A guide to slots machines and fruit machines

A guide to slots machines and fruit machines

Slot machines come in many different shapes and sizes and are known by many different names around the globe. In the UK they are known as fruit machines, whilst in Australia they are sometimes referred to as poker machines. In general a slot machine is a coin or cash operated gambling device with three or more rotating reels. Originally they were known as one-armed bandits because of the lever which it was necessary to pull on the side in order to operate the reels. And also presumably because they would take you for all of your money if they could. Slot machines still pay a big part in the gambling world thanks to their simplicity and quick-fix method of operation. It is estimated that the slot machines in an average casino will account for around 70% of the total income of that casino. Fruit machines can also be found in many other areas, including pubs, clubs, motorway service stations and other public places.

Fruit machines allow you to win money by spinning the reels and trying to match symbols. Matching more symbols and matching symbols of higher value will give you access to more winnings and most slot machines have built in maximum jackpots which can be achieved when certain reel requirements are satisfied.

In their first iterations slot machines and fruit machines were purely mechanical devices, with three or five reels with ten symbols on each spinning to determine the outcome of each game. Three reel machines only had 1000 possible combinations and as such much lower jackpots were available. The number of symbols per reel was soon increased to around 22.

It was not until the 1980s that slot machine manufacturers were able to take advantage of microprocessor technology and computerise their products. This allowed them to program and control the precise probability of hitting a particular combination of symbols. All modern slot machines are now computerised, even if they are designed to look like nostalgic replicas of older one-armed bandit designs from the golden age of slot machines. Modern computerisation of symbol selection is standard across the slot machine industry and a maximum of nearly 17 million different stop combinations can be programmed. That means that the highest jackpots available will usually have the lowest probability of a win. This has allowed low cost slot machines to offer much higher payouts, particularly in casinos.

Mechanical slot machines with physical reels have had to compete in recent years with Video slots. These machines use a fully computerised interface with a screen displaying a graphical representation of the reels. Video slots offer a much more varied experience as they can use their screens to display many different games on a single machine and can give players access to bonus games and flashy graphics for a more interactive experience. Bonus games are used as an incentive to keep the player gambling their money as they offer an alternative way to recoup your losses when playing a Video slot machine.

Video slots take advantage of their virtual capabilities by offering 5 reels rather than 3 and often having up to 50 symbols per reel because there are no physical constraints on their operation. Because the odds of a big win can be stacked so high against the player Video slots can be used to dole out massive jackpots, with a few lucky winners taking home millions of pounds from such machines.

Slot machines in general are set to payout between 80-98% of the money wagered by players as winnings. It is usually down to local legislation to dictate this amount rather than the manufacturer itself. As such the odds on slot machines can be a better way to gamble your money than using horse racing tips which are influenced by infinitely more complex factors.

Posted: 2011-02-14   By: FreeRacingTips.co.uk

Source: Casino Bonus Center Articles