GUIDE · phwin
Expanded reels: potential ways are not winning ways
A ways figure counts possible symbol-position combinations across the reels. It is not a count of wins already present. When a reel grows, that potential count can rise while the displayed symbols still fail to make a qualifying combination.
For the topic overview, see Detailed guides.
What the reel-height multiplication measures
Pragmatic Play’s The Alter Ego overview describes a 3–4–4–4–3 grid with 576 ways. It also describes Scatter-driven reel expansion, with each reel able to reach ten positions and the potential count reaching 100,000. The source was checked on 8 October 2026; these are descriptions of that title, not a promise about an operator’s current catalogue.
The starting calculation is 3 × 4 × 4 × 4 × 3 = 576. Each factor is a reel’s number of positions. Selecting one position from each reel gives a possible five-reel path, regardless of which symbols occupy those positions.
A single extra position changes the product
For a paper example, extend only the second reel from four positions to five. Keep the other heights unchanged. This hypothetical snapshot is an arithmetic illustration, not a recorded game result.
| Snapshot | Reel heights | Potential ways |
|---|---|---|
| Before expansion | 3, 4, 4, 4, 3 | 576 |
| After one added position | 3, 5, 4, 4, 3 | 720 |
| Difference | Only reel two changed | 144 additional potential ways |
The product rises by 25%, because the changed factor rises from four to five. This is a comparison of counts. It is not a 25% increase in the probability of winning, expected payout, or the value of an individual spin. Those quantities need information about symbol distributions and rules that this multiplication does not contain.
Count matching symbols separately
Now apply an invented rule: a particular symbol pays from the leftmost reel across at least three consecutive reels; no Wild substitutions are involved. Suppose the expanded board has two copies of that symbol on reel one, one on reel two, two on reel three, and none on reel four.
The qualifying three-reel combinations number 2 × 1 × 2 = 4. They stop at reel four. The board still has 720 potential five-reel ways, but there are four qualifying three-reel combinations for the symbol in this exercise. Neither 720 nor four tells us the cash award without the applicable paytable and stake basis.
If the extra position on reel two contains a different symbol, its addition changes the potential product without adding another copy of the symbol being counted. This is the missing step in the shortcut “more ways means that many winning combinations.”
Record three separate quantities
When reading a result, keep the reel heights, qualifying symbol counts, and paytable award in separate fields. First calculate the possible paths. Then apply the starting-reel, adjacency and substitution conditions. Finally value only the combinations that actually qualify.
The reel-gap and starting-position guide handles the second step in more detail. This article adds the first step: what the large ways number measures before any symbol has been evaluated.
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Source-based editorial research and original examples. Sources checked 2026-10-08.