Win both ways (slots)
Win both ways is a slot rule under which each payline pays matching symbols from the leftmost reel to the right and also from the rightmost reel to the left. The lines keep their shape; the game simply reads every one from both ends. Studios and help screens also call it pay both ways or 2 way pay, and the paytable is where the direction is stated.
How a two-way payline is read
On a standard five-reel slot, three matching symbols on reels 1, 2 and 3 of a line pay, while the same three on reels 3, 4 and 5 pay nothing. A win-both-ways game counts that second run as well, provided the symbols sit on consecutive reels along an active line.
Ten lines stay ten lines.
A five-of-a-kind run is the same win read from either side, so games generally pay it once. Where a line holds two shorter runs, one from each edge, rules differ between studios: some credit both, others pay only the higher, and the help screen settles which applies. NetEnt’s Starburst is the familiar example, with 10 fixed paylines paying in both directions.
Two-way pays against left-to-right lines
The rows below set the rule against the ordinary left-to-right payline it is most often compared with.
Win both ways | Left to right only |
|---|---|
| Runs may start on either outer reel | Runs must start on reel 1 |
| Same number of paylines | Same number of paylines |
| Short wins land more often | Short wins land less often |
| Line prizes are usually set lower | Line prizes can be set higher |
| RTP fixed by the studio's maths | RTP fixed by the studio's maths |
| Direction stated in the paytable | Direction stated in the paytable |
What it does to RTP and volatility
Reading a line twice raises hit frequency, meaning the share of spins that return something, yet it does not make the game more generous. The studio balances the extra wins by lowering what each line pays, so the return to player stays wherever the maths model puts it.
Starburst is listed at 96.09% RTP for its standard version, which over €500 of play describes a long-run average of about €480 returned, never a forecast for one session.
Terms it gets confused with
Win both ways is not the same as 243 ways or other ways-to-win systems, which drop fixed lines and pay matching symbols on adjacent reels from the left wherever they land. Some titles combine the two, but each mechanic is named separately in the rules.
Nor does the player choose a direction: both are built into every line and cannot be switched off.
