When it comes to casino gaming, slot machines offer some of the biggest, most lifestyle-changing jackpots. They are easy to play — just drop coins into the slot and push or pull the handle. And yet, it’s common for newcomers to start playing without understanding how the game works. As the reels spin and symbols align, it can be difficult to tell whether you’ve won or lost without a clear idea of how to read a slot’s pay table.

Whether you’re looking to understand how to win on slots or find out more about the bonus features of a specific slot, reading the pay table can improve your experience and make you a better player overall. A pay table is a document that displays the payout values of standard slot symbols and their combinations, as well as the number of paylines in the machine. In addition, the pay table can also include information on how to trigger bonus features and what they entail.

Random number generators are the secret to how slot games work. Each possible combination is assigned a set of numbers, and when the machine receives a signal — anything from a button being pressed to a lever being pulled — the random number generator selects one of those combinations and the reels stop on it.

While it may seem like slots are purely games of chance, the truth is much more complex. Each machine has a set of possible outcomes, and when the random number generator selects a result, it’s the only time that outcome will occur on that particular machine.