Look, we’re gonna be straight with you. Sometimes, what you want is the frou-frou cocktail with the cherries and the weird garnish and the three different kinds of alcohol, and sometimes, you just want a simple single malt Scotch.
It’s the same with online slots. Of course there’s a place for those hyped-up games with extra features, bonus spins and 874 paylines, but some days, you just want is to sit down with a classic, old-school fruit machine or poker-based slot, right?
The first physical slot machines showed up in the late 1800s – a simple, poker-based game with preset payouts. This soon grew into the well known and beloved fruit machines and slots history was born. Over several decades, slot games became hugely sophisticated, especially when gambling went online. But what about those simple, three-reel, single payline slot games that birthed an industry? They never went away.
Among the wildly themed, extravagant, bonus feature-enhanced games you can find at any online casino offering video slots, you will find a few simple, classic slot games.
Much like video slots, the biggest challenge in classic slots is choosing your online casino, your platform, and your game. From there, it’s as simple as choosing your bet value and either clicking spin or setting it to spin automatically.
Our complete game guide to video slots goes into detail about what to expect while playing both classic and other video slots, and can be found here.
As with all online slots, including video slots and progressive jackpot slots, classic slots rely on a random number generator (RNG), which continuously generates random number sequences. As soon as you click spin, a generated number is assigned. In the game’s design, symbols are represented by certain numbers or number combinations in the randomly generated number. If those symbols result in a winning payline, you win. Because of this, it is almost impossible to cheat at classic online slots and, thanks to impressive levels of security, practically impossible to hack.
Classic online slots come in both standard and progressive jackpot styles, although they tend to be more prevalent among the former. Besides this, most classic slots tend to be fruit-machine or card-game-based. They follow simple play and pay methods, with between one and five reels, and most often just one, but up to five paylines. The biggest difference between video slots and classic slots is the level of design and sophistication of gameplay. Classic slots, as the name suggests, are there for simple play and enjoyment; video slots are there for those who want all the bells and whistles.
Even though the design of the games is fairly simple, there are strategies you can apply across your online slots gameplay.
Plan your betting strategy in advance after checking out the game’s specs and paytables. High-volatility games are more suited to a more aggressive play style, while low variance and volatility games call for smaller bets and longer play. Don’t fall for strategies that tell you to vary your bets based on how many wins or losses you’ve had. Because of the RNG, those strategies are simply leading you along the path of the gambler’s fallacy, having you believe that, after a string of losses, you must be due a win.
It’s called a fallacy because every single number generated is unique and random, with no pattern or algorithm (or justice) built in, other than assigning values to symbols.
This depends on how you like to play slots. If you want all the extras and bonuses, then classic slots likely won’t blow your hair back. If you’re a purist, who enjoys the simplicity of old-school games, you might love classic slots. Just remember, whatever game you choose, to set a time limit and budget to ensure maximum fun and a happy bankroll.
