Casino slot games explained

New casino sites to play real money

While most slots have a top prize that’s fixed, progressive jackpot slots grow over time. Whenever a player places a real money bet on a progressive slot machine, a portion of the bet gets added to the prize pool. Since progressive slots are networked across multiple sites or live venues, the most popular games grow rapidly and have prizes worth millions. Multipliers increase your winnings by a specified factor. You may find 2x or 3x multipliers that will double or triple the usual prizes.

Slots games explained

Did you know slot machines are the most popular casino game in the world? While these games of chance certainly have their detractors, many brits make fruit machines their first and final stop at the casino. You can’t blame them once you consider that slots are available in low denominations, require no skill to play, and often feature colossal jackpots. Even though slot machines are straightforward, it’s worth taking a few minutes to understand how they work. Continue reading as our experts reveal everything you need and want to know about slot machines.

Games for all tastes

When you play a casino game like blackjack, you can count on fairly consistent gameplay no matter where you enjoy the game. Sure, there are twists on classic blackjack and some casinos have their own house rules, but at the end of the day there are only so many ways to play twenty one. In contrast, you can find thousands of different slot machines with various themes, payouts, symbols, soundtracks, and special features. Some slots give you just one opportunity to win on a spin, while other games might offer 1024 ways to win. You can find classic fruit machines that pay homage to a bygone era and innovative video slots loaded with stunning animation and interactive bonus features. In other words, if you grow tired of a game all you have to do is slide over for an entirely new experience.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a film buff, music fanatic, sports fan, or student of history, you’ll find thrilling slots that feel like they were custom-tailored for you.

At the same time, slots aren’t complicated. As the ultimate game of chance, there isn’t much to learn or know. Most games operate on the same fundamental principle. You insert your money, adjust the size of your bet, and press the spin button to set the reels into motion. If any of the winning combinations appear across your active paylines, you’ll win. Yet even if you don’t understand what’s happening right before your eyes, you’ll still get paid if you win. Then again, you’ll have more fun if you fully understand what’s happening.

Slot machine mechanics

Early slot machines relied on players to pull a lever, which would set three mechanical reels into motion. When playing these classic slots, the correct combination of symbols would need to intersect the single horizontal payline running through the centre of the playing area. Of course, applying physical force isn’t technically possible when playing online, which is why contemporary slots use random number generators or rngs to control where the reels end up stopping. Yet even if you play at a live venue, you’ll encounter video slots, which use computer screens and are identical to the games you’ll find on the internet. If you do play slots with physical reels, the action is still motorized and where the reels end up is wholly dependent on an RNG, which is a computer program that ensures every outcome is random.

Even though it’s possible to create slots with any number of reels, 3 reel and 5 reel configurations are fairly standard.

Paylines

Thanks to technological advances, today’s games are far more sophisticated and fun than their predecessors. The biggest change is the number of ways to win. Every game has at least one payline, which is the line that cuts across the gaming area. When a qualifying set of symbols passes through one of the active paylines then you’ll win. While early games had just a single payline, the newest video slots have dozens of paylines. Some slot machines have more than 100 paylines. Generally, games pay you for symbol combinations that appear from left to right, but there are exceptions, so read the rules before you play for real money.

Modern slot machines are a huge departure from early games, which had a single payline that cut horizontally through the centre of the reels. The latest releases feature straight, diagonal, and zig-zag paylines that give you more ways to win. Before you spin the reels, it’s important to realise that having the correct symbol appear across the reel isn’t always enough to win. You’ll need to bet on a payline for it to be active. Some games do have fixed paylines, which means you’ll be covered on every spin.

Placing your bets

Slot machines can generally accommodate any budget. Before placing your bet, you may be able to adjust the coin denomination, quantity of coins per payline, the number of paylines, and the total bet. Not all games let you control all of these elements, but make sure you pay attention to the total bet so you aren’t surprised at the cost per spin. Some slot machines do require you to play the maximum number of lines if you want to be eligible to win a progressive jackpot.

Even if pressing the spin button a few times in a row hardly seems like a hassle, most titles now offer an autoplay feature that lets you enjoy dozens and sometimes hundreds of spins in a row with a single click. All you have to do is sit back and watch the money roll in, assuming you win.

The slot machine pay table

The first slot machines had only a few symbols, which made it possible to display the winning combinations and directions right on the cabinet. Newer games feature many more symbols, free spins, bonus rounds, and other special features. As a result, the pay table and other instructions are out of sight until you click on the appropriate icon. If you take the time to browse the pay table, you’ll learn about the symbols, scatters, wilds, winning combinations, how bonus rounds are triggered, and the RTP.

Key slot machine symbols

Wilds

As the name suggests, wild symbols can take the place of most other symbols to help you complete a winning payline. Since every slot machine is a game of chance, when and where wilds appear is effectively random.

