How To Tell If A Slot Machine Is Hot
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- How To Tell If A Slot Machine Is Hot
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Slot machines remain a mystery to many gamblers because you can’t see their inner workings. This differs from casino games like blackjack or roulette, where you can physically see how results are determined.
There a bunny girl that stands by the slots if you talk to her she will ask if you want to play say yes and she will then show you what slots are hot and i think the she show the payout as well.
This has led to may slots myths, such as casinos flipping switches to change payback or machines running hot and cold.
The truth is that slot machines, and their results aren’t difficult to comprehend when you look closer at the matter.
Below you can see 10 important points on slot machines that will clear up many misconceptions. You’ll also see other info on the biggest slots jackpots, skill-based bonus rounds, and slots history.
1. Slot Machine Results Are Determined by Random Number Generators
One of the most important things to know about slot machines is how results are determined.
These games used to work on mechanical reels and levers. But now, almost every game is a video or online slot machine that features a random number generator (RNG).
The RNG cycles through sequences of simulated random numbers. Oftentimes the RNG moves at the rate of thousands of number sequences per second.
When you select the spin button, the most recent number combination determines your result. This means that the biggest determinant in your result is when you choose to spin.
Some players believe that they can produce desired results by “timing up” spins correctly.
This might be true if slot machines had more predictable RNGs. But given the speed at which RNGs move and how they continue working even when not played, timing up spins is impossible.
In summary, slots results are totally random. And you can’t do anything beyond developing an elaborate cheating plot to win guaranteed profits.
2. Slots Payback Determines Your Chances of Winning
Your odds of winning with a slot machine are determined by the payout percentage (a.k.a. payback).
Also called, return to player (RTP), this figure represents how much money you’ll theoretically win back from your bets. A slot machine with 95% payback would return $0.95 on every dollar you wager.
Many land-based casino jurisdictions require a minimum slot RTP. New Jersey requires a minimum payback of 83%, Mississippi requires 80%, and Nevada calls for at least 75%.
Most brick and mortar casinos have higher average RTP than the state required minimum because they want players to feel like they have a chance to win.
ThoughtCo reports that the average payback on Nevada penny slot machines is 90%, which is low in comparison to other types of slots in the state. But it’s also far higher than the state requirement of 75%.
Modern online slots payback between 95% and 97%. Online slots don’t have the same overhead costs as casinos, so they typically offer higher payback.
Obviously, you want a game’s RTP to be as high as possible. But the problem is that most casinos don’t advertise RTP on all of their slots.
This means that you’ll have to do research to find slots payback in many casinos.
This is easy to do with online slots providers because they usually offer a uniform payback across all of the casinos they serve. For example, NetEnt’s Blood Suckers slot has 98.0% payback at every online casino where it’s offered.
Land-based slot machine RTPs are harder to come by because they vary from casino to casino. But you can often find a composite RTP figure by researching individual casinos and games.
3. Casinos Can’t Change Slots Payback Whenever They Want
Slots payback is tricky because it’s programmed to pay out over a long time period. Payout percentages may not actualize until hundreds of thousands of spins.
If you’ve played a specific slot for this long, then you’ll be close to the game’s specified payout percentage.
But most players don’t realize how long it takes to reach a slot machine’s RTP. And they often think that they’re being taken advantage of when they go through a cold streak.
This has led to the myth that casinos use a back office switch to change payback. But this isn’t the case in either land-based or online casinos.
Brick and mortar casinos order slot machines with a specific RTP. The game developer then programs the payout percentage into the software and stores it on a nonvolatile random access memory (NVRAM).
If a land-based casino wants to change payback for a specific slot machine, they must physically swap out the software. State/country gaming jurisdictions also require that casinos go through red tape before they change RTP on any game.
This means that it’s both time-consuming and illegal to randomly switch a slot machine’s payback whenever one feels like it.
Online slots providers control the payback that games have. Internet casinos license their software and feature whatever RTP is available.
This prevents tampering because the online casinos are merely licensing slots games.
Many gaming providers pay for third-party lab testing to ensure that their games are fair and random.
4. Slot Machines Have Fun Bonus Rounds
In 1996, WMS Industries created the first, second-screen bonus round in Reel ‘Em slot. Ever since then, slots creators have been adding more and more second-screen bonuses to games.
This creates excitement because you move off the reels and into a different type of game. What’s also fun is that you’ll find plenty of different bonuses across the slots world.
Bonus rounds usually have something to do with a slot machine’s theme. For example, Random Logic’s Millionaire Genie slot has a bonus round where you’re granted wishes that can turn into prizes.
