Action
Also known as Play. The total amount of money a player wagers.
All American
A high-paying (usually full pay with a payback of 100.7%) kind of video poker characterized by paying 8-to-1 on straights, flushes, and full houses.
Automatic Payout
Direct payment from the hopper of a machine to the player without the need of a slot attendants assistance.
Bank of Machines
A group of machines, usually all of the same type, together in one location.
Bars
Bars are a common symbol you'll see on many slot machines. It is usually a rectangular shape with the word BAR printed on it. There are usually single, double, and triple bar symbols on the reel.
Bill Validator (BV)
The unit in the slot machine where the player can insert currency for credits or tokens. Just like the currency unit on a vending machine.
Blank
The blank spaces that separate one symbol from another on the slot machine reels.
Buy Your Payout
On a buy your payout style slot machine, each coin a person plays makes them eligible for additional winning combinations on the payout schedule. For example, the first coin may only buy payouts for bar combinations. A second would buy payouts for sevens or jackpot symbol combinations.
Carousel
A group of slot machines with a platform in the middle to allow a change person to provide service from the middle of the bank of machines.
Cassette
The box inside a machine where the currency is stored after a guest puts it into the Bill Validator.
Cold or Tight Machines
A slot machine that is not paying much out. This could be because it is set with a lower payout percentage or merely the random nature of the machine.
Credit
A credit is the slot machines equivalent to coins. When a player inserts coins or bills into the machine they are awarded one credit for each coin. Players are also awarded credits for winning spins with each credit awarded equivalent to one coin. Players can turn your credits back into coins by pressing the Cash Out button on the machine.
Cycle
The total number of handle pulls needed to theoretically produce a jackpot of the top award.
Denom
The denomination of token required to play a machine, i.e. nickel, quarter, dollar, five dollar, etc
Double Bonus (DB)
A high paying form of poker at 100.1% when full house is 10 and flush is 7.
Drop
When the hoppers are full, tokens are diverted to the drop. This is the bucket of tokens under the machine and also includes the currency in the cassette from the Bill Validator. A Slot Drop is the total amount of tokens and currency counted on a daily basis.
Electro-Mechanical Slot Machine
A slot machine that utilizes both electronic and mechanical elements for its operation.
Eighty-six
Permanently barring someone from the casino.
Flat Rate Slot Machines
Machines with a set jackpot payoff.
Fourplay
A video poker machine also known as the Luck Draw. Similar to Triple Play except that the players have an option to make their one hand become four hands when they press draw. Usually offer better pay-schedules than triple play machines.
Full-Pay (FP)
The highest-paying form of video poker. Pays back five for four-of-a-kind.
Hand Pay
A jackpot that requires an attendant to pay the player in currency by hand.
High Rollers
Players who usually play high denomination machines.
Hit
Any winning combination of symbols on the payline.
Hold
The actual amount that the casino wins from each machine.
Hopper
Electronically powered system inside the machine that counts out the tokens to be paid accurately and fast.
Hopper Fill
Needed when the hopper runs out of tokens.
Hot/Loose Machines
Any slot machines that presumably pay off more than machines in other casinos.
Jackpot
Players hit the jackpot when the three highest value symbols all line up on the payline. On multi-payline machines there may be jackpots of different amounts depending on which payline the symbols line up on. Other machines may have side games such as Spin 'til You Win that have large payouts on the side games that are also considered jackpots.
Jacks
Also known as Jacks or Better. The most common form of video poker usually preferred by beginners. There are no wild cares and one pair of Jacks or better pays 1. Usually pays 9 for a full house, 6 for a flush and 2 for two-pair.
Jokers
Also known as Jokers Wild. A less known form of video poker where one wild card is added to the deck.
Liberty Bell
The original slot machine invented by Charles Fey in San Francisco in 1899.
Loose Deuces
Brand name of deuces that pays 500 for 4 deuces. A high paying form with payouts for 5-of-a-kind and straight flush as the primary variables. Known for its volatility.
Max Bet
The maximum number of coins that a player can play per spin. It is of the most importance when playing progressive slots because usually the max bet must be played to qualify for the big jackpot.
Mechanical Machine
The oldest form of slot machine, operated by gears, pulleys, levers and springs. The handle was the direct cause for starting the reel spin. The Liberty Bell was one of these.
Megabucks and Quartermania-Style Slots
Machines linked together between separate casinos by phone lines. Jackpots have the potential to grow much larger than machines supported by a single casino. Jackpots can reach millions of dollars.
Microprocessor
The integrated circuit that controls the operation of the slot machine. Slot machines are computers. They still contain electromechanical parts for accepting and paying out coins, lighting up various parts of the machine, or for visual effects. The outcome of a game is based on the random number generator (RNG) in each machine.