When playing slots, you’ll likely encounter several types of wilds including sticky wilds, which stay in their place for multiple spins, and stacked wilds, which appear on top of each other on a reel. Expanding wilds grow in size to help you complete even more paylines. Random wilds can appear seemingly out of nowhere after the reels come to a halt. Transferring or nudging wilds can move from one reel to another. Shifting wilds remain in the game for more than one spin but move around on every turn.

Scatters

Scatter symbols serve different functions depending on the game. Sometimes scatters trigger a bonus game or yield a prize, but as the name suggest you can still win when these symbols are scattered about. In other words, the appearance of a scatter symbol on a single spin may be all you need since lining up across a payline isn’t generally a requirement.

Bonus symbols

Many video slots feature bonus symbols, which can launch bonus games, free spins, and other special features. Bonus games may involve spinning a prize wheel, playing a match game, or choosing an object such as a treasure chest to reveal how much cash you’ve just won. Sometimes you’ll win free spins.

Multipliers

Multipliers increase your winnings by a specified factor. You may find 2x or 3x multipliers that will double or triple the usual prizes.

Special features

Cascading and tumbling reels

When you play a game with cascading or tumbling reels, the symbols used to complete your winning payline will disappear and new symbols will fall into place, making it possible to win again and again before you spin again.

Gamble features

Many slots give you a chance to double your money by playing a bonus game. You usually need to guess the suit or colour of a facedown card that’s about to be flipped. The only catch is that if you lose, you’ll generally lose it all.

Free spins

When you win in-game free spins, you can have another go at the game without placing another bet. It’s possible to win free spins and then use those free spins to win even more free spins and so on.

Playing for progressive jackpots

Slot machine tips

Online casino slots explained

Did you know slot machines are the world's most popular casino game? Even in the face of the poker boom, casinos dedicate the bulk of their real estate to slots. Whether you know them as fruit machines, fruits, pokies, or slots, slot machines are everywhere. That's even true when you visit an internet casino. It's not uncommon to find hundreds of distinct titles that are ready to wow your senses. Although slot machines are easy to play, you'll get more out of every spin by learning the lingo and understanding the special features. Start playing like a pro the first time you play with this convenient guide.

Giving slots A whirl

Slots aren't complicated. You insert your money, adjust the size of your wager, and press the spin button. The reels, which are decorated with a variety of symbols, will rotate rapidly for a few seconds before coming to a halt in quick succession. You'll win if a correct combination of symbols appears across any of your active paylines. Most modern games feature either three or five reels, but the number of possible paylines can range anywhere between one and one hundred.

As we mentioned there are hundreds of different slots. The main differences between games are the underlying themes and symbols. You can find games based on classic las vegas imagery, fruits, cats, tattoos, films, comic books, video game characters, cricket, football, and anything else you can imagine. Of course the number of reels, paylines, and bet size vary too, but the gameplay is fundamentally the same.

Profiting from paylines

The first slot machines featured a single horizontal payline across the centre. In order to win, the correct symbols had to appear on the payline when the reels came to a halt. Although you can still find single payline slot machines, most slots let you bet on multiple lines. That means you can wager on additional horizontal lines, diagonals, and various odd patterns.

Many machines let you adjust the number of paylines you wish to play per spin. Remember you can't win on a payline unless you bet on it. The good news is that you can easily win on multiple paylines on each spin. Most experts suggest playing all the paylines. If that's out of your budget, you can typically play fewer coins per payline or use a lower denomination of currency.

Decoding the symbols

You already know that slot machine gameplay revolves around various symbols, which differ depending on the title you play. It's a good idea to consult the pay table, which is located on the top of the machine. When you play online, you'll usually need to click on a button marked pay table to view the winning symbol combinations and how much they pay. For example, landing three cherries could net you 900 coins while three lemons may only be worth 50 coins. Yet most modern games have special symbols like wilds and scatters.

Wilds are like the chameleons of the slot machine world. They can take on the form of their surroundings and you stand to profit. Although there are occasionally some restrictions, wilds can substitute for needed symbols to complete your payline. Some games also give wilds additional powers. Occasionally wilds also act as multipliers, which means they actually pay more than the symbol they are substituting. You'll also encounter special symbols called scatters. As the name implies you'll be paid even when multiple scatters appear on the different paylines.

Rewarding bonus games

Today's slot machines look more like arcade games than the clunky mechanical marvels they've replaced. The graphics, sounds, and animations are impressive even before you realise how much cash you can win. Yet there's more than just bells and whistles in 2020. Many slots feature bonus games, which are typically triggered by landing certain symbols. You'll often get to spin a prize wheel, pick a concealed prize, or play a simple video game. It's a great way to win extra cash without having to place an additional bet.

Plenty of free spins

When viewing the pay table, you'll usually learn about the various ways you can earn free spins. You typically just need to land a combination of symbols. The best part of free spins is that you get additional gameplay at no cost. Free gameplay means more shots at hitting a jackpot without opening your wallet.

