Comparisons
Words that get mixed up
Six pairs and one trio that are often read as the same thing. Each has a side-by-side comparison and a one-line check.
Mix-up 1
Return to player and hit frequency
Both are figures about how a game pays, and both come up when people talk about a game being “generous”. They measure different things.
| Return to player | Hit frequency | |
|---|---|---|
| What it describes | The share of all money bet that is paid back over a very large number of plays. | How often a spin returns any award at all, large or small. |
| How it is written | Where shown, a percentage on the rules or help screen. | When shown, a ratio such as “1 in 4” or a percentage. |
| What it does not tell you | What will happen in one session. | How big the returns are; many can be smaller than the bet. |
Quick check A game returns something on about one spin in three, but most of those returns are smaller than the bet. Which figure is “one in three”? Hit frequency.
Entries return to player · hit frequency
Mix-up 2
Payline and ways to win
Both decide which positions have to match. A payline is a drawn path; ways to win ignore the path and count rows.
| Payline | Ways to win | |
|---|---|---|
| What has to match | Symbols sitting on one fixed path, one position per reel. | Symbols anywhere on reels next to each other, starting from the left. |
| What the number counts | The lines in play, for example 20. | Rows multiplied reel by reel: 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 243. |
| Where to check it | The line diagrams on the rules screen. | The rules line that names the number of ways. |
One payline
Ways to win
Quick check Three triangles sit on reels 1, 2 and 3 but in different rows, and no drawn line passes through all three. Under which system can they still pay? Ways to win.
Entries payline · ways to win
Mix-up 3
Scatter and wild
Both are special symbols listed apart from the others on a paytable. One fills a gap in a combination; the other does not need a combination at all.
| Scatter | Wild | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Counts wherever it lands; often pays on its own or starts a feature. | Stands in for other symbols to complete a combination. |
| Does position matter? | No: any row, any reel the rules allow. | Yes: it has to sit in the position the combination needs. |
| Common exception | It usually does not substitute for other symbols. | It often cannot replace a scatter. |
Quick check A rules line says “W substitutes for all symbols except ★”. Which symbol is the wild? W.
Mix-up 4
Feature and gamble feature
The word “feature” appears in both names, which is where the confusion starts.
| Feature | Gamble feature | |
|---|---|---|
| When it happens | When a stated condition is met during play, such as three scatters. | After a win, if the game offers it and the player chooses it. |
| What is at stake | Rounds played under the feature's own rules. | The win just made: it can be doubled or lost. |
| Relation to the spin | It follows from a spin's result. | A separate choice made after the spin has been paid. |
Quick check After a win, the screen offers to double it on the colour of a card. Is that a feature or a gamble feature? A gamble feature.
Entries feature · gamble feature
Mix-up 5
Credit and denomination
Screens count in credits; money is credits multiplied by the denomination. Reading one as the other gives the wrong amount: at 1 cent per credit the credit figure is 100 times the dollar figure, at 5 cents 20 times.
| Credit | Denomination | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The counting unit for bets, awards and the balance. | The money value of one credit. |
| Example | A balance of 2,450 credits. | At 1 cent: $24.50. At 5 cents: $122.50. |
| Where to check it | The credit meter. | A denomination display or the game's settings screen. |
Quick check The meter shows 800 and the denomination is 2 cents. How much money is that? $16.00.
Entries credit · denomination
Mix-up 6
Turnover and net loss
Turnover adds up every bet, including bets made with money already won. Net loss is what actually left your pocket.
| Turnover | Net loss | |
|---|---|---|
| What it adds up | Every bet made in the period. | Money put in minus money taken out. |
| Invented example | 200 spins at $1 = $200. | Start $50, finish $38: $12. |
| How it moves | Only goes up, with every spin. | Goes up and down as wins and losses happen. |
Quick check After 200 one-dollar spins you finish $12 down. What was the turnover? $200.
Mix-up 7
Fixed, progressive and linked jackpots
These three words answer two separate questions. Fixed and progressive describe how the amount behaves; linked describes where the pool sits. A jackpot can be both linked and progressive.
| Fixed | Progressive | Linked | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question it answers | How the amount behaves. | How the amount behaves. | Where the pool sits. |
| What it means | A set figure in the rules. | Grows by a stated part of each bet until won, then resets. | Shared by a group of machines and won on one of them. |
| Can combine with | Standalone or linked. | Standalone or linked. | Fixed or progressive. |
Quick check A display above a row of machines keeps rising and is labelled with the group's name. Which words describe it? Linked and progressive.
Entries jackpot · progressive jackpot · linked jackpot