A Brief History of 5-Reel Online Slots

Today, 5-reel online slots are well known, with some even ranking as the best games loaded with great features that increase payout potential. The traditional slot machines were introduced with 3 mechanical reels. Many online casinos still run the “AWP” styled slots. However, 5 reel online slots are also not all that new and can be dated back to the evolution of slot machines itself.

The journey of reels from drums to millennial online slots:

• In 1891, the first Poker machine was developed by Sittman and Pott. The design featured 5 mechanical drums with 50 playing cards presented on them. In those times, the wins came from lined up combos of hands.
• The first slot machine that made automatic payouts possible is believed to be invented by Charles Augustus Fey between 1887 and 1895.
• Barney’s Casino in Nevada was well known for the “Big Irish Luck” (a mechanical behemoth) that features a huge 5 reel slot with bells, oranges and 4-leaf cloves.
• In 1964, the electro-mechanical slot by the name of Money Honey was launched by Bally. The reels used to work electrically though the game began by pulling the lever on the machine.
• In the 1970s came the first video slots with the 3-reel format. These included the IGT’s Fortune Coin and Megabucks. Initially, the slots used simple and fewer symbols and with the advent of the microchip designers went gaga introducing more and more symbols on the reels. Along with the symbols, winning and losing combos also gained its prominence. These video slots, unlike the traditional slot machines, didn’t rely on mechanical reels and this it became easier to have more reels.
• Around mid- 90s decade, with the evolution of online slots, the 5-reel slots thus came into limelight. Most popular games are ruled by the 5-reel online slot games.

Distinct features of the 5-reel online slots

If you are a slot aficionado, you would have noticed that the 5-reel slots typically feature 3 or 4 rows of symbols to make a 3×5 or 4×5 grid. The 5 reel slots usually feature anywhere between 10 and 50 paylines. More paylines allow increased symbols. Wilds and Scatters are some of the typical features in 5-reel online slots. This type of slots offers the scope of activating lucrative bonus features.

Advantages of playing 5-reel online slots

• 3-reel slots are commonly characterized by fewer features and lower number of jackpots.
• The addition of two more reels makes the online slots much more diverse.
• 5 reel slots trigger numerous bonus features through a range of scatter symbols combinations.
• Most progressive jackpots are awarded on 5-reel slots. Such massive prizes may not be possible on 3-reel online slots.
• Some slots have low variance while others with big jackpots are high variance games. Different slots feature different RTPs and variable jackpots.
• You can try the 5-reel games for free at your preferred online casino destination before staking real money. This will help you understand the potential of the game and its worth in terms of playing with actual money.

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