How Do Slot Machines Work?
Slot machines are a favourite choice for players of all levels of skill, as they don’t require any knowledge of gambling, and can offer significant payouts with small bets. Slots were originally installed at casinos as an entertaining diversion, but rapidly gained popularity, and soon became one of the most popular casino games of all time.
Today’s slot machines are far more advanced and complex than the traditional mechanical machines of the 20th century. While modern slots are controlled by computer algorithms and RNG technology, the game has essentially remained the same, involving a series of reels with symbols printed on them. A win is determined by identical pictures lining up along an active pay-line, with the amount won depending on which pictures appear and how much a player’s initial bet was.
Understanding Modern Slots
Today, slots are primarily played online, although you can find plenty of these machines at land-based casinos as well. Modern slots are designed to look and feel similar to the classic mechanical machines, but the outcome of each spin is determined by a computer system rather than by the spinning of physical reels.
The computer algorithms involved in land-based slot machines use step motors to spin each reel and halt it at a predetermined position. These motors are powered with short electrical pulses controlled by the computer, and the pulses move the step motor at set increments with a high degree of precision.
Although the computer instructs the reels on where and when to stop, the outcomes of each spin of a slot machine are random, and the games are not programmed to pay out at regular or specific intervals.
When a slot machine is turned on, the RNG module produces whole numbers at a rate of hundreds of times each second. When you press the spin button, the slot’s computer records the numbers produced by the RNG module at the time, and then feeds these numbers through a basic program to determine where the machine’s reels will stop.
Let’s illustrate this mechanism with an example of a three-reel slot machine. When you press the button on a slot machine, the computer will record the three numbers produced by RNG at that point in time. The first number will determine where the first reel stops, the second number will determine where the second reel stops, and so on.
Understanding the RTP
Return to Player is the factor that determines how much a slot machine or online slots game pays out.If your slot game has an RTP of 97%, for instance, then for every $100 you bet, the game will pay out 97% or $97.
When playing at a licensed site like Grand Rush the RTP percentage of each game is independently tested and verified to ensure that you enjoy fair play with every spin. This is why playing at a licensed casino is so important. You’ll have peace of mind that every slots game works properly and that the outcomes are completely random, just as the game was designed to be.