A slot is an opening or slit, as in a door or window. A slot is also a position within a group, series or sequence. The job or position of chief copy editor, for example.

The term is also used in computer hardware to describe a specific location or position of an expansion card, for example an ISA, PCI or AGP slot on a motherboard. It can also refer to a particular position within a game, for instance a bonus round or jackpot feature.

Online slots are a type of gambling machine where players place a bet and spin the reels to see if they have won. They can be played on computers, tablets or mobile phones. They usually have a theme and bonus features that are aligned with the theme.

During a spin, the player inserts cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, a paper ticket with a barcode into a slot. The reels then spin and stop to rearrange the symbols. If the symbols match a winning combination on a payline, the player receives credits according to the payout schedule in the slot’s pay table.

The coloured boxes in the pay table above display how the symbols should land to trigger a winning combination, and how much each symbol pays. The pay table can also list any other special symbols in the slot, or any other supplementary features that can be activated during the game. It is recommended that you always read the pay table of a slot game before playing it.