Unlike the pull-to-play mechanical machines of decades ago, today’s casino floors are alight with towering video slots backed by bright graphics and booming sounds. These eye-catching contraptions have earned a reputation for being difficult to win, but if you know what to look out for you can increase your chances of walking away with a padded wallet.

The first step in playing a slot machine is to place a bet by inserting cash or, in ticket-in, ticket-out machines, a paper ticket with a barcode. Once the bet is placed, the machine is activated by a lever or button (physical or virtual) that spins digital reels and stops to rearrange symbols in combinations. If a winning combination is found, the player receives credits based on the payout table. Most slot games have a theme and feature classic symbols such as fruit, bells, and stylized lucky sevens.

Many popular slot strategies suggest moving onto another machine after a certain period of time or after a series of good payouts (the idea being that the machine will ‘tighten up’). This is unhelpful, because the random number generator inside the machine doesn’t take into account the results of previous spins. Getting greedy and betting more than you can afford to lose are the biggest pitfalls of slot play.