How Does A Slot Machine Work
Check out these other videos that explain the inner workings of slot machines. The Jackpot Symbol Losses Disguise. The Basics Of How Slot Machine Work. Slot machines in the past were mechanical – functioning according to an arrangement of gears and levers. After inserting a coin, the handle unlocks due to a coin detector system. Inside the machine one would find a metal shaft supporting the reels and connected to a handle mechanism.
“Hey there, Tex. You want some free money?”
If anyone ever says this to you, run away. There’s no such thing as free money and there’s always a catch when someone tells you that there is.
If there’s anything to be gleaned from movies about gambling, it’s that casinos are evil and they want to leave you with nothing…NOTHING.
But wait. What if movies aren’t like real life? And what if your main interest lies in playing the slots?
Here’s some good news, there are right ways to play pokies and come out on top. If you’re careful and calculated, you can avoid the typical pitfalls of casino life using some slot machine tricks.
Let’s go over some of the best practices when hitting the slots. Here are some dos and don’ts for making the most of your trip to the casino.
Grab a pack of cheap cigarettes and put your ugliest suit on, it’s time to gamble.
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Wait, Money Does Grow on Trees?
That thing at the beginning about running away when someone offers you free money?
Well here’s one case where it may actually work out in your favour. Let’s talk about the first thing you should do when trying to take advantage of the slots, use no-deposit bonus codes.
If you’ve ever been to Las Vegas, then you’ve seen what can only be described as casino heaven. The Vegas strip is a veritable pig pen of casino activity, and with so much competition between establishments, the different casinos need ways to get people into their building instead of someone else’s.
That’s where no-deposit bonus codes come in. These are essentially free money vouchers. The casinos use them to bring people in the doors, where they know that will power will eventually fade away along with the free money. So evil, right?
But if you’re smart and careful, you can take this free money and use it to make more money using some of the tricks we’ll outline here.
A Couple Slot Machine Tricks
Sure, most folks just waltz on to the casino floor and just start losing money, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you get to know the way that casinos work, then you’ll be at an advantage.
Or at least an advantage over the other gamblers. The casino always has the advantage. Remember, you’re in their house.
Loose Slots
Yep, there is such thing as a “loose” slot machine. This is an old-school term that basically means that a slot is more likely to pay out.
In the age of digital slot machines, the actual mechanics of the machine don’t cause it to pay out more, but machines today have random number generators (RNG’s) that do pay out at different rates.
Casinos always keep the machines that have higher payout rates away from the ends of the aisles and away from doorways. This is to keep gamblers from winning big on a machine and immediately taking their business elsewhere.
How Slot Machines Work Inside
So always make sure to get into the thick of it before you settle down at a machine.
Bet Max
How To Slot Machines Work
What? Bet the max amount? Isn’t that the quickest way to bankruptcy?
Yes and no. Machines nowadays have multiple bet lines so when you bet the max you can take advantage of multiple lines. The odds of you winning don’t increase, but the amount you win will greatly increase when you do win if you bet max.
Different machines have different volatility levels. Machines with high volatility are quicker to run you out of town, but the winnings will be way better. Low volatility machines pay out less money at a higher frequency. Keep this in mind.
Play Classic Over Video
Those big flashy video slots with all the fun graphics and loud music? They aren’t just there to entertain you. They’re there to take your money.
The video slots are there to draw people in, and it works. But the casino’s cost of running and maintaining video slots is much higher and they take up tons of space compared to the other machines, so the payout is almost always lower.
Stick to the boring old slots. There’s less to look at but you might just leave them with heavier pockets.
Random or Progressive?
Temptation is the name of the game at the casino, and progressive slots are really tempting.
A progressive slot machine is one that pools all the money from everyone that’s played it since its last jackpot. There are also multi-slot progressive jackpots that pool a few different machines to tempt people with enormous payouts.
Keep It Random, Y’All
Random slots obviously look a bit less enticing, as they have a fixed jackpot. They do, however, pay out those jackpots more frequently. Pick your poison, but often good things come to those who wait.
Pay Tables
Take a look at the pay tables of different machines to compare. A pay table shows the payout for each combination of symbols/amount bet.
Pay tables can be an indicator of a machine’s volatility, and doing a little comparison rather than just sitting down randomly at a machine can help you in the long run. It’s better to take your time and find the right machine that your research tells you is more likely to pay out.
Talkin’ Bout Practice
Did you know that practice always makes perfect? Well, not perfect in this case because it’ll never be perfect. But there are websites where you can try out some of your strategies, look at pay tables, multipliers, and other game features without losing your hard earned dough.
Check out a practice site to try out different games and learn about the nuances of each slot machine. There is a lot of variance between machines when it comes to free spins, bonus rounds, and multipliers, so it will benefit you greatly to familiarize yourself before you do it for real.
Try Math
Listen, these god-forsaken machines were built on math. And if you really want to beat them, you have to fight fire with fire. This requires a lot of time and brainpower, but it is possible to give yourself a chance.
There are loads of math based strategies available online. While they certainly don’t guarantee success, they at least allow you to feel like you’re in control over the game. Get a good pocket-sized calculator, a notepad, and a pen and go get yourself some money.