Most bonus rounds fall into a broad range of categories, which you can see below:
- Choosing objects – This involves selecting items such as pots to reveal prizes.
- Fight – Select a character to battle an opponent.
- First person shooter – Allows you to move a cursor and shoot objects.
- Wheel – You spin a wheel to determine your prize.
- Board game – Move your character around a board to win bonus payouts.
None of these types of bonuses reinvent the wheel in gaming. But it’s still fun to trigger a bonus and do something different beyond spinning the reels when you get a chance.
5. Some Slot Machines Contain Skill
Slots players have been satisfied with spinning reels and winning prizes for decades. But casinos and gaming operators are now incorporating more skill into slot machines in an effort to capture younger players’ attention.
One way this is done is through skill-based bonus rounds. Let’s look at Scientific Games’ Space Invaders as an example:
- You have the option to choose a random or skill based bonus round.
- The skill based bonus takes you to a new screen, where you control a tiny ship at the bottom.
- You move the ship and shoot aliens as they travel down the screen.
- Your score (payout) depends upon how many aliens you hit.
Space Invaders is an old arcade game that’s been around since 1978. And most people would never play this game alone.
But it’s fun in the context of a slot machine because you’re doing something different and playing for real money.
Some companies are even developing gaming machines that are entirely based on skill. This includes GameCo’s Danger Arena, which is a first-person shooter that sees you blast robots for money.
Your score depends upon how many robots you can shoot within the allotted time frame. You earn the top prize if you’re able to destroy 10 bots and get a perfect score.
It remains unclear when skill-based gaming will take off in casinos. But the odds are that it’ll happen at some point within the next decade.
6. Class II Slot Machines Operate Like Bingo
Earlier I covered how slots operate based on random number generators. These are referred to as “Class III” slots in America.
But there are also Class II slot machines, which operate like bingo games.
These slots are popular in tribal casinos that don’t have a Class III gaming compact with their respective state. Many states have worked out Class II compacts with Native American tribes, allowing them to offer bingo style gaming.
A Class II machine looks just like a regular slot. But the results are determined as if you were playing electronic bingo.
What’s interesting is that the available number of prizes is capped to represent a real life bingo game. Once all of the prizes have been paid, the cycle starts over.
Essentially, Class II slots are just like the Class III versions in terms of randomness, payback, and jackpots. But they determine results differently to allow tribal casinos to still have slots like games.
7. The Largest Ever Slots Jackpot is Worth $39.7 Million
One really exciting thing about slot machines is that you can win huge jackpots. And the biggest ever jackpot is a $39.7 million prize that was won at Las Vegas’ Excalibur casino.
A 25-year-old software engineer from LA won this slots jackpot in 2003 while playing Megabucks. He put in $100 and never had to reload because he won the jackpot shortly after that.
Behar Merlaku thought he’d won a record $57 million at Austria’s Casino Bregenz in 2011. But it turned out to be a software glitch because the machine only offered a top payout of $6,500.
Merlaku took the matter to court and said that both he and his wife suffered emotional stress as a result of the malfunction. He also contended that his child was born with a cleft palate due to his wife’s trauma.
The couple was awarded €1 million as part of a settlement.
The largest online slots jackpot in history belongs to Jon Heywood, who won £13,213,838 in 2015.
The British soldier, who did tours in Afghanistan, was playing Microgaming’s Mega Moolah at the time of his win.
Heywood spoke with the Daily Mail about his windfall and said that he was going to help his father get a heart and lung transplant. He also planned to buy a yellow Bentley Continental GT car and decide what to do with the rest later.
8. Slots Jackpots Can Be Awarded In a Variety of Ways
Many slot machines have a specific symbol combination that awards a jackpot. Normally this involves getting the highest paying icon or wild symbol 5 times in a pay line.
But there are other ways that a slots jackpot can be awarded too.
One method involves awarded the jackpot randomly at the conclusion of a spin. It doesn’t matter how much you bet or even if you win because you’re always eligible for the jackpot.
Random progressive jackpots are good for low rollers who can’t afford to make maximum bets to qualify for the top prize.
Some slot machines only pay the jackpot on a certain pay line.
For example, you might have to play all 20 lines because the jackpot can only be awarded on the 20th pay line. Playtech has a few older online slots like this.
Another way that jackpots can be awarded is through bonus rounds.
Oftentimes this involves spinning a wheel to unlock a progressive payout. Microgaming’s Mega Moolah and NetEnt’s Mega Fortune are two examples of slots that award jackpots through the bonus.
