The pay lines of slot games are one of the most important aspects to consider when choosing an online slot. They determine how many winning combinations there are, the jackpot amount and chances of landing a win. In this article we’ll be breaking down what does lines mean in slots and how to increase your winning potential by controlling this element of the game.
A payline in a slot machine is a line that runs across the reels and defines the winning patterns. Winning symbols must land on the payline to generate a payout. There are a number of different ways that this line can be configured, including horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Depending on the type of slot you’re playing, the number of paylines can vary from as little as one up to an incredible 117,649 ways to win.
Whether you choose to play on all paylines or just a few will depend on your budget and how much you want to bet per spin. The more paylines you activate, the higher your odds of winning are but this will also increase the cost of each spin.
Some slot machines offer ‘wild’ symbols that can be substituted for any other symbol on the payline, thereby increasing your chances of winning even if you don’t land the winning combination. This is a good way to increase your chances of winning without having to make large bets.
It’s always best to check the paytable before starting to play any slot as this will give you all the information that you need about the slot, including how many paylines it features, the types of winning symbols and the payout odds. The paytable can usually be found within the main dashboard of the slot and will have all the info you need to decide how much you want to bet and on which paylines.
Most paylines in slot games are triggered from left to right on the reels, however there are some that offer different options such as All Ways or Cluster Pays. The All Ways type of slot does away with traditional paylines and instead allows you to match symbols in a cluster that will trigger a winning combination. These kinds of slots can be very exciting as they offer a high chance of hitting a win and can often pay out more than traditional slot games.
The number of paylines in a slot game can be changed but this can sometimes be difficult as the numbers will change with each change and can take some time to adjust. Using the maximum number of paylines will ensure that you have the best possible chances of winning but this can drain your bankroll quickly as you’ll be spending more money per spin. Therefore, you must be careful when choosing which amount of paylines to use. It’s also worth remembering that a lot of players will open up a slot and automatically set the number of paylines to the maximum which can be a mistake.