Chasing progressive jackpots

While most slot machines have a fixed top prize, progressive slots feature jackpots that increase over time. Every time someone plays a progressive slot, a portion of the bet gets added to the prize pool. As a result, progressive jackpots keep growing until some lucky player wins and then the process starts over. When you play online slots, you'll find jackpots of all sizes including many worth millions of pounds. It's easy to see why these are the most popular games, especially when the top games cost just a few pounds to play.

Playing to win

Ignore people who tell you slots are for suckers. Online slot machines have vastly superior odds than any fruit machine you'll find at your local pub or casino. In fact, it's not hard to find games that pay out 95% or more on the internet. Keep in mind that all casino games have an inherent house edge, but there are winners every day. The secret is to play within your budget and have fun. Since slot machines require no skill, your success is simply a matter of chance. Every spin is the result of a random number generator. Of course you can improve your odds by sticking to licenced sites and choosing slots with the highest payouts. Just visit our payouts guide to learn more.

Casino slot games explained

There are three basic variations on the roulette theme in casinos around the world, although the differences are very small. They are british, american and french. In france the american roulette game is called english roulette, which is more accurate.

The game is all about predicting where a little white ball will come to rest after spinning around the rim of a roulette wheel. The ball circles for as many as 40 revolutions and as few as 4, the carousel (middle bit with the slots in, or hub) spins continuously in the opposite direction. When the ball and carousel collide, the ball bounces randomly and eventually runs out of steam to rest in a slot with a number attached to it. That number is the winning one.

The wheel sits on a roulette table that has a cloth 'layout'. The layout design has numbers drawn on it that correspond to those in the wheel ( 0 - 36 ). Money placed on, or associated with, the winning number on the cloth layout is rewarded with a prize payout in casino chips. There are different odds payouts associated with different number selections. (full details of how to play roulette)

Its a fast action game that brings out the best and the worst of tempers. A quiet mid-week night in a provincial casino can be as boring as hell but saturday night will see plenty of cheering and swearing. This ain't for the faint hearted or weak willed. It can destroy sane people!

What about the different games? Well now, here's the funny thing. If you walk into a british casino you will, more often than not, see the roulette table designated as 'american roulette'. What makes it american is that it uses different coloured chips for each player at the table so that their bets can be told apart. It is in fact british (see below).

Types of roulette game
NAME	NUMBERS	ODDS¹	HOUSE EDGE	CHARACTERISTICS
american	38	35-1	5.40%	- coloured playing chips - tipping of gaming staff - double zero present, "00"
british	37	35-1	2.78%	- coloured playing chips - tipping allowed - single zero present, "0"
french	37	35-1	2.78%	- cash playing chips - tipping staff essential - single zero present, "0"
(1) odds of payout for a full bet on a single number

American like to play roulette with a " 00 " and a hefty edge against them. The wheel has the normal numbers from 1 to 36 in alternate red and black colours with a green zero and also their 'double zero', also green. Therefore the game has a total of 38 numbers to bet on. The edge against the player is large and consequently the game is not nearly so popular there. Tipping the croupier for a good win is also a tax on top of the house vig. Ouch!

British have the best of it. No tipping ( a lovely 1968 rule ) used to be the law but changes in the 2005 gaming act now allow it but it is not as common as in europe or the US. European roulette wheels, and that includes the U.K, have the numbers in a different order to an american wheel. Both alternate red and black but the european wheel also alternates high and low where as the U.S wheel alternates two low, two high. Another curious difference is that the numbers on a european wheel face inwards and they face outwards on a U.S wheel. Roulette is more popular in britain than anywhere else.

French roulette is played in many places in france and some other fancy casinos around the world. It is a slow, etiquette style game where large cash chips are placed by the two croupiers for the punters. All chips look the same so it is essential that the croupier has great skill in remembering who owns each bet. Nowadays this form is receding into being a show-piece. It doesn't make the house a lot of money but the tips are expected to flow freely.

Visit house edge to see more about the casino advantage in roulette.

Mathematically it is true that if you double up your stakes after a loss, you will eventually win all your money back. The trouble with applying that idea to anything in reality is that a losing streak can force some pretty large bets. You may not have the money to back it up but most certainly you will reach the house limit at some point in time. It is doomed to failure. Don't get caught by this because if you try it, it is likely to succeed for a time before the big crash hits you!

Famous systems: for the record, the simple doubling when you lose system is called the martingale. You start with 1 unit on red (or any even chance bet), then bet 2,4,8,16 and so on, as long as you lose. Whenever you win, you only make a profit of 1 unit. Conversely, the anti-martingale system attempts to take advantage of those long runs by doubling up stakes as you win. This is done by placing your unit bet on an even chance choice and letting the winnings ride until you reach a number of consecutive wins that you thought of before you started. (1+1+2+4+8+16=32 or a return of 32 for 1 after five consecutive wins) this is as equally doomed as its older brother but it doesn't have the potential for catastrophic ruin in one outing.

