PH22 Ways to win Explained — What 1024 Ways Actually Counts
Ways to win (including Megaways): An alternative to paylines in which matching symbols that sit next to each other pay, wherever they land.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Term | Ways to win |
| Short for | including Megaways |
| Set by | The studio behind the game, offered in place of fixed paylines |
| Where you meet it | Specification tables for cluster and scatter-pays slots |
| Not the same as | Ways to win is neither a jackpot mechanic nor a bonus feature. The base game resolves wins through this structure, and it applies on every spin instead of being triggered. The variable count in a megaways game is not random generosity either, because the engine fixes the range. |
Most of the confusion around Ways to win comes from the imprecise version of it, since it has a precise meaning.
Ways to win (including Megaways) — An alternative to paylines in which matching symbols that sit next to each other pay, wherever they land.
What Ways to win actually means
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Term | Ways to win |
| Written out | including Megaways |
| In one line | An alternative to paylines in which matching symbols that sit next to each other pay, wherever they land. |
| Fixed by | The studio behind the game, offered in place of fixed paylines |
| Where you meet it | Specification tables for cluster and scatter-pays slots |
A ways-to-win game has no fixed paylines; wins come when matching symbols land on adjacent reels starting from the left, whichever row they sit in. A 1024-ways game offers 1,024 possible combinations, which is just 4 to the power of 5, meaning four rows on each of five reels. Megaways builds on this by changing how many symbols each reel shows on every spin, so its way-count shifts from one spin to the next instead of staying fixed.
Using it in practice
Games built on ways to win typically pay less per combination, making up for the fact that they hit more frequently. Look at RTP and volatility, not the headline way-count, which describes only the grid.
Ways to win is a term that recurs on this site’s game pages; when a studio has put no figure behind it, the page states as much and cites no number from a comparison site. The blanks in several spec tables on this page come down to that.
The common misreading
Players tend to treat a big way-count as a big edge. The number feeds into the RTP calculation instead of adding anything on top of it. A 46,656-ways game is not forty-five times better than a 1,024-ways one; instead it lands wins more often and pays less on each, at whatever long-run return the studio chose.
Ways to win is neither a jackpot mechanic nor a bonus feature. The base game resolves wins through this structure, and it applies on every spin instead of being triggered. The variable count in a megaways game is not random generosity either, because the engine fixes the range.
A worked example
Working through the numbers shows it most plainly. Four rows on five reels, a 5x4 grid, works out as 4^5 = 1,024 ways. On a 6x6 grid the calculation is 6^6 = 46,656.
Neither figure says anything about how generous the game is; each just counts the symbol paths the engine checks. A way-count in the tens of thousands, when a game advertises one, describes the grid layout and not the payouts.
Checking Ways to win at PH22
- At PH22, start any game and look for its info or help screen.
- Ways to win is found there; the definition above is the one to read it by.
- Compare it with the same entry on another title before you pick one to play at PH22.
- Note your stake and your stop point on paper ahead of your first round at PH22.
FAQ
Is it up to the casino whether Ways to win ever changes?
Not on this site's evidence. If the game's own mathematics fixes a value behind ways to win, the studio holds it rather than the operator, and a figure the studio keeps unpublished cannot be confirmed by any outside source either.
How far should Ways to win guide the choice of a game?
Games built on ways to win typically pay less per combination, making up for the fact that they hit more frequently. Look at RTP and volatility, not the headline way-count, which describes only the grid.
Where do readers most often go astray on Ways to win?
Players tend to treat a big way-count as a big edge. The number feeds into the RTP calculation instead of adding anything on top of it. A 46,656-ways game is not forty-five times better than a 1,024-ways one; instead it lands wins more often and pays less on each, at whatever long-run return the studio chose.