Sometimes slot designers make unusual decisions that players notice. Oftentimes questions come in around pay table symbols. Remind us to tell you at some point the story about how there was a debate over whether a taco could be a pay table symbol on the original Ultimate Fire Link, for instance!
Here’s a question we received about the Hot Flaming Pots series:
Why does Hot Flaming Pots have an 8, 9, J, Q, K but no 10? Why is 10 not on the reels?
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The Hot Flaming Pots series is an example of an Asian-themed game, a genre that has long had fans on the casino floor. One element of those style games is the leaning in to the number 8, which is a lucky number in Asian countries. So you see 88 cent bets as the minimum bet, and you see the 8 as a symbol on the pay table.
Now, as to why the 10 isn’t there, the likely answer comes in the form of the balance of pay table symbols. Most slots have 4-6 royal or poker symbols (those symbols that approximate various playing card rankings) when used on a slot. The inclusion of an 8 would add a seventh, so they likely just decided to substitute the 8 for a 10 to add more 8s to the game for luck. 8 is a luckier number in some Asian cultures, so it gets the nod.
You’ll see the use of 8 on other Asian themed games either as a premium symbol or in the poker symbol arrangement. But most of the time a pay table will stop at either the Jack or the 9, because it has enough overall symbols established by that point for what the pay table needs.
For us players the use of 8 or 10 doesn’t really change anything, because the pay table decides their importance and what they pay. But for the superstitious among us, it might draw in players who find the 8s lucky, and so that’s primarily why you see it.
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