How slots work
Playing slots
WHAT ARE THE ODDS?
In the mind of a slot machine
For the machine manufacturers, computer systems have made it easier to configure how often the machine pays out ( how loose or tight it is ).
In a modern computer controlled slot machine the odds of hitting a winning combination depends on how the virtual reel is set up.
The odds on hitting a particular image on the actual reel depend on how many stops correspond to the actual stop.
Typically the jackpot stop on each reel corresponds to only one virtual stop. So the chances of hitting the jackpot image on one reel is 1 in 64. If all reels are set up the same way the chances of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 64 cubed or 262,144.
For high value jackpot machines, the virtual reel may have many more stops, decreasing the odds of winning that jackpot considerably.
Losing blank stops above or below the jackpot will correspond to more virtual stops than other winning images. This creates the impression that a player has just missed and will gamble again. In fact the player will be just as near or far away with each pull.
A machine's program is carefully designed to deliver a certain payback percentage.
Payback percentages of 90 mean the casino takes 10% of all the money put into the machine, and as paybacks are always under 100%, over time, the casino always wins.
Most gambling jurisdictions require the payback percentage to be at least 75%.
However, casinos are in competition for punters and this pushes payouts to higher levels, often in the 95 to 97% range. Contrary to some opinions, casinos can't instantly alter this and tighten up a machine. Nor do machines loosen up on their own. So the more you play, the more they pay is a fallacy. The computer system gives the player a chance of hitting the jackpot, every single pull on the handle.
Casino slot machines offer dozens of gaming options. They have varying numbers of reels and many have multiple pay lines.
Mutiple pay lines allow a player to choose how many to play.
For the minimum bet only one straight line across the reels counts. More money will allow additional horizontal lines above or below the main pay line, and even diagonal lines ruuning across the reels.
Gambling experts suggest that when playing multiple line machines, players should always bet the maximum for the greatest chance of hitting the jackpot.
There are of course several payout schemes in operation. Standard, one line machines always pay out the same amount. A progressive machine, where other players and machines are involved, increases the value of the jackpot as more money gets put into it, untill finally it is won. The jackpot then reverts to its starting value and starts all over again.
In some giant progressive games in the USA, computers link up machines in several cities and states where each player contributes to phenomenal jackpots.
Finally some slot machines have become simply aesthetic. In video slots even the spinning reels have been replaced by a video image.
Originally players distrusted them, believing they were rigged and not under their control. So manufacturers, even though they are irrelevant to the machines operation, have included them to give the player a sense of control and involvement in play.
Slot machine manufacturers continue to push the limits of how the games can be played.
More sophisticated slots will be on their way in the future.