When it comes to slot machines, they can be broken down to one of two types: progressive and straight. There isn’t a whole lot of intricacy when it comes to slots, but there are still some basics to remember. First of all there are the free slot machines with all the special attributes players love. These are the ones that are straight-forward and anyone can walk up to them and just start playing. There are also progressive slot machines and video slots. These are the more recent slot games to come around in recent years and they have quickly become some of the most popular games available. Players have fallen in love with video slot machines because they tend to offer multiple pay lines and the opportunity to win extra money via bonus rounds and games within the game.

The straight slot machine is the game that always pays the win out according to a predetermined payout schedule that is posted on the machine. It will pay out the same amount every time a specific symbol combination is hit. As an example, a straight slot machine will have a predetermined payout schedule for the amount of coins one bets. The jackpot for a one coin bet may payout 500 coins, while a two coin bet pays 1,000 coins and a three coin bet pays a jackpot of 1,500 coins. Depending on what the value of the coin size is, the monetary payout will vary accordingly.  For the above payout scale, if the coin size was fifty cents, a three coin bet would payout $750 (.50 x 1,500), while a coin size of $1 would payout $1,500 (1 x 1,500) for a three coin bet.  On a straight slot machine, these payouts will always be the same.

Though these games are fun and popular with the gambling public, there are still other games that offer bigger potential payouts than these. They are called the progressive slot machines. These games are the ones whose payouts grow larger as more coins are put into the machine.  Depending on the type of progressive jackpots the more bets made, the greater the jackpot grows.  Stand-along progressive jackpots build from a single machine, in-house progressives grow from a network or bank of machines located in a single casino, and wide area progressive slot machines grow the largest because they are tied into a network of slots within a large geographic area that are being played at multiple casinos at once.

Part two coming next.

The rules manufacturers have to follow regarding programming the blank stops have changed dramatically over the years. The blank stops above and below the jackpot symbol used to correspond to more virtual stops than other symbols. This made near jackpot misses would often show up and trick the player into believing they are getting closed to winning the jackpot.  These programs are no longer allowed on the market.

In today’s gambling world the slot machine’s RNG is what ultimately determines the payout percentage.  The RNG is consistently tested by third-party gaming regulators to insure it is paying back a minimum percentage of funds that are deposited into it.  For example, a machine with a payout percentage of 96 would be paying out 96 cents for every dollar put into it by bettors.  With only a 4% profit, it is easy to see why the casino always wins. The odds are always in favor of the house—no matter what game you are playing, what casino you’re playing at or what luck-generating activities you use prior to playing. Nothing really matters but the payout percentage of the machine.

In the more competitive gambling markets like Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the payback percentages are often going to range from 90% to 97%.  Since there is greater competition, not to mention strict regulation laws that require a minimum payback for each machine, players have good chances of finding bad slot machines than normal. The bottom line is that more people go to those popular slots parlors so the casino doesn’t have to create a better payout percentage to bring people in. They have the customer base. Smaller casinos however, have to create more competitive rates. They have to extend the payout percentages to attract new players and keep old ones coming in regularly.

When it comes down to it, slot machines are all about luck. If you have heard of what you can do to overcome Lady Luck, you probably have been had. The RNG cannot be influenced or predicted. Don’t listen to anyone who tells you otherwise. Remember that the games are all random and in the end, that is what makes them so popular with gamblers worldwide.

Computerized or virtual reels with electronic stops are what determine the chances of hitting a winning symbol combination, and hopefully give you a shot at the big jackpot.  Since the virtual stops correspond to a fewer number of actual stops, the odds of each symbol combination are determined by the number of virtual stops per actual stops. It depends on what type of machine you are playing at when it comes to determining what your actual odds of winning are. They will change as you play through various games.

For example, a “regular” slot machine will only have one virtual stop that corresponds to the big jackpot on the actual reels. If a machine uses the value of 32 to process its RNG, random number generator, then the chance that the jackpot image will land on one reel is one in thirty-two. If you want to calculate your odds of hitting the big jackpot, or getting a win from all three reels, then the mathematical calculation would be 32 x 32 x 32 or 32,768.  Your official odds would be 1 in 32,768.

