A narrow notch or opening: a slot in a door; the slots in a deck of cards; a slit in the side of a can. Also: a position or period of time authorized by an air-traffic control authority for an aircraft to land or take off.
A slot in a machine that is used to hold paper tickets or other items for deposit and removal. In a casino: a bank of slot machines that pay out money based on the number of symbols lining up.
Often, players assume that a machine that hasn’t paid out for a long time is “due to hit.” It’s not. Slots are designed to pay out less than the total amount put into them, which is how casinos make their profits. This is why the best strategy for playing slots is to treat them as entertainment and only spend what you can afford to lose.
Advantage play on these machines doesn’t require split-second calculations, and the opportunities are usually visible and easy to understand. The key is to monitor jackpot levels and be observant of machine states left behind by previous players.
