Slot glossary

Ante bet

An optional extra stake (often about 25% more per spin) that raises the chance of triggering free spins. It increases the cost of every spin. Learn more →

Avalanche

Thunderkick's and NetEnt's name for tumbling reels: winning symbols disappear and new ones fall into place. Learn more →

Base game

Normal paid spins, outside any bonus feature. Learn more →

Bonus buy

Paying a fixed multiple of your stake to go straight into a bonus round. Banned in some markets, including Great Britain. Learn more →

Bonus frequency

How often the main bonus triggers on average, e.g. 1 in 180 spins. Learn more →

Book slot

A slot where a special symbol expands to cover whole reels during free spins, popularised by Book of Dead. Learn more →

Cascading reels

Another name for tumbling reels – winning symbols are removed and replaced from above. Learn more →

Cluster pays

A pay system where groups of matching symbols touching horizontally or vertically form wins. Learn more →

Collector

A symbol that gathers the values of cash or coin symbols on the grid, common in fishing and hold-and-win games. Learn more →

Demo mode

Playing a slot with play-money credits instead of real money. Official demos run the same rules as the real game. Learn more →

DuelReels

Hacksaw Gaming's expanding wild reels where two characters duel and the winner's multiplier applies to the reel. Learn more →

Expanding wild

A wild that grows to cover a whole reel, often with a multiplier or respin. Learn more →

Feature

Any special event beyond a normal win: free spins, respins, modifiers or pick games. Learn more →

Free spins

A bonus round of spins at no cost, usually triggered by three or more scatter symbols. Learn more →

Gamble feature

An optional double-or-nothing step after a win. You can lose the win entirely. Learn more →

Hit frequency

How often any winning spin lands, e.g. 1 in 4 spins. Includes wins smaller than your stake. Learn more →

Hold and win

A respin feature where coin symbols lock in place and new ones reset a respin counter. Learn more →

House edge

The share of each stake a game keeps over the long run: 100% minus the RTP. Learn more →

Infectious wild

A wild or xWays symbol that spreads its symbol to other positions on the grid. Learn more →

Jackpot (fixed)

A set prize, usually a multiple of your bet, awarded by special symbols or a full grid. Learn more →

Max win

The largest payout a slot allows from one spin or bonus round, as a multiple of your stake. Learn more →

Megaways

Big Time Gaming's mechanic where reel heights change every spin, giving up to 117,649 ways to win. Learn more →

Multiplier

A value that multiplies a win – on a wild, a grid position, a reel or the whole round. Learn more →

Mystery symbol

A symbol that reveals a random symbol, wild or feature after the reels stop. All mystery symbols usually reveal the same thing. Learn more →

Pay anywhere

Also called scatter pays: enough matching symbols anywhere on the grid win, with no lines or adjacency needed. Learn more →

Paylines

Fixed lines across the reels on which matching symbols must land to win. Learn more →

Progressive multiplier

A multiplier that grows with each win or cascade during a feature, often without resetting. Learn more →

Respin

A free re-spin of some or all reels, usually with certain symbols held in place. Learn more →

Retrigger

Extra free spins awarded for landing more scatters during the bonus round. Learn more →

RTP

Return to player: the percentage of all money wagered that a slot is designed to pay back over millions of spins. Learn more →

RTP version

One of several RTP configurations of the same game that providers offer casinos, e.g. 96.5%, 95.5% and 94.5%. Learn more →

Scatter

A symbol that pays or triggers a feature wherever it lands, regardless of lines. Learn more →

Sticky wild

A wild that stays in place for more than one spin. Learn more →

Super Cascades

Hacksaw Gaming's tumble variant that removes every symbol of a winning type, not just the winning group. Learn more →

Tumbling reels

Winning symbols disappear and new ones drop in, so one paid spin can win several times. Learn more →

Volatility

How unevenly a slot pays: high volatility means rarer but bigger wins, low volatility means frequent smaller wins. Learn more →

Walking wild

A wild that moves one position (usually one reel left) on each spin, paying again where it lands. Learn more →

Ways to win

A pay system where matching symbols on adjacent reels pay in any row, e.g. 243 or 4,096 ways. Learn more →

Wild

A symbol that substitutes for other symbols to help complete wins. Learn more →

xBet

Nolimit City's option to pay a higher stake per spin for a better chance of triggering bonuses. Learn more →

xBomb

Nolimit City's exploding wild that clears neighbouring symbols and raises the win multiplier. Learn more →

xNudge

Nolimit City's stacked wild that nudges into view, adding +1 to its multiplier with each step. Learn more →

xSplit

Nolimit City's mechanic that splits symbols in half to double them, often doubling a multiplier too. Learn more →

xWays

Nolimit City's mystery symbol that reveals several copies of one symbol, making the reel taller and adding ways. Learn more →