Slot Machines

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About Slot Machines

Slot machines are popular at every casino in the world, mostly because you can play them slow or fast, whichever you want, and you don't have to possess any skill at all in order to win. Slot machines are perhaps the definitive game of chance, whether you're playing a traditional mechanical slot machine or a more complex computerized video slot game.

Playing the Slots

Playing a slot machine is simplicity itself. Insert your money, pull a lever or push a button, then look to see if you won or not. Your goal when playing a slot machine is to have a winning combination of symbols show up on the payline for the machine. There's a payout schedule for each slot machine that explains how much money you win for specific combinations.

Odds and Returns

Slot machines have all kinds of symbols on them these days, including:

cherries
diamonds
bars
aliens
cartoon characters

But one thing all slot machines have in common is this: the more reels and combinations of symbols the slot machine has, the harder it is to win the jackpot for that machine.

Here's an example. Suppose you're playing a machine which pays out if you get 3 cherries lined up on the machine. And suppose that each of the 3 reels in the slot machine has 1 cherry and 19 other symbols on each reel. Your chances of hitting the 3 cherries is 1/20 X 1/20 X 1/20, which is 1 in 8000.

Suppose you're playing a bigger machine with 100 symbols per reel instead of 20. Your chances change dramatically. 1/100 X 1/100 X 1/100, which is 1 in 1,000,000.

Or suppose you're playing a machine with 5 reels instead of 3, and those reel still only have 20 symbols on each. You might think you have a better chance at the jackpot on this one then on the slot machine with 3 reels with 100 symbols on each, but the math might surprise you.

1/20 X 1/20 X 1/20 X 1/20 X 1/20 = 1 in 3,200,000. Your chances are 3 times as good at hitting the jackpot on the 3 reel machine with 100 symbols on each reel.

The Importance of Slot Machines in Casinos

80% or more of all casinos' revenues are generated from slot machines; this makes the slot machine industry the most profitable and important aspect of running an online casino. Slot machine manufacturers and developers like IGT and Ballys spend countless hours and dollars experimenting and developing new slot machine games that will catch the eyes and ears of the casinos' slot machine patrons.

More About Slot Machines

Our slot machine portion of the website will include everything you could possibly want to know about slot machines, including information about online slots, free slots, progressive jackpots both online and offline, collecting slot machines, the history of slot machines, etc. We hope to make this section of the website the single most complete slot machine resource on the internet.

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