Slots Glossary

Action - the bankroll that you wager in a certain period.

Bonus Feature- with slots you have a bonus game offered that usually adds to the winnings or offers you one free spin.

Buy-Your-Pay - you have more options for max coins in this rare slot machine. If you play a single coin there is one option and if you play more coins you get more options.

Carousel - in a casino this is a bunch of slots that are in a group.

Coin Size - this is the minimum amount of money the slot will take. So they have penny slots while others are quarter slots.

Hit - when you win this is the slang term.

Hold Percentage - this is related to the pay back percentage that the machine offers. The machine will hold 4 percent of every 100 dollars you play.

Hopper - this is the coin area in the machine that separates the coin size for pick up or pay out.

Max Bet - Each machine has a specific amount of money you should spend to get the bonuses or jackpots. This is the max bet it is, also the max amount of coins the machine will play or accept for one round.

Onesies - a term for a person who bets a single coin during each round.

One Armed Bandit- This has been another name for slot machines in the past.

Payline - the line that tells you what symbols match up to determine the winnings you have just earned. The pay table will explain the winnings.

Payout - This is what you earn on any given spin for the pay lines you have.

Payout Percentage - This is the amount you put in the machine in relation to the percentage of what you will earn back. For every 100 dollars placed in a machine you get 98 dollars out because this is a 98 percent payout. If you walk away from the machine you may not see this payout, but eventually someone will.

Pay Table - This is a chart to offer you the winning symbols that will payout and how much they will payout for the combinations you can obtain.

Progressive Jackpot - On some machines a percentage of your bet will go towards the jackpot, meaning that as you play the jackpot will grow bigger. It will also grow bigger as other games in the carousel are played since they are linked. You must have a very specific combination in order to win during a spin.

Progressive Ticker or Progressive Meter - This is the display above the slot machines that tell you what the progressive slot jackpot is up to. Remember not all slot machines will be progressive.

Random Number Generator (RNG) - This is a program used by an online computer program for slot machines. It will determine the wins, jackpots and progressive features. It is a random set up so that the computer is fair to all players and that no patterns will emerge.

Reels - On a machine you have wheel like structures that spin; these are called reels with the symbols to determine if you win.

Staggered Payout - This is a chart offering you more money when you play more coins. In other words to get the progressive jackpot you must play the max bet, whereas when you play a single coin you can never attain the jackpot.

Static Jackpot - This jackpot will not change, therefore it is not progressive and percent of your bet will not increase its payout.

Symbols - These are the graphics or pictures on the reels. Usually fruit, numbers, bars, and stars, but there are a host of different options online.

Take Cycle - This is a theory based on supposition that a slot machine will not payout twice in a row, but it is random so the possibility of a payout happening twice is there.

Tilt - When a slot machine has issues. It will not play correctly so you must wait until it is fixed.

Wild - This is a symbol you can get on the slot machine in place of another symbol for a payout.

Winning Combination - This is the symbol combo that you need for a payout. They are going to be different depending on the symbols and pay out table.

Zombie - This is a slang word for those who sit at a machine without moving and will continue to play that machine only.