Slot Machines - How to Win and How They Work • The Jackpot Gents

Steve: Hi, and welcome to our instructional video on how to win on slot machines. My name is Steve Bourie, and I am the author of the, "American Casino Guide," which is the number one best-selling book in the U.S. on the subject. of casino gambling and travel. I write a lot about slot machines, and in this video I am going to explain how slot machines work, how you can win on them, and I'm also going to answer some common questions that slot players have, like do casinos really put the best-paying, machines near the entrance? Now, before we begin, let me give you some background information on me and why I know so much about slot machines. I've been to Las Vegas to visit the facility where the Nevada Gaming Control Board tests its slot. machines, and I interviewed the manager of that department. I've also been to Atlantic, City where I visited the facility that tests slot machines for the New Jersey Casino Control, Commission, and I interviewed the Director of its Division of Gaming Enforcement. Actually, I wrote a story about my visit to. those two places, and you can read it on my website at AmericanCasinoGuide.com, or just go to Google and type in the phrase, "Are slot machines honest?" and I'm sure you'll, see it pop up as number one or two in the search results. I've also visited the headquarters of Gaming, Labs International, which is the world's largest independent laboratory for testing electronic, gaming machines, and I interviewed its Director of Operations about the company's procedures. I've also gone to Reno, Nevada, where I took. a private tour of the headquarters of International Gaming Technology, which is the world's largest. manufacturer of slot machines. Plus, while I was there, I interviewed the company's Chief, Software Engineer. Finally, I've interviewed slot managers at major casinos in Las Vegas, Reno, Atlantic City, and elsewhere in the U.S. about how they decide about which machines to put on their floor and what kind of payout percentages those machines should have. So, are you all ready to get started? Good, let's begin. The first thing we need to talk about is how slot machines work. Every machine has a computer chip inside it called a random number generator, or RNG, and that chip is making mathematical calculations very. quickly, about 1,000 times a second, to determine which combination of symbols should appear in the reels. Then, when you push the spin button or pull, the handle, that causes the chip to stop at that exact instant and choose a combination to display on the reels. This means when you see the reels spinning, the actual result, of what will appear on those pay lines has already been chosen by the RNG. So, in reality, a slot machine wouldn't even, need the spinning reels to show you whether you won or lost, but it's certainly a lot. more exciting to see those spinning reels. When a casino orders a slot machine, the manufacturer. will have a choice of computer chips to put into the machine which control the percentage, of how much that machine is set to pay back to the public. The range of the payouts on. these chips will vary depending on the machine and the manufacturer. But it's usually pretty, standard in the industry to offer chips paying out from a low of about 85% to a high of about, 98%. So, how do the casinos decide which machines. should pay back around 85% and which ones should pay back around 98%? The answer is that it is done by denomination. The higher the denomination of the machine, the more, it's set to pay back. If you play a penny machine, you can be pretty sure that it's,

