Today the auto play feature is available even in skill based online casino games like blackjack. But this feature is most suited for slot games. Players usually do not vary betting options and the game play is repetitive. After the initial audio visual appeal of the slot game wears off it is convenient to put the game on auto play and wager elsewhere or engage in some other work. The auto play feature included by the different online gaming software providers is not identical. This article discusses the salient characteristics of the auto play feature of some of the major software providers.

Realtime Gaming offers a fairly comprehensive auto play feature. The number of auto play spins the required can obviously be entered in. The auto play feature allows players to enable a number of conditions. If any of these conditions are fulfilled then the auto play feature automatically terminates. These conditions are stop when a jackpot is won; stop when a win equals or exceeds the specified amount; stop on any win; stop if the balance increases by a specified amount; stop if the balance decreases by a specified amount and stop once any bonus feature is triggered. For players who are sitting in front of the screen while the auto play is on, these conditions would not appear to be important because they can intervene any time and manually stop the auto play. However for players who are engaged in other work away from the computer these conditions enable them to be in a position to cash their winnings or to restrict their losses.

The auto play characteristics in Vegas Technology online slots are very similar to the ones offered by Realtime Gaming. The conditions for which the auto play can be automatically stopped are almost identical. Vegas Technology however offers one important additional option. Players can specify the number of seconds between spins. This can vary between 0.25 seconds and 2.00 seconds. Players who are not watching the progress of the game would do well to specify the minimum limit so that the game runs fastest. However players who are watching the game and run auto play only because they do not want to manually activate each spin can set a larger gap between spins. An option is also provided to wait until all the wins are shown.

The latest Cryptologic online 3 pg slot games offer a two-level auto play feature. In the simple level players simply set the number of auto spins and run them through. In the advanced level players can specify the conditions for the auto play to automatically stop. These conditions are similar to those offered by Vegas Technology. Cryptologic does not allow players to specify the time between spins. However it allows players to select the number of paylines and the coin denomination from within the auto play settings.

In Microgaming slot games the auto play feature is embedded in the Expert Mode. A 5x or a 10x auto spins can be activated directly without entering the set up box. The auto play set up is much simpler. The only condition at which the auto play can be stopped is when a win exceeds or equals a specified amount. The auto play automatically stops if a bonus feature is activated.