Slots
Slots, or Slot Machines, are the most popular form of gambling in the world today, with more money being gambled on slots than all other forms of casino games combined.
Often known as “One Armed Bandits” the traditional slot machine has three wheels which spin when a lever (the ‘arm’) is pulled. Slots use random number generators to determine where wheels will stop. To win punters must usually to match the symbols or numbers on the wheels to particular specified patterns.
The random number generators used to determine results on slots can be set by the casino to whatever ratio they like, though they are commonly set to pay out at around 93%, though it can be higher or lower.
History of Slots
The history of slots can be traced back as far as the late 1800’s with their invention often attributed to the Californian Charles Fey. He devised a machine much like today’s ‘one armed bandits’, which had three spinning wheels emblazoned with a total of five symbols: diamonds, spades, hearts, horseshoes and the famous Liberty Bell after which the machine was named. The biggest payoff came from lining up three Liberty Bells in a row, which paid ten nickels. The game proved a huge success and spawned a huge industry in mechanical gaming.
You may be interested to know that another early slot machine paid out winnings in chewing gum, and featured the gum’s various flavours pictured on the wheel. This is where today’s still popular cherry and melon symbols derive from. Similarly the commonly seen BAR symbol derived from an early logo for the “Bell-Fruit Gum Company”.
Slots - Rules
Slots are very simple and involve little or no skill. A player simply inserts money and pulls the lever or presses a button. The wheels will spin and stop in a random order, and if the symbols match up in a winning formula the player will be paid accordingly.
Slots - Strategy
Needless to say there is not really any strategy to playing slots, although there are some things to look out for. First of all slots reward players who play for the maximum possible coins, and the possible bonus payouts are much higher.
Secondly some slots have advertised payout percentages, so it is always best to look fro slots with the highest payout percentages.
Mythbusting
There are a number of myths associated with slots that have developed through the years of their existence. Almost none of them are true. Here are a couple of typical falsehoods that are commonly associated with slot machines:
Myth: Slot machines that have not paid out in a while are more likely to pay out, or conversely, slot machines that have just paid out a jackpot are less likely to payout.
Truth: Every spin on a slot machine is a completely random event. Nothing that has happened previously will affect the next spin, so a slot machine that has just paid out a jackpot is just as likely to pay out a jackpot the very next spin as it is to pay out after ten thousand spins.
Myth: Slots are the worst gamble in a casino.
Truth: Slots may generate more money for casinos than any other game, but that is simply due to the volume of people playing them. In fact the average payout for slots is not much worse than roulette.
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.