Slot machines
A slot machine, also called “fruit machine” or “poker machine” is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels that spin when a button is pushed. Classical slot machines were also known as one armed bandits, because they were originally operated by a lever on the side of the machine and the gamers used to remain penniless.
It is a game of chance in which the gamer inserts money in order for the machine to start. The object of the game is to get money from the machine. The wins are based on the combination of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops spinning. Today the Slots are programmed to give wins in different programmed combinations. This game doesn’t involve skills and is considered a pure game of chance. All modern machines are designed using Random Number Generators which constantly generating random numbers, at a rate of hundreds or perhaps thousands per second. In fact the win is set according to the split second in which the button is pushed, and not – as the common conception of the game suggests – by the second that it stops spinning.
The original machine that developed into the slot machine was actually a poker game machine. It had five drums holding ten cards each, and the result was set by the poker game rules. Given the difficulty in reading the winning hand, there was no automatic pay-out mechanism, and the winners would get a reward from the bar such as a free beer. When the machine was devised with three reels containing a total of five symbols each, the complexity of reading a win was significantly reduced and the automatic pay-out mechanism was added. Today there are also video poker machines with automatic pay-out, due to the modern computer technology that generated many variations on the slot machine concept.
Slot machines are typically programmed to pay out as winnings 82–98% of the money that is wagered by players. This is known as the “theoretical payout percentage” or RTP, “Return To Player”. Slots machines are the most popular gambling method in casinos and constitutes about 70 precent of the average casino’s income.
