Both of these myths make no sense to those who know how online slots work. The game math remains the same, and random numbers remain fair, whether you use the autoplay feature, the ledger or the spin button. How slot machines are programmed. This is my favorite part as in the past, I have personally developed software solutions for a game. Slot machine math will assist in determining:. Whether a machine is performing as the vendor intended. The customers’ preferences for a machine on the floor. How much is reinvested in a customer with players club rewards. The correct procedures must also be followed to change the values for online slot machines. Slot machines typically have a payout percentage of between 85% and 98%, depending on the casino and the type of machine. The average house advantage for slots games has been calculated to be around the 9% mark. Scaling Returns. Today, the mathematics of slot machines. The University of Houston mathematics department presents this program about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them. M athematicians first got interested in randomness by studying games of chance. This eighth book of the author on gambling math presents in accessible terms the cold mathematics behind the sparkling slot machines, either physical or virtual. It contains all the mathematical facts grounding the configuration, functionality, outcome, and profits of the slot games.
You pull the lever, and the icons whirl. One stops. Another. They match – you just need the third. But the wheel spins just a bit too far, and you miss the jackpot. You were so close! Weren’t you?
The next time you play, you get another two matches and the final wheel stops just barely in time to give you the jackpot. You’ve won! But my goodness, that was close. Right?
Actually, in both cases, the outcome of your game was determined from the start. Slot machines are fun because they create a little show out of winning or losing, but in reality, the real game happens behind the scenes – in the circuit boards and moving parts of a physical slot machine, or in the computers and servers of an online casino.
How slot machines work
Slot machines have always been random. Early slot machines use three wheels to determine the outcome, meaning that your result really was up in the air until the last wheel stopped spinning. Modern slot machines still have those wheels, but they don’t work that way anymore.
The problem with old-school slot machines is that even the most unlikely outcome is still fairly possible (by slot machine standards, anyway) – for example, a three-reel machine with 10 items on each reel will still produce the rarest outcome a minimum of on time out of 1,000 (0.1%). If hundreds of people come through a casino and pull the lever on that machine a few times each, there’s a good shot that the casino will be paying out a jackpot or two every day! And that means that the jackpot can’t be worth all that much, or the casino would go out of business pretty quick.
That’s no fun, but technology has solved the problem. Beginning in the 1980s, slot machine manufacturers were able to use computers within the machine to weight certain outcomes. Now jackpots could be made rarer, and their payouts proportionally more enticing.
Random number generators
In modern slot machines, a computer determines the outcome. And the easiest way to do this is to determine the outcome ahead of time. This is also the easiest way to make sure that the odds are exactly where the casino wants them to be – which is important, because many states and countries regulate the odds of slot machines to varying degrees.
The theater and fun of a slot machine are both still present on modern machines – you may even get to slap a button to stop the reels – but it’s all for show. The outcome of your game is actually determined by a random number generator the moment you first press the button or pull the lever.
What’s a random number generator? It’s exactly what it sounds like: a computer process that generates a random integer. This isn’t much different from what casinos have been doing for ages (a die is just a mechanical random number generator, after all), but the souped-up power of computers lets slot machines generate a huge range of random options (a die is limited to one through six – the computer’s range is astronomically larger). A range of values will give different results. Many of the generated numbers will give you a small win or a loss, while comparatively few numbers will lead to a win. These numbers, which you never see, are all that matters – everything else is for show.
The difference between online slots and physical slots
So what’s the difference, then, between online slots and physical slots?
Well, on one, you’ll physically push a button or pull a lever. On the other, you’ll click a button or press something on your keyboard.
Mathematics Behind Slot Machines
Yes, that’s it. There may be differences in things like payout (just as there are from one brick-and-mortar casino to another), but there are no difference in function. Under the hood, both things work exactly the same way: with a random number generator. This is obvious on a digital slot machine, which is clearly little more than a computer in a box. But it is equally true on slot machines with physical reels – behind those spinning wheels is a computer determining the outcome. Slots on a screen can add extra options to the reels (since they don’t have to fit these symbols on a physical object), but mechanical slots can simulate the same effect on the odds by just making some stops more likely than others. There are no longer any slots that really determine your win reel by reel.
So gamble away at the online slots (though remember that odds on slots are never in your favor), and rest assured that you’re getting the exact same experience that you would in a casino.
Slot machines are the most popular form of casino gambling for many reasons. These machines are also the biggest profit center for casinos, which should tell you everything you need to know about playing them.
Casinos offer many game options that are better for you to play than slot machines, but most gamblers don’t understand why. Here are 5 facts based on math about the slot machines that every slots player needs to know.
After you learn these 5 mathematical facts, you might decide that the slot machines aren’t the best option when you’re in the casino.
1 – Random Number Generator Math
A common mistake made by many slots players is assuming that they recognize patterns and/or can time their spins to profit from the random number generator that runs the machine. The casinos actually want you to believe that you can get a edge this way, because it keeps you playing longer and this means that you lose more money.
