A narrow opening or groove in something, such as a door or wall. Also: a slot in a piece of luggage or a plane, into which you can insert a ticket or other item. See also hole, slit, vent, aperture, channel, position, window, spot, berth, billet, space, job, and appointment.
In a slot machine, the random-number generator assigns each possible combination of reel symbols a number. When the spin button is pressed or the handle pulled, the computer finds the sequence’s assigned number and maps it to a stop on the slot reel. This mapping is done automatically, and stopping the reels or doing anything else will not affect the outcome of your spin.
Before you play a slot, read its pay table to understand the payouts and bets. It may help you decide how much to bet, and it will tell you what symbols to look for. The pay table can also provide a summary of the game’s bonus features and how to trigger them. Originally, pay tables appeared on the machine itself, but now they are usually printed on the machine’s help screens or in the game instructions. The pay table will also explain the number of paylines a slot has and how they work (e.g., how many matching symbols need to land to trigger a win). It will list the regular symbols and their payouts, as well as any special symbols or bonus features.