How to read slot machines and online slot paytables like a pro

With real money online casino apps, figuring out how to read slot machines can be confusing. That not only applies to the overall return-to-player and volatility rates and the mechanics and rules of each title, but also to how much money users can win by matching certain symbols and in bonus features. All of that information can be found in the paytable breakdown located within every online casino game.

Picture visiting an amusement park and wondering how a certain ride works. The paytable of online slot machines, including all of the progressive jackpot slots, provides a peek behind the curtain.

At its core, a paytable details all the ways slot machine paylines pay out. Understanding this is important in figuring out how to understand slot machines. 

Take, for example, Rise of the Mountain King, one of the best paying slots in the industry. The paytable in this title includes payouts for all of the regular pay symbols, including the highest-paying symbol of the princess, which pays out 13.3 times the stake for a line hit.

All slots' paytables include all the winning combinations for payouts, not only how many need to land in order to claim winnings, but also on what lines and reels and in what order.

Users can find paytables in real money online slots by clicking on an icon within the game that is usually a lower-case "i," a question mark, or a three-line or three-dot logo.

A slot machine's symbols and the meaning of combinations of slot machine symbols can vary from game to game. So learning how to read each slot machine's paytable ensures you are an informed player. 

As noted, paytables break down all the winning combinations of an online slot selection. That includes all the base-level symbols, which – depending on how many are required to hit – can lead to smaller payouts.

There are also bonus slot symbols that can unlock bonus rounds within games, as well as mystery symbols that can reveal special features or prizes. In addition, many games feature scatter symbols, meaning they can land anywhere on the reels to lead to a payout. Wilds, meanwhile, can replace most regular symbols to create larger wins.

Paytables can also detail special features and bonus games of slots, such as which symbols and how many are required to land in order to trigger those bonuses. Within the paytable, too, are rules of those special features, including how players can earn multiplier bonuses that are unlocked by certain symbols.

Becoming familiar with how to read paytables can certainly help users find the best games to fit their needs, including the highest RTP slot titles that tend to pay out more frequently than others.

Players can look at paytables to see if there are bonus buy features, which allow them to bypass the regular symbol combination requirements to unlock bonus rounds. Users can also see if there is the potential to trigger multipliers, which – as the name suggests – multiply winnings by a certain value.

If that weren't enough, some real money online slots boast sticky wild symbols, icons that land and stay in place on the reels for a preset number of spins and can generate even larger payouts.

Whether it be with progressive jackpot slots or low volatility slot machines, paytables provide all the information players need to know in order to maximize their entertainment and excitement – and potential winnings – in the world of legal online casinos.

Grant Lucas