Slot Machine Symbols Explained: The Ultimate Guide

Vlad Mihalache
Written by Vlad Mihalache
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Vlad Mihalache

Online Gambling and Slots Specialist
  • Accomplished content strategist and editor with over 6 years of experience in the iGaming industry;
  • Specializes in blackjack strategies, slots, and gambling addiction;
  • Online gambling expert with 2500+ articles written and reviewed;
  • Strong advocate for responsible gambling with comprehensive knowledge of gambling trends and addiction.
Iulia Ionita
Reviewed by Iulia Ionita
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Iulia Ionita

Video Producer, Slots Expert, and Senior Content Writer
  • Versatile iGaming professional with over 6 years of experience in video production and 4 years in content writing;
  • Leads the video team at Chipy and has contributed as a Senior Content Writer, expanding her expertise into written content;
  • Channel manager of Chipy’s YouTube;
  • Authored 100+ slots impressions, providing valuable insights;
  • Reviewed 1000+ slots (both video and written);
  • Specializes in creating engaging and informative video content that highlights the world of online slots.
Beginner
icon-thumb-up 98% icon-clock-grey 9 min
icon-calendar Updated on Feb 05, 2024

The slot machine symbols are the key feature in every land-based and online casino slot game, shaping the game in its unique form.

In this guide, you will find useful information about slot machine symbols and why they are an important part of these casino games. If you like this guide, make sure you check out our other slot machine guides for players of all types.

Let's take a look at the topics covered in this guide:

What Are Slot Symbols and Their Meaning?    

slot lucky symbols

Slot symbols represent the essence of forming a winning combination that will reward the players with a generous prize. These slot machine icons take different forms and have a unique design, which is a way to make the whole gambling experience more exciting.

The slot machine symbols’ meaning is different for every icon, as they are based on certain objects, most often on lucky charms, such as:

  • horseshoe;
  • four-leaf clover;
  • lucky 7;
  • pot of gold;
  • rabbit’s foot.

In online casinos, the slot machine symbols are designed to match the slot’s theme.

Many reputable software providers design slot symbols with a sharper look and visuals, as a way to attract more players to their slot games; players are tempted to choose a slot game with an amazing visual appearance.

Depending on the slot’s rules and pay mechanics, the players are using the slot casino symbols to form a winning combination on a payline, that usually consists of at least 3 matching symbols

Remember

Some of the symbols can also trigger a bonus feature, where the players have a unique chance to win much bigger prizes than the regular ones. Every payout that the player receives is a result of how well the symbols have aligned on the reels.

How Many Symbols Are There in a Slot Machine?

Every slot machine features a different amount of symbols. Their number depends on how many reels the game is played on. The classic 3-reel slot machine has 60 symbols in total (or 20 symbols per reel). This means that there are more than 8,000 combinations to hit a jackpot. If you want to learn more about slot machine reels, make sure you go through our guide on Chipy Academy.

Nowadays in the video slots, the number of symbols doesn't influence the probability of landing on a winning combination. It all depends on the complex random number generator (RNG) modules that determine a random outcome each time a player spins the reels.

Types of Slot Symbols 

There are several types of symbols in slot casino games and every type is different from one another in certain ways. The usual symbol types that are featured in most online slots are the following:

  • Standard symbols (low and high paying);
  • Wild symbols;
  • Bonus symbols;
  • Scatter symbols;
  • Multiplier symbols.

Below we will describe every single one of these symbol types for you to understand the difference between them.

Standard Symbols

slot standard symbols

Every slot game features several standard symbols, which are paying symbols that have no extra use in this casino game. Their only purpose is to reward the players with a prize when they form a winning combination on the reels that consists of several matching standard symbols.

It is very common for the slots to use retro Standard symbols such as fruit, usually used as high-paying symbols:

  • watermelons;
  • oranges;
  • cherries; 
  • strawberries. 

Other common symbols are the card symbols, representing the low-paying ones:

  • Jack;
  • Queen; 
  • King;
  • Ace;
  • Card suits (such as Heart, Spade, Diamond, and Clubs).

In a fruit-themed slot, the fruit symbols are high-paying standard symbols, whereas the card symbols are usually low-paying symbols. 

Please note 

Standard slot symbols can land anywhere on the reels, as some symbols can appear only on certain reels.

For example 

Flaming Fruits is a video slot game from GameArt that features several standard symbols such as a 7 symbol, a Watermelon symbol, Grapes symbol, a Liberty Bell symbol, a Cherries symbol, a Lemon symbol, a Plum symbol, and an Orange symbol.

Wild Symbols

slot wild symbols

The Wild symbols are the second most common symbols. In slot games, they act as a “joker” and can have several functions. Its most common function is to replace other Standard symbols, as a way to help form a winning combination.

However, the Wild symbols cannot substitute for Scatter and Bonus symbols. It is very common to find a Wild symbol that is also a Wild Multiplier symbol. This symbol will act as Standard one and it will also enhance the payout by multiplying value to the Wild symbols.

The players can also find several other Wild symbol types such as:

  • Expanding Wilds;
  • Stacked Wilds;
  • Shifting Wilds;
  • Sticky Wilds;
  • Transforming Wilds;
  • Walking Wilds.

