The most popular casino game is the slot machine, both the traditional casino slots and the online slot machine found at an internet casino. You may not be aware of this fact, but in the beginning, casino owners only put slots out on their floors as a way of appeasing the spouses of the table players. The online slot machines are gaining even more popularity and account for around 70% of the income for online casinos.
A privately owned company called Microgaming was the first to manufacture “genuine” casino software; however, with the increased popularity of internet casinos and games, there are now over 150 companies that also provide different software and solutions. Of course, no two slot games are exactly the same. Even though they all have a slot for the coins, flashing lights and a handle, they are far from alike. Experts also tell us to be wary of those mail order systems that guarantee slot wins. Of course, if you are looking for a game that you do have a better chance of winning by using a “system,” then check out video poker that seems to work, at least part of the time, both in the traditional and virtual casinos.
Amazingly, less than twenty years ago the slot machine accounted for about 30% of a casino’s profit. Today, that profit is over 70%. And the online slot machine is responsible for a great deal of that profit. Thanks to computer technology, it is possible to offer some life-changing, mind-blowing jackpots for online slots. Along with this technology, there are also myths and misconceptions surrounding the slot machine.
If someone hits a jackpot on a machine that you just left, then would you have gotten it if you had stayed? No, because they have a computer chip that runs the random number generator (RNG), which continuously cycles through numbers even when the slot games are not being played. In other words, in the amount of time it takes to get a sip of your drink, the RNG has already cycled through thousands of combinations, so it is doubtful that you would have stopped the machine at the exact nano-second that the winning player just did.
Some believe that you can predict the odds of winning when playing online slot machines by counting the symbols on each wheel. That is also false because the RNG generates a number for each spin and the number corresponds to the symbols on the reel. There may be literally hundreds of virtual stops on each wheel, even though you may only see a few symbols.
For example, if you see 20 symbols on each wheel of a three reel machine, then you figure 20 times 3 equals 8,000 combinations, so your chances of hitting the jackpot is one in 8,000. In reality, the casino software may program 256 stops for each wheel, which changes the odds to 256 times 3, equaling 16,777,216 combinations. Being able to generate millions of different combinations is one reason why slots can offer large payouts.
Another common myth is that the casino can change the online slot machine payout percentage simply by flipping a switch. The percentage is set by the manufacturer and if the casino wants it changed, then the chip itself has to be changed and approved by the casino commission, making it expensive and time consuming.
