horizontally generating several winning combinations over several paylines. The appearance of expanding wilds can quickly turn a near miss into a substantial win.

Stacked Wilds: Maximize win potential

Stacked wilds appear as Multiple Wild symbols stacking on top of each other, covering most or the entire reel which will help to complete more winning combinations. This doesn’t just increase the chance of a win on a single spin but opens up the potential for multiple wins across different paylines simultaneously. Games with stacked wilds often have higher volatility as a result, meaning wins might be less frequent – but have the potential to be much larger.

Scatters: Key for unlocking bigger slot game wins

A scatter is a symbol that does not need to land on a payline and can award you the following features: coins payouts, free spins or bonus rounds. Each Scatter feature is triggered depending on the amount of Scatter symbols seen anywhere along the reels. E.g. if you hit two scatter symbols across the reels, you get free spins. Some games will reward you with a bonus round if you get more than one Scatter symbol. Watch out for these because big prizes will be available.

Bonus Round: Slot games within slot games

Depending on the game, the bonus round is a special round or a mini game that can either offer higher payouts for winning combinations or a lot of free spins. This can be activated by hitting a certain combination of symbols. Think of bonus rounds as ‘games within the game’.

Bonus rounds can vary greatly in their volatility, depending on the slot game. Some offer frequent but smaller wins, while others are designed for less frequent but potentially much larger payouts. The paytable, in-game information screens, or online casino reviews, will often provide a dedicated section for bonus features, including how they’re triggered and what happens during the bonus round. Access the paytable but looking for buttons that are labelled ‘Paytable’, ‘Info’, ‘Rules’, or similar, usually located near game controls.

Free Spins: Extend slot game playtime

Free spins can be activated by spinning a specific symbol combination or from a bonus round. As the name implies, you don’t have to pay for the free spins and will get to keep all winnings awarded from the spins. Free spins are a sought-after feature in any slot game, allowing you to spin the reels multiple times without touching your bankroll.

Free Spins vs. Bonus Rounds

Pay attention to the paytable to see what kind of bonus features scatters unlock. Some games offer both free spins and interactive bonus rounds, each with its own potential for big wins. Decide which type of bonus aligns better with your playing style and risk tolerance.

Look for free spin features that include multipliers. A multiplier applied to your free spin wins can significantly boost your overall payout. Some games even offer increasing multipliers with each spin, creating the potential for massive wins.

Pay table: Your slot game guide

Also known as a pay chart or a pay schedule which lists all the possible payouts of the specific slot machine. It tells you what all the winning combinations are and how much each combination is worth in addition to whether if the game has any special symbols and bonus rounds.

Don’t just glance at the pay table – study it. Look for details like:

• High-paying symbol combinations: Understand which symbols offer the biggest payout.
• Bonus round details: As mentioned, familiarize yourself with specific rules and potential rewards of bonus features.
• Special symbol behavior: Learn how wilds, scatters, and other special symbols function within the game.

Payout: How slot game wins are calculated

Understanding how payouts work is crucial for making informed betting decisions. Payouts are the amount the slot awards when a player gets a particular winning combination, and can be determined by:

• Symbol value
• Bet size
• Multipliers

With this, understanding a game’s RTP can inform your betting strategy. Return to Player (RTP) represents the theoretical percentage of wagers a slot machine is expected to return to players over time. Look for games with a higher RTP for potentially better long-term returns.

Jackpot: The ultimate prize

The jackpot is the holy grail of slot gaming, as the largest prize that a slot game can pay out or the biggest prize that has been paid out by the slot game. Jackpots can be either fixed or progressive:

• Fixed jackpots have a predetermined payout amount.
• Progressive jackpots increase with every bet placed on the game until they’re won, often reaching significant amounts.

If you’re chasing a progressive jackpot, consider the seed amount or starting value of the progressive jackpot. Some players prefer a jackpot with a higher seed amount, even if the odds of winning might be lower.

Networked vs. local progressive jackpots

There is also the question of networked versus local progressive jackpots which, for crypto casinos, differs slightly from traditional casino concepts:

• Networked progressives pool bets from multiple players across different online casinos. This would be facilitated by the game provider, like Microgaming, NetEnt, or Spinomenal.
• Local progressives, often referred to as ‘site-specific’ or ‘in-house’ progressive jackpots, are jackpots tied to the specific game or group of games within that particular online casino.

Now you know the kind of terms you’ll encounter in our bitcoin slots, you’re ready to play in our bitcoin casino. By incorporating these strategic tips into your gameplay, you can enhance your understanding of Bitcoin slots and potentially improve your overall chances of winning at Cloudbet casino.

Play for free straightaway or register for an account and play for bitcoin. Or if you want to read more about our casino, with popular live table games and RNG games like keno, check out these articles:

• Seven Tips For Playing Bitcoin Slots
• Best Keno Numbers