Modern real money slot machines are complex machines that are more like computers than anything else. They use random number generators to determine the results
for the machine.
What you see on the screen when you take a spin is simply a form of entertainment, and doesn’t have anything to do with whether or not you win. The slot machine runs the random number generator program, a result is determined, and then the result is shown on the screen. The result is usually a sequence of reels spinning.
The reason why it’s impossible to see patterns or time your spins is because modern random number generators can cycle through millions of numbers every minute. This means that it’s cycling through thousands of numbers every second. The human mind and body simply can’t react fast enough to find any value in this situation.
2 – Near Miss Danger
Slot machine builders and the casinos want machines that keep gamblers spinning the reels as much as possible. Many different tricks have been developed over the years to make you play more.
Mathematics Of Slot Machines Games
One of the worst tricks for slot machine players is when the reels appear to just miss a winning combination. The result is the same as any other losing spin, but psychologically it tries to trick you into getting a little rush thinking about how close you came to winning.
When you play slots games, train yourself to ignore the reels and focus only on the results. You either win or lose, and the reels don’t have anything to do with the result. You learned in the first section that the results are determined first, and then the reels show the results.
Most slots players think the reels determine if they win or not. This makes them more susceptible to what looks like a near miss on the reels. Now that you know how slot machines really work you won’t be fooled again.
3 – Losses Disguised As Wins
Not every slot machine uses this trick, but it’s a smart psychological move from the casino’s side. This trick is commonly called losses disguised as wins. Here’s how it works.
You’re playing a slot machine that has a $2 wager amount. You take a spin and hit a small paying combination, and it pays $1.60.
Your mind registers a win and this releases chemicals that make you want to keep playing. But the problem is that you didn’t really win. You lost 40 cents on the spin.
You need to take a close look at the pay table on every slot machine before you start playing. You need to consider many different things when you choose a slot machine to play, but my personal rule is to never play a machine that ha losses disguised as wins.
Slot machine manufacturers and casinos want the machines to be as addictive as possible. Of course, you never see this published anywhere because gambling addiction is a terrible thing. But the truth is that casinos want as many gambling addicts as possible playing.
One of the min ways to keep gamblers playing longer is to give them the chemical rush when they win. The more you get this rush, the more you want to play.
This is why losses disguised as wins are so devious. They’re a tricky way to use math to make you lose more money.
4 – Progressive Slots Jackpot Math
I don’t usually play slot machines, and I don’t usually recommend playing them to beginning gamblers. But I do play some progressive jackpot slot machines. I play them for much the same reason that I buy a lottery ticket from time to time.
A big progressive jackpot slots win can be enough money to change your life. This is the same as the lottery in many ways. You need to get lucky to win a big jackpot, but it’s worth throwing a few dollars at it sometimes.
Slot machines that have progressive jackpots are the only slots games that have a possibility of offering an edge for gamblers. When a jackpot grows to a large enough amount, the edge can flip from being in the casinos favor to being in your favor.
This sounds like a good thing, but there are two problems with it. The first problem is that it’s hard to find the base house edge or return to player percentage for these slot machines. You need this information to determine how large the jackpot needs to be to flip the odds.
The second issue is that just because the odds are in your favor it doesn’t mean that you’re going to win. In fact, unless you get lucky and hit the jackpot, you’re still going to lose money.
I’m all for taking a long shot at a big slots jackpot from time to time, but don’t waste too much money chasing a big pay day. The odds are against you every time.
5 – Total Bet Amount per Spin
Almost every slots player has taken a seat at a penny slot machine hoping to play for a penny or a few cents per spin and found that they had to risk $1 or more on each spin.
It’s important to bet enough to unlock all of the pay lines and any jackpots, but you need to concentrate on the total wager amount on any slot machine you play. Ignore terms like penny slots and nickel slots, because these are just marketing words and don’t have anything to do with how much it costs to play every spin.
The reason why total wager amount per spin is important is because it’ a big part of how much you bet overall. If you’re wagering $2 per spin and take 500 spins in an hour, you’re risking $1,000 every hour.
If you can determine the return to player percentage or house edge percentage for the slot machine you’re playing, you can quickly figure out how much you can expect to lose playing.
Here are 2 examples.
If the slot machine you’re playing has a return to player percentage of 96% and you’re wagering $1,000 an hour, you can expect to lose $40 every hour you play on average. The way to quickly determine this is to subtract the return to player percentage from 100%. This gives you the house edge. Multiply the house edge of 4% times $1,000 and you get your expected loss of $40.
Sometimes you can find the house edge for a slot machine. When you have the house edge you simply multiply it times the amount wagered. If house edge is 5%, you multiply it times the $1,000 you’re risking. This is an expected loss of $50 every hour.
Conclusion
The slot machines in the casino are a danger to your bankroll. These machines crank out a consistent profit for the casinos, which means that they consistently take money from players.
This doesn’t mean that you should never play slot machines, but you need to be careful about how often you play them and how much you lose when you play.
The 5 mathematical facts about slot machines that you just learned can show you how often you should play and how much you should risk when you do play.
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