Slot Machine Lines Explained According to a definition, a payline is the line on which certain symbols land and, when landing in a specific order, form combinations that result in a win. The number of playlines in a slot can range from 1 to 1024.
Most amateur gamblers believe that if a slot machine hits the jackpot, then it immediately goes ‘cold’. They also believe the opposite is true; if a machine runs cold for hours, then it’s ‘due’ for a big payoff. But if you look inside modern slot machines, you learn the cold hard truth. Every single pull of the lever has equal odds of winning, and those odds are steep.
A slot machine (American English), known variously as a fruit machine (British English), puggy (Scottish English), the slots (Canadian English and American English), poker machine/pokies (Australian English and New Zealand English), fruities (British English) or slots (American English), is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known. Slot Machine Myths; Slot Machine B.S. Wrong info that's published elsewhere. Tips for increasing your chances of winning, and saving money. Odds of hitting the jackpot, progressive jackpots, and other jackpot topics. Skill-Based Slots. The scoop on the new games in which your results aren't entirely determined by chance.
Since the earliest mechanical slot machines, gaming manufacturers have weighted the machines to tweak the odds. If you look closely at the reels of old machines, you’ll find many more blanks and low-scoring symbols than pots of gold, especially on the third or final reel. This creates the famous ‘near miss’ effect.
Modern slots have replaced the gears, cranks and stoppers with precision step motors and random number generators (RNG). When you pull the crank on a modern slot, a built-in RNG selects three numbers between one and 64. Each number corresponds to one of 22 spots on the three reels. The trick is that half of the numbers between one and 64 correspond to blank spots and only one random number matches the jackpot symbol. The odds of nailing the jackpot are 1/64 x 1/64 x 1/64 or one in 262,144.
The lever is just for show. Three internal step motors spin each reel and stop them precisely at the positions chosen by the RNG. Still feeling lucky?
Return vs payback
There is no such thing as a ‘loose’ or ‘tight’ slot machine. In modern casinos, slot machines are programmed to deliver a precise return percentage, somewhere around 95 per cent. That means 95 per cent of the money that goes into a slot machine is paid back out to the players and the casino keeps the rest.
But here’s where things get tricky. The return percentage is not the same as the payback, which is the actual amount of money you win or lose during each gambling session at a slot machine. If you sat down at a slot machine for eternity and pulled the lever an infinite amount of times, your payback percentage would be exactly 95 per cent. Likewise, in a casino full of gamblers, the collective machines will pay back roughly 95 per cent of the total money gambled during the course of a day.
Unfortunately, you are only one person and you don’t have infinite pulls. So your odds of winning are equally good or bad every pull. You could lose all day and that doesn’t mean the machine is rigged. And it doesn’t mean that the guy who wins the jackpot found the ‘loose’ machine. He just got very, very lucky.
Top 5 Facts: Gambling stats
1) Big jackpot, big odds
The odds of winning the jackpot on a ‘progressive’ slot machine like Megabucks is one in 50 million, although if you are that one you’re likely to become very rich.
2) ‘Easy’ money
68 per cent of people who gamble at Las Vegas play the slot machines most often. And there’s a large target market as nearly 90 per cent of visitors to Las Vegas gamble.
3) The house wins
In the United States, gaming was a $92 billion industry in 2007, double what it was a decade ago. And in the UK, there were 143 casinos as of 31 March 2009.
4) United States of Slots
Even though Nevada is widely considered the gambling state, there are 37 US states with some form of legalised electronic gaming device like slot machines or video poker.
5) Vegas’ most wanted
The Nevada Gaming Commission maintains a list of 35 people who are not allowed in any casino or gambling establishment. Only one of them is a woman.
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Payout table
The pay table shows the player what combinations pay out and how much.
Winning lines
Most machines have multiple winning lines on the reels, so options are given for how many lines the player wants to bet. Each line is equal to one bet, so on a five-cent machine, betting on five lines would equate to betting 25 cents.
Coin bin
Though many machines print redeemable tickets, machines that pay out in coins have a large bin to catch them.
Credit meter
A credit meter keeps track of how much credit the player currently has as well as winnings when the reels are spun.
