Slot Machine Myths & How Slots REALLY Work – Can You Influence the Results? | Casino Guru Explains

In ancient times, people used to believe in, the most outrageous myths and legends. They believed, that you shouldn't leave a slot machine when you are running hot, that you shouldn't play on a slot machine, on which somebody else has just recently won big, that you shouldn't use the autoplay feature, because you get better results when you press the 'spin' button yourself, or that a one-armed bandit should never be played using the button, because the arm clearly gets you better results. Okay, these myths are rather specific and not that ancient, but many people still believe in them, in spite of the fact that we know they are just misconceptions believed by people who don't really know how slots work. We are here to bust these myths by explaining how the most popular and wide-spread casino games work. So, let's get started. All of the aforementioned myths can be busted, by explaining one of the core principles of how slot machines work – randomness. Although the game mathematics (the way that, the slot machine is programmed) favours the casino and gives it a statistical advantage,. enabling it to run a profitable business, the results of individual spins are ALWAYS, random. You might still think that casinos are always, up to something and that they are rigging the results to give themselves an even bigger, advantage, but that simply isn't the case as long as you play in a reputable and licensed. casino. Here are three very good reasons why: 1. Casinos don't need to do it. They already have an advantage thanks to game mathematics and the house edge, which guarantees their profit over time. Some players might get lucky and win, but. casinos can be pretty sure that they will profit over the long term, thanks to a high. quantity of players and the law of large numbers. Watch our video about the mathematics of games, of chance to find out more. 2. Casinos don't want to do it. Imagine that a casino has figured out a way, to make sure slot machine spins are NOT random. This is something that could theoretically. increase their profits, but it also creates a vulnerability, that can be exploited by smart players. Additionally, trying to cheat players can lead to casinos losing their licence and reputation, which is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to get back. Casinos don't need to take this risk as they, already have a systematic advantage thanks to the house edge of slot machines, and are pretty much guaranteed. to make a profit in the long run. 3. Casinos can't do it. At least good casinos with a respected licence can't. As casino games are operated by a game provider, and not by the casinos themselves, there is no way casinos can influence the results. The exception to this rule is dishonest casinos that run fake games created for them by dishonest game providers specifically to trick players. But if you choose a good casino to play at,, you will not encounter any of these. This is why we put so much emphasis on our, casino reviews and the entire casino selection process. We will get deeper into the interactions between. casinos and game providers later on in this video. We should add that even some reputable game, providers create their slots in multiple versions with different return to player ratios. Casinos are then able to choose the version, of the game that suits them the most, and the RTP can drop to very low levels, sometimes, even below 85%, which is on par with some land-based casinos. While the randomness is still fair in these, games, slots with such low RTPs give the casino a much higher advantage over players. This is why we would like to see casinos making the RTPs of their specific games publicly available and also why it is always a good idea to check the RTP before playing. Slots with flexible RTPs enable casinos to alter their long-term profitability; however, they still can't influence the result of individual.

