As any experienced gambler will know and can attest to, the list of myths, stories and misunderstandings related to slots is a long one. Most people have come across someone who has related some story or system to them about how they play and win on slots. This is something to take with a huge pinch of salt - well, let’s make that a mountain of salt.
The truth is that there is no sure fire way to win on any slot machine, be it online or in a land-based casino. The reason for this is not because online or land-based casinos are cheating slot players in any way. It is simply down to pure luck.
There is no such thing as pure luck, we hear you say? Well, read on and you will become a believer…
Slots - How do they work?
Slots, be they online or land-based, are a game of chance. Every bet placed on a slot machine is determined at random, with the use of a random number generator tied into some form of computer. Although slot machines are geared at favouring the odds in the casino’s favor, the fact is that players do win, and depending on the slot, they win big! This is evident in the number of winners that online casinos have produced over the years, with software platform provider Microgaming producing some of the biggest winners in the online space.
When playing on a slot machine, each time you hit the spin button, the machine spins the reels. In the time that the slot machine takes to show you a result on-screen the outcome has been decided in the background. The resulting position of the symbols for each reel, and ultimately a winning or losing combination, is decided at random by a random number generator. Based on this random calculation and how it results on the positioning of the symbols on the payline/s of the slot, results in either a win or a loss.
The number of paylines on a slot machine can vary, with some having as little as 1 payline to others having as many as 100. In some instances, a slot may have no paylines at all. These are regarded as Multi-Way slots, providing players with wins based on where and how symbols land on-screen. “Way Wins” means that all symbols act as adjacent scatters, and any adjacent symbol combination then offers a win. A prime example of this type of slot is the recently launched Burning Desire video slot from Microgaming. The slot offer players more winning opportunities - 243 ways to win.
On any typical slot machine, the bigger the payout value associated with a symbol, the less of an appearance it will make in any winning combination. Naturally, lower paying symbols appear more often.
The Random Number Generator
Now, with all the talk of odds, computers and random number generators controlling outcomes, you may be left feeling that a casino is ripping you off when you play on a slot machine. This could not be further from the truth. Although online and land-based casinos rely on extensive testing of slot machines to ensure that they do not “over pay”, the outcome of any bet placed is a totally random occurrence, and every spin you make on a slot machine is in no way affected by the preceding one. In essence, each spin has equal odds and chance of producing a winning combination.
As mentioned at the very beginning, there are many people who claim to be able to beat slot machines, based on certain game play habits or systems they employ. The truth is - there is no system or manner of playing on any slot machine that produces consistent wins. There is no way to predict a winning outcome as it is all randomly generated.
Hence our statement of - it is simply down to pure luck. Have you ever played at a slot machine, be it online or land-based, left the machine for whatever reason and only to see someone else win the jackpot soon thereafter? Does this mean that you would have landed the jackpot had you continued playing? The short and sweet answer is - probably not.
The reason we say this is simply because for you to have won the jackpot, you would have had to press the spin button at the exact same point or milli-second in time that the winning player had done so. The odds of achieving that are astronomical - and can thus be pinned down to pure luck on the part of that player having pressed the spin button at the exact time the jackpot combination was triggered.
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