Other bonus rounds may see you perform actions to win the jackpot. One example is Microgaming’s Hall of Gods, where you smash mirrors with Thor’s hammer to reveal jackpot symbols.
9. Some Countries Have Different Names for Slot Machines
Americans, Canadians, and some Europeans are used to calling these games slots or slot machines.
But other countries have different names for slots. And these games sometimes include rule differences too.
Australians commonly called slots “poker machines” or “pokies.” Pokie is just an abbreviation for poker machine, which has to do with slots history (discussed later).
Pokies operate just like slot machines in America and many other parts of the world.
The UK has lots of fruit machines (a.k.a. fruities), which refers to the common slots practice of using fruit as symbols. The Scottish commonly refer to a fruit machine as apuggy.
Fruities differ from traditional slot machines because they have hold and/or nudge features.
Hold lets you hold one or more reels in place while the others spin. Nudge lets you nudge one or more reels down a space to complete or improve wins.
Hold and nudge inject some skill into slot machines. But note that these features have already been factored into the overall house edge.
Japan’s version of slot machines is called pachinko. This is a slots pinball hybrid that begins with shooting a ball into the field of play.
If a ball lands in the right pocket, then the slot machine reels in the center will spin. The goal is to line up the right combination and win a prize.
I mentioned earlier that Canadians use the term slots and slot machines.
But their state lotteries play a big role in the gaming scene and offer video lottery terminals (VLTs). Most VLTs work just like slot machines because they have RNGs and spinning reels.
The only exception is that a VLT prints out scratch-off tickets, instead of working like a slot machine.
10. The First Slot Machine Was Invented in 1893
Brooklyn based Sittman and Pitt created the first gaming machine in 1891. This is regarded as the precursor to slot machines, and it featured 5 drums that held a total of 50 card faces.
Players inserted a nickel into this poker machine and pulled the reel to play. The drums would spin and offer players a 5 card poker hand.
Sittman and Pitt’s game was popular at bars because it awarded free beers and cigars. But it was far from what we typically think of regarding slots.
Charles Fey and Gustav Friedrich Wilhelm Schultze, who worked together at San Francisco’s Electric Works, are credited with creating the first slot machines.
Wilhelm Schultze was first, inventing the Horseshoe slot machine and an automatic payout mechanism in 1893. Fey introduced a newer version in 1895 that actually paid coins.
Fey would open a slots workshop the following year. It’s here where he developed the Liberty Bell, which became the most popular slot of its time.
Fey was unable to patent his device because gambling was illegal in California. This brought on lots of competition over the years and helped further the slot machine industry.
Another great development was when video slots were introduced to casino floors in the 1970s. Nowadays, almost every slot machine produced is a video slot.
Microgaming introduced the first online slots in 1994. The industry has since taken off, which thousands of online slots now available through PCs, Macs, and mobile devices.
Conclusion
Slot machines aren’t transparent in how they award prizes. But you’ll have a lot more confidence playing these machines when you understand payback and random number generators.
Furthermore, knowing about payback and the RNG clears up many of the myths surrounding slots.
Of course, the fun in playing slot machines isn’t in understanding how they work. It’s about the bonus rounds, jackpots, and cool game themes.
Luckily, there’s more of these aspects in the gaming world than ever before. I especially enjoy the bonus rounds that are being added into games today.
It’s also exciting to see skill injected into more and more slots. It’ll be interesting to see how much the slots world changes when skill-based gaming takes off.
How to Improve Your Blackjack Game
Slots manufacturers and casinos swear it’s impossible, but many people claim they know how to tell if a slot machine is going to hit. Some say just by watching, they can tell when it’s “due”. Others say they emit a hot or cold aura. We’ll examine these theories and more to get to the bottom of the mystery.
How To Tell If A Slot Machine Is Hot
- How Slots Work: Before we get into theoretical suppositions, you should know exactly what it is that makes today’s modern slots tick. Random RNG algorithms control each spin, while a predestined RTP gives the casino its edge.
- Due for a Win: “This slot machine hasn’t paid more than $5 in two hours. It’s due for a win!” Is that really true? Learn why it isn’t, and at the same time, it is…
- Hot & Cold Slots: If you’ve ever gone swimming in a pool, you know what it’s like to hit a cold spot, or worse, a warm spot (ew!). Some people claim slots emit the same thermal vibes.
- Luck & Variance: Gamblers call it luck. Slots makers call it variance. It’s the same thing. Lucky/variance is the fluctuating up/downswing that occurs between meeting a game’s RTP.
