Slot machines are one of the most popular gambling games both offline and online. They are easy to learn and master and there’s a chance of winning big if you’re lucky and if you choose the right machine for you.
It may be useful for a player to know the mechanic behind the games before they start playing. Knowing how the game works, makes it easier for the player to avoid mistakes, such as trying to chase a loss. The machines have changed over the years but the basic principles behind them are still the same.
Are Slot Machines Rigged?
Players often ask if slot machines are rigged, when they have a few bad turns. That may seem like the case since the machines are made to have an edge in favor of the house, at least in the long run. However, the machines in reputable casinos are rarely rigged so that you can’t win.
That’s why a player should be aware of how the machine works and what makes it profitable before they start using it. That way you know your odds and won’t be tempted to chase the loss.
Mechanical Machines
First slot machines were mechanicals with the actual gear inside that’s moved by pulling the handle. The machines would then spit out the combination and payout the jackpot if the symbols are lined up. These machines couldn’t be rigged without opening the machine, but they had a limited number of combinations.
They were replaced with electric machines in the 60s and 70s and soon after that, there were no mechanical machines to be found in casinos. These days, mechanical slot machines are seen as a fun rarity for collectors.
Random Numbers Generator
A random number generator is the heart of the modern slot machine. It’s used to randomly produce the combination of symbols that you see when you push the lever. The symbols that come out are therefore randomized and they don’t depend on how much you’ve played before or how much you’ve won.
This means that there’s no point in trying to figure out what combination of symbols will be next. Many players feel that they can figure out the pattern and therefore predict when it’s the right time to play. It’s a mistake to do so since it’s pointless.
Calculating the Payout
Computerized slot machines have a system built in for figuring out the payout in case you get a certain set of symbols. It depends on how rare the set of symbols is, the rarest ones get you the biggest payout and vice versa. There’s a huge difference and some combinations of symbols can payout 37 times more than the others.
This is what creates a variance. It’s basically how risky the game is, meaning what are the chances that it may not turn out the way you want it, and what are the chances you get a big payout.
The Return to Player
The return to players refers to how much the game returns to the player during their lifetime gameplay. This means that it calculates how much you’ll win in comparison to how much you deposit to the machine overall. It’s presented as a percentage of your overall deposits.
When you see a machine with a return to player of 97 percent, it means that you’ll get back $97 out of $100 you’ve used to play the game in the long run. As you may notice the house always wins a bit out of a player, overall.
What’s a Good Return to Player?
The number itself depends on other factors, such as how big the payouts are. The bigger the payout a game has the smaller the return to the player. This means that if you have less chance of winning, you’ll win more money overall. However, most games hover around the same percentage.
You shouldn’t even try a game with a return to player lower than 97 percent since there’s no point in playing such a game. Games with a return to player over 98.5 will have too small payouts meaning that they are not profitable even though you do win all the time.
Combined Jackpots
There are three ways in which a slot game can pay out the jackpot. It can be the jackpot from the particular machine you’re using – it’s the smallest one. It can be a jackpot from a localized pool meaning combined from all the machines at the same location.
And the last and the biggest jackpot is a network jackpot that combines the pool of the machines in the same virtual network made by the developer. This can include the games that are in different locations and even in different parts of the world at the time of your gameplay.
Does a Player Need to Know This?
Strictly speaking, you can play and win at slots without knowing any of this. Many players don’t. It does explain a bit how the machine works and why you get the results that you do. It can also help you guide your gameplay and your strategy.
When it comes to this information about a particular machine or about a particular manufacturer, you can find it online. In fact, a player should do that, so that they can choose the game that will suit them and provide them with the best payouts.
