A slot is a piece of hardware or software in which a file can be stored, or to which a program can write data. A computer may have several slots, each of which can be used for different purposes. A slot is often a separate partition on a disk, but can also be part of an application program or operating system kernel. A slot can be used to store data in a table or map, or as an index into that information.

A pay table in a slot game is a guide that displays how winning combinations will payout on a particular machine. It typically lists a range of symbols and their payouts from the highest at the top to the lowest at the bottom. It may also display bonus features and multipliers, and include other important information on the slot. Some pay tables are printed on the face of a machine, while others are displayed on-screen and divided into pages or slides.

Most slot machines are activated by inserting cash or, in ticket-in, ticket-out machines, a paper ticket with a barcode into a designated area on the machine. Once activated, a random number sequence is generated and found on corresponding reel locations by the computer. The reels then spin and stop to rearrange the symbols into a pattern that will determine whether and how much a player wins. Many myths about slot games abound, such as the belief that certain machines are hot or cold and that playing multiple slots at once increases chances of winning. However, studies have shown that these myths are not true.