The labouchère is an appealing try for betting on even chance bets. Take, for instance, six numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6 (you could have 4 or 8 numbers) and bet the total of the first and the last, 1+6=7. If you win you add that number to the end of the sequence, i.E. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7. Now play 1+7=8. If you lose you cross out the first and the last to leave you with 2,3,4,5 and then bet 2+5=7.
Three straight wins from the off and you'll win 24 units whilst losing 3 straight will lose 21 and cross out all the numbers. Of course you are likely to lose more often than you win but its a close thing.
This is a system that limits losses and plays up a 'good run'. Have a solid figure in mind at which you'll stop when ahead and when behind! GGG thinks this is fun and treated with care it will provide some chance to win and have good fun at the same time.

The d'alembert is simply another adding and subtracting system for even chances . For example, bet 10 units on red and if you win, bet 9 on the next spin. If you lose bet 11. Whenever you get to a zero bet you are in profit. The big problem is that you could go on losing all night. GGG doesn't like this much.

There are three serious ways to win at the game of roulette. The third way is to cheat and we will not be condoning any method that involves cheating! We recommend cheats to head for the door.

The two serious attempts to win involve understanding the game and what it is all about. As a customer you may never have thought what is going on but will almost certainly have thought of betting systems that could win for you. Ask yourself why did you do that. Then sit down and begin thinking what the game is. It is a mechanical system for producing random numbers. Which is impossible.

Prediction. A wheel turning in one direction with a gentle slowdown and a ball travelling in the other with a fast but predictable decay. People have used computers to track both and predict where they'll meet. Lots of time and money to develop and if you get spotted they will bar you from entering the casino. This is as tough as it gets. In nevada its illegal. Over here there is no law. However if they suspect you or can trump up a rumour about you, they will not pay you your money!

Bias. In the late nineteenth century, english engineer joseph jagger took 1.5 million francs from the grand casino in monte carlo. He had hired six clerks to record numbers from the roulette wheels for one month to find that they weren't true random number generators. He played the biased numbers for a long stretch and cashed big-time! If he could do it, so can others. This is very very tough, needing a lot of casino experience. Casinos nowadays take measures against this.

Yes it is true that people have won money in a professional sense at this game. How? Because nobody believes that it is possible and when it does happen, the denial just grows and grows until it can't be admitted. Your aim should be to play this game for fun with limited risk. Just set aside an exact amount of money and play it up as slowly or aggressively as you like to suit your style. Give yourself goals to achieve and stick to them. If you happen to reach them quickly, stop and live it up in the bar or restaurant.

Books
the only decent practical book that has had a good print run and therefore available is beating the wheel by russell T. Barnhart . There is also a good read novel, thirteen against the bank, by norman leigh .

Blackjack is the major table game in the U.S but in the UK it is way behind roulette in terms of turnover. This game can actually be interesting to play and if you do your homework (read some books) then you can cut the house edge down to nothing (warning: this is tough!).

To play you must first place a bet (say £10). Two cards are dealt face up to you and one to the dealer. Your aim is to make your cards total more than the dealers but not go over 21 ( bust ) which forfeits your bet.. You may ask for additional cards and once you've decided to stop taking them the dealer begins adding cards to their hand. They must draw a card if their total is less than 17 and stop once they reach 17 or more. Over 21 ( bust or 'to many' ) and the players hand wins if it is still live.

If your total is higher than the dealer's or the dealer has bust, then your bet is paid at even odds, that means you win an amount equal to your bet. A blackjack is a two card hand consisting of a picture card (that includes 10s) and an ace. That pays 3/2 (£15 for £10), for the player. If your total is lower then you lose your bet and if equal then you get your money back (a stand-off , a push ).

Action
splitting	any any number of times (not aces)	any varies
doubling	any 2 cards	any two cards soft totals
dealer hole card	no	yes
hit soft 17	no	varies

The basic idea of getting close to 21, or reaching it, and beating the dealer, is the same worldwide. From there, the variations begin and are so numerous we won't describe them all. Here in the table are some of the important differences. To see the impact of these differences visit house edge. If you want to get the details of what effects subtle variations in the rules have, then read down to the recommended book reading in this section, especially by stanford wong and peter griffin.

What can be said about having more choices is that it ultimately cannot make the players chances of winning any worse. But due to the inexperienced nature of most players playing online blackjack in uk, choice basically increases the number of ways to go wrong. The following examples are common; doubling 10 against a dealer's 10 (or even ace!) and splitting 8s against 10s or aces! Suffice to say that these are massive blunders.

