Video slots and slot machines have an extremely wide audience across the globe, simply because these games are very addictive. Even though one may think that spinning the reels on a slot machine can get pretty monotonous, the combination of additional features and the possibility to win big will keep you going for a long time.

However, the lingo in the video slots world is a bit different so some players, in the beginning, will have a difficult time understanding what paylines, Scatters, Wilds, and win-both-ways are. Fortunately for all of them, we will provide a glossary of the most common expressions that are used every day.

Most Important Phrases in the Video Slots World

3-Reel – There are several types of video slots based on the number of reels used. A three-reel video slot is the oldest type of a slot machine, offering three reels, and, usually, between 1 and 5 paylines, with fruits acting as paying symbols.

5-Reel – A video lot that is the most common one nowadays. It offers 5 reels and, usually, 3 or 4 rows.

Active Payline – Every video slot offers paylines, where you need to land symbols in order to win a payout. If there is an option to choose the number of paylines you want to play with, the active payline is the one that you activated yourselves.

All Ways – This is the system where you can land winning combos literary anywhere, starting from the leftmost reel, or vice versa, or even in the middle of the reel grid in some cases.

Autospin – This is a feature that allows you to activate automatic spins, where you sit back and let the machine do all the hard work for you.

Bet – Every spin will cost you a certain amount of money, and that is called the bet. You decide how big the bet will be.

Bet Min – This is the minimum possible bet you can place per spin.

Bet Max – The maximum possible bet allowed on a certain video slot.

Bet Per Line – Some video slots give you the option to bet per single line. Basically, you place a bet on every payline you use, and the total bet is the multiplied amount of all bets placed on active paylines.

Bonus Round – Most of the video slots offer additional features that are called Bonus Rounds, where players can get free spins, multipliers, instant wins, etc.

Branded Slots – Video slots themed after popular TV shows, movies, bands, cartoons. Branded slots usually boast exceptional graphics and offer exciting additional features.

Cascading Reels – Cascading reels allow winning symbols to disappear from the reels, and new icons land on the reels to fill blank positions, allowing gamers more chances to land winning combos in a single spin. Cascading reels can come with increasing win multipliers. Also known as Tumbling Reels, Rolling Reels, Avalanche feature.

Classic – A classic video slot usually comes with 3 reels, 1-5 paylines, no additional features, and fruits acting as icons on the reels.

Coins – When you wager on video slots, you stake “Coins”, or the standard unit offered by the game, to place your bet.

Cluster – Instead of landing symbols on paylines, you can form clusters of matching symbols, horizontally or vertically connected, to win payouts.

Coin Size – The coin size is where you change the amount of the money you place per spin. Also known as the Coin Denomination.

Drops – Instead of spinning the reels, you have the symbol drops feature, so, when you click on the Spin button, the symbols seem as if they drop down on the reels.

Feature – Also known as a special feature, or additional feature. Similar to Bonus Round, an additional game inside of the video slot, like free spins, instant wins, progressive jackpots, etc.

Freeplay / Free-to-play – Video slots that are played in a free mode, where you do not need to pay for playing a certain game.

Free Spins – A feature triggered while playing video slots, offers spins that are free, usually ten or more of them.

Fruit Machine – See the classic video slot above, also known as the one-armed bandit.

Gamble – A feature that allows you to double or quadruple your winnings after a winning spin. In most cases, a card game.

Icons – Also known as slot symbols that populate the reels and that players use to combine in order to land wins and trigger additional features.

Jackpot – The maximum payout any slot game can offer.

Lines – Also known as paylines.

Megaways – A modern online slot game engine which can offer hundreds, even thousands of ways to win. Used instead of paylines.

Nudge – Allows players to move the reels up or down in order to create a winning combination. Nudging reels have the ability to automatically nudge up or down if there is a chance to form a winning combo.

Online Slot – A type of video slot that is played online.

Payline – A line where symbols land in order to create winning combinations.

Payout – A prize gamers get when they form a win on a payline.

Paytable – A menu where players can find out everything there is to know about a video slot that you are playing. Includes rules, payouts, special features and how to trigger them.

Penny Slots – Video slots that offer an opportunity to wager small amounts of cash, intended for players that are not prepared to place higher bets, also called Penny punters.

Pick Me – A Bonus round that where you get to pick from several icons in order to reveal a hidden instant win.

Pokies – This is how slots and video slots are called in Australia and New Zealand.

Progressive Jackpot – Usually a huge amount of cash that is accumulated from various slots played on the same network. It can be triggered randomly in most cases, or you can increase your chances of winning it by increasing the amount of your bet, or by landing a certain combination of symbols or Scatters.

Reels – Vertical columns that are spun during the game, and where symbols land on.

Rows – Horizontal lines that appear on the reel grid.

Return To Player (RTP) – The average payout that a slot machine gives back to players over time. If an RTP is 96%, it means that, in theory, if players wager $100, the game should return $96.

Scatter – An icon in the game that can deliver payouts anywhere on the reels. Also, it triggers Bonus rounds in most cases.

Spin – The action of moving the reels during gameplay.

Stacked Symbols – When a number of symbols occupy an entire reel or reels.

Stacked Wilds – A situation when Wilds land on top of each other and cover entire reels.

Symbols – Icons that appear on the reels.

Video Slots – Slots that can be found both online and in land-based casinos, boasting crisp graphics and fitting soundtracks

Wild – A certain symbol in the game that substitutes for all regular symbols when creating a winning combination.

Wild Multiplier – Wilds that have a multiplier. The multiplier is applied on a win when a Wild is a part of the winning combination.

Win – Happens when you land at least a minimum number of prize-winning symbols in accordance with the paytable.

Win-Both-Ways – Some slots will offer win both ways. This means that you can land winning combinations starting from the leftmost reel and vice versa.