A narrow opening, especially one for receiving something such as a coin or a letter. Also:

A slot in a schedule or program. The TV show was scheduled for the eight-o’clock slot on Thursdays.

In a slot machine, the pay table is a table that lists the payouts for various symbols and combinations. It can be found in a display panel on the machine’s exterior or, with video slots, integrated into the screen. A thorough understanding of the pay table can help players make more informed decisions about their wagers and boost their chances of winning.

The pay tables of different slot games vary, but most have a theme that is aligned with the symbols and bonus features. In addition to the traditional fruit and bells, stylized lucky sevens, and other familiar symbols, some slots feature wilds that can substitute for other symbols to form winning lines and activate other game bonuses.

To play a slot, the player inserts cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, a paper ticket with a barcode, into a slot on the machine. A button or lever then activates the reels, which spin and stop to rearrange the symbols. When the machine stops, a winning combination of symbols appears and the player earns credits based on the paytable. In addition to pay lines, some slots also have scatters that trigger special bonus rounds and jackpot levels. In some cases, the number of coins played determines how many paylines a machine has.