How to Read a Slot Paytable

How do you read a slot paytable?

Work through it in four passes rather than reading it top to bottom.

1. Find the win rule first. Before any symbol value means anything, establish whether the game pays on fixed lines, on adjacent reels, or on clusters. Everything else depends on it.
2. Read the top three symbols only. The high-value symbols determine the game’s character. The card royals at the bottom pay so little that they mostly return part of your stake.
3. Read the special symbols carefully. Wilds and scatters are where the money is, and their exact behaviour differs between games that look identical.
4. Check the last page for RTP, volatility and max win. This is also where bet-dependent returns and bonus-buy returns are disclosed.

What do the symbol values mean?

Values are shown either as a multiplier of your total stake or as a number of coins, and the two are easy to confuse. A payout of “10” against a coin-based table is not ten times your bet. If the table lists coins, look for the coin value setting to convert it. Modern games increasingly show stake multipliers directly, which is less ambiguous.

The gap between the top symbol and the second one tells you where the game keeps its money. A steep drop means the game concentrates value in one symbol and will feel more volatile than the label suggests.

What is a wild symbol, and what are the different types?

A wild substitutes for other symbols to complete a win. It almost never substitutes for scatters or bonus symbols, and the paytable states which it excludes. Beyond that basic job, studios have built a family of variations, and the differences change the game far more than the artwork does.

Names vary between studios. The paytable’s description always outranks the label.

If you want to browse by this mechanic, expanding wilds slots collects the games built around it.

What is a scatter symbol?

A scatter pays without needing to be on a payline. Land the required number anywhere on the reels and it triggers something, usually free spins, and often pays a stake multiplier at the same time. Because it ignores the line rule, the scatter is the only symbol whose value does not depend on where it lands.

Two details are worth checking in the paytable. First, how many scatters are needed and whether more than the minimum increases the reward, which is common. Second, whether scatters can retrigger the feature from inside it, which materially changes the game’s ceiling. The scatter pays slots collection groups games where the scatter does the heavy lifting.

How are wins counted on this game?

Four systems are in common use, and the paytable will name the one in force.

• Paylines. Symbols must land along a defined path, and the paytable shows a diagram of every one. Most games pay left to right only; some pay both ways, which effectively doubles the ways a line can complete.
• Ways to win. No paths. Matching symbols on adjacent reels starting from the leftmost pay wherever they sit on those reels, which is where 243 or 1,024 ways comes from.
• Megaways. Each of the six reels shows between two and seven symbols on any given spin, so the number of ways changes every spin, reaching 117,649 when all six show seven. Slottomat holds 189 indexed Megaways titles.
• Cluster pays. A number of matching symbols touching each other anywhere on the grid pays, then usually disappears so new symbols drop in, allowing chains of wins from one spin.

Where is the RTP on the paytable?

Almost always on the final page, under a heading such as “theoretical return to player” or “game information”. Read it there rather than trusting an external listing, because studios certify many games in several RTP versions and the operator chooses which one runs. Slottomat records a spread of at least half a percentage point between the lowest and highest certified version on 3,011 titles.

Two extra numbers usually sit alongside it: volatility, sometimes as a word and sometimes as a rating out of five, and maximum win as a stake multiplier. If the game sells a bonus buy, its separate RTP is disclosed here too, and it is not always the same as the base game’s. High RTP vs high volatility explains how to weigh those two against each other.

Reading a paytable without staking anything

Every slot on Slottomat has a free demo that runs the same engine and the same paytable as the real game, so the help screen you open in a demo is the identical document. That makes the demo the cheapest way to learn an unfamiliar game’s rules before deciding whether it suits you. Browse from free slots, or start with how to choose a slot game if you want a selection method first.

Frequently asked questions

What is a slot paytable?

The paytable is the screen inside a slot that lists what every symbol pays, what the wilds and scatters do, how a win is counted, and the game's theoretical return to player. It is reached from the menu or question-mark icon inside the game, and its rules override any description published elsewhere.

What is an expanding wild?

An expanding wild grows to cover its entire reel instead of occupying a single position. That converts one landed symbol into a full reel of substitutes, so games built around expanding wilds tend to swing harder than their volatility rating alone suggests.

What is the difference between a wild and a scatter?

A wild substitutes for other symbols to complete a win and normally has to land in a paying position. A scatter pays and triggers features regardless of where it lands on the reels, and wilds usually cannot substitute for it.

What is a sticky wild?

A sticky wild stays locked in position for one or more subsequent spins rather than disappearing after the spin it landed on. Because it compounds across spins, most games restrict sticky wilds to the free spins round.

How many scatters do you need for free spins?

Three is the most common requirement, though some games need two and others four. Many games also pay progressively more free spins for landing more than the minimum, and some allow the round to be retriggered from inside itself. The exact rule is stated on the paytable.

Where do you find a slot's RTP?

On the last page of the paytable or game information screen, usually labelled theoretical return to player. Read it inside the game rather than from an external list, because studios certify many titles in several RTP versions and the casino chooses which build to run.

Figures on this page were measured across Slottomat’s own catalogue on 4 September 2026. Each game’s return-to-player percentage is the published theoretical figure recorded for that title, stored with the source it came from (SlotCatalog, VegasSlotsOnline, SlotsMate or LiveBet); volatility is the rating published for the title. Where a game ships in more than one certified RTP version, the lowest and highest are stored separately. Counts cover indexed games that carry a recorded RTP, not the whole catalogue.