Zues from WMS Gaming

This new technology also brings with it many myths and misconceptions as players try to unravel the mysteries of the modern computerized slot machine. Here are a few of the myths surrounding the slot machines that have been passed on from player to player over the years. Even though today most players are well informed about casino gambling, many of these myths still persist.

Someone hit a jackpot on the machine you just left; you would have gotten that jackpot if you kept playing.
False. Slot machines have a computer chip inside them that runs the Random Number Generator (RNG) which selects the winning or losing combinations of symbols. The RNG is continuously cycling through numbers even when the machine is not being played. These numbers correspond to the stops on the wheel that display the winning or losing symbols that you see when the reels stop. When you hit the spin button or pull the handle, the RNG picks the combination at that given instant. If you had stayed at the machine, it is highly unlikely that you would have stopped the RNG at the exact nano-second to display that same combination of numbers. In the time it takes to talk with a friend or sip your drink the RNG has cycled through thousands of combinations.

You can tell the odds of winning by counting the symbols on each wheel.
False. The RNG generates a set of numbers for each spin. The numbers corresponds to the symbols on the reel. Many numbers generated by the RNG can correspond to the same symbol. This is known as a virtual stop. There can be hundreds of virtual stops on each wheel even though there are only a few symbols on each reel. For example you may see 20 symbols on each reel of a three-reel machine. You figure 20 x 20 x 20 = 8,000 combinations and your chance of hitting the jackpot is 1 in 8000. In reality the computer chip may program 256 stops for each wheel which makes the odds 256 x 256 x 256 =16,777,216 combinations. Being able to generate millions of combinations is the reason why the new slots can offer such large Jackpots.

Casinos can loosen or tighten the slot machines with the flip of a switch.
False. The slot machines have a computer chip in them that determines the pay back percentage. These are preset at the factory. In order for a casino to change the pay back, they would have to change the chip. In most jurisdictions there is paper work that has to be filed and submitted to the Casino Control Commission for each machine if the chip is changed. It is time consuming and the chips are very expensive. For this reason, it is more economical to decide on the pay back percentages before purchasing the machines and having the factory ship them with the proper chip.

A machine that has not been paying is due to hit.
False. Many players have gone broke because they believe this myth. There is no way to determine if a machine is due to hit. Each spin is a random occurrence and has no bearing on what has happened previously. Don’t ever gamble more than you can afford to lose because you believe the machine is getting ready to pay out. It will be devastating to your bankroll if you do.

The slot machine can tell the difference between playing maximum and minimum.
False. The number of coins played has no effect on whether or not the winning symbols will line up. It only determines how much you will win or lose. Many players will vary the number of coins they play per spin because they believe there is a pattern that can make them winners. Some players will even cash out during their playing sessions so the machine will “Think” a new player has started playing. Slot machines are computers and there is no way they “know” when a new player starts playing. The RNG used to select winning combinations is not linked to the to the coin receptor so varying your coins or cashing out and starting again will not help you win.

After hitting a jackpot you should change machines because the machine will stop paying out.
False. The odds of hitting another jackpot on your next spin are the same as they were before you hit the jackpot. The payback percentages are programmed over the long run, anything can happen in the short run. Whether you chose to play the same machine or move on to another, you should make sure that you lock up some of your winnings to take home with you. Don’t be one of those players who lose back all of their winnings.

If you use your Player’s Club card the machine will pay back less.
False. This is a myth that can cost you money. There is no link between the card reader and the RNG. By not using you player’s card you are denying yourself valuable comps and sometimes even cash back from the casino. The player’s clubs were formed to reward players for their business and to give them a form of rebate on their losses. When you don’t join the players club and use your card you are essentially throwing away free money. I will discuss player’s club benefits in a future article.

Until next time, remember: “Luck comes and goes…Knowledge stays forever.”

Did you leave a winning machine?

A number of years ago, I was playing video poker at the Stardust in Las Vegas. A gentleman next to me was having a tough time, going through three $20 bills on a quarter game in nothing flat.

He decided to see if he could change his luck, so he moved down one machine to try again. A woman took his place. On her first hand, she drew a royal flush — about a 1 in 40,000 shot, but if you play enough, you see a lot of strange things happen.

Her excitement was balanced by her predecessor’s disappointment. He groaned and said, “I should have stayed where I was.”

Would he have drawn the royal had he stayed put? Probably not. His timing would have been just a little different than hers was, and that most likely have yielded different results.

Over the years, countless readers have asked about another player hitting “their” jackpot. Would the result have been the same if they’d just stayed put?

The latest to touch on the issue is Larry, a Colorado reader, who e-mailed that in a recent column, “you seemed to indicate that I could be sitting at a machine and leave when another player sits down and hits a good return. It seemed you were saying that that machine did not pay off, that it was based on play at all machines. I think you indicated that if I stayed, I would not have necessarily hit. Is this right, or did I misunderstand?”

Larry didn’t quite have it right. Other machines have no effect on the reel combinations you see on a slot machine or the cards you’re dealt on a video poker game. On the Class III electronic games we see in commercial casinos, each machine has its own random number generator, and it’s the RNG that determines what you see on the reels. Play on other machines does not affect the outcome on yours.

The random number generator runs continuously, even when the machine is not in use. It runs through dozens of random numbers per second, each corresponding to a reel combination.

Every split second difference in your timing in starting the reels spinning takes the RNG to a different point, giving you a different result. The combination you see on the reels will be different if you hit the button … now … as opposed to … now. If you stop to tip the cocktail waitress, or glance at your neighbor’s machine, or count to “1″ before hitting the button, you’ll get a different result.

It’s the same thing when another player takes a machine you just left. In the minutes or seconds between your stopping play and another player beginning, the random number generator keeps running. The numbers that correspond to the combinations you would have hit on the next few plays pass without ever seeing the light of screen. The new player has different timing, and different results.

Those results won’t necessarily be better than yours, nor worse. Just different.

The odds are as long against the new player hitting the top jackpot as they were against you before you left. You’re probably not going to see a successor win the big bucks. But if the outside chance of that happening bothers you, there’s one sure way to avoid the sight: Leave that section of the casino when you change games. Don’t even look. What happens after you’re gone has no relationship to what happened while you were there.

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After I e-mailed Larry an answer to his question, he responded by writing, “This really says what gambling is. … Luck!”

With respect to slot machines, that’s certainly true. There’s nothing you can do to change the outcome on a slot game. The same goes for many table games, notably roulette. Past results on the wheel have no bearing on future outcomes, and whether you win or lose all comes down to chance.

Some casino games incorporate elements of skill. On electronic games, video poker is a game where strategy makes a difference. Elements of chance are very strong, and you can’t control which cards are dealt. But in the long run, a player who knows when to hold ‘em will do better than a player who doesn’t.

On the tables, blackjack has several levels of skill. A player who knows basic strategy for hitting, standing, doubling down and splitting pairs will win more often than a player who doesn’t. And a player who can count cards, raising and lowering wagers in accordance with the count, can actually get a mathematical edge over the house.

Skill makes a lesser difference in card games such as Caribbean Stud, Three Card Poker and Let It Ride. You’ll do better if you learn basic strategies for those games, but skill doesn’t make as large a difference as it does in blackjack.

Every casino game involves chance. Luck, if you will. But at certain games, a little skill and knowledge can help keep your bankroll intact.

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John Grochowski is the best-selling author of The Craps Answer Book, The Slot Machine Answer Book and The Video Poker Answer Book.