set on the low end of the scale to pay back around 87% to 90%. And if you play a $25 machine,. the payback on that machine is going to be on the high end around 95% to 98%. If you want proof of this, all you need to, do is look at the public record of each state's gaming statistics. We check with gaming regulators in every state each year to find out what the machines actually paid back to the public,. and we post all of that information on our website. Just go to AmericanCasinoGuide.com. and click on the link that says "Slot Payback Info." That will bring up a list of states, and you can just click on the state that you are interested in to see what the machines. pay. For Nevada, you can also get information on. a particular city, and if you look at Las Vegas, you can see that the penny slots returned. around 88% while the $25 slots returned around 96%. Okay. So now you know how a slot machine works and you know how casinos decide what they should pay back to the public. But the big question is, "How do you win on a slot machine?" Well, the answer to that is very simple. You get lucky. Keep in mind that the slot machine is basically just a computer that is programmed to randomly pay out less money than it takes in. And unlike, video poker where there is a skill involved in how you play your cards, there's no skill. involved with a slot machine. It's all luck. Therefore, when you play a slot machine, you, are hoping that you can get lucky and stop that random number generator on a winning. combination. So, if you ever see an ad for someone selling a system to beat slot machines, don't believe it. There is no system for winning on slot machines, and if there was a winning system, don't you think someone would keep that information. to themself rather than sell it to you for $10 or $15. Now let's address some common questions that people have about slot machines. Question: Are slot machines set to pay out. at set intervals or once they've collected a certain amount of money? Steve: No. The outcome of each play on the, machine is completely random. There is no predetermined point at which a machine is, set to pay out. Question: If a $1 slot has a chip inside that. is set to pay back at a rate of 93%, does this mean that if I put $100 through that. machine, I'll have $93 left when I'm done? Steve: No. The 93% is a long-term number and. actually represents the results after several million pulls on that machine. Some days the. casino will lose money on that machine. But on most days, it will make money, and the, longer the machine is played, the more likely the result will be that the machine will have. an average payout of 93%. Question: If I play a slot machine and it's, not paying out, does that mean it's due to hit soon? Steve: No. Every play on a slot machine is, an independent event, which means that its past performance can't be used to determine. its future performance. Question: If I play a slot machine and win. a jackpot, will that machine stop paying out to make up for the jackpot I won? Steve: No. Every time you play a slot machine,, the odds remain constant as to whether or not you'll win. If the odds were 20,000:1 for you to win a jackpot and you were lucky enough to win it, the odds will still be 20,000:1, for you to win another jackpot on the very next spin. Question: Do casinos change the payback percentages on a slot machine at the flip of a switch, or can they loosen machines during the week and then tighten them up on the weekend? Steve: No. Once the payback percentage chips.

are set by the casino, they are rarely changed. In order to change the payback percentage,. a casino technician would have to physically go into each machine and replace the chip. This is an expensive and time-consuming process, so it's rarely done. Now, I need to mention that there is a new technology called server-based gaming where the payback percentage could be changed by the flip of a switch on a central computer, but it's very new, it's very expensive, and, only a handful of casinos have it and only on some of their machines. Also, the gaming regulations for these machines would not allow any changes to be made while someone was actively playing a game. Question: Do slot manufacturers purposely program a near-miss feature into their slots to make it seem like you almost won a jackpot? Steve: Well, before I answer that, let me, first explain what a near-miss is on a slot machine. That would occur when the random number generator knows that the player's spin will be a loser, and the machine is then programmed, to show you two winning combinations directly on the payline, with the third combination. appearing just above or below the payline. This would make you think you almost won and. possibly encourage you to play more on that machine. Actually, there was a story on this subject many years ago on the ABC News program 20/20. I wrote about, and as I mentioned before,. you can read that story on my website or just go to Google and type in the phrase, "Are. slot machines honest?" and you'll see it pop up in the search results. But the answer to this question is no. Nevada. Gaming Regulations do not allow a manufacturer to purposely program a near-miss feature into. a slot machine, and any manufacturer licensed in Nevada would not be able to do that in any other state. Question: Suppose I play a machine for 30. minutes, and as I'm leaving, someone sits at my machine and they hit a jackpot. Would. I have won that jackpot if I had stayed at that machine? Steve: No. The random number generator is, cycling through various combinations at about 1,000 times a second. In order for you to. have won that same jackpot, you would have had to push that button at the exact same microsecond that the other person did, and it would be virtually impossible for that to happen. Question: Do casinos really put "looser" machines by the entrance doors or on the aisles? Steve: No. Like I said before, the payback. percentages on slot machines are fairly constant within a particular denomination. This means you won't find some penny machines set at an 89% payback in one area of the casino and. 98% in another area. They are all set to pay back within about a 1% range of each other. Question: When I get to a bonus round on a. video slot and I have to choose from various symbols to determine my bonus, does it really, matter which symbols I choose, or is it all predetermined? Steve: Yes. It really matters which bonus. round symbols you choose. The machine does not predetermine the outcome, and it's up. to you to keep choosing winning symbols until you pick the losing symbol that ends your, bonus round. So, there you have it. Hopefully, I've answered most of your questions about slot machines and you'll be a little more knowledgeable the next time you sit down to play your favorite machine. Don't forget that you can get more information on slot machines as well as all other casino games on our website at AmericanCasinoGuide.com. Also, if you have any questions, you can post, them on the discussion forum on our website, and I'll be glad to answer them for you. Thanks for watching, and best wishes for good luck on your next visit to the casino. http://www.americancasinoguide.com/.