A slot is a position or a place in which something can be found or entered. The term can also refer to a device in which something is located or can be inserted, such as a computer expansion slot (ISA, PCI, or AGP) or a memory slot on a motherboard. A slot can also refer to a position on a physical reel, where a particular symbol or combination of symbols will appear.
A slots game is a casino game that uses spinning reels to display combinations of symbols and award credits based on the paytable. In modern slot machines, a player inserts cash or, in the case of “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, a paper ticket with a barcode into a designated slot and activates the machine by means of a lever or button (either physical or on a touchscreen). The reels then spin and, if the player matches a winning combination of symbols, they earn credits according to the paytable. Most slot games have a theme and specific symbols associated with that theme.
The X receiver is the quickest and fastest runner on the team, so teams often employ shifty guys in the slot to make defenses uncomfortable. A good runner in the slot will gain 8-15 yards on a typical reception and usually won’t break a long gain unless they can get a defender or two to miss.
Another type of special symbol is called a scatter symbol. Scatter symbols can award a payout even if they are not on adjacent lines or in the same row. These are especially popular with online slot players and are sometimes used to trigger other bonus features.
A specialized table slot, the periodic slot holds data that repeats over a specified time period. For example, the periodic evaporation coefficients for a reservoir may be defined using the periodic slot. The timeseries associated with the data can vary (1 Hour, 1 Day, 1 Month, etc), and the periodic slot can be configured to either Lookup or Interpolate.