When people want to try their shot at gambling, it’s not uncommon for them to start at the slot machines.
They don’t require too much knowledge unlike most table games. For blackjack, roulette, and poker, for instance, you need to have some background knowledge before you hit the casinos.
So, are you a first-time casino visitor? If so, you’re probably wondering how slot machines work.
All you’ve seen in the movies or maybe heard from other casino visitors is that playing slot machines is easy because you just need to drop coins into the slot and push the button or pull the handle. However, there’s a lot more to slots than just pulling a lever. Want to know more? Keep reading.
Before You Pull the Lever
The first thing to do before stepping up to the machine is determine just how much money you’re willing to spend. Knowing how to play slots goes way beyond just using the machine. You must know your budget too because machines vary from penny games to dollar games. When you figure out how much you want to play, decide how many lines you’ll play. There are usually two types of slot machines: Multi-Line and Single-Line.
We also suggest you study the pay lines before you play any slot machine game and be aware of how to obtain free spins. Some machines have a clear inscription in the icon or show how to receive a free spin. Other modern slot machines, though, can hide free spins behind hitting three cherries or three diamonds. These may earn you five free spins, for instance. Make sure to understand what you can do to earn these free spins – thanks to them, you will be able to potentially extend your playing time and earn more money.
All of that is important both at land-based and online casinos. Casinos in the UK are regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, and they must follow the same stringent rules. Every casino will programme their game to bring the majority of the money, which is why you should be well-prepared before deciding to try your luck.
How are Slot Machines Programmed?
All slot machines in today’s casinos use a random number generator – RNG – to control the results of slot machine spins. When the spin button is pushed, before the reels have even stopped spinning, the RNG picks a number which selects the outcome. The random number generator is programmed to pay back a certain percentage of the money paid into it over a period of time i.e. over “the long run.” The time we’re referring to goes up to tens of thousands of spins, so you can already notice that odds of winning slots are not very much in favour of the players.
Usually, you’ll find three-reel slot machines, but sometimes there will be slots that have five reels. The reel i.e. the image that spins in the front of the machine has multiple symbols on it.
Once a certain combination of symbols lines up, (three cherries, five diamonds, etc.) money comes your way. The more difficult it is to line up a particular set of symbols, the higher the chances of earning a payout on the particular combination will be. While physical slot machines may have 20 or more symbols on spinning-reel slots, digital technology presents up to 256 virtual symbols that may appear in online slots games, which also raises the number of possible combinations.
Many players think that they’ll have a better chance of winning on three-reel classic slots because it’s easier to calculate the payout based on the number of symbols on the reels. While this was somewhat possible earlier in the time of dated slots, today the reels have hundreds or thousands of invisible virtual stop positions. Add that to blank reel sections and symbols control, and the calculations aren’t easy to make.
Video slots don’t usually have blank reel positions, but they have hundreds or thousands of symbols instead, which is important to know when you start learning how to play slot machines. Each spin has the same chance of winning. The odds of winning don’t change according to the number of coins in or the number of spins played.
Odds of Winning Slots
When people try to determine slots odds, they usually look at the payback percentage and choose their game accordingly. Payback percentages show a specific machine’s or game’s payback stats over time. To make it a bit simpler, the payback percentage is the average amount of money that machines will return to a player in the form of winnings, compared to the amount that the player has wagered. Payback percentage standards range between 75% and 99%, offering players no more than a 50/50 chance of winning.
During the mechanical slot machines era, players were somewhat able to calculate their odds based on the number of reels and symbols per machine. Today, the job’s not that easy because modern-day machines offer a variety of spins, symbols and complex combinations. All of those would require another computer to help decipher the slots game.
While you might not be able to calculate the odds based on spin reels, there is another way to get closer to winning a major prize. One of the strategies that many players apply to improve the odds of winning in a slot game is understanding the slot machine pay table. These usually offer the highest value jackpot. Slot machine “wild” reel symbols have their top-value jackpots as a result of the symbols. Alternatively, if all multipliers or “wild” symbols are not shown in the tabulated list of win-reel combinations, they could be written down along the edge of the pay table interface area.
On pay tables, you can see the number of credits that you could potentially win for a specific combination of reel symbols. Alternatively, you could also see a monetary amount on them. If you’re interested in the winning jackpots that are available when you bet maximum credits, look at the far–right column.
How Do Slot Machines Pay Out?
Punters should check what type of slot games they want to try their luck at every time they decide to gamble. Also, if you expect to win millions of pounds on a penny slot machine, you should probably try out some other casino game. When you expect to win big, you should check the payout percentage of a game. A slot title with an RTP or Return to Player percentage of 90% or higher will pay out more often than slot machines with an RTP below 90%.
Some payout systems in slot machines suggest players cycle between one, two, and three coins. Other systems involve changing your bet levels based on losing and winning spins. The most common system of this type is the Martingale system. According to that system, players will increase their bets as they are losing in the hopes of winning the money they’ve lost. However, you’ll notice that this system won’t bring too much money back as multiple losses in a row don’t match up with a single win. You can quickly hit the top bet limit and only win your losses back.
That way you’ll be right back where you’ve started, at best.
How to Win on a Slot Machine
But what are some of the secrets to winning on slot machines?
Punters are always curious to know the tricks to winning at slots, but we have to say that there isn’t one magical formula that will ensure a win.
You can never really know the outcome of your bets because the machines work via a computerised generator, as we’ve mentioned. You put your money in the machine, spin the reels, and hope for the best. That’s basically how slot machines work. You can’t expect to win a substantial income, but some money may land in your lap.
Some strategies still might work to your advantage. The slots with the highest payouts will bring you one step closer to winning big. If you decide to set a high budget for gambling, you should bet enough to trigger the jackpot. Don’t forget that even then you should stick within your boundaries and not bet more than you can afford.
Considering the volatility of the game can also be one of the good strategies when figuring out how to beat slot machines. Be sure to take advantage of free spins because they’re the safest way of increasing your chances of winning.
Hitting A Jackpot on Fruit Machines
The way fruit machines operate allows players to win easier than on other slot machines. After fruit machines have been played through a set number of game cycles, you can expect a pay-out.
Naturally, you can never know how many cycles the machine has to go through to payout. Still, if you notice that a player in front of a fruit machine has been losing for a while, take their place immediately after he or she leaves. By doing so, you’ll have the best odds of hitting a fruit machine jackpot. The machine will likely be very close to switching over from a cold to a hot cycle, and you may just find that it starts to pay out.
Just like any other slot machine, fruit machines are random, and you can’t know whether they’ll pay out after one, two, or ten consecutive cycles. On the other hand, if a fruit machine that you’ve been looking at has been taking players money without releasing any payouts, it will have to start bringing out the cash very soon.
