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Play Online Slots With All Paylines Activated

Play Online Slots With All Paylines Activated

Added: July 1, 2015

One of the elements of an online slot machine is the payline. A payline is an arrangement across the reels on which like symbols have to fall in order to pay out. When video slots were first developed they started with nine paylines. But today video slots offer 100 and even more paylines. In a few online slot games all paylines are activated by default. You have no choice in this regard. But in most slot games you can select the number of paylines up to the maximum number defined. The total bet per spin is equal to the line bet multiplied by the number of paylines activated. In order to keep the total bet within budget limits, many new players make the mistake of playing with fewer than the maximum number of paylines. This is the grievous mistake and this article explains why.

If you look at the rules of slot machine play, you will find that a winning combination will pay out only when it occurs on an active payline. Suppose in a 20 paylines video slot you activate only 19 paylines. In the spin if you get five of a kind of the jackpot symbol on the 20th payline you will not win anything. In a 20 paylines online slot each payline contributes 5% to the winning opportunities. For each payline that you do not enable you are reducing your winning chances by 5%. It is simply not worth it.

Today almost all online slot games offer scatter payouts. The coins awarded are multiplied by the total bet. If you activate fewer paylines then you are reducing your total bet. Therefore you will receive less when you hit scatter payouts.

There are quite a few online slot games that have special features enabled when you play with all paylines activated. Most common are the progressive jackpots. In most slot games where the progressive jackpot is paid through five of a kind combination, it is mandatory to activate all paylines. If you do not do so, then you will receive a fixed jackpot that is considerably smaller than the progressive amount. You also have video slots in which certain bonus games are eligible only when you have activated all paylines.

The correct slots strategy for keeping the total bet per spin under control is as follows. Make adjustments to the line bet by selecting a coin of smaller denomination. But play with all paylines activated.