- Tips for Winning Slots: Whether you’re instincts are spot on or dead wrong, there are provably effective methods to increase your chances of winning slot machines.
Disclaimer – Not all forms of gambling are legal in all provinces of Canada. The legal age to gamble also varies by province. Breaking the law is a serious matter. The information provided on this website is meant for educational purposes only, and we will not be held liable for any irresponsible / illegal activity on your part. Know the gambling laws in your province and follow them. The following pages provide more information on Canadian gambling laws: Alberta – British Columbia – Manitoba – Newfoundland & Labrador – New Brunswick – Nova Scotia Northwest Territory – Nunavut – Ontario – Prince Edward Island – Quebec – Saskatchewan – Yukon |
How Slot Machines Work – RNG, RTP and Volatility |
The first slot machines were invented over one hundred years ago, long before computers came along. They were mechanical devices featuring an array of drums. On the drums were various symbols. When a lever was pulled, the drums spun around, coming to a random stop. If the symbols matched up, you won. If not, you lost. Figuring out your odds of winning the big prize was as simple as multiplying the number of symbols on each drum together. Not anymore… Since the dawn of computer technology, these games have been programmed to defy traditional odds. There are no drums. The number of symbols per reel is not static. Everything is controlled by a computer chip running a software program, designed to pay out a very specific percentage of its take. The three main programmable functions of a slot machine are the random number generator (RNG), the return to player (RTP), and the volatility. Let’s take a closer look… Random Number Generator (RNG)Remember the movie, The Matrix, when the green numbers kept raining down the computer screen? That’s an RNG. It’s a random strain of seemingly endless numbers generated by a computer. The algorithm it generates determines an outcome. There are countless applications for an RNG in the real world, but few so famous as casinos games. In a slot machine, the RNG determines exactly what symbols will land in each position on the reels. If you could see the RNG, you would never be able to read it. Each and every number in the sequence is changing with each passing nanosecond. It does not stop until the exact moment a player presses the SPIN button. At that very moment, the sequence of symbols is determined by the number produced. As a player, we still see the reels spinning as they come to a slow halt, but the machine already knows where they are going to land, because the RNG told it so. The whole purpose of the RNG is to ensure no one – not the players, the casino managers, or the players – is able to predict what will happen on any given spin. It’s all about timing. Press at just the right moment, and the jackpot is awarded. For this reason, a machine could pay back-to-back jackpots just as easily as withholding the jackpot for more than a year. Knowing that this is how a game works, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could know how to predict when a slot machine will win. And yet, so many seem capable of doing so. More on that in a moment… Return to Player (RTP)The RTP is the amount of money a machine pays out, compared to what it takes in. The RTP is always displayed as a percentage. For those of you familiar with how “house edge” works, the RTP is the opposite of the house edge. RTP refers to the amount players win back, whereas house edge is the amount the casino wins. Put them together, and you get a total 100%. For example, let’s say a slot machine has a 95% RTP. This means the game will pay back 95% of its monetary intake over time. The other 5% is the amount the casino wins. Theoretically, if you were to spin the reels 100 times on this machine at $1 per spin, you would end up with $95 left. The important word here, however, is “theoretically”. RTP is always theoretical. Yes, the machine will meet its RTP. It’s a computer. They don’t make mistakes. But the RTP will only be met over a very long period of time. We’re talking 20-25 years. So no, you’re not going to win exactly $95 back and lose $5 for every $100 you wager. If that were the case, every player would lose and no one would ever want to come back to the casino. That’s where volatility comes in… VolatilityA game’s volatility determines how often it is likely to strike a winning combination, and the average size of each prize paid. It can be low, medium, or high. A low volatility game is one that pays out very small amounts very often. A high volatility game will pay high prizes, but not very frequently. And a medium volatility is a balanced game, where mid-sized payouts occur on a regular, but not too regular, basis. The volatility of a machine will not alter its RTP. Over time, they all perform equally. But in the short term, their attributes can seem very different. At low volatility, a machine will arrive at its intended RTP more frequently, whereas a high volatility game will have much greater upswings and downswings.
