What Are the Most Valuable Symbols in Slots?

Online slot games often provide a number of ways of winning, but which symbols are of most use to you? While this varies from game to game, we can get a good idea of how valuable each symbol is by looking at the most common icons used and what they might be worth when you play. 

The Highest-Paying Symbols

A look at the current online slot games tells us that there are many different games covering plenty of themes that you might not expect to see. You’ll also be able to filter the slots on the various jackpots and features that they offer, but despite this variety, there are several elements they all have in common, such as the types of symbols and how they work.

One recurring aspect of slots is that they all have a paytable that lets us see how much each combination of paying symbols is worth. There will be a top-paying symbol, usually showing the most important or iconic image from the theme. The paytable will tell you how much you earn for filling a pay line with this image. In some jackpot games, the highest-paying symbol can even trigger a jackpot win or a special bonus game where the top prize can be won.

The Wild Symbol

Apart from the paying symbols, which have cash values noted alongside them, slots tend to have at least one bonus symbol included. The most common of them is the wild, which acts kind of like a joker card by replacing any paying symbol to allow you to complete a winning line even if you don’t have all the matching images on it.

This basic function has been added to in some slots, with additional features that make their wilds even more valuable. Among them, you might see wilds that add a multiplier to any winning combination they form part of, or that stay on the reels for a fixed number of spins after they first appear.

The Scatter Symbol

Apart from the wild symbol, the free spins round is the other commonly-seen bonus on the majority of online slot games. This special round is typically triggered by the arrival of three scatter symbols on the reels, and this is made easier because they can appear anywhere on the screen rather than having to land next to one another.

The free spins round offers the best possibility of a big win in many slots, as you get a number of chances to win without using any of your own funds. You may also get some extra benefits here, such as all wins being multiplied or extra wilds, which add to the chance of making bigger wins during the free spins. This could help you to make a wise decision on which game to play.

So, Which Is Best?

While you may see other types of symbols on some slots, the ones we’ve looked at here are the most common and also tend to be the most valuable in terms of the size of the wins they could help you to collect. Having said that, it’s a good idea to check the paytable before playing, to see exactly how much each of the symbols could be worth to you.