Slots History
Charles Fey, an enterprising American, begin to invent and
to manufacture slot machines back in 1894 in his San Francisco
workshop. In 1898 he dvsd the original three reel, bell
slot machine.
This "Liberty Bell" model stands as the forerunner
for all of the modern American slot machines and its basic
design is still being used in mechanical gaming devices
today. This basic device with its three old-type reels that
held 20 symbols, has evolved into the microprocessor-controlled
devices of today that contain up to five spinning reels
including hundreds of symbols.
Slot machines began to spread across America during the
1930's. By the late 40's Bugsy Siegel had introduced these
slot machines into his Flamingo Hilton hotel in Las Vegas.
At first they were introduced as a way of entertaining the
wives and girlfriends of big bettors but they became a major
source of revenue for the casinos. By the 1980’s table games
and slot machines had become of equal popularity, but by
during the 1990's the slots toke over. They now account
for over two-thirds of casino revenue in the US.
Part of their popularity is that they can be played at the
player’s pace and require no skill on the part of the player.
The goal is to spin the reels so that the symbols on the
reels line up on the payline forming a winning combination.
When this occurs, the machines payout in accordance with
a table of payouts that is posted on the front of the machine.
Listed in the payoff table are the winning combinations
for that machine. The payout for each winning combination
is also shown based on the number of coins played. The chance
of hitting a lower paying combination is much greater.
Slots Rules
There is no easier casino game to learn and to play than
slots. It is also very popular in online casinos today.
The first thing to do is to place a bet. You do this by
inserting coins. You can typically insert one, two or more
coins. Some machines allow up to ten. It depends on the
machine but coin denominations can range from $.05, $0.5,
to $5 or higher values. Therefore, you can bet five coins
in a $1 machine. That would be a $5 bet.
The next thing to do is to click a button, which spins the
wheels. This is the equivalent of pulling a lever on a real
slot machine. Now you wait and see what happens.
The place at which the wheels stop decides if you win and
how much. What you want to do is to get the symbols such
as the cherries, etc., and numbers, to line up on the pay
line in a winning combination, such as those that are listed
in the pay table. Each game has its own pay table. As an
example, if you get three bars in a row it could pay up
to 20 to 1. If you get three cherries in a row, you might
receive 3 to 1. There are machines that have three or five
pay lines, or they might pay on the diagonal lines. You
need to examine the casino’s rules before playing. When
playing online, just click on the help button.
There are online casinos that offer progressive jackpots.
What this means is that as an increasing number of players
play the machines, the jackpots increase in value, until
someone is the winner. When someone pulls a running combination,
such as 777, he or she wins the entire jackpot. Usually
it is necessary to play the max number of coins in order
to actually win the jackpot. After the win, the jackpot
resets to a lower figure and the buildup of the jackpot
value begins once more.
As the wheels spin, the results are determined by a computer
program that generates results on a random basis. The same
is true whether you are playing online or in a brick and
mortar land based casino. It is up to the casino to determine
what the payout will be. They could for example set it at
97%. In this case for every 100 dollars bet, the machine
would on the average pay out $97. The remaining three dollars
go to the casino, which is how they make their money. This
of course, is just the average. It is possible if you are
luck to make hundreds and even thousands of dollars with
only one spin. There are large progressive jackpots that
even payout millions. One man recently won close to $1.6
million at Captain Cooks Casino.
Slots Strategies
It is a standard misbelief that playing slot machines is
the worst gamble in a casino. In fact, making bad bets at
the craps table or the blackjack table can result in much
worse odds. Slot machine odds are similar to those that
are available playing at the roulette wheel.
It is also fairly will accepted that a slot machine that
has recently paid out will not payout for again for awhile.
But this is not true. If you look at it statistically, the
odds remain the same for each spin. Every spin should be
considered as being completely random and independent one
spin from the other. One cannot predict the outcome of the
next spin. In fact a jackpot is just as likely the next
spin after the last one as it is after a thousand empty
spins.
In most cases you are awarded for playing the maximum number
of coins. Say for example, that the jackpot is a payout
of 2000 coins when you play 2 coins but goes to 4000 coins
when you play 3 coins. If playing additional coins is a
problem you can move on down to a machine with lower denomination
coins and play multiple coins at that machine. You could
instead of playing one coin at a dollar machine, play the
maximum total of coins at a quarter machine. There are online
casinos that allow you to play for nickels.