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How to Tell if a Slot Machine is Due to Win |
If a game has not paid out a decent sized win in a relatively long period of time, it is said to be “due” to hit. When a progressive jackpot reaches record height, more people play it because they feel it’s due to strike any moment. This certainly seems like a logical mode of action. The game will pay out big at some point, and the longer it’s been since the last big payout, the closer that moment has to be. But is it really possible to predict exactly when it will happen? As we’ve already learned, a slot machine’s RNG makes it impossible to know the exact moment a game will pay out a jackpot. But knowing when a relatively large payout is due – that’s really not so far-fetched. We know that game’s are destined to meet their RTP. And we know that an RNG determines every outcome the moment the SPIN button is pressed. Wouldn’t it make sense that the likelihood of the RNG producing a winning combination of numbers would be amplified by an actual RTP that is far below its intended RTP? The real problem with this theory is that you have to know what a game’s actual RTP is, compared to its intended RTP. The only way to know if a game is far enough behind to potentially impact the value of the RNG algorithm is to sit back and watch the game for a long period of time. If you have the patience for it, give it a shot. |
Does this Slot Machine Have a Temperature Gauge? |
Some say slot machines can be hot or cold. Some believe this is a metaphorical statement, while others swear that game’s can produce a genuine thermal output. We’ll start wit the metaphorical… A slot machine is hot when it is producing above average wins. It could be paying more frequently than its volatility implies, or it might be paying larger prizes than average. There are slots enthusiasts out there that will only play hot slot machines, hoping to ride that wave of success all the way to shore. Then there are players who avoid these game’s for fear they’ve paid all they’re going to pay for a good long while. The opposite is true of a “cold” slot machine. A cold machine is one that is paying well below average. As we’ve already discussed, a game that hasn’t paid out a decent prize in a long time gets labeled “due” for a win. Contrary to hot-slot-lovers, some players will lie in wait for a slot machine to become very cold, then pounce on it as soon as the previous player leaves, expecting a quick strike. As for those who believe a machine can become physically and detectable hot or cold, I’ve never experienced this myself. Maybe it takes a special kind of person – someone with a sixth sense, or one who can sees auras. Those who attest to its accuracy say a hot machine is ready to pay, and a cold one is not. My suggestion would be to walk the aisles and, if you feel a warm spot, give it a try. |
How To Tell If A Slot Machine Is Hot Spot
The Correlation Between Slot Variance & Luck |
A slot machine’s variance is how far it strays from its RTP. It is similar to volatility, except that volatility defines how much it should stray, whereas variance defines how much its actually straying at any given time. Variance is, in reality, what the majority of gamblers refer to as “luck”. When a player is having a good day at the casino, we say he is very lucky. One who is having a bad day is said to be unlucky. Luck is either on your side, or it’s not. As fun-loving gamblers, we attribute a lot to luck, or a lack thereof. But variance is the technically appropriate term. It is variance that allows some casino players to win large amounts of money, without hurting the casino’s bottom line. Those who win are on the receiving end of a game’s variance (lucky). But many more players lose, or fall on the negative side of that variance (unlucky). If one player wins a $10k jackpot, imagine how many players have to lose to pay for it, and still ensure the casino gets its due. Suffice it to say, for all those who get lucky, many more will be unlucky. It is those who genuinely believe that you make your own luck that tend to proscribe to the theory that you can tell when a slot machine is about to win. Which brings us to our final segment… |
Five Ways to Better Your Chances of Winning on Slots |
After all you’ve read, do you think you know how to tell if a slot machine is going to hit? Whether you answered yes or no to that question, here is some genuine strategic advice that really will give you the best odds of leaving the casino a winner. 1. Higher RTP is BetterLook for slot machines with the highest RTP. It doesn’t mean you’re going to win, but it does increase the potential for winning. Not all games will display their RTP, but most will define it near the end of the paytable’s Info section. 2. Play Online SlotsLand-based casino slots have a typical RTP range of 85%-95%. Online slot machines have much higher RTPs, often ranging from 95%-97%. Online slots are also more likely to reveal their RTPs in the Info section. 3. Utilize Free SpinsTake full advantage of free spins bonuses whenever possible. These promotions come with wagering requirements and other stipulations that must be met before you can cash out any winnings, but it’s hard to complain when those spins aren’t coming out of your pocket book. 4. Beware Branded TitlesAs a society, we are drawn to things we are familiar with. If we like something, we flock to its brand mimicry. Case in point – The Ellen DeGeneres Show. It is immensely popular. If you love Ellen and her show, and you walk into a casino and see her face plastered on a slot machine of the same name, odds are you’ll want to play that game. Casinos and slot manufacturers know this, and use it to their advantage, which is why branded slots tend to have the lowest RTPs. Steer clear. 5. Ask the LocalsLocal slots players who frequent a casino know exactly which games pay out best, and which ones do not. So long as you’re not infringing on their seats, they are usually happy to share that information. In fact, there are social media groups dedicated to this topic. All you have to do is ask. |
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