Basics of 3 Reel Slots

As the name implies, a 3 reel slots game only features three reels going from left-to-right. Several decades ago, all slots games featured 3 reels because casino technology wasn't very advanced back in these days. And the old 3 reel slots were normally accompanied by just a single payline, which is the reason why 3 reel, single payline games are now called "classic slots."

Slots games have changed in a big way since then, and there are lots of different payline and reel amounts today. However, some people still enjoy the simplicity of 3 reel slots games, and they're especially good for beginning players. 

3 Reel Slots Games

One of the biggest reasons why 3 reel slots are so good for beginning slots players is that the game structures are easy to understand. After all, most 3 reel games don't feature progressive slots payouts or lots of paylines, so beginners are less likely to get confused.

Beginning with classic slots, which you can find in both land-based and online casinos, there is only one payline, and usually only one coin size. So if the featured bet is $0.25, you won't be able to bet any more or any less than this amount. There are no progressive payouts either, unless the coin size varies. Assuming coin sizes did vary - like say between $1-$3 - players might receive a progressively bigger jackpot if they bet the $3 coin amount. For example, the jackpot for a $1 bet would be 1,000 coins, the jackpot for a $2 bet would be 2,000 coins, and the jackpot for a $3 wager would be 4,000 coins. 

Moving away from classic 3 reel slots, there are also 3 reel games where multiple paylines are offered. In these games, you can play more than one payline, which gives you extra chances to win payouts. Since 3 reels is the lowest amount a slots game offers, you normally won't be dealing with more than 5-10 paylines in a 3 reel, multi-payline game.

3 Reel Slots Jackpots

As previously discussed, many classic slots offer a straight jackpot, or non-progressive prize. So if you lined up the correct three symbols across the single payline, you would receive a straight jackpot prize. In addition to these prizes, some 3 reel slots games also offer progressive jackpots where the top prize increases based on how many bets are made. 

For example, if the jackpot was sitting at $100,000 and a player made a bet, the progressive jackpot would increase slightly. Considering the large amount of slots players who like to compete for progressive jackpots, the prizes go up pretty fast. It's also worth mentioning that nearly all 3 reel progressive jackpots are offered with multi-payline games.

3 Reel Slots Features

With the advent of online slots, 3 reel games come with a lot more features now. Unlike the old classic slots, many 3 reel slots games today offer multiple paylines, different coin sizes, skill stop, accessible paytables, and even bonus games. With everything that's offered in modern 3 reel slots games, they've increased in popularity quite a bit.