Today's modern online slots games have their roots in the land based slot machines (also know as fruit machines in the UK and Pokies in Australia) you are likely familiar with. Slots games are one of the most popular types of casino games that people like to play online offering as they do a quick, fun and exciting type of gambling game. Slots games are popular all over the world with many millions of individual slots game spins taking place every day.
Get Started Playing Slots
Getting started playing slots online is very easy - typically you just need to visit an online casino which will likely be using a well known casino software brand such as Microgaming or Real Time Gaming to power their casino and you will usually be able to play a selection of games instantly in your we browser for free.
At many online casinos, you'll be able to try the games instantly without signing up but some casinos will ask you to register an account first before letting you play - usually, this just involves entering a few details such as your email address and date of birth, it's a really quick process.
Some casinos will have a bigger selection of games to play on offer than you can pay instantly - in older online casinos to access the full range of games you'll be prompted to download and install the casinos software - this is a small file that once downloaded will take just a few minutes to install the necessary files on your computer which will allow you to access the casino at any time simply by clicking on an icon on your desktop. As long as you're at a reputable casino which uses one of the more well known software types then you have nothing to worry about.
With the software installed on your computer, you're ready to go! Simply click on the casino icon to launch the software and you'll be presented with a casino lobby from where you'll be able to register a new account if you haven't already, access the banker to make deposits and withdrawals, choose which game you want to play, contact customer support etc. different software types present the casino lobby in different ways but they all function pretty much the same. The casino lobby is also typically where a casino will tell you their latest slots games, offers, promotions, tournament details etc.
No Download Required Casinos
With Flash's popularity becoming pretty much none existent and mobile devices filling many homes, workplaces and even school classrooms, the casinos have started to move away from Flash based games and software that requires a download.
With the rise of the mobile device age, websites technology have been advancing at an incredible rate. As such, the technology that runs natively in a standard web browser can now do many of the things that Flash could do, with the differences between the two ever decreasing.
Casinos also realize that many people are using their mobile devices more than their laptops or desktop computers, therefore, they have started to release games in the new technology HTML5. To play an HTML5 game, unlike a Flash game, as long as you have an up to date web browser, you do not need to download any other software - simply visit the casinos website, register and play.
Time to Wager!
Once you've chosen a slot game to play there maybe a short wait while the game downloads. When it's ready, you'll be able to opt to play for real Money or to play in demo mode - it's always a good idea to play a few spins in demo mode to see if you like a particular game.
Once your game is up and running it's time to start wagering. In most slots games you'll get to choose what coin size you wish to wager and the number of paylines you wish to wager on (classic slots only have one payline). So you might wager $1 on ten paylines making your total bet $10.00. Once you've determined your wager it's time to press the 'Spin' button!
Payout Tables: Different slots offer different wagers and rewards so it's always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the paytable which will show you exactly which symbol combinations pay out.
Auto Spins Some slots come with an auto spins feature which means once you've determined your wager you can have the slot game automatically spin as many times as you wish - some slots fans makes use of this feature so that they can play a large number of spins as quickly as possible with a minimum of effort but other slots players prefer the slightly slower pace of pressing the 'Spin' button themselves.
Playing Slots On Mobile
Nowadays more and more slots players are opting to play games on their mobile phones and tablets such as the iPad. If you visit a casino via phone or tablet the casino will often detect you are on a mobile device and so will present you with a mobile version of their casino fully optimised for mobile devices.
Most of the major casino software developers such as Microgaming, Real Time Gaming, Net Entertainment & Playtech have developed mobile casino suites. US players can not access any of the popular Microgaming mobile casinos but they are able to access Slotland powered mobile casino, BetSoft powered casinos & BetOnSoft casinos so there is plenty of choices.
Most mobile casinos work on both Android and Apple devices.
As with the more established desktop casinos, typically a mobile casino will ask you to fill in a short registration form with your age, email address etc and then you can start selecting and playing games. Mobile slots games will come in either instant play format powered by technologies such as HTML5 or they may require a small download to your apps or games folder.
Whether you are playing slots games on mobile or desktop, do remember to play slots for free in demo mode first - it's the best way of getting to know your slots games.
