1. (computing) A space on a disk or in memory that can be used to store files. The game offers four save slots.
2. A place or time that someone can have. She slotted the appointment in her schedule for Thursday.
3. In aviation, a time when an airline is allowed to fly through a given airport at certain times. Airlines fight to get the slots they need at the most popular airports, and some of them are willing to pay a lot of money to obtain one. The process of getting a slot is known as “scheduling.”
4. In casino gaming, the amount that a machine pays out on average over a long period of time. It is usually expressed as a percentage, such as 75-95 percent. This is different from the house edge, which reflects the odds that a casino will win against a player.
5. In gambling, the term for the area on a machine’s reels where winning combinations appear. Sometimes, these lines are straight and run across reels, but they can also take a zigzag or other shape. A machine’s pay table will list the payouts for each possible combination of symbols on a payline, and some machines allow players to adjust the number of pay lines that they bet on.
A gamer’s ability to estimate the probability of winning on a slot machine, using math that is stacked against them, distinguishes experienced players from inexperienced ones. While it’s true that you can beat a slot machine if you have an incredible amount of luck, it takes a lot of patience and money to do so.