A slot is a position in a group, series, or sequence. It can also mean a place for something to fit in easily or comfortably. The term is also used to describe a position in a computer’s circuitry where an expansion card can be fitted. In the case of a computer, it may refer to a set of pinholes in the motherboard that connect to various other components such as video acceleration or disk drive control.
In sports, a slot receiver is a smaller player who can stretch defenses vertically off pure speed. They typically run shorter routes on the route tree such as slants and quick outs. These players are becoming more prevalent in the NFL, and many teams employ several slot receivers.
In a slot machine, a player inserts cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, a paper ticket with a barcode into a designated slot on the machine. The reels then spin and stop to rearrange the symbols in a winning combination. The player then earns credits based on the pay table. Many slot games have a theme, and the symbols associated with that theme are often stylized lucky sevens. A slot machine’s microprocessor can assign different probability distributions to individual symbols, so that a particular symbol might appear close to the reel index in one spin but far away from it in another. These differences are sometimes noticeable to players, and they can be misleading. This can lead to frustration when the game is not producing regular wins.