spins, because the games are operated outside of their control. Now that this has been established, let's focus on how randomness, the key aspect of how slots work, is achieved. In the days of slot machines with physical spinning reels, randomness was generated mechanically. The reels were spun and they mechanically. stopped at random positions. The math of the game was decided by the positions, of symbols on the reels and the payout table. Let's take a look at an example: Imagine a very simple slot machine with three, reels and 10 symbols on each reel. On each reel, there are nine blanks and one, '7' symbol. In this game, you spin the mechanical reels, and the position in which they stop will determine the result of the spin. If all three reels stop at a '7', you win, $1,000. Any other combination results in a loss. The probability of each reel stopping on a, '7' is 1-in-10, so the likelihood of all reels stopping on '7s' is only 1-in-1,000. Players therefore have a 1-in-1,000 chance to win $1,000, which means that the RTP of this slot is 100%. and the house edge is 0%. If the payout for three '7s' was just $950, this game, would have much more realistic characteristics: a 95% RTP and a 5% house edge. Now, let's transfer this game to the more, modern world of online casinos and random number generators. The reels can theoretically look the same, as before, but they are no longer physical. Instead, the reels are defined by the programmers, that designed the game. Each symbol on each reel is assigned a number. from 0 to 9, like this. Notice that the '7' symbol is at the third position on reel 1, at the seventh position on reel 2,, and at the fifth position on reel 3. Each spin begins with the RNG generating a random number. True random number generators use physical phenomena, such as electromagnetic noise, to generate random numbers, not algorithms. You can visualize this process using the noise that appears on an old CRT screen. Take a strip of random black and white dots, convert the black dots to ones, and the white dots to zeros. Let’s take 64 black and white dots as our, input. This creates a random binary number, which. we will convert to the decimal system for the purposes of our example slot machine. Note, however, that real slots usually work directly with binary numbers. A 64-digit binary random number converts to. a decimal number of up to 20 digits long. However, as our game has only a thousand possible outcomes, three digits in the decimal system are sufficient to account for all of them. Therefore, we only need the last three digits of the generated number. This random number, and more specifically. its last three digits, is the only thing influencing the result of each individual spin, with the. game mathematics then using the random number to calculate where each reel should stop. For example, if the generated random number ends in '471', reel 1 will stop at the fourth position, reel 2 at the seventh position and reel 3 at the first position. The example slot has 10 symbols on each reel. on purpose, so that only three digits. are needed to determine the result. Pause the video now to take a closer look, at the underlying game mathematics. As you can see, random numbers ending in '471'. do not result in a win. In fact, only random numbers ending in '375'. lead to a win, because of the specifics of this made up slot machine. Because of how the game mathematics work,,

whenever the RNG returns a number ending in these specific digits, the player wins $1,000. Any other number results in a loss. In reality, slot machines are more complicated,, with a large number of various symbols on each reel and special features, such as, free spins or other kinds of bonus rounds. But this doesn't change the fact, that the generated random number. is the only thing influencing the results. In our made up slot machine, every time the, RNG returns a number ending in '471', the results are the same. Let's go back to one of the reasons why reputable casinos do not and will not get involved in anything fishy to influence slot machine spins. We have already mentioned that casino games, are operated by game providers and not by the casinos themselves. Here is how this interaction works: 1. The player presses the spin button. 2. The game sends a "spin" message to the game, provider's server. 3. The game provider's server calculates the. required bet and asks the casino to deduct that amount, from the player's balance. 4. The casino's server confirms. 5. The game provider's server requests, a random number from the RNG. 6. RNG replies with a true random number. 7. The game provider's server, uses the random number to spin virtual reels, and calculates the outcome of the game round. 8. The game provider's server asks the casino's. server to add any winnings to the player’s account. 9. The casino's server adds the win and confirms. 10. The outcome of the round is returned to the, game that runs in the player’s browser. 11. The outcome of the round is animated and displayed to the player. As you can see, all operations. that generate the results are processed on the game provider's servers. The bottom line is, slot machine spins are. random and casinos cannot influence them. Sure, some game providers let casinos choose. one of multiple versions of the same game, each of which have a slightly different RTP, and/or variance, but after that, casinos cannot influence anything, unless they, operate fake games, and as already mentioned, they don't need to or even want to influence the results. They are fine with them being random, because this way they can be sure that they will profit over time, thanks to the house edge embedded, into every single slot machine ever made. Once you understand that the game results. are totally random, the myths mentioned at the beginning stop making sense. Because the RNG is the only factor influencing, the results, it doesn't matter who may have played before you, whether you have won or. lost previous spins or whether you press 'spin', use autoplay or pull the lever. The results are generated randomly and there, is nothing you can do to improve your chances of winning in any individual spin. If you ever find yourself playing slots, whether in a land-based casino or online, leave your superstitions behind and rely on the math. Sadly, however, mathematics aren't on your. side either, as explained in our video about the mathematics of casino games. Make sure to watch it to find out why casinos. profit and players lose money in the long run. Subscribe to our channel for more educational videos about online casinos and casino games..