There is a lot of misinformation out there on how slot machines work. Many players make the mistake of believing the rumors and then losing a lot of money simply because they do not understand how the games work. This article gives you everything you need to know about how modern day slots work.
It is worth mentioning why we say modern day slots. In the early days of slot machines the games worked differently. Lets say you have a three reel game and the are 8 symbols on each reel. On the early slots you could then work out that the chances of the jackpot hitting were 1 in 512 (8 X 8 X 8). That all changed with the introduction of the computer chip.
All modern day slot machines have a random Number Generator inside of them. The RNG does one thing and one thing only - it generates random numbers. These numbers correspond to a certain set of reel positions. This means that it is virtually impossible to determine a games payout based on the actual reels.
When you press the spin button, pull the handle or click your mouse button all that happens is that the RNG selects a random number. The outcome of the spin is actually decided before the reels even come to a stop. The RNG does not have a list of winning or losing combinations it just picks numbers at random.
The outcome of the spin is decided the moment you activate the reels. The spinning reels are just for player entertainment and do not actually decide the outcome. All slots in casinos today and online work in exactly the same way. This gives you a basis on how to avoid some of the most common mistakes players make every day at land-based casinos and online.
One big mistake that many gamblers make is they keep playing when they have already put a lot of money in a machine. The amount of money put into a machine does not change the odds of winning in any way. Each spin has exactly the same chance of winning or losing as the next spin and the next spin and so on*.
*UK fruit machines work in the opposite way - they pay out based on the amount of money that has gone in and are classified as AWP's or amusements with prizes. These games should never be confused with Vegas style slots.
A lot of players also think that slots are programmed to give a lot of near misses. This is not entirely the case. While you might get a lot of near misses for big jackpots you will find that this just occurs randomly and is somewhat effected by the symbol positions on the reels. The RNG does not have a big list of near misses it just selects random numbers.
We hope that after reading this article you now understand more about how slot machines work. With knowledge comes power and you can now play slots knowing that it is all about luck. There is absolutely nothing you can do to effect the RNG or effect the outcome when playing slots.
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