How To Read Slot Machines
Modern slot machines can have many various symbols and icons, hundreds of different ways to win, and a few bonus features attached. All this information is easily accessible in each and every slot machine pay table. Most modern slot machines are designed to look and feel like the old mechanical models, but they work on a completely different principle. The outcome of each pull is actually controlled by a central computer inside the machine, not by the motion of the reels. The computer uses step motors to turn each reel and stop it at the predetermined point.
Since slots first became prominent midway through the 20th century, they have always been incredibly easy to understand. As one of the most popular games in every casino, slot games must be easy to understand seeing as so many people play them. Slot games, though they differ slightly, are all based on the same simple concept. Reels equipped with symbols are spun, and if they are stopped in certain sequences, players are paid out based on what symbols are showing, and where.
With the advent of more advanced technology, slot games have changed dramatically and play host to different symbols, bonus games, and many other items. Still, slot paytables have existed through it all and still exist to this day. The key to slot tables is and always has been simplicity. People fear slot paytables because they often look a bit confusing at first, but the fact of the matter is that they are quite easy to understand. There is a fear that, as slot games become increasingly complicated and layered, that paytables will also be difficult to understand, but there is no way this will happen as slots depend on paytables being easy to understand.
Paytables Explained
Now that you know paytables have always existed, you might be wondering a bit more about what exactly they are and how they work. In most cases nowadays, paytables can be accessed towards the bottom of the gamescreen by simply clicking the icons. The icons and what they mean will be more or less your keys to understanding every aspect of the slot game in front of you.
How To Read Slot Machines
In so many cases you will find players sitting down at a slot game without knowing anything about the symbols spinning in front of them. This is astounding simply because it is impossible to tell what symbols you should be cheering for if you have no idea what they are going to pay out.
Basically, the paytable will show you what symbols exist and what you win when they show up in certain quantities. The paytable will also elaborate more on wild and scatter symbols and how they work through the course of the game. For all intents and purposes, paytables are your roadmap for understanding how these games work and how you are paid if and when you win.
Understanding the Contents of Paytables
Now that you may understand what the symbols on the paytable mean, you might do well to understand the digits beside them. In most cases, the first page of the paytable will show the winning combinations of a certain symbol as well as the coinage that will be paid out if said combination lands.
The explanation of wild symbols can also be found on the paytables page. On more advanced slots, there may be multiple pages to the paytable. These additional pages are usually utilized to explain bonus games and any other extra functions that the game might feature.
With how advanced slot game are becoming both at online casinos and in brick and mortar establishments, paytables are likely to continue expanding and being elaborated upon. As is the case with anything else in the casino world, it is important that you thoroughly read through every aspect of the paytable as it will give you a better understanding of how the game works, and thus, your level of enjoyment. At the end of the day, you would do best to understand every aspect of every online casino game you play.
Casino Paytables FAQ
Why do paytables matter to me?
This is a question that could not possibly be more difficult to answer. First and foremost, paytables are important because they are your instruction manual for a slot game. They explain to you how you win, how much you win, and how your winnings can be maximized. What’s more, paytables let you know what symbols and combinations you should be rooting for so that you are not aimlessly spinning without any idea of what’s really going on.
Are they always easy to understand, or are they confusing?
Though at first glance it may seem confusing, paytables are often quite easy to read and comprehend. The only reason paytables are confusing at all is because slot symbols are no longer as standard as they once were. With a little effort, no paytable is confusing at all. This is a truth because, if paytables were confusing, slots would not be as popular as they are.
Are slot paytables online similar to slot paytables at brick and mortar casinos?
Yes. Nowadays, sitting in front of the computer and sitting in front of a slot game at a brick and mortar casino are really not that different. As such, paytables on both are more or less the same and understanding one is no more difficult than understanding another.
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Slot Machine Patterns
When playing a slot machine, any slot machine, you will experience a what seems to be a random “pattern” of wins and losses. It is often difficult to spot a pattern but the more you play the better your ability becomes in recognizing these patterns. In fact, the more you play, the easier it is to teach yourself to recognize and learn each slot machine pattern. The quicker you see a pattern, the better your ability is to either bet down, or even walk away when a machine is in a losing cycle, (or down cycle) and/or bet up when on a wining cycle, (or up cycle).
Since each spin of a slot machine is different from every other, some people attribute these cycles to nothing more than luck. Therefore, some players will say that when a machine loses a few hands, it is not neccesarily in a down cycle nor winning a few hands means it is in an up cycle. Due to the Random Number Generator in every slot machine, which makes every spin different from every other, there is no real way to predict any future spin from any past. Therefore, it is often a matter of luck when you lose 20 hands in a row and then hit the jack-pot on the very next spin. This is why you will see experienced players hanging back watching a machine. They are waiting for the person playing it to hit a down cycle, cash out and move to another machine, while they swoop in and hope to catch the up cycle patterns.
How To Read Slot Machine Payouts
These cycles suggest to some players that a slot machine may be either programmed or simply fall in intervals which lead to higher slot pay-outs. The more a machine takes in on a down cycle, the better the return is on an up cycle. So if you see someone quickly go thru say $100.00 on a slot machine, with no real hand, that might very well be the machine to jump on in hopes to catch its profitable up cycle. I too have tried this very system time and again, on several different slot machines, but the payoffs always lead to the question, is this a sound system or is it simply luck or coincidence if or when that machine hits shortly after the “down cycle”? It is very hard to judge, as it really is a hit or miss with the Random Number Generator at work.
The notion is that there is one ongoing list of numbers called “the computer selection table” that the random number generator selects from, which is a list that sometimes contains more losing numbers at one point and more winning numbers at others. Determining which part of the computer selection table is the real point of this slots strategy. However, keep in mind, the Random Number Generator selects from hundreds of number combinations every second, so when you hit “spin” the Random Number Generator collects the last number it generated and matches it with a corresponding reel placement. This determines if you win or not. Since you are seeing the results of significantly less than one percent of all the number combinations generated. Therefore, it's very hard, if not impossible, to determine whether you are just missing the jackpot or that you are in one of its down cycles.
How To Read Slot Machine Stats
Although it remains a matter of opinion, anyone who sits in front of a slot machine long enough to plot up and down cycles will tell you, if you are losing consistently, that’s usually a sign to cash out and try your luck at a different slot machine as it does you no good losing your bank roll waiting for an up cycle to bring home a jackpot...