A slot is a thin opening or groove that can be used to allow something to pass through it. For example, you can put letters or postcards through a mail slot at the post office. A slot can also refer to a number of different things, depending on context. In sports, it can be a position on the field where a player is assigned to receive the ball. It can also be a time period when an aircraft is authorized to land or take off at an airport.

A key element of any slot is its pay table. The pay table lists all possible sequences of symbols that can appear on a payout line, how much you win for each combination and any additional features such as wild symbols or scatters. The pay table can be found on the machine or in its help menu, if available.

On older machines, a slot’s pay table is printed on the machine’s face. On modern video slots, it can be displayed in a pop-up window, usually near the reels.

The odds for winning on a slot machine are determined by a random-number generator that generates millions of numbers within a massive spectrum each second. When the machine is activated, a signal — anything from the button being pressed to the handle being pulled — causes the RNG to set a number. The computer then uses an internal sequence table to map the three-number quotient to the corresponding stop on the reel.