What Is a Slot?

slot

A narrow notch, groove, or opening: a keyway in a lock; a slit for a coin in a vending machine. Also: a position in a series, sequence, or program; a spot or time for an activity. Visitors can book a time slot a week or more in advance.

A slot is the space on a motherboard where an expansion card can be installed. There are various types of slots, such as ISA, PCI, and AGP.

In football, a Slot receiver is a wide receiver who lines up close to the line of scrimmage and is smaller and faster than outside wide receivers. He must be able to run precise routes and may need to act as a ball carrier on some plays, including pitch plays, reverses, and end-arounds.

Fake coins (slugs) were a problem for casinos as long as slot machines accepted them, but manufacturers designed more secure coin acceptance devices to stop this cheating. Today, most slot games accept paper currency or tickets instead of coins.

When playing a slot machine, check the pay table to see how much you can win if particular symbols line up on the payline. The pay tables are usually printed on the face of the machine and may be located above or below the reels. It is also a good idea to look at POP and RTP statistics on the machine, which will tell you how often the machine pays out and whether it has a high winning percentage.