Slots

• The popularity of video and online slots was set up by invention and inspiration in the days of three-reel games with mechanical wheels.
• Cash handling solutions and touch screens are among the behind the scenes developments that are important in today's slots.
• On the games themselves, pick-a-prize bonuses, wheel spins and mystery jackpots played big roles in the rise of slots online and on video.

The booming popularity of online slots and the rise of video slots as the most-played games in live casinos

As long as slot machines have accepted wagers of more than one coin at a time, operators have tried to persuade players to make maximum bets.

In their day, the Trump Casinos in New Jersey and Indiana even had an anthropomorphic walking gold coin character called "Max Coins" urging players to bet the max for the highest paybacks.

Should players bet the max? Is betting the max the key to how to win on slots? Should you bet the max on any of online slots, video slots, three-reel slots? How do progressives figure into all this?

New games are the lifeblood of online slots just as they are for offline slots. Players always are on the lookout for fresh bonuses, fresh intrigue and fresh interactivity, and new online slots are there to give it to them.

Naturally, there is overlap between the online and offline slot worlds, but each has its own needs, too. Some of the hottest online games won't be found offline.

With that in mind, let's check out four current online player favorites.

The Best Online Slots Are:

Pick'em-style bonuses have been an attractive element of slot machines for more than two decades. In the United States, they date back to the launch of Reel 'Em In in 1997.

They add interactivity to the games by making players feel part of the action. You choose icons on the screen to accumulate bonus credits, and that makes you feel as if you have some control of your fate.

It takes multiple manufacturers working year-around to keep up with player demands for new slot games. Regardless of whether you’re playing online slots, or offline, once you’ve seen everything a game has to offer, you’re ready for something new to pique your interest.

Two of the game makers whose creative approaches have enabled them to claim growing shares of the slot business are Incredible Technologies and American Gaming systems.

There’s nothing difficult about playing slots. There are no complicated strategies to learn as in blackjack or video poker and no need to choose among wagers with wildly different house edges as in craps.

You don’t even need to learn where to place chips to bet on four numbers instead of six or some other total as in roulette.

Still, a little planning and preparation can help you get the most out of your time on the slot.

Many of the online slots players enjoy come from the same manufacturers that supply games to offline casinos. International Game Technology, Scientific Games, Aristocrat Technologies and others are giants online and offline.

Many of the games are even the same. IGT’s Cleopatra has been a hit both online and offline, and Scientific Games’ Jackpot Party variations have followed offline success as online hits.