Know When to Give up on a Machine
This is an easy one. Sometimes you just have to know when to give up if a machine isn’t paying out. It’s not exactly following your gut, but more like letting the results dictate what you do.
You never want to end up like the old person sitting at the same machine for hours on end in their sweats, smoking cigarette after cigarette, dumping all of their excess money into the slots.
And what was stated earlier rings is all too true. The slots will always win in the end.
The easy way to avoid this is to have the willpower to walk away and find another machine. You can do it.
Bounce Around
Not staying too long at one machine is one of the more obvious tips. But if you have the option, bouncing around to different casinos is another good move.
Casinos are all vying for your business, and as mentioned earlier, they will offer you different perks to get you in their clutches. Why exploit the generosity of just one establishment when you can get free spins, chips, and bonuses from two? Or three? Or four? Don’t limit yourself.
Have Limits
No, but do limit yourself though. If you’re not having a good day at the races, pack it in early.
It’s really easy to go down a dark gambling hole, and that’s what the casinos want you to do. But you can always go back, so don’t be discouraged.
Set a limit for yourself on how much money you are willing to spend at this place, and fastidiously stick to it. Yes, the next spin could change your life, but what if it’s actually about 150 spins from now? Be careful out there.
Good Luck
The bottom line in all of this is that this is all luck based. If you are playing the slots and using slot machine tricks expecting to win, you’re doing it wrong! There are lots of so-called “experts” telling you how to play the pokies, but the best advice is to not let the pokies play you.
All that you can do is employ some of these strategies and hope for the best, and you’ll be in a better position than if you just go in blind. Even the most seasoned and strong-willed gambler is at the mercy of the slot machine.
In any case, good luck to all and visit our pokies blog for more articles about all things pokies or look at one of our many gambling guides to gambling in Australia.
Slots are among the most popular ways to gamble. It’s easy to sit down, put your money in, and watch the reels spin. But there’s more going on than you might expect. Let’s take a look inside to understand what’s happening when you pull the lever.
Slot machines generally have three or more “reels,” each of which has a number of symbols. While physical slot machines may have 20 or more symbols per reel, digital technology allows them to have many more—some have 256 virtual symbols—with millions of possible combinations. The combinations of symbols that pay out if you bet on them are called “paylines.”
Slot machines contain random number generators that can generate thousands of numbers per second, each of which is associated with a different combination of symbols. Whether you win or lose is determined by the random number generated in the exact instant you activate each play—if it matches a payline, you win. Since each spin is independent, random and unrelated to previous or future spins, it’s impossible to predict what will happen on each play.
There are many different kinds of slot machines. Some allow you to choose how many paylines to bet on per play, and how much you want to bet. Before you put your money in, figure out the cost per play, the odds, the paylines, the return to player, and anything else that will help you make the right decisions for you. Look for pay tables on or near the machine that explain everything you need to know.
The possible payouts and the odds of winning depend on the machine you’re playing, the paylines you choose to play, and how many credits you wager.
Machines that cost pennies to play might pay out small prizes relatively often. Others cost several dollars per play, but offer bigger jackpots and higher odds. For instance, for the I Heart Triple Diamond penny machine, the odds of winning a prize are 1 in 12, but the odds of winning the top prize are only 1 in 649,400.
No matter what machine you decide to play, the odds always favour the house. This means that over time, it’s more likely than not that you will walk away with less money than when you started.
While machines can be programmed to pay out at higher or lower odds, a typical average house advantage for slot machines is 8%, meaning the average return the player is 92 percent. That makes slot machines less favourable than tables games such as fortune pai gow poker, blackjack and roulette, in terms of return to player.
| Game | House advantage, with optimal play |
|---|---|
| Baccarat | 1.06% |
| Blackjack | 0.5% |
| Craps | 0.8% |
| Fortune pai gow poker | 0.5 to 2.5% |
| Poker | 2 to 3.5% |
| Lottery | 50% |
| Roulette | 5.3% |
| Slot machines | 8% (average) |
Playing longer doesn’t improve your odds of walking away a winner.
Persistence doesn’t pay off. Each play on a slot machine is independent, unpredictable and unrelated to what happened on the previous play. A machine is never “due for a win” and they don’t “go cold” after a win either.
Soon after you leave a machine it wins a jackpot—that doesn’t mean you would have won if you had kept playing.
Future wins on a machine are completely unrelated to what happened when you were playing. Because random number generators determine the outcome of each play, the results of each play are totally independent from what happened before. Outcomes depend on what random number is generated in the exact instant a player presses play or pulls the lever.
Machines that are furthest from the aisle do not pay out more because they’re played less often.
How often a machine is played has nothing to do with how likely it is to pay out on the next play. Payouts are determined by the pre-set odds of the machine and the unpredictable results of the random number generator inside.
You cannot improve your chances of winning at most slot machines.
Most slots are games of chance, based on the random number generator. For some machines, bonus games offer you a chance to influence the outcome by interacting with an arcade-style video game. While skill may be a factor, the random number generator usually determines whether you even get to play the bonus game and the amounts available to be won—so chance is still a major part of the deal.
Understand how skill and chance work and how they affect the games you play.
Read thisTake this quiz to get a better understanding of your gambling habits.
Read thisUnderstand the role randomness plays in games of skill and how it affects the outcome of the game.