Multi-Payline
A slot machine with more than one payline. There may be three to five horizontal paylines and even diagonal paylines. Some video slots will also have vertical paylines.
Multipliers
Multiplier slot machines have a payout schedule that proportionately increases with the number of coins you play.
One-Armed Bandits
The term given to slot machines when they were sold and distributed illegally.
P.C.
The house edge expressed as a percentage.
Pay Table
The section of the slot machine that shows the payoffs for each type of winning combination. The pay table will also tell players if there are bonus features and if playing the max bet will reward them with a top bonus prize.
Payback
Also known as expected return (ER). The amount of money a player expects to win from a machine and or slot club. 100% payback means that on average, one breaks even.
Payline
The horizontal rule across the centre of the reel window. The symbols must line up on the line to hit a payout. Some slot machines will have multiple paylines that may be above and below the center payline and may even cross it diagonally.
Payout
The amount players are awarded when a winning combination of symbols lines up on the payline.
Payout Percentage
The theoretical average percentage of money taken in that a casino's slot machines pay back to players. The percentage does not mean that all of the casino's machines pay back that amount. It is an average. Some will pay more, some less.
Progressive Slot Machines
Groups of machines linked together where the jackpot starts at a specific amount but continues to grow steadily until someone wins it, after which it is reset and starts growing again.
Quad
A four-of-a-kind display on a video poker machine. A natural quad refers to a quad made without the use of a wild card and is often the criteria used by clubs in promotions.
Quarter Players
Players of twenty-five cent machines, requiring a minimal bankroll.
Random Number Generator (RNG)
A computer chip that establishes how much the machine pays out by continuous cycling through random numbers and producing combinations according to the casinos desired payoff percentage. Each random number corresponds to a sequence of symbols on the reels.
Reel
The spinning wheels that contain the slot machine's symbols. On video style slot machines the reels are simulated. In either case they are there for the visual effect and used to display the result of the digital reels that are actually stored in computer memory and 'spun' by a random number generator.
Semi‑Pros
Players who supplement their working income with money obtained from video-poker winnings and comps.
Short-Pay
The most common machine found in casinos that has a low payback of much less than 100%. Examples include Five Deck Frenzy, Deuces Wild and Jokers Wild and Bonus.
Single-Line Machine
Slot machines whereby a player inserts one to five coins, with each additional coin increasing the payoff.
Slot Carousels
A group of slot machines sharing a common theme or catch phrase, intended to attract a certain kind player.
Slot Club
Slot clubs were invented for frequent slot players. In becoming a member, a player is given a card (like a credit card). Players use their cards while playing the slots (also table games in some casinos) helps them earn free points/cash. The rules, number of points needed to achieve regular club status and the benefits given to the player are different at every casino.
Smile
A winning combination of any size left on a payline by a guest. The guest has received payment and left the game without playing off the combination.
Symbol
Each slot machine has a theme or name associated to its game. For example Double Diamonds, Red, White and Blue or Double Blackjack. Each theme has a set of images called symbols that represents the theme and which are placed on the reels.
These symbols need to be lined up in certain combinations for jackpots. Fruit and bar symbols were some of the first images to appear on a slot machine.
Team Players
Players who work for someone who has a large bankroll. Usually play progressive jackpots.
Tight Machines
Machines that are perceived to pay out less frequently than do other machines.
Tighten
Perception by players that they can tighten a screw to make the machine not pay off. This screw does not exist. The only way to tighten or loosen a machine is to perform a conversion. This is a long and involved process that requires state approval.
Tilt
A condition when a machine stops working for any number of reasons and requires assistance from an employee.
Toke
A tip to a casino employee.
Top Award
The combination of symbols needed to pay off the biggest jackpot amount on the machine.
Triple Play
A video poker machine where the player has the option to push the draw button, at which time which their original hand becomes three hands; with three different outcomes. Usually a short-play.
Video Poker
The use of a video display in order to play poker.
Video Slot Machines
The use of a video display, like a television, to simulate the spinning of reels.
Volatility
The tendency of a video poker machine to fluctuate in its payback. Jacks are the least volatile whereas deuces are highly volatile.
WIN
This is the revenue of the casino. All taxes and operating expenses are taken out of this figure. WIN = Drop minus Jackpots and Fills.
Wager
Walking the Reels
An old method of cheating whereby a mechanical machines handle could be used to manipulate reels into a jackpot position. This is not possible on today's slot machines.
Wild Symbols
When a wild symbol lines up on the payline it substitutes for any other symbol. For example, if a player lines up two 7's on the payline with a wild symbol it is the same as three 7's. Some wild symbols may also double or triple the payout, or even more. There are some games where the wild symbol is wild anywhere. In other words, if the symbol shows up fully anywhere in the reel window it is the same as if it lined up on the payline.