What is Pay Both Ways?

Pay Both Ways is a slot payline system that awards wins for matching symbols reading in both directions across the reels — left-to-right and right-to-left — rather than only the conventional left-to-right. By evaluating each line from both ends, the feature effectively doubles the number of directions in which a winning combination can form, which is why it is sometimes branded as "both ways pays" or promoted as "up to X ways to win." In a standard slot, a chain of matching symbols must begin on the leftmost reel to be paid. A Pay Both Ways engine adds a mirror rule: a chain that begins on the rightmost reel and reads leftward is scored too. Crucially, this does not change the game's mathematics for free; the provider sets the paytable and RTP to account for the extra win directions, so payouts per line are typically calibrated lower than an equivalent one-way game. Worked example: on a 5-reel slot paying 20 for three matching symbols left-to-right, suppose reels 3, 4 and 5 also land the same symbol. Under both-ways rules, that right-side trio pays an additional 20, so a single spin returns 40 instead of 20. NetEnt's Starburst is the best-known example, marketing "wins pay both ways" on its 10 fixed lines. Why it matters: the "both ways" headline signals more frequent hits, not better value — the RTP is fixed by the game's underlying maths regardless. A common mistake is assuming two-way paying implies higher returns than a one-way title. Check the published RTP and volatility rather than the direction count. Compare with payline, ways-to-win and scatter-pays.