Long before the digital reels start to spin or celebratory bells chime, a microcomputer has already decided the fate of your slot spins. Casino gamers often see the slot machine as a mysterious resident of the casino floor—a 'one-armed bandit' that speaks in a language of Random Number Generators and Return to Players.
Now you can pull back the curtain on the gaming industry's best-kept secrets, including the Grande Vegas $300 free chip no deposit. You can now find the answers to everything you've always wondered about slot machines but were too busy betting to ask.
1. What IS the Random Number Generator?
The Random Number Generator (RNG) is the "brain" of the slot machine. It's a microprocessor that generates a sequence of numbers at a high speed – billions of combinations every second. When you press the "spin" button, you are interrupting that process of number generation to stop the machine at exactly that millisecond. If you had pressed the button just 1/100th of a second earlier or later, you would have had a completely different result.
Every result is individual and random – the RNG has no memory so it doesn't know if you just lost $500 or if the person before you hit a jackpot. That's why it's important to understand that a machine is never "due" to hit and it doesn't "run hot or cold" – it simply generates random, mathematically-based results.
2. What is Volatility and How Does it Relate to Return to Player?
Volatility, House Edge and Return to Player (RTP) are 3 terms that combine to give you an idea of what you can expect from your gaming session when you play a slot machine. The House Edge refers to the percentage that the casino can expect to keep, over time, from bets on that machine. The RTP refers to the percentage that will be paid out, over time, to the people who play that machine. The volatility refers to the rate at which the machine pays out (many wins over a short period of time with low-level payouts on those wins or fewer wins with higher-level payouts).
The RTP and the House Edge are, literally, two sides of the same coin. They always add up to 100%. If you know one, you automatically know the other. If a slot has a 96% RTP, the House Edge is 4%. Knowing the RTP/House Edge tells you how much the game "costs" to play over millions of spins.
The Volatility determines the distribution of the RTP. You can have two different games that both have a 96% RTP, but they will play completely differently. Games with low volatility pay out more frequently but at a lower rate. Games with high volatility pay out less frequently but the payouts are higher. Medium Volatility games straddle the middle between High Volatility and Low Volatility.
3. How Do "Near Misses" Influence Gameplay?
Slot games are designed to make you think that the next win is just around the corner. The graphics, audio track, and gameplay sequencing combine to give your brain a dopamine hit that keeps you playing in the hopes that you'll score a big win on your next spin. When the machine displays two jackpot symbols with the third just one position away, you feel like you're "due" for a win because you were "so close". Which encourages you to continue to play.
There are endless techniques that the game designers use to promote this scenario. You might hear about "Hot" and "Cold" Streaks that suggest that your machine is ready to deliver a win. You might be told to press the Stop button. Some believe using a loyalty card lowers your odds. In reality, since every result of every spin is random and unrelated to anything else that's happening, you shouldn't rely on any of these strategies.
4. The "Penny Slot" Trap
You may think that you can play Penny Slots for….pennies. In reality, Penny Slots are the most expensive games in the casino. Since you can bet on 50 or 100 lines at once, placing a "penny" on so many lines on one spin can actually cost several dollars. Additionally, Penny slots usually have the worst RTP in the games lobby while $5 high-limit slots often have an RTP of 95% or higher.
5. What are Jackpot Slots?
Everyone loves a jackpot but if you're playing a slot machine, you can't assume that it will include a jackpot round. Many slots are jackpot slot machines but many are now.
There are two possible types of jackpot slot machines. Some machines have jackpot rounds built into the gameplay, so if you hit a specific combination, you win the machine's jackpot prize. There are even slots that have multiple jackpot rewards – Mini Jackpots, Minor Jackpots, Major Jackpots, Grand Jackpots, Super Jackpots, etc. Sometimes you can win multiple Jackpots during the same game.
Progressive Jackpot slots are slot machines that are linked to a common network. Everyone who is playing that machine, throughout the world, is part of the progressive jackpot competition. Every bet placed on that machine includes a small sum that is added to the jackpot. The player who hits the jackpot – wherever that person is in the world – wins the entire sum. Then, the jackpot resets to a minimal level and the race for the next progressive jackpot begins anew.
Learn the basics of slots gaming to ensure a more rewarding slots experience.
