Win Both Ways Slots Guide

Slots nowadays come in all kinds of different sorts and shapes. With different themes, features, and mechanics, among other things. And while in most standard slots, you land winning combos by matching three to five symbols on a winning line from left to right on consecutive reels, in slots with different types of mechanics, other ways to win are offered.

Like in Win Both Ways slots. These are slots where, as implied by the name of the mechanics, you can land winning combos on winning lines in both ways instead of one. As mentioned, while in most slots the standard rule is for symbols to land from left to right on adjacent reels, in these slots, they can also land from right to left.

Now, there’s more to the mechanics than what meets the eye (or what’s implied by its name), so in this article, we’ll cover everything about it, how it affects the game’s overall Hit frequency, Volatility & RTP, for instance. While it is not that complex to comprehend, the engine does come with its own rules. We’ll also share with you several top slots that offer the feature, so you can give them a try to get a taste of the action better.

How Does the Win Both Ways Mechanics Work?

Since the feature offers another way, literally, to form a win, it does have some effects on the overall outcomes the game can deliver. Since in most slots, you only get to land wins from left to right, these slots will come with many special features to help you boost your winnings.

Win Both Ways slot machines, on the other hand, will have some of these features excluded, like Free Spins, for instance, and instead offer a less important feature like Respins, accompanied by Expanding Wilds, that would still take you to great wins eventually. Here’s what else you can expect from these slots:

• About the lack of Free Spins bonus round; don’t get discouraged. As said, slots that lack Free Spins but offer the Win Both Ways mechanics often come with Respins. The number of Respins you get usually gets reset each time you land a special symbol. What’s more, to increase your wins, you often get Expanding Wilds, which cover an entire reel they land on, thus boosting your chances to get more than one win on the winning lines, thanks to the mechanics.
• Not only do Win Both Ways slots come with no Free Spins but also the number of lines to form wins on will also be limited. Usually, slots come with at least 20 lines, but titles that feature Win Both Ways mechanics may come with only 10 lines, for instance. That’s because developers need to limit the number of lines to get ahead of the overall math behind the game. That, however, does not really mean that there won’t be chances for you to increase your win thanks to the mechanics; on the contrary, thanks to its ability to pay out both ways, your chances are still boosted.
• Additional mechanics may be offered in these Win Both Ways slots, to cover for the lack of the grand bonus features. Engines that create Cascades or Reactions, that add Multipliers or other ways to deliver consecutive wins may be offered, so this is another perk of Win Both Ways slots.

How Does the Mechanics Influence the Math Behind the Slot?

While the Win Both Ways mechanics might not affect the slot’s RTP or Volatility, as any slot can offer the engine, be it low or highly volatile, be it with a low or high RTP percentage, it does influence the hit frequency.

While slots with different mechanics might offer better or worse winning possibilities, Win Both Ways slots usually come with an average hit frequency. That’s because, even though it allows players to form wins in both ways, it offers features that limit how much players can win.

Otherwise, if developers let it loose and load the slot with special features, casino operators would lose money and players would get massive payouts. Hence, the reason why these slots usually do not come with the much-wanted Free Spins round, and hence, the average hit frequency.

Top 5 Win Both Ways Slots to Try Out

Now that you know what to expect from these slots, here are the top five Win Both Ways slot titles to consider trying:

1. Starburst: Not only is this one of the greatest, most popular slots in the entire online gambling history, but NetEnt’s Starburst is also a slot that comes with the Win Both Ways mechanics. The slot, even though not renowned for being a slot that gives out life-changing rewards, it is still the most epic title ever launched. Winning symbols pay from left to right and right to left, so a full line of matching symbols in this slot is worth double since lines pay both ways. As expected, this slot offers only 10 paylines to form wins on and an average hit frequency, no Free Spins are available, and the entire gameplay revolves around the Wild that appears on the middle reels and expands to cover the full reel, whilst triggering a Respin during which it is locked in place.
2. Suncatcher Gigablox: This Win Both Ways title by Yggdrasil offers basically the same things as Starburst. So, you get an average hit frequency, 10 paylines, Respins triggered by a Wild which Expands and remains Sticky, and even the exact same payout potential, of up to 500x the stake. See what you’re dealing with here? Notice the pattern?
3. Hustling: Red Tiger launched this title a few years back, but essentially, it is no different than the previous two. Win Both Ways is implemented, 10 paylines are offered and Super Wilds that land Fully Stacked. What’s different here is that you have Free Spins with extra modifiers like Multipliers to go through. With above-average hit frequency, this is definitely a slot to consider playing.
4. WildPops: Here’s one slot that stands out from the rest of Win Both Ways titles. This AvatarUX title comes with the mechanics in question but in combination with the PopWins mechanics. What happens is, when a win is formed, winning symbols pop and two new ones are added on a reel. The pops continue for as long as you’re forming winning combos. What’s more, the slot comes with 33,614 ways to win, plus it offers 3 extra lives or what we know as 3 Free Spins, and there are many Multipliers and Random Wilds in it, too. Not a bad title to try, right?
5. Dark Vortex: Another title that does not follow the pattern is Yggdrasil’s Dark Vortex. It has no paylines but 243 ways to win that thanks to the Vortex Reels can produce up to 3,125 ways to win – in both ways! The game is loaded with features and has an insane max win potential, so it is definitely worth a try!