Well, leat's take a look.

Traditional or Classic Slots
- see video on Classic Slot Machines.

When you see these listed at a casino, it generally means that the machine has Three Reels and usually One Payline. They are the online casino version of the land based slot machines that actually have reels that spin. You know, the slots where you spin the reels by pulling the handle on the side of the machine, instead of pushing a button.

Players can usually wager up to three coins per spin on these games. Sometimes there is an unusually large top payout if you are wagering the max amount of coins, so pay attention for that when playing.

Classic slots also come in three payline configurations. There will be one payline across each of the rows on the reels. Wagering two or three coins on these machines often unlocks a high paying winning combination going acros the top or bottom reel.

The final common payline configuration has five paylines. One will be set across each of the rows, and two more will be across the diagonals. Players activate the paylines by wagering a coin on them.

Video Style Slots
- see video on Video Slots

These are the online casino version of the slots you see at the local casinos with the video screen, and all of the reels and bonus games.

Video slots usually have five reels, and many of them have lots of paylines. There are dozens of slots online that have better than 20 different paylines. With all of those paylines, it might seem like it's impossible to lose. But, it is not unusual to play a video slot and land a winner that doesn't even cover the cost of the spin.

So, video slots can land winning combinations on almost all of the spins, but a player's credit total can still shrink. Of course, you can land big winners as well - but if you only play classic slots, it strikes you as strange the first time you have to put in another $20 after having hit "all those winners".

Because video slots have a computer screen to them, they can have a wide array of bonus games and special features. There can be animations for winners, and special symbols like the expanding WILD symbol.

In short, video slots can open up a whole new level of entertainment.

Progressive Jackpots
- see video on Progressive Slot Machines

Any type of slot machine can be a progressive jackpot slot. All you need is to replace the top payout with a jackpot that grows each time someone takes a spin on that slot machine.

Example: The Cash Splash might have been the first progressive jackpot slot machine online. Each time any player takes a spin on that slot machine, a part of the money from their wager goes into the jackpot. So, if I'm playing cash Splash at Lucky Nugget I'm contributing to the jackpot with each spin.

If you're playing Cash Splash at River Belle casino, each of your spins contributes to the jackpot. And by taking money from all of the Cash Splash games at all of the different casinos the jackpot can grow quickly, and constantly.

The great thing about progressives is obviously the chance to WIN BIG.

The other great thing is that you can probably find your favorite type of slot machine, with a progressive jackpot attached to it. so, whether you are a classic slots or video slots fan, you can enjoy your favorite style of slot machine while still being able to hit it big.

Fruit Machines
- see video on Fruit Machines Online

These machines are the pub slots that are popular in the U.K. Basically, they are three reel slot machines that have a couple of distinct features built in. Those features include the ability to "Hold" reels in place while respinning others.

The hold feature is similar to the way a video poker machine works. If you find a symbol on the reels that you like, and the Hold feature is lit, you can keep that symbol in place during at least one more respin.

Fruit machines also have a "Nudge" feature which allows players to "nudge" a reel, and cause the symbols on it to drop down one level.

Another name used to describe fruit machines is "Amusements with Prizes", so if you see machines listed somewhere as AWP machines, they mean fruit machines.

Nine Reels

These are the video slots that have the reels displayed in a "box" which are three symbols wide, and three symbols high. All told, there are nine independent reels.

The "Cherry Master" style slots use this display, and many of the Nine Reel machines I've seen online use similar symbols like Bells, Cherries, Fruits and Sevens.

Often these games have a set of "bonuses" that accumulate each time a certain winning combination is landed, and pay off once the combination is landed a particular amount of times. So, there might be a bells bonus that climbs by 100 each time you land a set of three bells. It may pay 1,000 credts every tenth time you hit a "bells" winner.