The percentage of return in slot machines, contingently speaking, is one of the casino’s secrets, which the operators reveal as a last resort. There is a detailed description in this article of how the return percentage in slot machines is calculated.
So how can you calculate the return percentage?
Rules are clearly prescribed in all types of gambling, so you can easily determine the advantage of the casino. However, slot machines are controlled by a random number generator and computer microprocessors. It is very difficult to determine theoretically the winning percentage if the player does not know how the slot is programmed and arranged.
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A slot is a device for gambling, which is the actual or video spinning reel. Sometimes there may be some errors in them if the percentage of payback of the slot is too low. This is especially true for devices which are equipped with the video poker feature. That is why the casino needs to keep accurate indicators of probabilities of winning in slot machines in the highest secrecy.
To get information for slot analysis
Managers of slot machine halls always keep information about the percentage of payments under lock and key and under no circumstances disclose it. Therefore, to obtain information for the analysis of the slot is extremely difficult.
Well-known mathematician Michael Shackleford asked several manufacturers of slots to provide him with instructions for slot machines. Instructions were attached to some slots, but each of them contained a different payout percentage, which did not correspond to reality.
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Even if the player has these instructions in his hands, it will not indicate there, what slot machine it corresponds to and in which casino it is used. The study must be very time consuming and scrupulous.
However, the mathematician still managed to carry out his plans. He used the instructions for a multi-line video slot machine for it. Shackleford identified certain combinations of symbols which reduce the probability. He was able to determine the exact percentage of payments, plotting his data on the map and comparing it with the games in each casino.
Michael Shackleford spent a lot of time on his idea. He visited many casinos to this end, where he studied the process, playing and recording the obtained results, as well as adding various types of slots to his analysis. The purpose of all this was to create a comprehensive and exhaustive sample.
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The nominal value of the coins for bets in most of the video slots he calculated was 5 cents. Accordingly, his full research is based on slot machines of this type. Many players believe that the higher the nominal value of the coins, the higher the payout percentage. But the results of Michael research were based only on "five-cent" slot machines. There are several slot game strategies which help gamers to make the right bets, which were not taken into account in Shackleford's research.
The prevailing opinions that certain casino slots are installed in certain places, programmed to receive winnings, are still myths. Michael's research proved that the slot machines installed in a row under the wall are no better in terms of payments than those in the middle of the room. There is also no correlation between winnings and proximity to the main entrance and other factors.
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The good news is that the system and payout percentage are almost the same in most casinos. The percentage of payments in a certain type of slot machine corresponds to the percentage of other similar machines. But he also noticed that some casinos put the slots interspersed, alternating between twisted machines and those which were not twisted.
Myths and facts about slot machines
Myth: Slot machines are programmed to pay a certain percentage. If the jackpot has already been won once, it will not fall out again. There is another option - if the jackpot did not fall out over a long time, it means that it should fall out in the near future.
Fact: The outcome of each game is always random. The odds are the same regardless of the number of spins. The only exception is the “Fruit Machines” slot machines in England, which provide a guarantee of the minimum payment for a short period of time spent at the slot machine.
Myth: A slot machine can give a win when the coins are heated, as they have been inside it for a long time.
Fact: The temperature of coins does not affect the chances of winning.
Myth: Using a club card of the casiono reduces payments.
Fact: This is not true. The mechanisms which determine where the reel stops have nothing to do with the card.
Myth: Most casinos spin up slot machines for the weekend, reducing the chances of payouts.
Interesting: The specialist must open a slot machine and change the permanent memory chip to record information (EPROM) to change the return percentage in it.
The weight processing of the reel data is determined using a special chip, as well as a theoretical return. The gambling regulator requires casinos to disclose this information.
All slot machines, including online slots, use a random number generator (RNG), which determines where the reel stops. Slot machines continuously scroll through millions of random numbers per second. At the moment when the player presses the “Spin” button, the outcome of the game is already determined. Thus, you can not affect the result after clicking.