Sure that’s good info, but a lot of people go right after the big jackpot. I mean- that’s why we play, right? We all read about the lucky winner who stopped by a slot machine at random, played a few spins and voila– hit the big jackpot. The win was life changing and now the lucky winner can pay off their house, pay off debt or buy some fantastic new item to add to their lifestyle. The slot machines that have those huge payouts will have a greater number of virtual stops and that’s what makes they harder to win on. Some can have 64, 256 or even 512 of those virtual stops to overcome before the machine hands you a huge payout. The bigger virtual stops just means that the actual odds of hitting a symbol combination are not based on the amount of actual stops on the reels, which is what many slot players falsely believe. It’s important to get to the bottom of false beliefs when it comes to slots– and there are many out there!

Part two coming next.

You may still find a pull handle to maintain the nostalgia for their predecessors, but some have only push buttons to play.  Next 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. Here is how it will play out:

After you activate your play the computer chip will record the very next three numbers that were generated by the RNG.  Each number corresponds to one of the reels (3 numbers for 3 reels), which are then processed into a simple calculation that will ultimately create a number that tells the reels where to stop.  Let us say the first number corresponding to the first reel is 333.  The next calculation that is used next involves dividing the RNG generated number by multiplied values of 32, up to a value of 512.  Since each machine is programmed differently, for the above example we shall say the computer chip uses the value of 32. After running this particular calculation, we get 14 with a remainder of 2. The remainder is an important consideration for it shows there are only 32 possible end results of this calculation (it cannot be larger than 32 or smaller than 0).  The computer then maps the 32 possible values out as stops on a computerized reel of 32 stops. These computerized stops each correspond to the actual stops on the reel (they tell the reels which stop to cease spinning).  Since there are less actual stops on a reel than the 32 stops on the computerized reel, some of the actual stops will correspond to more than one of the computerized stops. And when you add all three reels together, the possibilities are exponential. And that’s what makes playing slot machines so exciting for so many gamblers.  

In the future, expect slot machines to continue their huge growth and expect manufacturers to continue to upgrade the machines more and more. Developers are working to compete with one another and that’s great news for those who love slots play. It means every time they log in to play, there will be new and exciting features to enjoy.

In the olden days slot machines were operated via a mechanism inside that literally “spun” and stopped on the right picture. That picture, along with the others, dictated a win or loss. This was way back in the 1800s when the machine first came into the market. Though it was crude, people still rushed to play. In that time there was no other gambling game of its type and it quickly took off in popularity. The fact that over a century later it is still one of the most popular games in the gambling world proves how viable the game is and how many people love slot machines.

Not that it hasn’t gone through many changes in the past one-hundred years– it has. It moved along with the high-tech world into a highly accurate electronic game rather than a mechanical one of the past. Technology has grown exponentially throughout the years and game developers have worked hard to implement new tools and techniques to apply to the world of slot machine gambling. Here is some information regarding the computer-chip operated slot machines you find today.  The new machines have predetermined stopping points controlled by the computer chip are used to stop each reel, which in turn, are regulated by small, digitized bursts of electricity. These controlled bursts generated by the step motors are able to halt the spinning reels at exactly the right pre-appointed position.

The pre-programming that involves the payout percentage of a machine is determined by another device - the random number generator (RNG) so no need.  Not to fret, these machines are not designed to cheat you they are just modern and easier to maintain.  With the RNG in place, each spin of the reels has an equal chance of striking a big win.  With the RNG engaged, hundreds of numbers ranging from one to several billion are being generated each second.  The number that is generated the exact millisecond a player presses the spin button or pulls the slot arm is the same number that will then be processed into a program that syncs the number with where the particular stopping point will be for each reel.

Part two coming next.

Though slots are hi-tech these days, they are still not impervious to theft. Recently a mother and a daughter team were caught trying to cheat the machines. Each one is now facing more than 35 counts of slot cheating in casinos in Clark County. LaVonna Wallace and her daughter Stephanie Balsamo were accused of using a cheating device to cheat the slot machines at Nevada Landing, Gold Strike and Whiskey Pete’s casinos in 2006.

