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Online Slots Reels Explained

Rachel Elam | May 6, 2021 | Updated on: November 15th, 2021

slots reels onlineA reel in slots games are the vertical positions on the grid, spun after placing a bet, and different symbols land on them every time. All slots machines come with reels, which are one of its most important aspects.

Spinning the reels is the whole point of playing this kind of game. When slots first appeared, they had three mechanical reels that would spin after the player had pulled a lever. Being mechanical, these reels had some fixed symbols and were physically spun.

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Slots Reels – Number of Reels

Naturally, each slot had ten symbols on every reel, and with three reels, this meant that there were about 10,000 possible combinations. Over time online slots became more complex and interesting but retained the mechanical aspect, and decades would pass until the technology would improve to become what we now consider standard slots.

Nowadays, slot reels are still an energetic component of the slots experience, though they are different from what they used to be. For starters, video slots have no moving parts, and the whole slot game is rendered by microprocessors.

Reel Slots vs Video Slots

If you have been to a casino site within the last decade, there is no doubting that you have experienced both reel and video slots. The slot games, for all intents and purposes, are not different at all, though the way in which they operate is.

The prime difference is the fact that reeled slots play host to a physical reel that spins, while the video slots often just project spinning reels on a video screen, much like how every web slot game functions.

Reel slots are more classic, and that is how slot games first came into existence. With the endless technological advances of our day, video slots have now become more popular than reel slots.

You will also find that players love the graphics and themes able to be offered by the video slots. When it comes to reel slots, novelty stopped back in the 1980s.

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3 vs 5 Reel Slot Games

If you are an old-timer who spent decades at brick-and-mortar casinos, you might be familiar with 3-reel slots. For those relatively new to casino sites, you will find that 5-reel slot machine games tend to dominate the landscape. Both the games have their fair set of advantages and disadvantages, but whether you prefer to play the 3 or 5-reel slot games, the decision really comes down to personal preference.

As for 3-reel slots, people enjoy these games because they are straightforward and easier to understand than any other kind of slot game. With only three different reels, determining whether if you won or not is not difficult at all.

5-reel slots may see a player win more overall. They tend to win less per winning spin. The existence of 2 additional reels means that gamblers have the ability to win more and win in more diverse ways than they can with 3-reel slots.

Reel Slot Games FAQs

So, which is better, 5 or 3-reel slots?

No single type of reeled slot machine game is better than another.

How much can one win from one spin of a slot game?

When it comes down to it, the jackpot for a single slot machine game can differ from site to site.

Do slot machines exist across all stake levels?

Yes. Reeled slot games exist across most stake levels.

Does the number of slots reels matter?

The number of reels is important to the overall experience when playing slots. When it comes to the difficulty of a game, 3-reel slots are much simpler and come with the base gameplay without any special features.