In a slot machine, a symbol or series of symbols must appear on a pay line to award a payout. Typically, the more matching symbols that appear on a payline, the larger the payout. A pay table displays this information and other important details about a particular slot game. It may be displayed on the machine itself or, as is more common with touchscreen displays, an interactive series of images that can be switched between to view all possible pay-out combinations.
There is no such thing as a sure-fire slots strategy, but you can reduce your risk of wasting money by selecting machines with the highest potential return-to-player percentages. Also, you should always know your bankroll and stick to it. A great way to do this is to set limits and stay within them. This can be difficult to do in a casino, but setting an alarm on your phone or watch can help keep you from playing longer than you meant to.
Finally, if you leave a machine only to see someone else hit a jackpot shortly thereafter, don’t worry. The odds are that the winning player was lucky enough to hit the combination at just the right moment, and if you had stayed at the same machine, you would have needed the same split-second timing. This is because each time the random-number generator receives a signal — anything from a button being pressed to a handle being pulled — it sets a number and then rotates the reels accordingly.