One point of interest is that in the U.S the dealer gets a face down card ( hole card ) as well as his upcard. What this means is that the dealer checks for the possibility of having a 'blackjack' before any doubling or splitting is done. If he has one, then all bets lose (save a players 'blackjack') and no one can make a mistake by doubling or splitting when they shouldn't. They can and do in the U.K.

The other variation which you will no doubt come across is the numbers of decks of cards used to make up the pack. It all started by playing with just one deck but as players got better, the number of decks increased. Eight decks are used in some places, six is common and four can still be seen in the U.K in places. In the U.S, one and two deck games are often hand-held instead of drawing the cards from a shoe . Rules of play differ according to the number of decks in the U.S but they are the same where ever you go in the U.K.

Betting systems like those described for roulette can be applied to BJ although the doubling and splitting features complicate matters. GGG doesn't recommend trying them or any method of increasing your bets to get your loses back.

Your best chance is to stick to basic strategy, this will keep the house edge down to 1%. Normal play by the general public is riddled with errors and the house gets a 3% vig. From them on average and really bad players give them a lot more.

One more thing : play at the table can get bitchy, oh brother ! One play by the last box player can obviously affect the outcome of the dealer's hand and therefore change everybodies fate. However, and take this in, the order of cards to come are not known and over the long haul there is no relevance to you, or anyone else, what happens at the last box .

You could spend your life reading what has been written on the subject of winning at BJ. Most of it is either rubbish or just pretentious. If you want to read then stick to the main men. They are edward O. Thorp, ken uston, stanford wong and peter griffin. Understand that casinos around the world have benefited greatly from people who read a book on BJ and then launch confidently into playing with their new found knowledge. To win using real systems at BJ you must do a tremendous amount of work. The minimum is to make basic strategy part of your body.

There are three basic strategies:

Card counting

Shuffle tracking

Card location

card counting, is the original way to beat BJ as described by ed. Thorp in his book beat the dealer , which has sold a million copies. Nowadays this is only a way to get level with the house but the book sellers still do well out of it. Card counting understands that some cards in the deck, notably 10s and aces, help the player make good hands and others cause problems, like 4s, 5s and 6s. If you count the good and bad cards as they are dealt you are able to know when there is a favourable distribution of 'good' cards left to be dealt. Then you bet more money.

There is a lot of bull floating around in the gambling business about 'card counting' to the effect that the casino staff spend much time in trying to eliminate it without understanding why. GGG says that if you want to really work and you like doing maths in your head, then card counting can give a level playing field with the house. If its your cup of tea then go for it.

Shuffle tracking, is an update to card counting. It is more efficient and thus more effective. As cards are placed into the discard pile, the player will notice when a group of good cards (10s & aces) clump together. Later, another similar group may be placed there as well. Now the player has to watch the shuffle and if the two groups are shuffled together then that is the area in the pack that the shuffle-tracking player will aim for. When its time for those cards to be dealt in the next shoe, the player bets much bigger for several hands in a row. GGG says this is good but practice for a month.

Card location, is the real mccoy and no one really writes about it because they are too busy coining money from old rope. (also they don't really know) GGG will be doing a special on this at a later date!

Conclusion

BJ is a game that has been beaten and still is. It is a lot of real work. An equal amount of work spent in the real world will deliver gauranteed results in a real business. This wont gaurantee you anything. You really have to love it and its getting tougher all the time. Your best bet is to keep tight limits on your money and just aim to learn the basic strategy slowly. You will not be favourite to win but you'll make it close enough for a shot at winning.

Books necessary texts for the serious player are basic blackjack by stanford wong,the theory of blackjack by peter griffin and possibly blackbelt in blackjack by arnold snyder. Also read blackjack legends – the MIT blackjack team

casino stud poker (jackpot)

This is a casino-dealer dealt table game. Its you against the house with real poker hands. Each player gets dealt five cards face down along with the dealer who gets four down cards and one up card. There is an ante bet before the player gets his cards and if they wish to continue and play against the dealers hand then they must make another bet (or raise ) of exactly twice the ante . If they don't then they forfeit their ante . (see how to play casino stud poker)

For the dealer to play against the player, they must have a qualifying hand of ace,king,x,x,x (x is any card) or better (this happens 56% of the time). If the player has decided on playing and making the necessary raise and the dealer qualifies , then its a straight show-down of who has got the best poker hand. If the dealer wins they take all three units bet. If the player wins he will win either 3 units or a bonus payout if he has a strong hand (better than one pair).

Now this should be all rather simple but players of this uninteresting game make a hell of a botch out of it. Some smart bods have worked on this one, like the late, great, peter griffin, and the basic edge against the player is 2.5%. See house edge this is really quite good and comparable to roulette.

The jackpot
this is a cumulative prize that builds from players across the country placing a side bet that will be paid should the player be dealt a top hand. 30% of each pound placed goes into the pockets of the casino and the other 70% feeds the jackpot fund. The payouts are £50 for a flush, £75 for a full house , £100 for a four of a kind, 10% of the total for a straight flush and 100% of the the fund for royal flush.

