A complete guide on how slot machines work

If you were asked to imagine a casino, the first image to pop up in your mind would have a spinning roulette, players hunched over a poker table and bustling slot machines. The notion of casinos is incomplete without slots, and they are undoubtedly one of the most liked casino games, and all other games simply pale in comparison to their popularity.

If you are a casino goer, you may have played slots at some point and enjoyed the excitement and thrill that the game offers. But have you ever wondered how slots work? If yes, here is your chance to find out. Continue reading below as we offer useful insights into the workings of slot machines.

What are slot machines

Simply defined, slot machines are a gambling game with spinning reels and symbols. The reels land randomly once the player places a bet and sets the reels to spin. If the symbols are in an array, the player will win a prize based on which symbols correspond with the payline.

Slots are one of the oldest casino games and have been around since the late 19th century. The early slots were mechanical devices in which the reels would spin through gears and springs. These machines were quite easy to understand and usually had three reels with ten symbols.

As a player, you could easily calculate the odds of getting a particular symbol combination. For instance, if you want to calculate the odds of getting a combination of symbols on a line, you can simply multiply 1/10 x 1/10 x 1/10 to get a result of 1/1000. Similarly, it was also easy to figure out the prize according to the symbols and the payback percentage.

The working of the modern slot machines

Modern slot machines are harder to comprehend as the reels and symbols are configured into a computer. However, this also implies that they are more flexible since they are not limited by the reels’ size. While old slot machines were constrained by size, it is not a limitation with modern slot machines, as a computer-run game can easily have 20 symbols in a reel.

Modern slot machines rely on Random Number Generator, a computer program that determines the outcome or which symbols land where. The RNG is designed to run thousands of numbers in a second. So, when you hit the spin button, the Random Number Generator generates a number, and the reels display the symbols that correspond with that particular number.

Game slot microgaming games come in various themes and offer different features. You have the option to play games that have five reels with multiple paylines, while features like progressive jackpots, bonus spins, scatter, or wild symbols make the game more exciting and fun.