The cheating device in question is described as an instrument with a light, similar to a short coat hanger with a light attached.  Allegedly, this device was inserted into machines to draw the payout.  The women allegedly would cover the payout meter with a pack of cigarettes to conceal the slot machine combinations.  Additionally, a purse would be placed on top of the payout chute to hide the women’s maneuvering of the device. The mother, LaVonna Wallace, was convicted of 43 counts of cheating and burglary.   Fifteen counts of the use of a cheating device were thrown out because the device was never seen in Wallace’s possession at the machines that had allegedly been broken into.  Seven counts of possession of a cheating device were also thrown out for the same reason.

The daughter, Stephanie Balsamo, was originally convicted of 36 counts of cheating and burglary.  Fifteen of these counts were thrown out by the Nevada Supreme Court because it ruled there was insufficient evidence for a conviction.  Balsamo was never seen in possession of the cheating device while the swindle was allegedly underway. The women, however, will still have to suffer the consequences of the total of 49 remaining valid convictions.  The Nevada Supreme Court rejected the women’s argument that the errors of insufficient evidence and extra counts of cheating and burglary denied the women a right to a fair trial. Overall each woman is now in the position of having to rely on their lawyers to get them out of deep trouble. It’s interesting how the women were oblivious about the heavy security every casino has and believed that a purse could shield their actions and allow them to walk away with money they didn’t win.

The state of Maine is another state looking for financial help. Hollywood Slots General Manager John Osborne believes that adding table games like power and roulette would funnel more cash to struggling state coffers and create up to 180 new jobs for the local economy.  Osborne is requesting that lawmakers authorize table games for the Bangor racetrack and casino. Osborne says even without another gambling facility in Maine or an expansion of state lottery games, Hollywood Slots is having trouble competing with casinos in southern New England because it doesn’t offer table games like poker and roulette. 

Currently the facility is using slots as its only money generating activity. Unfortunately they aren’t proving to be as lucrative as they have been for other states. It’s an oddity in the market because normally slots are a sure-fire way to bring in funds. Osborne said, “One of the difficulties we have in our environment is we really don’t have a lot of people with a high household income.  So when you look at some of these other jurisdictions, you’re sitting with several million people within 60 to 90 minutes of that location with household incomes that are 50 to 60 percent higher than what we have in Bangor.”

Osborne estimates that table games would generate approximately $8 million in revenue and result in 170 to 180 new jobs. Allowing the facility to add table games is among a menu of gambling options the panel is considering, including expanding the state lottery to include the mega-millions game and adding a keno game. In all, the committee is looking at options that could bring in up to $8 million to help balance the state budget. The state is like others throughout the nation. It is having problems making its budget and suffering with a huge deficit. The recession did a lot to hamper legislators from making ends meet. Most states are looking to some form of gambling to help build up funds. They are trying to avoid having to make huge budget cutbacks and eliminate government programs. Overall slots were the key to funding many state’s coffers, but Maine is proving to have a problem with solely relying on them. It is going to be a creative combination of gambling that is going to make it possible for the state to meet its budgetary needs in 2010.

Talk about getting lucky! Recently a woman hit the jackpot not once, not twice, but FIVE times over the course of six days.  The lucky lady was playing online slots at iNetBet.com and accumulated winnings of over $37,000 in just six days.  Her initial deposit into the site was only $30. The website announced that this was the largest amount of money it has ever awarded to a single player in less than a week. It was iNetBet.com where the lady was playing and the win was enough to make her excited about maintaining a continuing relationship with the online casino.

Another great element of the woman’s story was that she only recently created her account and had just made her first deposit. The games were some of her first and quickly she started her winning streak. She won $11,000 right off the bat. The following day, she walked away with $5,013 in cash courtesy of a progressive jackpot after a similar amount of time. On day three, the woman asked her husband to choose a slot machine game for her to play.  He apparently is just as lucky as she is, because after a few spins on the slot game he chose, she won $4,271. Finally the player logged on to iNetBet.com again to walk away with another $12,000 after a short gaming time.