Don't bluff. Motto: if you have a pile of junk then throw it away.
This is an extremely simple game and thus tedious. The only enjoyment to be had is involved with being able to slowly reveal your hand to yourself. Stick to the plan of raising the extra two units when you have a strong akxxx hand or better. (i.E. A K J 9 4 ). Drop and lose that ante bet when you have worse. Always!

Sorry folks but there is little to do here. There are some theoretical ways to improve on the 2.5% edge for the house but the difference is at best 0.1%, so you could get down to 2.4%. If you really want to know what they are then read the excellent book by author john haigh, taking chances.

As an aside, people often think (and this includes casino staff) that if you collude with the other players at the table and discover what cards they have, then you will be able to find out what hand the dealer is holding. Well I can tell you that even if all seven boxes at the table were being played, the dealer still has 16 remaining cards from which his four down cards are selected. Using a computer to analyze all 1820 possible 4-card sets out of 16 the player would have an advantage of 2.3%. In a six player game the house would still have an edge of 0.4%. Unfortunatley the internet casinos usually only have 3 player spots. Basically its a non-starter.

For you to have a break even equity at the jackpot side bet in an UK casino, the meter would have to be at least £263,205. If you are playing a £5 initial poker bet, your average bet will be about £10 and your vig. Against you about 25 pence. So to have an even equity across both bets the jackpot prize will have to be 25% above £263,205 which is £329,006. Look for games that allow a £2.50 front bet and play the jackpot bet only when the prize is £296,105 and above.

Baccarat is the mother name for a collection of games with very similiar rules but its origins are not clear as many card game historians compete with their own derivations of the game. Punto banco is a version of baccarat and the one played around the world in casinos and just simply called baccarat. Baccarat en banque and chemin de fer are older variations. In both there are choices for the players, in punto banco there are none.

Punto banco is a simple game of comparing punto ('player') hands with banco ('bank') hands. Two cards are dealt to each from a shoe containing some 312 cards (6 decks). Their value for this game is the last digit only, i.E. 9+6=5 and 3+2=5. This would be trivial and not much of a game but some complex rules are added to see whether either hand gets a third card and thus a different total.

Players at the table have the choice of betting either punto or banco or a third bet, egalité ('ties'), which means betting that the hands will finish equal.
See how to play punto banco for the complete rules.

Banco is favourite to win! However there is a 5% tax on your winnings if you bet banco and so the house edge is 1.17%. Punto gives them 1.36%, close, but not the same. Around one in ten hands are tied but the payout is 9 for 1, which in english is 8-1. Its massive house edge of 14%!

If ever you wanted a chance to play your weired staking systems then this is the game for you. Betting banco gives you the least house vig. Possible inside a casino and the big casinos have large limits. (though much reduced from years gone by after many high profile losses due to collusion between customers and staff)

There have been professionals who have made money out of this game but they relied on the casino in question not knowing how to operate the game correctly. The game itself is not beatable. Poor dealing practises where the croupier exposes the back cards can reveal the exact sequence of cards for the last hand and therefore provide a lock which allows a maximum bet win. This requires a team play, spotter and player at least.

Edge sorting
much has been talked about the phil ivey edge sorting case in the courts. Edge sorting relies on the markings of the patterns on the backs of cards to alert the player what the first card is. The manufacturer of the cards must be known in advance with research on any patterns that can be used. The first card is dealt to the player hand and so you can use the table below to work out the advantage. This can be done naturally but in the phil ivey case he and his playing partner asked the dealer to sort the cards so that the markings were all visable before the deal.

Card	player %	bank %	player edge %	bank edge %
0	41.52	49.52	-8.0	5.52
1	41.55	49.38	-7.83	5.36
2	41.72	49.08	-7.36	4.91
3	41.99	48.70	-6.72	4.28
4	42.33	47.95	-5.62	3.22
5	43.33	46.81	-3.47	1.13
6	45.01	44.26	0.76	-2.97
7	48.31	40.95	7.36	-9.41
8	53.84	36.54	17.29	-19.12
9	55.95	34.42	21.53	-23.25

conclusion

It can be beaten but is very difficult. If you like second guessing which hand will win or you have a staking system to try out, this is the game. Once again, stick closely to your money limits, walk away if you lose the amount you allowed yourself.

This is the game that sorts the wheat from the chaff. Consequently this game is dying out to the detriment of the casino enviroment. To the unintiated, the fast flow of a lively craps game is totally unintelligable, as though the players had suddenly started talking an alien language. Added to that, there are more variation bets in craps than all the other games put together.

Now there are two basic types of craps games, one private and one bank. Private craps is what you see in american movies and is the focus of the film, the big town. Casinos offer bank craps in the american form.

