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Here are some of my favorite slot machine secrets and myths. Maybe
you have heard some of these too, there quite amusing to say the least.
You can spot a winning slot machine. The only way you'll
spot a winning slot machine is when the bells are ringing and the
money is dropping. Slot machines use random number generators and
that's exactly that. Random.
Casinos place loose slots near the cashier, aisle ways, etc.
If this were true, it would be the only machines anyone would play. A
casino mixes slots all over the casino floor. No one with any
experience at playing slots would make a statement like this.
Count the number of symbols on the reels to determine your
odds. This is mathematically impossible, remember the RNG (random
number generator) determines the stops. There is literally millions of
combinations on a 3 reel slot machine, so there is no way of
determining odds by the symbols on the reels alone.
Casinos can tighten or loosen slot machines from the back
office. In order to change how a slot will payout is by changing
the computer chip. No casino can just flip a switch.
A slot machine that has not been paying is due to hit.
Absolutely false. The RNG assures this. You have an equal chance of
winning on a losing machine as you do on a machine that just paid out
the jackpot.
Pulling the slot machine handle produces more wins than
pressing the spin button and visa versa. Again false. It make no
difference, as the computer only uses these as mechanisms to start the
game. Only the computer determines a win or a loss and it has already
determined if you are a winner or loser even before the first reel
stops spinning.
Playing with hot coins improves your chances. It makes no
difference. Once again, the computer determines a win or loss and
the temperature of the machine or money is irrelevant. Although it's
funny that people still burn their fingers with lighters believing
this works.
Casinos set slot machines to payback more on the weekends.
Wrong again. Your odds of winning are the same no matter if it's
4:00pm Monday, 8:00pm Saturday or 3:00am Wednesday. Casinos can not
and do not do this.
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1¢ to
a maximum of $1.00. Your wager is placed on each line, up to
5 coins per line. Wins are recorded from the left side of the
machine to the right. Winning totals vary depending on the symbols
you have lined up. Also, if you receive 2 or more Banana scatter
symbols anywhere on the screen, you win the corresponding prize
form 2X to 500X your bet. The Monkey symbol is wild and completes
winning combinations with 9, 10, J, Q, K, and A symbols. Within
the game, click on the PAY TABLE button to see the winning combinations
and paylines.
There is one way to almost guarantee yourself a good time, satiate your
appetite for slots, and possibly even come out ahead - and that's to enter
a slots tournament. Many casinos now offer promotional slots tournaments
for a fixed entry fee, which entitles you to participate in a multi-day
tournament event, enjoy free room and board at the casino hotel while the
tournament is in progress, and be wined, dined, and treated like the valued
customer you are by casino personnel. Not only that, your participation
gives you the opportunity to compete against other enthusiasts to win thousands
- even hundreds of thousands - of dollars in tournament prize money.
Most slots tournaments have a number of rounds in which contestants
are given the same amount of machines credits and told to play them
until the time is up or their machine credits run out. The contestant
with the most credits at the end of each round wins a substantial prize
and a spot in the final round. The top prizes are usually rewarded to
the top three finalists.
If you enjoy the thrill and excitement of playing slot machines, slots
tournaments may provide jus the advantage you need to come out ahead.
Because slot playing relies solely button quickly (to get as many chances
as you can to hit the jackpot in a limited amount of the time) and you
can also find tournaments that return the greatest share of your entrance
fee in prize money and room and board comps.
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and the information in the last two sections to get a rough
idea of the machines you should be playing. For example, if you want
$1000 to last for four days of five hours play (20 hours total), that
means you can afford to lose $50 per hour. With average results (assuming
90% payout) and expected losses, you should be playing quarter machines
at three quarters per spin.
If you come up nickels in your calculations but want to play dollars,
give up some of your playing time in order to up the ante. Then, do
as you promised and quit playing when the money runs out!
For those of you who have the courage to play way beyond your means,
remember: there are more promising and lucrative ways for you to invest
your time and money. Dumping your savings into a slot machine, though
seemingly exciting and daring, will not resolve inner conflict, dissatisfaction
with your present situation, or any other business or personal problem
that may be temporarily numbed by the mindless exchange of coins. Set
realistic financial limits, and don't play Russian roulette with your
future.
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Most modern slot
machines are designed to look and feel like the old mechanical models,
but they work on a complete different principle. The outcome of each
pull is actually controlled by a central computer inside the machine,
not by the motion of the reels.
The computer uses step
motors to turn each reel and stop it at the predetermined point. Step
motors are driven by short digital pulses of electricity controlled by
the computer, rather than the fluctuating electrical current that drives
an ordinary electric motor. These pulses move the motor a set increment,
or step, with great precision.
But even though the
computer tells the reels where to stop, the games are not pre-programmed
to pay out at a certain time. A random number generator at the heart of
the computer ensures that each pull has an equal shot at hitting the
jackpot.
Whenever the slot
machine is turned on, the random number generator is spitting out whole
numbers (typically between 1 and several billion) hundreds of times a
second. The instant you pull the arm back or press the button, the
computer records the next few numbers from the random number generator.
Then it feeds these numbers through a simple program to determine where
the reels should stop.
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You pull the handle or
press the button, and the computer records the next three numbers from
the random number generator. The first number is used to determine the
position of the first reel, the second number is used for the second
reel and the third number is used for the third reel. For this example,
let's say the first number is 123,456,789.
To determine the
position of the first reel, the computer divides the first random number
by a set value. Typically, slot machines divide by 32, 64,128, 256 or
512. In this example, we'll say the computer divides by 64.
When the computer
divides the random number by the set value, it records the remainder of
the quotient. In our example, it finds that 64 goes into 123,456,789 a
total of 1,929,012 times with a remainder of 21.
Obviously, the
remainder can't be more than 64 or less than 0, so there are only 64
possible end results of this calculation. The 64 possible values act as
stops on a large virtual reel.
Each of the 64 stops
on the virtual reel corresponds to one of the 22 stops on the actual
reel. The computer consults a table that tells it how far to move the
actual reel for a particular value on the virtual reel. Since there are
far more virtual stops than actual stops, some of the actual stops will
be linked to more than one virtual stop.
Computer systems have made slot machines a lot more adaptable, players
can simply press a button to play a game, rather than pull the handle.
For the manufacturers
and slot proprietors, one of the main advantages of the computer system
is that they can easily configure how often the machine pays out (how
loose or tight it is)
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