Slot Lessons: Slot Machine Odds
Old Slot Machine Odds
Before the advent of the computer age, figuring out slot machine odds was very simple. In those days mechanical slots were used. You only had to count to symbols painted on each reel and multiply them to know the number of possible combinations. For example, a slot machine with three reels and twelve symbols on each reel will have 12 x 12 x 12 = 1,728 possibilities. Only one combination equates to the jackpot prize so the probability of you hitting one would have been 1 in 1,728. Life was simple back then.
Modern Slot Machines and the Random Number Generator
But today the symbols on the reels mean nothing when it comes to working out the odds. The symbols and reels are now merely symbolic. The real work is done behind the scenes in a small microchip in the slot machine known as the random number generator.
The random number generator has all the symbols and reels in its memory. But the key is what is called the stopping points. The random number generator has more stopping points for some symbols than others. The more stopping points there are for each symbol on each reel, the more likely it is to appear. To set the slot machine odds in its favor, the casino sets fewer stopping points for the most valuable symbols, and more stops for the cheaper symbols. As a result of this, you will notice the "common" symbols stop at the payline more often than the rare jackpot symbols.
Slot Machine Odds of Hitting the Jackpot
No one knows the actual slot machine odds except the casinos themselves. But now that slot machines are computerized, the odds are often much more against the player than the old one-armed bandits. The slot machine odds for getting a jackpot could be anywhere from 500,000 to 1 to 1,000,000 to 1.
Slot Machine Odds and Payback Percentage
The slot machine odds determine what the payback percentage is. If a casino wants to make a loose slot machine, it can easily adjust its odds by changing the number of stopping points for the symbols.
Payback percentage varies with each slot machine. Two slots of the same type - say, the Treasures of Egypt slots - may have different payback percentages. Casinos advertise what their highest payback percentages are but they won't tell you which machines offer those. You have to find them.
To find the best payback percentages you can go to Las Vegas where competition among the houses is quite strong. You might also want to play higher-value coin denominations since the payback percentages there tend to be higher. But the best you can do is to play slots online. The slot machine odds online have the best payback percentages anywhere. Play online slots now!