The word slot has its origin in the late 14c. It refers to a hollow in the throat above the breastbone. The word derives from Old French esclot, of uncertain origin, and also includes the Old Norse slod. Its use in a computer context is first recorded in the 1520s. The word slot was later used to refer to a machine, and its use in the context of gaming is recorded in 1888.

There are numerous types of slots, each with a unique set of features and payout rates. A pay table will tell you how much you’ll win if certain symbols line up. Some symbols, such as bar symbols, can represent many other symbols, such as a coin, a bar, a card, a dice, or even a horse. Most pay tables are listed on the machine’s face. For older machines, these are often found above the wheels, while video slot machines include them in the help menu.

To map a specific word or phrase to a slot, open the Select Slot dialog box. The selected word or phrase will be indicated as the slot value by a colored underline. From there, you can edit or delete the slot from the Slots tab. If you are using regex patterns to map slots, you can also match phrases in an utterance to their respective slot types. In addition to regular expressions, slots can also be used to identify locations.