It is a good idea to play at casinos that advertise the
highest payout percentages. These are casinos that are seeking
your business and therefore are willing to pay you higher
payouts. The payouts that are built-in to the slots differ
from casino to casino. There are online casinos that pay
out well over 99% for some slots.
If you are playing in a progressive game you will probably
have to bet the maximum number of coins in order to get
the really big jackpot. Information regarding current jackpots
is available online.
Slot Machine Strategy
One might wonder if there really is such a thing as a strategy
for playing slots. Most would say that there isn’t. Maybe
there just is.
To begin with, it is necessary to decide whether you want
to play one, two or more coins. Put shortly, this is actually
the sole decision to you are allowed to make at a slot machine.
That is without regard for the strategy of kicking the machine.
What than can one do? Actually the bottom line is to do
whatever you want. Of course it may be true that to win
the large fancy jackpot you need to put in the maximum number
of coins. This is true that when you spin you need to put
in the maximum number of coins to get the larger jackpots.
You might even hit an otherwise winning line and not win
if you have not put in enough coins. The question is what
is your motive in playing in the first place.
If this is your retirement plan and you need to win in
order to be set for life, then good luck, you'll need it.
If you are however, just playing for the fun of it and the
thrill, then the number of coins you put in is not that
big an issue. You may consider a jackpot as something nice,
but the play itself and the small wins along the way, are
the real fun. It’s also not a bad idea to play a machine
that offers a decent jackpot for a single coin player.
Some people argue the importance of finding a good machine
rather than a bad one is the basis of a good slot machine
strategy. As far as I can tell as regards Vegas casinos,
I have never found any consistently bad areas nor any hot
spots as well.
Types Of Machines
The basic two types of slot machines that exist are straight
slots or flat tops type and the progressives. In all ways
these two slot types are the same except offer one feature.
The straight slots payout a predetermined amount while with
progressive slots the jackpot grows by a fixed percentage
with each coin that is played. Often several progressive
machines will feed into the same and any machine of this
group can win. At this rate the jackpot can grow astronomically.
It is possible to set this up and involve a number of machines
in one and the same casino or all similar machines throughout
the same state can be connected to the same jackpot. These
progressive machines are identifiable through the flashing
electronic payoff signs that are displayed over the individual
machine or a grouping of machines.
Within these two groupings of straight and progressive types
of machines are many variations of play that faces the individual
player with many choices. They may vary by coin denomination,
number of reels used, the number of coins that can be played,
and whether there is one or a multiple of paylines.
The quarter and the dollar machines are the most popular,
and they may be found located throughout the casino floor
in many areas throughout the casino. Depending on the casino,
you may still be able to find small pockets of nickel machines.
For those who wish to bet large amounts, the high rollers,
casinos provide machines of vales of $5, $25, and $100.
These are often segregated into a special VIP area. When
using these machines you may need special tokens or you
may have to play with cash.
Although the machines that are most common have three reels,
the casinos do offer machines with four or even five reels.
The odds of your winning are a factor of the number of reels
on the machine and the number of symbols that are in use
on each reel. In general, the greater the number of reels
and symbols that are being used, the more difficult it is
to achieve a jackpot or another winning combination. The
computer has a program that runs the slot machine. The number
of symbols on each reel is part of this program. The greater
the number of symbols the higher the odds of attaining the
jackpot. The number of symbols relates to the size of the
jackpot that machine offers. It is the intention of the
programmed symbols to make the jackpot difficult enough
to reach that enough money will be generated by the machine
to pay for the jackpot and to still yield a reasonable profit
to the casino. In most cases the computer is programmed
to payout in the jackpot between 83% and 98% of the coins
that have been entered into the machine during the pay cycle.
Usually slot machines use two to three coins as a maximum.
There are subtle variations connected to machines that play
multiple coins. In some cases the number of coins that are
played determine the size of the payout. The payout is proportional
to the number of coins played. In some machines the payout
is more than proportional. There are those that do not pay
a jackpot on one coin while the three coin jackpot can pay
up to 150% of a two coin win. With these machines you should
play the maximum number of coins.
Although three pay lines on a slot machine are not that
uncommon, the standard slot machine has one pay line. When
playing a machine that has multiple pay lines, it is necessary
to insert a coin for a specific pay line for that pay line
to be eligible to win.
A player who hits on one of the lower winning combinations
he is paid automatically by the machine. As the payouts
and jackpots increase the casino payout the winnings when
a casino employee is notified by the light flashing on top
of the slot machine. The larger jackpots however, will be
paid out directly by a casino employee who is notified by
a light on the top of the machine. The payoffs of casinos
vary from casino to casino.
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