Basics of 5 Reel Slots

Assuming you're new to online slots, it's worth mentioning right away that 5 reel slots have five reels going from left-to-right, which is obviously where the name comes from. Looking back through the history of slots games, the advent 5 reel slots marked a turning point for the slots industry. It enabled casino operators to create more payout options for players, and also add new features that the limited-3 reel games couldn't handle. Even today 5 reel games reign supreme over the slots world, and you'll often find the biggest progressive jackpots featured on 5 reel slots. 

One reason why these games are so popular is because the 5 reels allow for more paylines and winning combinations. In regards to paylines, these are extra lines within the five reels that people can play in order to have more chances at winning on each spin. Many 5 reel slots games offer 20-25 paylines or more! It's important to understand that on games with this many paylines, they won't all fit nice and neatly on the reels. So you should consult the slots paytable to see how winning combinations are formed within each extra payline.

5 Reel Slots Games

It may take a little while for new slots players to understand just how the 5 payline games work. One of the best places to start is with coin sizes, which often vary depending on what game you play. For example, a 5 reel slots game could offer coin sizes ranging from $0.05-$5.00, meaning you could bet as low as $0.05 or as high as $5.00 on each payline. So assuming you bet $1 on 20 paylines, your total wager for the spin would be $20.

If you're playing a progressive 5 reel slots game, you'll most likely have to bet a certain amount to be eligible for the jackpot. For example, if the max bet is $1, you will probably have to bet this amount to be eligible for the progressive jackpot, which we'll discuss more in-depth below. 

5 Reel Slots Jackpots

One of the biggest driving forces behind the popularity of 5 reel slots is that many of these games offer big progressive jackpots. In fact, most of the biggest progressive slots jackpots that have been won over the years come from 5 reel games. To win progressive jackpots, players sometimes need to make a side bet, or they have to play the max coin size and max paylines. In the latter case, a 20-payline game might only offer the progressive jackpot on the 20th payline, so players would have to play all 20 paylines to win.

Of course, 5 reel slots isn't entirely about progressive jackpots because there are also fixed jackpots that players can win by matching up certain symbols. For example, you might win a 10,000-coin fixed jackpot for matching a certain 5 symbol combination on the reels. It's worth noting that there can be both fixed and progressive jackpots in the same slots game.

5 Reel Slots Features

Many 5 reel slots are loaded with features, which is nice because they are less likely to get boring. Besides the aforementioned multiple paylines and varying coin sizes, some of the other features that you'll see in 5 reel slots include auto play, skill stop, free play and the paytable section.

One more feature that players should keep in mind are the bonus games, which give players extra chances to win money. Quite a few slots bonus games feature non-slots themes, thus making them fresh and interesting.