Before we get stuck into this how to win on slot machines guide, we want to start with something that should probably be well-known amongst all players, regardless of whether you are a newbie or a seasoned player.
All slot machines at both online casinos or brick and mortar casinos – are entirely chance-based.
This means that no matter what you may already think, there is no sure way to guarantee that you will win when playing slot machines. However, there are some tried and true methods that players with the know-how use to improve their chances of winning and maximizing their opportunity.
Like we’ve mentioned, in reality, there is no one strategy to follow when playing the slots as they are randomly generated outcomes.
Continue reading, and we will share with you an insight into how slot machines operate, plus what players can do to be fully informed when making decisions on what slot game to play and how best to play to win.
Just don’t forget to take everything with a pinch of salt, as with all casino gambling games – there will always be a house edge that favors the casino.
Slot Machines and The House Edge
All casino games include a house edge, and this is essentially the advantage that the casino (whether online or downtown) has over players.
In terms of slot machines, this edge is factored into the algorithm that the software developer created to operate as the random number generator, which determines the random outcomes on every spin.
The house edge is not the same among all casino games, though. The edge will vary between different variations of your favorite casino games. For table and card games, they may also vary depending on which state you are playing at (or which online casino).
Now, although we cannot give you a specific percentage for the house edge for all casino games, we can use a general example to explain this to you.
When playing slot machine games, the house edge can be different depending on how you play. What we mean by this is that as you change the number of pay lines or the number of credits (or commonly referred to as coins) that you pay per bet, the house edge will change too.
In short, this is because when players are playing across more pay lines, there are more opportunities to win.
For example, if you were trying to win at a typical slot machine game and you were making spins that cost 1c per spin, you could reasonably expect the house edge to be about 15%. However, if you increased the number of pay lines to a point where your bet per spin was 25c – you could expect the house edge to drop significantly to 8%.
If you were to raise the bet for your spins higher, say to a point where you were placing spins that were costing you $1 per spin, then the house edge might be as low as 6%.
To help this make more sense to you, consider thinking about the house edge across a period of play. Say you were playing your favorite slot game throughout one hour while playing for this hour, you were making $1 spins – with this example, we would consider that after the hour you would have spent $100. So, with a 6% house edge, a player would (on average) expect to have lost about $6 to the casino (i.e., spent $100 and won $94 back).
Typically, the house edge in slots is higher than most table or card games. European roulette, for example (the variant with just the one zero), has a house edge of approximately 2.5%, whereas American roulette (the two zeroes variant) has an increased house edge at 5.25%.
Comparing Slots Odds and Paylines
Players must note that although the odds of hitting a win across a particular pay line may have a mathematical chance of occurring, the casino will always feature that slight (sometimes not so slight!) advantage.
With the foundation of slots being random number generators, no two spins are linked, and there are endless possibilities.
When we look back at the very first slot machines, we can appreciate that they had the one pay line across three reals that each included ten symbols. Therefore, with 30 total symbols, there would be a total number of 1,000 possibilities.
Over the years, the number of symbols increased on these slot machines; thus, the combination possibilities blew out to significant outcomes like the 64,000 for three-reel slots with 40 symbols on each.
With the development of video slots, that figure grew exponentially. It is widely considered that most modern slot machines will have between 1 million and 50 million total combinations. While we would like to say it stopped there, with the latest innovations for five-reel video slots having 100 symbols per wheel, meaning players end up with a potent combination of over 10 billion outcomes!
Modern Slot Machines
When compared with the original mechanical slot games, the modern video slots are unrecognizable to those machines of the 1890s and early 1900s.
Developments in technology have meant that pay lines and ways-to-win have grown exponentially with casino games. When you include these increases with the innovative changes to bonus rounds and unique features that are also included in many of the top slots today, it is no wonder that we see even the smaller jackpots reaching significant figures.
For players today, the modern slot machines and games are a far cry from their original predecessors. As developers changed the way we win at slots, the games themselves changed, too, including all the bells and whistles that keep players coming back for more.