Craps in the U.S and the U.K differ in that some of the odds payouts are different plus the U.S version has more sucker bets. See how to play craps for playing guidelines and house edge for more on the percentages of the game.

The whole idea of the game is to bet on the outcome of a pair of dice ('dice' is plural of 'die' folks). Tradionally they are chunky red see-through dice with white spots that get rolled, or more likely thrown, down the craps table. Bets themselves split into three groups, those that are immediate decisions, or one roll bets , and those that last for many rolls, or place bets and the basic front line bets .

One roll bets for the most part you can consider all of these to be sucker bets which is unfortunate because they are the exciting bets that get paid high odds. The exception to this rule is the field bet (UK) which has a vig. Of 2.56%. Everything else is over 5%.

Place bets these range from 1.5% vig. To 5.5%. Placing 6 or 8 gets you the 1.5%.

Front line bets these are the basic bets of craps and can be played at any time. With full odds played on these bets (recommended) you can reach 0.83% vig against you. This is the best casino bet availabe .

Because come bets can be made continuously and they are just another front line ( pass line or win line ) bet, then you can just play with these. You start with a front line and as soon as the point is made take odds and make a come bet. Play up to three come bets and take odds on all of them. At your maximun vulnerability you will have effectively four front line bets with four different point numbers. Your aim is to take at least 2 down by hitting their point numbers. You are finished and in good profit if you take them all down when you could start again or walk. Across all of these bets you are giving away a little over 0.8% . Its your best shot at a game with no edge and no lengthy work that you'll find inside a casino!

There is no way to beat this game, other than cheat (and we are against that). Professionals can be found playing this game for reasons of fun, in search of excitement, or the little known technique of washing their chips that they have won from playing something else.

Casino games slots features explained

If you’d like to take some spins at the online slots but are finding the terminology a little confusing, please allow us to jargon bust. At unibet online casino we want you to enjoy your time at the casino and be confident in your online play and that’s why we’ve published this guide.

So, if you don’t know your wilds from your scatters or your cascading reels from your multipliers, please read on.

Bonus symbols

The initial aim of any slot game is to line up matching symbols which will lead to cash wins. That’s the base game explained but in most titles, there are bonus symbols. Their role is to take you to additional features and we will explain the options that are available as we move through this review.

At this stage, the important point to note is that bonus symbols exist and that we should identify them before we hit that spin button. At times, they may simply use the word ‘bonus’ or they may employ the game’s logo. Alternatively, the bonus may be a separate image that relates to the specific theme of the title.

Cascading reels

Cascading reels are sometimes referred to as tumbling reels but both terms relate to the same function. Slot games that carry this function will employ the feature on every winning spin. When a matching combo lands, the winning symbols will disappear and others will cascade into their place.

Essentially, when cascading reels appear on a slot machine, you’re enjoying a free respin every time a winning combination drops in.

Coins

The term ‘coins’ simply refers to the amount of money that you are using as a stake. The total sum that you are betting on each payline therefore equates to a certain number of coins.

Expanding wilds

Scroll down towards the end for a full explanation on how a wild symbol works. A standard wild occupies just one position on the reels but many games offer bonus features where that wild can behave a little differently.

Expanding wilds have the capacity to literally ‘expand’ and cover multiple positions on the reels. With more wilds, there is a greater possibility of landing a winning combination so this is a very useful feature to have.

Free spins

The vast majority of slot machines offer bonus rounds and free spins are among the most common features. As the name suggests, this is a section where a certain number of spins are awarded and no additional staking is made during the feature.

Free spins are usually triggered by bonus symbols known as scatters. A certain amount (usually three) will need to land on the reels for free spins to activate. Among the points we need to check is the question of how many spins are awarded and whether or not they can be retriggered. For the answers, look at the game description or read our full game reviews where available.

Multipliers

Multipliers are symbols which will multiply your winnings by a set amount. For example, you may see a symbol appear on the reels with the figures x2 attached to it and this means that any wins will be doubled.

From there, x3, x4, x5 and higher multiples are in place in certain games.

Pay tables

A pay table is available for every slot game on unibet’s list and this will explain how much each symbol is worth. The tables should be clearly laid out with figures underlining the returns that you can expect, depending on how many of each symbol is matched across a payline.

We suggest that all players check out the relevant pay table before getting started. It’s a great way to get an indication as to how the game works and to assess the potential for cash payouts.

Paylines

A payline is, quite simply, an invisible line across the reels, along which you need to match symbols in order to win cash prizes. Typically, paylines will be flat and horizontal but they can also be diagonal and can, on occasions, form in irregular patterns.

Slot wins are usually formed from left to right but on rare occasions, usually during bonus rounds, it may be possible to align from right to left as well. The exact number of paylines available should also be clearly shown in the game’s description and in our reviews.

