Let’s face it – playing the slots is downright fun, no matter how or where you do it; the excitement of the live casino floor, the convenience of online casino availability.
But aside from the entertainment level, there has to be some differences, some way to compare one to another and find the better way to play slot machines.
The fact is, yes there are a number of differences that define added benefits for playing offline and online slot machines. We’ll start with the advantages of land-based casino slot machines, otherwise known as offline slots.
Offline Slot Machines
There simply nothing like the electrifying feeling you get when you walk into a live casino and see all of the dazzling lights, the myriad slot machines, the plethora of gamblers engrossed in the play of their favorite one armed bandit.
While online slots often provide the same types of slot machines, if not the exact same brands, there’s just no way to get that same feeling of exhilaration and, for those who don’t make their way to the casino very often, downright giddiness.
Unfortunately, this is where the advantages of offline slots ends…
Online Slots
So maybe your veins are pumping with pure octane when you log into the casino lobby, but the sheer weight of advantages to playing online casino slots is overwhelming.
We’ll start with the obvious convenience issue, allowing slots fans to play from home, from an Internet café, from anywhere their laptop will take them.
Online slots fans can even play on their mobile phone while stuck in a traffic jam, or waiting in a lobby for an interview or appointment.
This next one may seem a bit silly, when it comes down to it, you’d be surprised just how many players take advantage of this perk… When playing online slots from home – the most common way gamers play at online casinos – you can dress as comfortably as you wish.
Yes, that means lack of dress, as well. How many live casinos will let you walk the floor in your skivvies?
Playing online slots allows you to a much cheaper selection of dining opportunities. Simply walk to the refrigerator, pull out whatever you desire, and reclaim your seat in front of the computer.
You can even order take out, like pizza, chinese or hot sub sandwiches (remember to put your robe on before you answer the door!)
Okay, thus far our reasoning for choosing online slots over offline slots has been laced with humor, all be it logical reckoning.
This last perk is going to push it over the top, though. How about a significantly higher chance of walking away with a padded bankroll?
It’s true, online slot machines come with much higher payout percentages, which equal a lower house edge. Live casino slots supply average payout percentages of 80-88%.
Remember, they have to pay a multitude of employees, not to mention the unfathomable electric bills these guys shell out every month. Online casinos have way less overhead, not nearly so many employees, and can easily afford to award more cash to their players.
This is why online slots average payout percentages of 95-98%; astronomically better than offline slots.
If that isn’t enough online casinos have a huge selection of slot machines usually well over 100 slot games depending on the slot machine software used!
How Slot Machines work
When slot machines were first created by auto mechanic by the name of Charles Fey. The first slot machine was the Liberty Bell slot machine and it was a 3 reel, 1 payline slot machine game that paid 50 cents if you lined up 3 of the cracked liberty bells on the payline. Now since this was more than 110 years ago, that was a nice little jackpot! The original slot machine had 3 metal loops with fruits and the liberty bell painted on them and when you would pull the arm on the side of the slot machine these loops would spin. Now days, you see less and less of the classic 3 reel slot machinegames and more and more video slots. Video slots look like they have reels, but in reality it is all computer animated. In some brick and mortar casinos you can still pull the lever, however more often than not you will find new age slot machines with buttons to push instead of a lever to pull down.
About Slot Machines
Slot machines are the most popular game in all casinos, brick and mortar and online!
There are many reasons that slot machines are everyone’s favorite, like the fact that they grab your attention and pull you into the game.
Or the clear graphics and pleasant sounds that keep you glued to your seat.
Newer slot machine games also offer bonus features like free spins, bonus rounds and more! The slots of today are so entertaining that you may not realize how much time flies by.
Each slot machine has different symbols, paylines and payouts. Before you start playing a new slot machine game, be sure to check out the pay tables so you know what combination’s you are looking for and also what they will pay.
How to Win Playing Slot Machines
The object of slot machine games is to line up a winning combination on a payline.
You can find slot machine games with 1, 3, 5, 9, 20, 25, 50 or ever 100 paylines or more. In the pay table it will show you all the winning combinations and what they pay.
Now do you see why slot machines are everyone’s favorite casino game to play? They are so easy anyone can play! Like with the original slot machine, there were fruit symbols like cherries and oranges and then there was the liberty bell symbol.
All slot machine games will have 1 symbol that is the jackpot symbol and will pay in a winning combination than any of the other symbols. Of course how much you win will also depend on how much you bet.
How Much to Bet
Most online slot machines give you the option of choosing how many credits you want to wager for each line. So on top of choosing how many paylines you want to activate by betting on them, you will also need to choose how many credits per line you want to bet.
Of course you should always activate all the paylines even if you are only betting 1 credit per line.
The more paylines you have selected, the more chance you have of lining up a winning combination. Now, understand that the more credits you wager per line, the higher payout you will be eligible for. To check the differences in payouts, look on the pay table.