Credits are often used instead of showing actual cash amounts because, to the player, losing credits may not seem as negative as losing money.
Arm or button
Once the player has selected how many lines they want to bet, pulling the arm or pressing the bet button locks the settings, selects a random number, and spins the reels.
RNG
The RNG continuously generates thousands of numbers per second while the machine is on.
Some RNGs may use a device that collects thermal noise and converts it into electrical signals to help generate the numbers, as computers alone are only able to generate pseudo-random numbers.
EPROM
The EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-only Memory) controls the weighting of the machine to make sure the desired payout percentage is reached.
How Do The Lines On A Slot Machine Work Cited
(See “Odds & Weighting' section below).
Bet button
When the bet button is pressed, the number generated by the RNG at that exact moment is selected and used.
Reels
Reels are for show, and by the time they’re spinning the machine already knows what the outcome will be. Spinning and stopping reels in sequence helps build suspense and excitement for the player, keeping them more interested.
Stops
Each reel usually includes 20 to 30 stops, which are the symbols and blank spaces on the reel.
Odds & Weighting
Over many random play sessions, odds are predictable. By adjusting payouts for winning spins, casinos observe legal requirements while delivering an entertaining experience.
Payouts
Odds are predictable over time,
so adjusting payouts per possible winning spins
yields predictable results over many random play sessions
Required legal payout percentage
Many states have laws that require certain payout percentages. For example, a machine that returns 85 or 90% of the cash it receives over time would still give the casino a 10% - 15% cut.
Weighting
The programmable EPROM allows weighting to fine-tune the play experience.
For example, if a reel has 10 blank spots, as long as that quota is met, it doesn't matter which blank spots are used. The machine could be programmed to land on blank spots around jackpots to give the player the impression of a 'near win.'
Stacking the odds:
multi-reel machines
On a multi-reel machine, the odds of winning decrease exponentially. For example, taking the single reel example from above and multiplying it to 3 reels (all with identical symbols as the first), the chances of a winning combination (3 of the jackpot symbol instead of 1) drop from 1/20 chance to 1/8000 chance.
Anti-tamper
How Do The Lines On A Slot Machine Work Near Me
Slot machines are designed to be tamper proof to both the players and the casino.
Cabinet & screen
The cabinet and screen act as a faraday cage to disperse electricity and ground electrical signals, preventing outside electrical signals from interfering with the machine’s processes. The screen is coated in a clear, electrically conductive chemical, and connects to the metal cabinet to allow conductivity between the two.
Coin comparator
The coin comparator accepts or rejects coins that are put into the machine. It compares incoming coins against a coin previously placed in the comparator (e.g. if a nickel is in the comparator, then the machine would only accept nickels).
EPROM
The EPROM is programmed and tested in factory, then placed in the machine with a tamper evident sticker over it. This style of chip is reprogrammable using ultraviolet light and must be removed from the machine to do so, which is allowed only when a gaming authority is present.
Coin dispenser
Coin dispensers use a light sensor to count the number of coins dispensed.
Reels
Reels have sensors that detect extra movement, so trying to move reels manually causes an error to display on the LCD screen and any winnings are negated.
References
- (2017). Retrieved 7 January 2017, from https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/clins/my_job_is_writing_software_for_slot_machines_and/
- Slots Random Number Generator - Hit Frequency vs Payout Ratio. (2017). Casino News Daily. Retrieved 7 January 2017, from http://www.casinonewsdaily.com/slots-guide/random-number-generator-hit-frequency-vs-payout-ratio/
- CC-40 A Coin Comparitor - YouTube. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 7 January 2017, from https://youtu.be/k9ybYjS8jOI
- How Slot Machines Work. (2017). HowStuffWorks. Retrieved 7 January 2017, from http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/slot-machine.htm
- Patent US4448419 - Electronic gaming device utilizing a random number generator for selecting the reel stop positions. (2017). Google Books. Retrieved 7 January 2017, from https://www.google.com/patents/US4448419
- How It’s Made Slot machines. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved 7 January 2017, from https://youtu.be/wjBSXUKn4Qw
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How Do The Lines On A Slot Machine Work Without
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