An alien from another planet, if he/she/it were reading the ads in all
the magazines and newspapers for casinos, would think the following:
Casinos are places where some famous humans sing or tell jokes or do
magic or punch each other in the face and where all the rest of the
nonfamous humans go to play with "loose" or "hot" or "high payback"
machines with fanciful names. The alien, upon a close examination of the
machines, would discover two very important facts. The first is that the
machines are not really the lumbering, heavy pieces of equipment that at
first they appear to be but rather, second, they are sophisticated,
computer-controlled devices with programs that determine everything that
will happen inside and outside them. While slot machines deal in chance,
nothing inside the slots -- either physically or in terms of the
programming -- has been left to chance. They are marvels of design and
the casinos can take the execution of that design to the bank -- which
of course they do.
Most slot players approach the machines with awe and respect for the
potential gold mines contained therein. Yet, many slot players have no
idea of how the machines work or, worse, they have strange conceptions
based on idiosyncratic experiences and shared mythologies. Make no
mistake about it, as graveyards and old houses in every town across
America have myths and legends created about them, so too have the slot
machines. When people don't know the facts about a thing, they allow
myths to make the explanations.
Today's slot machines are programmed by computer to continually select a
series of numbers at random, whether the machine is being played or not.
The RNG or random-number generator (some writers call this the
pseudo-random-number generator) continually picks number series that
correspond to the various symbols on the reels or to blank spaces. When
a player puts in his or her coins and then either pulls the handle or
presses the button, the computer spins the reels to tell the player
which number series was "it" when that handle was pulled or that button
was pushed.
Many players believe that the independent spinning of the reels is the
selection principle. Sorry, no. In the old days the reels operated
independently and spun until they stopped. In the old days, no one could
predict where they would stop. Today, the reels will stop where the
computer tells them to stop -- based on the number series that had been
previously selected by the RNG for each reel. The reels have no
independent action. They are being perfectly coordinated by the RNG and
the computer. In fact, the spinning of the reels is merely a show, a
diversion, an entertainment, as the reels could just as easily put up
the symbols that have been selected immediately. Who knows but that in
the future as slot players become more attuned to the true nature of
their machines, the spinning of the reels will become a thing of the
past. Instead, you will put in your coin, press that button, and instead
of waiting a few seconds for reels to spin, you will be told pronto
whether you won or lost. The time saved by eliminating the spinning
reels will reap the casinos riches far surpassing anything they have
today.
Since the modern slot machine is programmed to select number series at
random, no amount of finessing of the handle can change what has been
decided. Nor are there built-in win/loss cycles as some players believe.
In any series of random events -- and the selection of the number series
by the RNG is a random event -- all manner of bizarre patterns will
develop. There will be machines so hot they will pay out for hours on
end. Other machines will seem to be so cold that they could substitute
for ice-makers. Still others will seem to hit a few, cool off a little,
hit a few, cool off a little and so on. Yet, when you look at the
performance of these machines in a given year, you'll note that most
come in at -- or extremely close to -- their programming.
And how are they programmed? The casinos cannot make money if they
return to the player more money, or the same amount of money, that the
player originally put in them. Instead, the machines return a percentage
of the money put in them. Thus, if a machine is returning 92 percent
that means that in the long run of that particular machine's programming
it will give back 92 cents for every dollar played. It keeps eight cents
on the dollar.
Now, people would not play slot machines if every time they put a dollar
in they got 92 cents back. What fun would that be? You'd be better off
playing the change machine -- which is, after all, a 100 percent payback
machine. Still the change machine is rather dull. You put in a dollar,
you get back a dollar. Where's the fun in that? Where's the adrenaline
rush?
Instead, the slot machines are programmed to return their percentages
explosively. That is, sometimes nothing comes out (more often than not)
and sometimes a hell of a lot comes pouring out (rare, but
heart-throbbingly exciting). It is the lure of a great windfall (or even
a little breeze) that excites the slot player. After all, inside the
belly of that computerized beast are sequences that can make you rich
and richer and even richer than that -- and the heart pounds with that
knowledge. And thus the casino can return its 92 cents on the dollar
because it is giving us more than eight cents worth of anticipatory
thrills with every dollar we plunk into the machine's maw.
For more information about slots and video poker, we recommend:
Break the One-Armed Bandits! by Frank Scoblete
Victory at Video Poker and Video Craps, Keno and Blackjack! by Frank
Scoblete
Slot Conquest Audio Cassette Tape (60 minutes) with Frank Scoblete
Winning Strategies at Slots & Video Poker! Video tape hosted by
Academy Award Winner James Coburn, Written by Frank Scoblete
The Slot Machine Answer Book by John Grochowski
The Video Poker Answer Book by John Grochowski
The Slot Expert's Guide to Playing Slots by John Robison
