Slots machines have been around since the early 1800's and are as varied as their numbers. The first machines had only three reels and 20 symbols. Today's slot machines have anywhere from 3 to 9 or more reels and upwards of 100 symbols and take as little as a nickel to play or as much as $100 a pull. Online casinos offer slots and have a tremendous clientele or player base. Die-hard slot players can tell you which are the best online casinos to play slots at, dependant on the casino software, the payout schedule, the coin size and whether there is chat capabilities available. Remember those are opinions and everyone's is different and may or may not work for you. As a beginner you need to develop your on insight into slots and this is where I come in. With the information here, you will be able to play with the best of them, and determine for yourselves which casinos and which games are best suited to you. Slots Basics. : Determine your budget first, select a game that you feel comfortable with, there are many many online slot games and each comes with it's own theme and design so your choices are nearly unlimited. Some pick a particular game because they like the name of the game, some choose a new game thinking that the game is looser, the choice is entirely yours. Always consider the payout and the coin amount in your decision. Look at the payout table located on the top of the machine at about eye level. Study the symbols and what each will pay you should you win that combination. You have a choice of betting one, two or three coins on most machines. Some have a two coin max. Whatever the coin max, bet the max. You don't want to be sitting there stunned when you hit that top winning combination only to realize you didn't get the jackpot because you were one coin shy of the max bet required. Next you want to begin your play by inserting your money. Slot machines will accept coins or bills and payout in coins or a credit slip that you take to the cashier to get paid. After your first spin glance back up at the payout table to compare your spin to what is showing there.  You would have seen and heard the bells and whistles had you hit a winning combination of a large size. But by keeping yourself familiar with exactly what you are trying to achieve, you can start to play a bit more relaxed and naturally and spin the reels with more confidence. Slots Payouts. : The payouts on slots can be very confusing to the novice. In general, a good rule of thumb to remember is that the lower the bet such on nickel slots, the lower the payout.