Some of the components which are relatively new to the slots are improved animations and graphics, unique features, and bonus rounds, including game components separate to the spinning of reels, as well as the much loved progressive jackpots.
Plus, with online casinos growing significantly, it is no doubt that players can expect more changes to come.
Random Number Generators
As we mentioned earlier, all slot machines are developed upon the foundation that they are mostly a random number generator (if you are still confused over this think of it as a random outcome generator).
While the original slot machines were limited in their outcomes, primarily because they were mechanical by nature – the developments we have seen over the years with video slots and online slots have allowed the game to grow through increased payline variations and win potentials.
With computing technology forever increasing, it is evident that video slots will never have a limit to their potential. This sounds very lucrative for casino owners; however, from the perspective of players, we would hope that this means more innovation in terms of entertainment and opportunistic features (similar to the old banked bonuses – which we will touch on later).
This was all made possible through the development of RNG’s. What RNG did for the slots was open up the possibilities for endless potential and a real gamble on the spin’s outcome. But, with this increase in pay lines, it added another layer to the varying degree of payout amounts.
It is interesting to think of where slot machines are at today and compare them to the original machines, which were a one-trick pony – allowing players to test their luck to win a single jackpot. Nowadays, there are so many ways to win that many wins are less than the bet placed on the spin.
Programmable and Random Slot Machines
More prominent in the modern age than ever before is the manufacture processes and potential of factories and companies. Companies can now mass produce items and with making minor changes – which is essentially the same thing with casino slot games.
These games are arguably the most popular casino pastime in the world, which makes it odd when you think that they are all the same game – except with slight changes to how it looks and acts.
Slots are just like smartphones, companies like Apple and Samsung just keep pumping them out, and each time they change just enough to make you want to buy them!
With the slot machines and games, they are all fundamentally the same game, just with a different skin over the top. This allows casinos and software developers the opportunity to provide players with a seemingly never-ending supply of games, each with different payouts, pay lines, and special features – thus catering to the demands of players without breaking the bank for research and development.
What this also means is that these games can also be developed with a specific payout percentage in mind, because while these games are RNG’s, the developers do have control over the range at which these payouts are pushed through.
This is an exciting concept because we know slots are random; however, at the same time, they are pre-determined or programmed to behave in a certain way.
Programmable Games
Following on from what we discussed previously when you think about increasing your chances of winning at slots, the strategies that players can implement are significantly few and far between – because the software developers have the power to program and predetermine the parameters at which the RNG operates.
But really, it is their game, so what would you expect? Casinos are just like every other business, too – they want to make money.
So, with the programmable nature of slot games, developers program or write the house edge into the code or otherwise the algorithm. Ultimately setting the tone for the casino and deciding the players’ fate well before they’ve taken their first spin.
The Spinning Wheel Machines
The original slot machines were mechanical, which is why they were also referred to as spinning wheel machines or drum machines (because the wheel inside was similar to a spinning drum). When they initially were launched, they were a massive hit with casinos thanks to their simple nature.
Insert coin, spin, hope for a jackpot.
Which is, for the most part, the attraction that players still have for slots today.
Although these spinning wheel machines are long gone from casinos today, players are still fond of their aesthetics. Similar to the popularity of classic three-reel slots with video slots players.
The fascination players have with these machines, and the slow ticking sounds that are accompanied by watching the last symbols land on the reel is timeless – and an aspect that many developers continue to cater to.
But, this has us thinking about payouts and those which are less than the cost of a spin.
If only all payouts were larger and still as frequent, having the anticipatory factor that watching the last symbol land to complete a winning combination has. Now, although these frequent payouts aren’t always as high as players hope, they are still enough to keep us playing!
Summarizing What to Remember
- House edge is a predetermined aspect of all slots and will affect how a slot plays, and therefore its entertainment value
- Slot machines have changed rapidly over the years and at the same time so has the number of possible outcomes
- Slots are built upon the foundation of a simple random number generator, meaning all spins are unique
- While the result of a slot machine spin is random, they are at the same time pre-determined by developers to follow a law of averages so to speak
- Players today love the innovative video slots, but they also really love representations of classic three-reel slots and spinning wheels
