Beginner Slot Machine Questions Answered
Beginner Slot Machine Questions Answered
In truth, we don’t really recommend slot machines especially if you’re new to casino games. Maybe it’s because the gameplay is so simple, along with having no rules to learn and no strategy requirements, that can make playing the jackpot slots deceptively cheap. But you need to be aware that just because it appears simple in process, this doesn’t translate to you getting the best bang for your buck. Today we’re going to have a look at some of the more common beginner slot machine questions.
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How Do Slot Machines Actually Work?
Back in the day, slots machines were a mixture of springs, levers, and spinning reels. But today’s machines, though still having some mechanical parts, are essentially computer-controlled. They are programmed to give random results as they display the reels and symbols. They use what is known as Random Number Generators to ensure that the results really are random. This computer program is constantly generating random results by cycling through any number of possibilities at literally thousands of numbers a second. When you pull on the slot machine’s lever, the reels spin, and where they happen to come to a stop is where we’ll find a corresponding number.
Remember that each spin is it’s own independent and random event. The combination of numbers that the machine cycles through are also totally random. Another thing to keep in mind is that the actual payouts, should you have a lucky hit, are much lower than the odds of getting that actual combination. The total machine payout is always lower than when you compare it to what would happen if you managed to hit all the possible combinations.
Examples of Payback Percentages
Now just imagine that you had a situation where you kept getting, say, three cherries that payout at 1 to 1. This is known as a “push” and it means that you’ll win back what you paid in to make the spin. In other words, you’re even but don’t make any profit. Now if you had this combination always come up, then you’d simply be breaking even forever. No winning and no losing. A more realistic scenario would be if you were winning, say 1 unit 20% of the time. So you’d be looking at a 20% return on that combination. If this was the only winning combination in the game, then it would have a total payback % of 20%. In this case, the house edge would be 80%.
In the real world, the casino house edge is around 10% meaning that the vast majority of slot machines have a payout of around 90%. So, for example, if you get a second combination of three plums and it pays off at 2 for 1 odds, then the probability of actually getting that combination might be 10%. This would add 20% more to the payback percentage for the game, giving you a total 40% payback percentage total. Essentially, in order to work out the payback percentage, you need to multiply the amount you’d win by the probability of winning it. You then add in all the possible combinations in order to find the average overall percentage.
Are Slot Machines Rigged?
In a roundabout way, the answer is yes. But not in the way that you’re probably thinking. When we hear the word “rigged” we might think of the casino somehow fixing the machine for nefarious purposes. An example would be a slot machine that’s just paid out, will be programmed not to pay out again until all the previous payout has been accounted for again. But in the real world that’s not how things operate. A slot machine doesn’t have to play catch-up or compensate for paying out. The casino doesn’t have to go through the process of setting up the machine against the customer. The payback percentages are already set meaning that the casino cannot lose in the long term.
In other words, the casino doesn’t have to cheat. It’s just that slots machines are a rubbish bet! In many locations with a lot of foot traffic, like an airport, for example, the payout percentages are set ridiculously low at around 75% or less. If you happen to be in a bar and playing at a machine that’s not even legal or registered, then expect an even lower payout percentage. Legal casinos set the payout percentage between 75% to 90%.
How Do You Trick a Slot Machine?
In spite of some of the claims found on obscure blogs and YouTube videos, we don’t think it’s possible to trick a modern slot machine. Yes, we’ve heard of Tommy Glenn Carmichael. He was a dude who developed a device (OK… let just calls it for what it was..a long stick!) that he then used to trigger a payout switch within the slots machine itself. this would never work today. Maybe there’s a possibility on the programming side, but it’s a long shot.
More recently there was a case in the US. A slot machine technician found that when he was examining a faulty machine, he accidentally caused a short circuit. This led to a payout the next time the machine was played. So he set about getting a friend to play each machine after he’d serviced it. Unfortunately, greed got the better of one of them. Feeling that the monies were not being divided fairly, one of these clowns actually went to the police.
We don’t suggest that you try tampering with any slot machines in any casinos. It’s an offense that carries jail time. You can try and use any jackpot winning tips or tricks but we don’t guarantee they work.
How Do Progressive Slots Work?
Progressives are the slots machines where the prize increases every time someone puts some money in. As you probably already know, these beginner slot machine jackpots can be ginormous in size. Which leads to the question of how does the casino afford it? How can a game remain profitable after paying out tens of millions? Well, every time you make a bet, just a small percentage of that amount goes towards the prize. The remainder, which is the larger share goes directly to the casino. This amount that goes towards the eventual prize or payout is pretty small, being between 0.5% and 1%.
Another point is that most of these prizes are not paid out by the casino itself. Many of the casino games come from game providers, who license their games to the casinos. And consequently, it’s the providers who pay out these massive progressive jackpot lotteries. Now, when the jackpot reaches a certain size, then it becomes a positive expectation. But that’s not really a practical reason to play. Imagine that the odds are 1 to 10 million. Then you’d have to play for over 20,000 hours before a hit. To put it in perspective, that’s working a full-time job for 10 straight years.
Another point is that it’s pretty hard to know when the jackpot has gotten high enough. Simply because you’ll never know the probability of hitting the various jackpots on offer. Also, by the time someone hits the jackpot, the prize will be reduced back down to it’s starting minimum. And that’s certainly not a positive expectation bet. Because you can never know what the probabilities of the different symbol combinations, then the slots machine is all but opaque to the player.
How Do You Find Loose Slot Machines?
The internet is full of gambling forums who claim to know all the ins and outs of the casino. Everyone has very strong opinions and everyone will be a smart answer to each of your beginner slot machine questions. They also all seem to know the casinos to win the jackpot. So, many will say that the looser slots machines are always placed in a certain location around the casino floor. Normally they say you’ll find them at entrances/exits, as the idea is to lure slots players to play. Sorry to burst the bubble, but this is simply not true. The bottom line is that you have no idea whether there even exists such a thing as a “loose” slots machine. And secondly, you’ll never know where they’re placed around the gaming floor.
We suggest that you stop reading these rubbish forums as they’re just sources of misinformation. When you want to play real money slot machines at the casino, just look for the machines with the best payout percentages. To that end, you want to stay away from progressive slots as well as one’s that only offer a top prize. On the whole, the more extras, like bells and whistles the machine has, then the worse will be the payout…if it ever comes! This idea of tight or loose slot machines is just plain silly and you shouldn’t fall for such old ladies tales.
Conclusion: Beginner Slot Machine Questions
As we previously said, the truth is that though slot machines are insanely popular, they’re a very bad bet. Yes, there’s no skill element and they’re super easy to play. But that shouldn’t be the reason for playing on them. For a start, most have terrible odds. And you have absolutely no idea what the payout percentages are even if you have two slots side by side. They could be very different. But if you’re still going to play slots, at least pay attention to what we’ve told you.
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