The anatomy and workings of Slot machines in days gone by.

The first Slot machine in 1899, contained metal hoops, each containing 10 symbols (mainly suits). When the leaver was pulled, the metal hoops span in random order and were stopped sequentially. Jackpots were paid out if there were three of the same symbols across the reels. Rather simple huh?

Each reel had 10 potential positions in which it could land.  Such a machine had many combinations…1000 to be exact.  How did I get that information? Simple…

10 x 10 x 10 = 1000

That means that there are 1000 probable combinations and only one of them pays out the jackpot.

Now you know how to work out the odds for such a machine!

Strait-laced ancestors soon brought the slot machines to a halt. They were band from San Francisco (birth place) and soon from many other places.  However, manufacturers were not ready to give up. Instead of rewarding money to players, instead drinks, gum, candy and so forth were rewarded to winners (even the reels had changed to images such as candy and fruits. That is where the cherries in today’s machines come from).

Computerized Revolution - Internet Online Slots

The slot machines came to a point, where they were becoming monotonous.  Their popularity was limited by their composition. Reels, at most, enclosed 25 stops.

Can you work out the odds of this machine?

25 x 25 x 25 = 15,625

I mean, come-on…in those days, people had better things to do than to wager their cash on a 1 out of 15,625 chance! And to top it off, the casinos needed to make come kind of revenue to cover their costs, so the jackpot would automatically have to be less that the odds of attaining it.  So, if you were lucky enough of wining the jackpot, you would go home with a couple of hundred Dollars.

That is where the title comes in place…New technology was introduced!

Thanks to Bally (the pinball manufacturer), the slot machine gained a new perspective. He developed the first electronically mechanized slot machine. These machines also accepted more than one token, which increased the payout of winnings. They contained both mechanical features such as pulling the arm of the machine, as well as electrical features such as the betting functions. However, the main enhancement that was made to the slot machine was added in the 80’s. The reel machine became fully computerized and was capable of stopping all the reels rapidly and precisely…at any time.

They call this new technology RNG (Random number Generator).

The Ring of Money

You must understand, that when you are playing at a Slot machine, you are actually playing against a computer. The Random Number Generator allows manufacturers to customize the odds of these machines. This achievement is accomplished through the use of what might be called “Virtual Reels”. These reels are immensely larger than the normal set of reels. A good example is the Four-Reel machine. This machine has four reels and each reel may have up to 20 symbols. These reels may each have up to 64 stops!

64 x 64 x 64 x 64 = 16,777,216

What I am about to explain to you now, will give you an idea of how these machines really work!

You see…every virtual reel combination has a set of numbers that are assigned to it. The RNG constantly cycles through these sets…hundred of times a second…every second.

When the reels start spinning, the machines computer chip is told to stop the reels at whatever combination of symbols correspond to the set of numbers the RNG has selected at that millisecond. As you may have guessed, ore sets are given to the nonpaying combinations, and very few to the Jackpot reel results. People don’t realize this…but the winning or losing outcome is determined way before the spinning reels come to a halt.

It is very important to remember that all existing machines, as well as those to come are and will be based on the RNG principle…whether it’s actual reels or a video display…remember, the machine is governed by the microchip that has been preset to an exact, long-term pay schedule.

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