She quickly cashed out, but decided to give a few more spins a whirl. Lucky her! She added her fifth win there and won $1,895. That rounded her total winnings up to $37,000! Though the woman declined to release her identity or gaming name, she did give some information on what she plans on doing with her winnings. The winner revealed that she will use some of the money to book a family holiday to Thailand and purchase laptop computers for her children. The great thing about her story is that she’s an example of what Lady Luck can do if she is with you. And it’s the main reason why people continue to test their luck at slots. The games can pay out big if you hit the right game at the right time. You never know with slot just how lucky you can get!

Every gambler wants to win the big payout. You see the huge number flashing on the screen and automatically debate the possibilities of making a big win. For most players though, the dream is always just that—a dream. If you want to up your chances of a big win, here are some tips to overcome Lady Luck.

• Start slow—give yourself a chance to get used to the room. Get a feel for which machines you feel good about and which you don’t. Sometimes tapping into Lady Luck is as simple as following a “vibe” and going with it without thinking too hard on the decision.
• If you’re at the casino for a while, pay attention to which machines are having large payouts. Keep in mind that mathematically you stand at a lower chance to win big on a machine that just paid out big than you do on a different machine. There is no such thing as jumping on the luck of another player.
• Know whether you’re playing just for fun, to win some money, or to hit the big jackpot. Adjust your gaming accordingly.
• Set a strict bankroll. Never play more than you can afford to lose. Sure you want to get lucky, but there is always a chance it just may not be your night.
• If you want to win the big payout, read the games rules. Most of the time to win the big payout you have to wager the maximum amount—meaning you will have to play all the paylines.
• Check and see how many symbols a slot machine has before you choose it.  The more symbols, the more opportunities to win. But remember, the more wins, the smaller the individual payout. If you are looking to extend your gaming time, then playing games with a lot of symbols may serve you.
• Remember to know your limits and to stop when you’ve reached them.  You will never walk away a winner if you keep throwing all your money back into the machines.

Slots is a game of chance so you’ll never have a true “formula” to follow for a win. It’s all dependent on the random number generator, RNG. There are some things you can do– like understand the rules in full before you start wagering and know when to walk away. Slots are some of the most time-tested games in the industry for a reason.

Everyone loves slots. They are popular and varied. If you decide to play slots though, make sure you take a few first-steps to assure you understand the game. You want to check the payout table before you begin playing.  This gives you valuable information on what combinations of symbols pay the biggest amounts. It also will let you know exactly what combinations you are shooting for getting as you spin the reels. Take a few minutes before beginning on a slot machine and study it. Look at the payout percentage and get some inside information on the game. It could help you get into the play and win more. Try to see how many paylines there are and what the required wager is. It will help you to make a good decision when it comes to deciding what game to play and what to wager.

If you are a smart player and want to earn money then stick to your bankroll limit. When you begin playing a game always start on a lower amount and as you progress in the game increase your wager to the maximum. The only time this method should not be used is when you are playing a progressive slot machine.  With a progressive slot machine, you’ll need to maximize your bet. Most of the big jackpots you see require that every player plays every payline. That means you have to or you aren’t going to win the big payout. You don’t want to be paying into the game, and increasing the progressive payout, without ever giving yourself the opportunity to win it.

Keep in mind to choose the best casino and bonuses it is important that you read through the casino’s privacy policies and other terms and conditions. Slots machines are available in several different styles. The different types of online casino slots include: 3-reel slots, fruit machines, multi-line slots, bonus slots, 5-reel video slots, 7-reel slots and progressive jackpots. If you are new to the game of slots then read the gaming rules and slot machine strategies and practice at the free games offered by the casino. In fact, playing the free games before you start wagering can be one of the best ways to get used to the game and the overall gaming experience. It’s a lot of fun, and you won’t be wagering your own cash as you learn which are your favorite games and which offer the gaming you want.