Are 5-reel slots better than 3 or 6 reel slot games? What makes them superior, if they are? How do you play and what are the benefits of playing the best 5 reel slot machines? Stick with us as we attempt to answer all those questions in the following game that features – you guessed it, five reels!
The Best 5 Reel Slots Online Are Just a Click Away
We understand that players have different tastes and preferences when it comes to online slots, especially modern video slots that come in all shapes and sizes. However, out of all the slot games based on the number of reels they feature, by far the most diverse and populous group is that of . That is why we’ve decided to dedicate our guide to these types of slot machines so that you can get familiar with their fundamental characteristics, rules, pros, and cons.
Of course, if you simply wish to jump straight into the action and play the best 5 reel slot machines, there are plenty of great casino sites where you can do exactly that game-wise.
best table game odds at casino5-Reel Slots vs Other Slots
In order to give you a clearer picture of how 5-reel slots work and what sets them apart from other slot games, we will first have to take a closer look at the history of this iconic casino game and follow its evolution throughout the years. If you already know everything there is to know about slot machines and are looking for specific info regarding the best 5 reel slot machines, feel free to use the table below as your navigation point.
From Liberty Bell to 5-Reel Slots
The very first slot machine in human history is widely considered to be Liberty Bell, created in 1895 by Charles Fey from San Francisco. This particular game featured 3 spinning reels with a total of 5 symbols and 3 betting options. Its success was enormous back then, and many people consider it to be the birth of electronic gaming.
Even though the principles on which Liberty Bell was based were pretty simple, it took off instantly and made Fey quite rich. For the next half a century, his invention didn’t change much in terms of visuals and way of playing but found its way to all casinos across the States.
Did you know that the first online slot game was Thunderhorn, created in 1996 by Wager Gaming Technology? Or that the first progressive jackpot slot was launched in 1986 under the name Money Honey by Bally Technologies and that it enabled players to leave a game whenever they wanted? We bet you didn't! For more interesting facts like this one, visit our page dedicated to.
Anyway, everything changed during the 1960s when Fortune Coin Company (later known as IGT) introduced first electronics slots game called Multi-Game. It had a simple LED display and allowed players to choose between several different games such as dice, poker, and slots. After that, in 1976., IGT launched the first electronic video slots game named Fortune Coin, which used a pixelated display and microprocessors instead of gears and mechanical wheels. Its owner, Roger Tam, was inspired by his wife who used to spend countless hours playing a Mario Bros. clone she made for him. Just kidding, it wasn’t Mario but Space Invaders hepped her play. Anyhow, the future of electronic gaming was set, and soon after, every single bar and casino across the US featured video slots with intense graphics and cool sounds that attracted gamblers like a moth to the flame.
During the late eighties and nineties, slot machines evolved even further thanks to the development of the internet and the rise of online gambling. The first ever online slot was launched in 1996., and its creators had no idea how big this market is going to become in the following two decades. Nowadays, the greatest software studios in the world (many of which you can find on ) devote huge amounts of money and creativity in order to release brand new slot titles each month and satisfy customers’ need for good quality gameplay.
So, to answer your question – what is the difference between 5-reel slots and other slots – we got to classify them according to certain criteria before we move forward. Even though there are various technical, optical and auditory changes that manufacturers implemented over the years in order to surprise us, there’s one physical parameter that helps us divide all slot machines into categories, and that is, you’ve guessed it, the number of reels they have!
Apart from , which are usually pretty simple and don’t offer huge winning opportunities, and , which require some serious knowledge and often played against other players, there are slot games with 3, 4, 5, 6 or even 9 reels! Of course, that doesn’t mean you'll see nine reels on one screen - the screens on online slot machines are just simulated, and in fact, once you hit the spin button, only a part of a vast RNG mechanism is shown to you.
75+ Fun Casino Names – Original & Catchy IdeasAs time passed by, 3-reel slots remained more or less the same, while 5-reel and 6-reel slot machines became the most popular and desired types of games among casino enthusiasts worldwide. At the moment, they come with astonishing visual effects, intriguing soundtracks and unbelievable prizes. Their RTP rates are also pretty high compared to old-school fruit slots. However, as we mentioned previously, recently, some big software studios decided to step up their game and release slot machines with 8, 7, 50 and even unlimited reels! But more on that in one of our future blog posts. For now, let’s stay focused on the best 5 reel slot machines and explore their mysteries.
