When you think about slot machines, will you also picture big metal boxes with flashing lights and a lever that makes a row of symbols roll until you hit a matching combination and a bunch of coins falls out of the machine? Well, besides giving us an infinite amount of cat memes and cake recipes, the internet has also opened us the vast world of video slots.

Video slots are, in a way, very similar to their physical ancestors that still rock the floors of land-based casinos, but as online casinos have started conquering the casino industry, slots have also become much more elaborate. The base concept is the same: video slots consist of a screen where you see rows of symbols and you need to click on the “Spin” button, similar to pulling a lever, which makes the symbols spin in their reels and rows. When the spinning motion stops, you’ll be rewarded a certain amount of coins, depending on what combination landed on the reels.

Like physical slot machines, video slots are 100% luck-based and function thanks to a little mechanism called Random Number Generator. This complex algorithm is responsible for keeping the combinations and sequences random and unpredictable. The randomness of slots is actually also the beauty of these games – you don’t need any skills whatsoever in order to win in video slots. You’re simply lucky or not!

There are a few things you should know though before you start spinning those reels. Here are a few pointers to keep in mind:

• Check the RTP – RTP (return-to-player) means the approximate percentage of the money won back while playing in slots. The most common RTP is somewhere between 93-96%, but of course the bigger the better. There are even video slots with RTP of 99%! To get the best out of your experience, opt for video slots with higher RTP.
• Check the paytable – the paytable of a video slot is like a backstage pass to a concert. It reveals all the “dirty secrets” and unlocks the mystic veil that otherwise covers the game. Paytable shows you point-by-point what each symbol is worth, so you can realistically assume what your winnings might be like.
• Progressive jackpots – if you dream about becoming the next big casino winner, you should try your hand in progressive video slots that feature a life-changing progressive jackpot. The jackpot of these games grows with every bet made as a small portion of each bet is directed towards increasing the jackpot. It’s not very uncommon to see a progressive jackpot being over ten million dollars!
• Free spins and wilds are your friends – it can be very monotonous to spin the reels a 100 times in a row if nothing special happens. That’s where bonus features such as free spins or wilds come into play. The more the video slot has different bonus features, the more exciting the gameplay, so you can actually get an exciting experience, instead of feeling like a robot.

If you’ve never tried your hand in video slots, it’s about time to do so! Choose any online casino and you’ll find hundreds of cool video slots that can make your heart race in the hopes of winning the next huge jackpot!