Some online video slots can have a special bonus game feature for the Wild symbols. For example, there is a bonus game that can turn one or more reels entirely wild when activated. One such video slot game is the Power of Thor Megaways, which has been developed by Pragmatic Play

Scatter Symbols

slot scatters

The Scatter symbols are the third most common symbols. They are often the rarest symbols to land on the reels, but the advantage is that they don't have to be part of the payline to reward the player with a prize. The most usual bonus type that can be activated is the free spins feature.

Scatter symbols are also one of the highest-paying symbols in online video slots. They can appear anywhere on the reels to trigger a payout and activate a bonus game. The more Scatter symbols a player lands on, the higher the payout will be.

They are popular amongst players as they only need two or three to win a prize. Scatters are most often part of 5-reel slots, as a way to spice things up for the players. 

The bonus is usually triggered when the players land a certain number of Scatter symbols anywhere on the reels. An example of a slot game that features Scatter symbols that can trigger a free spins feature is Rome: The Golden Age slot from NetEnt.

Bonus Symbols

bonus symbols

Bonus symbols are used to trigger a certain bonus game. They are very similar to the Scatter symbols, with the difference being that usually, the player has to get a specific number of these symbols on the reels in certain positions to trigger a bonus game.

The most common way to trigger a bonus game is by landing at least three bonus symbols on specific reels. There are some cases where the bonus symbols are required to spin on reels 1 and 5 at once. In other cases, the Bonus symbols need to land in the same position.

Pro Tip

You should check the paytable when wagering on a slot game that features bonus symbols, to understand how to trigger the bonus game. 

One example of a slot game that features a bonus symbol that can trigger a bonus round is the Lion Gems Hold and Win slot from Playson.

Multiplier Symbols

multipliers symbols

Multiplier symbols are possibly the rarest symbols to appear on the slot reels. Their goal is to multiply the player’s wins. They will land on the reels just like any other symbol type, but they will increase the payout amount from a winning combination up to 6x.

For example

If you land a winning combination that would normally pay $30, with a 5x multiplier, you would get a payout of $150.

The multiplier symbols can be Standard symbols that have an extra icon, which indicates their multiplier bonus. However, the more valuable multipliers also serve as Wild symbols.

This means that they can multiply the payout of any winning combination that they are part of.

Not many slots feature these types of symbols, but one of the rare ones is Buffalo King from Pragmatic Play. The Wild symbol in this slot game is also a Multiplier symbol that is active during the free spins and comes with a random multiplier of 2x, 3x, or 5x.

The Most Popular Slot Machine Symbols

Some symbols are used more often by software providers than others. The classic slot games often feature old-school symbols such as:

  • Old-school symbols (Lucky 7s, Bar, Horseshoes, Liberty Bell, Diamond, Star, Four Leaf Clover);
  • Fruit (Cherries, Lemon, Bananas, Oranges, Strawberries, Plums, Watermelon, Grapes, Pineapple, and Pears)
  • Card symbols between 10 and A;
  • Card suits (Diamond, Spade, Club, and Heart).

The modern video slots feature a more diverse selection of symbols, where the Ancient Egyptian, Roman, Greek, Viking, Chinese, and a few other themes are featuring the most popular symbols, designed according to the slot's theme.

The History of Slot Symbols

history of slot symbols

The slot games have been around ever since the end of the 19th century. Although many things have changed over the years, some of the symbols have remained relevant even today.

Fun fact

Many players don’t know that the Bar symbol in the slot machines represents sticks of chewing gum, or to be more specific, a Bar chewing gum, which was a popular chewing gum brand. 

One of the oldest symbols that featured even on the first slot machines include card suits, as well as a Liberty Bell and a Horseshoe. These are followed by symbols like the Bar, the Lucky 7s, Four Leaf Clover, and Card symbols such as Jack, Queen, King, and Ace.

The fruit slot machines brought in some new symbols which included symbols such as Lemons, Cherries, Grapes, Oranges, Watermelons, Pineapples, Strawberries, Plums, and some more.

When the video slots started to get very popular, then the modern symbols started to come up, where every slot featured certain unique symbols.

Find Your Favorite Slot Symbols on Chipy

Now that you know the meaning of the symbols in the slot games, you can read our how to play slots guide and look for a good slot game to wager with real money. 

On Chipy's website, you can find many free online slots that don't require a download to play.

You can also play slot games with real cash. Start your gambling experience on the right foot with a free spins bonus code from our website. For the best experience, we recommend finding a reputable online casino to wager at

We hope that the knowledge that you've got for the slot machine symbols will be of use in your journey.

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Vlad Mihalache

Vlad Mihalache

Online Gambling and Slots Specialist

About Vlad Mihalache

  • Accomplished content strategist and editor with over 6 years of experience in the iGaming industry;
  • Specializes in blackjack strategies, slots, and gambling addiction;
  • Online gambling expert with 2500+ articles written and reviewed;
  • Strong advocate for responsible gambling with comprehensive knowledge of gambling trends and addiction.
Read Full Bio
Iulia Ionita

Iulia Ionita

Video Producer, Slots Expert, and Senior Content Writer

About Iulia Ionita

  • Versatile iGaming professional with over 6 years of experience in video production and 4 years in content writing;
  • Leads the video team at Chipy and has contributed as a Senior Content Writer, expanding her expertise into written content;
  • Channel manager of Chipy’s YouTube;
  • Authored 100+ slots impressions, providing valuable insights;
  • Reviewed 1000+ slots (both video and written);
  • Specializes in creating engaging and informative video content that highlights the world of online slots.
Read Full Bio
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