Advantages:
- Simple Rules
- High Jackpots
- Various In-game Bonuses
- Amazing Graphics/Sounds
Disadvantages:
- Lower Winning Chances Compared to Other Types of Slots
- Sometimes Too Complicated for Their Own Good
5-Reel Slots Symbols Explained
Now that you know how 5-reel slots fit into the bigger picture let’s get down to business and explain to you how they work and what kinds of symbols you may encounter during your adventure. Most of the time, those games have 5 reels, 3 rows, and anywhere between 1 and 100 paylines on 3 or 5 reels. Sometimes you could even stumble upon 5-reel slots without fixed paylines, also known as ways to win slots. Those games usually feature 3 or 4 rows and have at least 3125 ways to win.
Another thing that distinguishes 5-reel slots from their 3-reeled relatives is the presence of bonus symbols, either in the form of scatters, wilds, multipliers, or special symbols needed for activating mini-games or bonus rounds. Thanks to those elements, modern video slots provide an incredibly entertaining experience and help you forget for a moment that you’re actually spending money in hopes of getting more of it back.
Speaking of money, here are some of the most common symbols you’re going to meet during your adventures to the slotopia along with their values:
- Regular Symbols: Every slot game has a theme and tells a story. In order to present certain elements from the theme itself, game developers use regular symbols. They can appear anywhere on the reels and, in order to score you some cash, have to align themselves on your active payline in a specific order starting from the leftmost reel (usually). Each symbol is assigned a certain value, and the higher it is, the rarest regular symbol is. Some regular symbols can bring you prizes if they appear only on your active payline, whereas others may act as multipliers and increase the value of any win that occurs on the reel they landed on.
- Wild Symbols: As its name suggests, a wild symbol substitutes for any other regular symbol in the game, except for the special ones (usually scatter symbols). Different types of wilds feature various advantages, such as doubling or quadrupling the prize of the line you’re winning, expanding over the whole reel, appearing only on particular reels, showing up only in the main game and so on. There can be one or more wild symbols in the game, and sometimes they even trigger bonuses or free spins rounds!
- Scatter Symbols: Scatters are perhaps the most beneficial symbols after wilds. Not only are they usually the highest paying symbols in the game, but they also have the power to scatter anywhere on your screen and still bring you cash. In most cases, aligning three or more scatters triggers a bonus round or a feature such as free spins, extra wilds, pick and click or wheel of fortune bonus. Also, combinations made of two scatter symbols are usually the ones that can’t win you any money.
- Bonus Symbols: Special symbols might trigger a bonus game within the game, in case you’re lucky enough to land three or more of them on a winning payline. In some slot machines, their function is to serve as a key that unlocks certain doors hidden behind symbols on the reels. The more symbols you find, the more doors you can open, and the more rewards you can get!
- Multiplier Symbols: This type of symbols serves the purpose of increasing the prize of a combination it’s a part of. Their value could be embedded in the symbol itself or range from one game to another. Some multipliers double or triple the winnings only if they are a part of the highest possible combinations, while others boost any winning combo they participate in.
- Overlay Symbols: Overlay symbols, as the name implies, are used instead of some other characters that can’t fit in the design of the higher paying symbols. For instance, if there’s a higher paying symbol of a cat, and the jackcat symbol overlays on its place, that player will still receive a cat winning combination.
Some 5-reel slot machines also include split symbols, symmetrical split symbols, and independent split symbols that boost your winning chances significantly.
Best Free Slot Machine Games Online - Plenty of Free SpinsHow Do You Play 5-Reel Slot Games?
Whether you decide to play your favourite 5-reel slots online or in brick and mortar establishments, the overall impression will be more or less the same. Still, there are some differences worth mentioning. Firstly, while playing online, you won’t be influenced by the crowd around you nor you’ll be able to hear the sound of hitting jackpot as distinctly. On the other hand, while playing in a land-based venue, you can enjoy in a company of your friends, have a drink or two and relax in comfortable armchairs while pulling the lever or pushing the ‘Spin’ button.
Nevertheless, both experiences are amazing and unique in their own way. So, whether you are playing online or on location, the process remains more or less the same. Once you enter the game, you’ll have to select the amount of money you want to spend on a single game (coin size), the number of coins (bet level) and, if available, the number of active paylines. Some games have fixed paylines, meaning you cannot choose how many of them you want to activate. Instead, with each spun cent, all paylines are in play and charged separately.
When you’re satisfied with your selection, you can proceed with the actual spinning of the reels. You can do so by clicking on the “Spin” button or activating an “Auto Spin” option (which allows the reels to spin for a Pre Set Number of Times without your intervention). Bear in mind, however, that you must select your paylines; otherwise, you may end up missing yourself of some significant wins. Besides the ‘Bet Max’ button, which sets the highest possible bet, you will rarely see a ‘Bet One’ button, which was typical for slot machines from the past.