Slot Machine Myths vs Facts
Everyone has their own opinion about gambling and the odds and strategies. Unfortunately, too many of these theories are thought up by players who have had the cocktail waitress bring them 1 too many free drinks. Hopefully this will help to guide you towards knowing what’s the truth and what is not when it comes to slot machine games.
1. Slot machine spins are completely random
2. There are many different kinds of slot machines
3. Slot machines are the most popular games in casinos world wide
4. Slots have been around for more than 100 years
It’s no secret that profits from slot machines make up most of the gambling industry’s income. But that wasn’t always the case. At their start, slot machines were only begrudgingly placed on the casino floor to entertain the spouses of high rollers.
They only generated around 30 percent of a casino’s profit. From these humble beginnings, slot machines have come to dominate the gambling world.
Almost any recreational gambler has spent some time feeding quarters into a slot machine.
As the game type has grown in popularity, several myths and misconceptions have been passed from player to player, becoming almost gospel. This is because many people don’t understand the inner workings of a slot machine.
As a result of this lack of knowledge, they come up with their own ideas to explain a win or a loss. The introduction of video slot machines has only intensified the speculation about how the games work.
Here we’ll dispel some of the mystery surrounding slot machines by explaining away a few of the major myths associated with this popular casino pastime. Knowledge is your greatest weapon against the casino, and knowing the truth can only help your gaming.
Perhaps this information will help you enjoy your time at the slot machines a little more!
Slot Machine Myth 1:
The slot machine you just left hit a jackpot. If you’d stayed it would’ve been yours! This, unfortunately, isn’t true at all. Modern video slot machines do not have a list of outcomes that they follow.
There is no hidden program that says a jackpot will hit in the next 5 spins.
Instead, video slot machines use a special computer chip known as a Random Number Generator, or RNG. The RNG is constantly generating random numbers each microsecond, even when no one is playing the game.
When you hit the stop button, the slot machine quickly grabs the random number of that microsecond and compares it to a list of every possible outcome in the game.
The outcome that corresponds to the random number is the outcome that appears on the screen. Because the RNG is running all the time, there’s no telling which spin will yield a jackpot.
Each and every spin has a completely random outcome.
Slot Machine Myth 2:
The number of icons on each reel can give you the odds of winning. This is another myth. Video slot machines are all controlled by computer chips. Because of this setup, video slots no longer need a static reel makeup.
The computer chips inside the machine can control, and alter, the number of stops on any reel. You may only be able to count 10 icons on each reel of a three-reel machine.
This might indicate that the odds for winning would be 1 in 1,000 (10 x 10 x 10 = 1,000). However, the controlling chips could actually program 256 stops on each reel, holding them all in the game’s memory.
This puts the actual odds of winning nearer to 1 in 17 million. It’s those massive odds that allow slot machines to offer such large jackpots. With so much of the outcome dependent on computer chips, the odds are hidden and can’t be calculated by simple observation.
Slot Machine Myth 3:
Casinos can press a button and make their slot machines tighter or looser. False once again, thanks to computer chips!
The only thing controlling the payout percentage of any given slot machine is the chip inside it.
Casinos have no control over this percentage whatsoever; the manufacturer sets the payout percentage at the factory. If a casino wanted to reduce how often a machine pays out, the machine would need to be opened and the controlling chip replaced.
Most areas with legalized gambling regulate slot machines, requiring large amounts of paperwork to make a microchip change legal. Such exchanges are costly and time consuming.
It’s much easier for casinos to choose the payout percentage when purchasing the games, ensuring the proper microchip is installed at the factory.
Slot Machine Myth 4:
A slot machine is due for a hit if there’s been no recent payout. This is untrue, as well. Machines can’t be predicted, thanks to the RNG.
Each spin is an independent event. Slot machines can’t keep track how often they’ve paid out or not.
Every time the reels spin, the outcome is completely random. This myth can be extremely hazardous to follow, too.
Playing a machine that’s not paying out in the hopes that a jackpot is due will only eat away at your bankroll.
Slot Machine Myth 5:
Slot machines are sensitive to the temperature of the coins used to play them. Completely false.
Slot machines dedicate their processing power to maintaining the icons on the reels and generating the random outcomes of each spin.
The coin slot of a slot machine is a simple mechanical device. It doesn’t sense temperature at all. So play coins of any temperature!
Slot Machine Myth 6:
Using slot club cards reduces how often a machine pays out. – This is perhaps the most damaging myth out there. The RNG controls every outcome. The card reader only keeps track of the money you put in the machine.
There’s no connection between these two components. This might not seem like a big deal, but consider that every time you use your club card, you’re earning comps (customer loyalty benefits such as drinks, meals and rooms) as well as betting on slots.
Avoid using the club card and you could be missing out on more than just an easy way to wager.
There’s no better tool in your gambling skill set than knowledge. Gather as much as you can to make the most of your gambling fun.
