Slot Payout Percentages and How They Work

There have been steady increases in payout percentages since casinos realized it was more profitable to hold 5 per cent of a dollar than it was to hold 8 per cent of a quarter or 10% of a nickel. Almost all slot machines in America payout 93% of the time, although Nevada pays out more. Of all the casinos, Las Vegas typically offers the highest average payout of more than 95%. Considering a sample of 100,000 to 300,000 pulls, these are long-term averages that can be relied upon.

Anything can happen in the short term. The payout rate on video slots is higher than on reel-spinning slots, but it is still normal to go 20 or 50 pulls without a payout. In addition, it is not unusual for a machine to pay back 150% or more for several dozen pulls. However, the programmed percentages will hold up in the long run.

Microprocessors

Microprocessors have been responsible for the change in slots in the new era of computers. In the old days, slot machines were mechanical, and if you knew how many stops each reel could make on the payout line, you could calculate the odds. On a machine with three reels and ten stops and a jackpot symbol on each reel, three jackpot symbols would line up, on average, once every 1031310 pulls, or 1,000 pulls.

The big payouts were usually $50 or $100-a a far cry from the high numbers that slot players are used to today. Several casinos have linked machines that link progressive jackpots up to millions of dollars.

Today's machines are controlled by microprocessors programmed with random-number generators that determine winning combinations. It does not matter how many stops are on each reel. The slot machine is still programmed to line up three jackpots once every 1000 spins, or 10,000 spins. Video slots can also be programmed so that their reel strips are as long as needed to increase their odds of hitting. There is no physical reel to constrain them.

Random Number Generator ( RNG )

There are a number or numbers assigned to each possible combination. Whenever the random-number generator receives a signal, such as a coin being dropped in or a handle is pulled, it sets a number, and the reels stop at the corresponding combination.

A random-number generator operates continuously between signals, generating dozens of numbers per second. Slot players will benefit from this in two ways. If you leave a machine and then see someone else win shortly after that, don't be concerned.

To hit the same jackpot, you would need the exact split-second timing. If you had remained at the machine, the odds are overwhelming that you would not have hit the same combination.

The odds of hitting any given combination on every pull are the same since the combinations are randomly generated or as close to random as can be. The odds of hitting the top jackpot are one in 10,000 on any particular pull if a machine is designed to pay out its top jackpot once every 10,000 pulls. The odds of successive pulling will still be 1 in 10,000 no matter how long you stand there and how many times you play. The odds are long-term averages. There's a possibility that the machine could let go of the big one over 100,000 times without letting it loose. Furthermore, it could payout again, immediately after the first payout.

Is there a way to ensure that you can hit it big on a slot machine? Yes, there is always the chance of winning a Progressive Jackpot.

Progressive Jackpots

A progressive machine should also not be played for less than its maximum coins. Players who eventually line up the jackpot symbols get a percentage of each coin played. The first progressive machines had a fixed jackpot based on how many spins had been made since the last big win. In today's progressives, all coins played on connected machines add to the jackpot of all linked machines.

Jackpots can be extremely large - the current record is $39,710,826.26 for a $1 progressive in a Las Vegas casino. As a tradeoff, the frequency and size of other payouts are typically smaller. You can't win the jackpot unless you play the maximum number of coins.

Consider a multiplier in which the final-coin jump in the top jackpot is relatively small if you must play fewer than maximum coins. It is best to choose a slot machine that matches your budget while allowing you to play maximum coins.