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Once you hit the spin button, the random number generator (RNG) picks up winning combinations and shows them on the screen. Depending on the outcome, you either win some cash or try your luck once again. Bear in mind that every respectable game is provided with an eCOGRA certificate stating that its RNG is safe and fair, and that nobody is going to change the result of the game after you make your bet.
How to Win When Playing the Best 5 Reel Slot Games?
Unfortunately, there’s no sureproof way to win when playing real money slots, no matter how many lines does it have. Although many websites across the web claim there are certain methods which can improve your odds, none of those strategies works on slots, or at least not in the way people think they do. Since there’s no one that can tell you exactly how to win playing slot machines, anyone who says differently is probably trying to scam you in one way or another, so watch out!
However, it doesn’t mean that you should go to war without any weapons. Here are few slot tips which might prove to be useful:
- Choose games with high Return to Player percentages (preferably above 96%)
RTP rate represents the theoretical percentage of all the money that entered the game during a long period of time and came out as winnings. For example, if an online slot has 97% RTP, it means that for every $100 wagered, the game returns $97 in average. Now, bear in mind that this statistic refers to lengthy periods of time, months, or even years! Don’t expect to play for two hours and to get back ninety-seven bucks. It just doesn’t work that way! However, RTP rate is something that’s within developers’ reach, and it’s a perfect way to promote their creations!
(+1 Bonus) Free Sweeps Coins at Chumba Casino! How to Get?- Look for slots with low house edge
House Edge is essentially the opposite of RTP rate. While RTP shows how much the players win back, House Edge depicts how much stays with the casino. Needles to say, the less house edge game has, the better it is for a player, and you should always aim for games with low house edges!
- Pick the slot with maximum betting limit that fits your bankroll
Progressive jackpot slots have demanding conditions for triggering their jackpots insanely high prizes. Usually, you have to max bet in order to qualify for winning the biggest prize. If the jackpot is at $600,000 and the only condition is to match five identical symbols on a winning payline, most likely, the fifth symbol needs to be formed on the fifth spin, and the chance of hitting 5 consecutive winning combinations is close to zero if you’re not playing at a broken machine. Furthermore, most of the progressive jackpot slots have additional requirements, such as landing two or more bonus symbols, but that’s the general idea. Because of that, it’s vital to check the maximum bet that fits into your budget. What’s the point of having a few hundred dollars in your account if you’ve maxed out with a $100 bet and have only 5 more spins left? That’s right; the point is there is no point! So, be careful when choosing your prey!
- Identify volatility of the game
Volatility, also known as variance, is the measure of risk involved in a specific game. There are two types of slots according to their volatility:
- Low Volatility: Such slots are also known as low or medium tide slots. It means you’re gonna score small prizes pretty often, kind of like a tide that brings sea shore small gifts in form of shells, starfishes, and pieces of wood. Such games are excellent for longer sessions and bonuses due to relatively low maximum bet limits.
- High Volatility: These sorts of games are also known as high or monster tidal slots because they pay seldomly, but when they do, they leave a considerable mark like after a monster tidal wave. It means you’re not gonna score any wins for a long time, and when you do, it’s not going to be enough to cover your expenses, let alone make some profit. However, if you’re patient and persistent enough, you may have a chance to balance your account sometime during the game. High volatile games are suitable for short sessions and occational bonuses because they start paying from the very beginning and award you until the very end (mostly).
- Take advantage of No Deposit Bonuses and Free Spins
No Deposit Bonus gives you a chance to test drive your favourite game without even depositing a dime. That particular type of promotion is probably the best way to get familiar with the gameplay of , so keep your eyes wide open! If used correctly, No deposit bonuses could turn out to be extremely profitable.
Free Spins promotions allow you to spin the reels of selected slot games online without risking your own money. Depending on the number of free spins you get, you can have fun for hours, and who knows, maybe even score a big prize! Just like No Deposit Bonuses, Free Spins promos are perhaps the best way to learn how to play the best 5-reel slot machines!
Conclusion: Is You Should Play Five Reel Slots
Five-reel slots are perhaps the most advanced type of online slots nowadays, but it doesn’t mean that other types of casino slots are obsolete. Every single game has its perks, and if 5-reel slots aren’t the best in terms of liberties they give to gamblers, 3-reelers don’t come with so many bonuses, that’s for sure! At the end of the day, it all comes down to personal preference, and nothing is written in stone. Go ahead and explore your options. Who knows, maybe in a year or two, we’ll all be playing 11-reel slots!
One last piece of advice – never chase loses! If you’re having bad luck, take a break! It happens to everyone, and the worst thing you could do is to keep throwing good money after bad. Also, try to stick to your budget and avoid going overboard!
