Every guide to online slots goes into depth explaining the paytables of online slots, but is this something you truly and genuinely need to know when playing online slots? The short answer is yes. Here is why.

Why Understanding Pay Tables for Online Slots Is Essential 

If you struggle to understand the pay tables when reading guides on how to play online slots, you should be glad to learn you are not the only one. Many newcomers to the online slots world never bother to look at the paytable because they either think it’s not important or they don’t know how to do it. 

The truth is that the paytable consists of critical information about the game, including how much each symbol is worth and what progressive jackpots are on offer. By understanding the paytable on any game of slots, your decisions should be more informed. You should also have an easier time knowing which games are best to play and how to put your money to best use. Plus, without properly understanding the paytable, you could easily spin the reels and not even know if you’ve won anything. The good news is, in most cases, the information contained in the paytable is fairly straightforward.

What Is a Paytable for Online Slots?

Briefly put, a paytable (also known as a payout table) is essentially a breakdown of all the possible winning combinations and how much each one pays out. A pay tables displays how much each symbol or combination of symbols pays out, while also offering additional information on the game including rules, pay lines, symbols, and available game features. This is why a paytable is often considered a user manual built within the game.

Pay Tables are frequently listed in order, starting from the highest paying symbols to the lowest paying symbol in the game. So, for example, if you see three symbols on the screen that pay out 600 credits for three symbols (also called a jackpot), then that will be listed first on the paytable. Next, you should see the second highest payout for two symbols, followed by the third highest payout for a single symbol, and the list goes on. 

Also, the majority of online slots games feature bonus games or bonus rounds where players can enjoy even more generous payouts. When playing progressive online slots, the same paytable should clearly highlight the bet sizes that are necessary to engage a jackpot.

By understanding the paytable, you’ll know exactly what you can win and how to go about achieving it. For example, it will help to know that some games have multiple paylines (e.g. 10, 20, or even 100). This means that there is more than one way to win on every new spin. Plus, the actual payout normally depends on the size of your bet. For instance, making a $1 bet on a spin and hitting three 7s on an active payline means winning a certain amount of money $100 corresponding to matching three 7s on the payline, as indicated in the paytable.

How to Read Pay Tables for Online Slots?

Most slots that can be played online allow players to easily access the pay table by clicking on an icon normally marked with an ‘i’ located either on top or at the bottom of the screen. This should make a pop-up window show up on the screen, displaying all the crucial game information, including:

Paylines. These mark the exact patterns that the symbols will need to align with on the reels to trigger a win. Classic slots have just one horizontal payline. Today’s games feature several paylines and mixed patterns. The paytables normally illustrate these exact patterns across the actual grid.

Bet limits. They display the minimum and the maximum bets players can make, along with the bet required to score a jackpot when playing progressive games. 

Paying symbols. These are all the symbols within the game and their potential possible winning combos. Usually, you will see the images of these symbols together with their multipliers and coin amounts that can be won provided the respective combos end up landing on the reels. 

Special symbols. Pay Tables display all special symbols that can engage unique wins and features, including Scatters and Wilds.

Jackpots. There is no better feeling than casually spinning some reels and scoring a life-changing jackpot. Pay Tables display details on the payout of a jackpot and the bets needed towards it. 

Features. Multipliers, bonus rounds, auto-spins, and free spins are some of the most popular features most online lots come with. A pay table will offer players all the information they need regarding these features and how to trigger or use them.

All in all, by familiarizing yourself with the pay tables on any game of online slots you want to play, you should be able to control your budget, gamble more responsibly, and increase your chances of winning.