Pick games

This is an additional feature found in certain slot machines and it will usually activate when three or more scatters have come into play. Once again, this bonus is self explanatory to an extent and when a pick game is triggered, players will be asked to make a selection from a set of images.

Free spins, multipliers, cash prizes and more could be waiting behind those symbols so this can be another lucrative aspect of slot machine play.

Progressive jackpots

Casino slot games will be equipped with two different kinds of jackpots. In the main, the maximum win is a set amount and will not change and this is known as a fixed or non-progressive jackpot.

The second of these is a progressive jackpot and this has the capacity to increase. In games such as mega moolah or megajackpots siberian storm, a percentage of each stake is taken and added to the prize fund. The big cash prize will continue to build until it’s won and this is referred to as a progressive jackpot.

When you head to the slots room, current figures underlining the levels of progressive jackpots for each relevant game will be clearly shown.

The initials RTP stand for return to player and this is the percentage amount returned in winnings. The figure is measured over a minimum of 100,000 spins and has to be quantifiable under the rules of the UK gambling commission.

Slot games at unibet carry an average RTP of 97% which means that for every £1.00 staked, our machines will, on average, return £0.97p.

Scatters

Click through and read our full guide to scatter symbols if you really want to go in depth. For now, all you really need to know is that scatters are valuable icons and will usually lead to the main bonus in any slot game.

Scatters are so called because they do not have to appear in a row across a payline. As long as the minimum number spin into view, they can literally be ‘scattered’ across the reels.

Shifting wilds

A shifting wild acts in a similar fashion to a sticky wild - see below. The one key difference is that a shifting wild will stay in place for just one spin before moving to another position on the reel sets.

Sticky wilds

Sticky wilds are occasionally referred to as locked wilds and they will remain in place on the reels for a sequence of spins. This will normally happen during a bonus feature - most typically when the free spins round comes along.

After each spin, any wilds that fall onto the reels will literally stick in place for the remainder of this bonus feature. As those wilds build, the higher the chances are of getting matching combinations and cash wins.

Stacked wilds

We’ve covered expanding wilds so now it’s time for their stacked counterparts. Stacked wilds can also move to occupy more places on the reels but, as the name suggests, they will stack and occupy extra positions on one reel only.

Wheel of fortune

In a sense, a wheel of fortune is similar to a pick game. This is a bonus feature that can occasionally appear in slot games with prizes up for grabs that may include cash wins, free spins and many more.

The only difference here is that, rather than select prizes that are hidden behind symbols, players will spin a wheel to reveal their rewards.

Wild symbols

We have also published an in depth look at wilds which you can read in full by clicking through here. In a couple of paragraphs, a standard wild symbol is one that will replace others on the reels while looking for a matching combination.

For example, let’s say you are playing siberian storm and have two orange tiger symbols on the first two reels. That’s not enough for a win but if the wild spins into reel three, it will match and trigger a cash prize.

In general, the only symbols that wilds will not replace are scatters and other bonus icons. These are valuable options in their own right so it’s simply not in the players’ interests to have them substituted.

Now that we’ve explained the meaning behind the most common casino slot terms, we hope that you’ll head to the reels with more confidence. Don’t forget you can also play our games for free by hitting the demo button and by doing this, you can see the symbols in action and those terms should become self-explanatory.

You can also click on the guides for wilds, scatters, multipliers and more which will go into greater depth. Cover all these options and you’ll start to approach the slots like a true casino guru.

Casino slot game features explained in a handy guide

Online slots are quite straightforward and easy to comprehend. You can have a number of spinning reels and perhaps 10 symbols of each and if symbols line up on a winning payline, you win!

Since casino slots have come a long way, these days they also come with extras including bonus games, free spins and enticing progressive jackpots. But these aren’t just normal symbols to work with: there are also bonus symbols, multipliers, scatters and wilds.

If you are new to online slots, we have compiled a list of all the symbols you could potentially come across whilst playing.

Bonus symbols

Bonus symbols trigger bonus games or a number of free spins.

Cascading reels

When symbols land on your reels, any winning lines will be removed and replace by new ones falling into their place. These replacement symbols could then create new winning combinations and again replaced by new symbols. This will continue until no more winning combinations can be created.

Coins

This is the amount that you would be betting on each pay line, which in turn would give you the total you would be betting on each spin.

Expanding wilds

Expanding wild symbols fall on a reel and will expand themselves to cover the entire reel. This will create a number of winning combinations, especially since the expansion will touch on multiple pay lines.

Free spins

Free spins are spins that you don’t have to pay for. These are triggered by hitting 3 or more free spins or scatter signs on the reels.

Multipliers

Multipliers are symbols which multiply your winnings by a certain amount.

Pay tables

Pay tables give you essential information on how the slot works and its winning combinations.

Paylines

One of the most essential and foremost features of video slots. The number of paylines a slot has determines the chances you have of you winning.