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No matter how many times it is explained that the Random Number Generator (RNG) of an online slots game does not adjust itself once the game’s jackpot is won there will still be players who believe otherwise. They base this on the fact that they do not immediately win the jackpot on their next spin right after winning the jackpot. Because they do not immediately win again they assume that the online slots game’s RNG has adjusted itself to not land the winning symbols again.

So we are going to look at how an online slots game could not award another jackpot immediately after awarding a jackpot without adjusting the RNG.

An online slots game has thousands of possible outcomes for a spin. Possibly even tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands. It all depends on the number of symbols in the game. So let’s say that you spin the reels and win the jackpot. The RNG will keep on cycling through possible outcomes; it never stops cycling, not even for a jackpot. And all of those thousands and thousands of possible outcomes could come up on the next spin.

So let’s say that in a year you win two jackpots. That means that you have two spins, two opportunities, to land the jackpot combination out of the thousands of possibilities.

Say there are 50,000 possible outcomes. The RNG is cycling through them in microseconds. You only have one chance after winning a jackpot to land the winning combination again. One in say fifty thousand.

This is not to say that it could never happen. This is to say that it is highly unlikely that it will. The smart online slots player understands the probability of a double jackpot and of the RNG landing on the winning combination two times in a row. They look at the thousands of spins that it took to land the jackpot once, and recognize that it could take just as many spins to land it again. This is just how online slots and their RNGs work.

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I have been tossing around some thoughts about some of the reinventing that is happening with online slots of late. Two of the biggest reinventions have been to create real 3D online slots games and to restructure how winning combinations are created.

Both of these reinventions have been done by Microgaming. This is not a bad thing; this is innovation, taking what has been standard for years and upgrading it so to speak. This is similar to how slot machines were reinvented to become online slots games. And Microgaming is always one of the frontrunners when it comes to innovation with online slots games.

A real 3D online slots game was the first most recent reinvention of online slots. Microgaming’s creation, Real 3D Sterling Silver, is the first to truly bring the graphics of the slots game out of the computer skill and put them right in front of the player. This was a new way of playing online slots games.

Microgaming took another innovative leap two months later with the launch of their alternative online slots game, Hexaline. This new online slots game, which made its debut this month at Microgaming powered online casinos, does not have players trying to land matching symbols.

Instead of matching symbols, players have to cross their fingers that the reels will stop with the same color of hexagons on the reels. That will generate a payout, but the action does not end there, and this is where more of the innovation of this new online slots game comes into play. When a color combination occurs, those hexagons drop off the reels to be replaced with new hexagons; if more color combinations happen with these replacements, more payouts are made.

In short, this is the first online slots game that could generate multiple payouts from a single spin in regular play. And this is what makes Hexaline so innovative. In all actuality it is probably the next reinvention since Rival Gaming gave us iSlots.

This is what online slots players really appreciate, software developers who truly appreciate the players enough to keep creating new online slots games that have more than a new theme.

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Back in the day just about every online slots game offered players the chance to trigger a free spins round or a bonus game. Both were offered.

Nowadays it seems that the majority of online slots games only offer either a free spins round or a bonus game round. One or the other there. And more often than not, the one offered is the free spins. Granted there are some software developers who will still give some of their online slots games both options, using these come from Rival Gaming, but most of the time it is just one and it is usually the free spins. Why is that?

Let’s compare the two first before answering.

With free spins, players are given X number of free spins usually with a multiplier on them. The benefit is to win money while not paying to spin the reels; and the multiplier increases the winnings from those spins, making them worth more. But players are not always guaranteed to win much or even anything.

Now compare this to a bonus game, which will award a player a payout every time. Most often it is a pretty decent amount they win, around the cost of a dozen spins or so at the least.

You can begin to see what the difference is and why free spins are more often offered in online slots games today. This is not to say that free spins are bad and should be avoided. On the contrary, free spins are beginning to come into their own.

Software developers are offering more free spins when they are triggered. Multipliers are also being increased and offered more often. This switch to more of an emphasis on free spins is causing software developers to change how they offer free spins, and the changes keep getting better and better.

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I know you guys are hearing a lot about Microgaming recently, but here is the deal: they are the only major software developer that is moving and shaking right now, hence so much about Microgaming online slots.

Of late Vegas Technology, Rival Gaming and Real Time Gaming have not been active in the news. It could be the recent Blue Monday seizure of ten online casino sites by the Department of Justice. There is more worry in the online gambling casino, and everyone is in a tizzy to get their I’s dotted and T’s crossed so as not to face prosecution by a zealous US Attorney General. After all, Microgaming does not operate in any US facing online casinos.

That being said thus far I only have news of four online slots games being launched this month. Other software developers may well start announcing their releases later but for now all we have is Microgaming.

On June 9th four new online slots games will go live with Microgaming powered online casinos, such as All Jackpots. Those games are Gold Factory Slots, Sterling Silver 3D Slots, Sonic 7s Slots and Jacks or Better Video Poker Slots. This batch of new online slots offers a lot of new features between the four of them:

Sterling Silver 3D Slots is the first real 3D online slots game to come from Microgaming. Those funky glasses are needed to see the graphics properly and to avoid potential headaches from long play periods.

Sonic 7s Slots comes with Microgaming’s new Power Spins feature. Power Spins wagers an additional third of a player’s wager. Thankfully the feature is not automatically triggered; it is active only if player clicks on it.

Jacks of Better Video Poker Slots is the first in a new Microgaming Reel Play Poker series. This is to be an online slots series that works poker into the game. Rather than winning combinations, players are hoping to land poker hands on the reels.

Given the amount of new features launched this month, Microgaming is hitting June with a punch.

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Yesterday I wrote about the latest online slots game that Microgaming is going to be releasing to its partner online casinos early in June. It is a real 3D online slots game, and while it is innovative, I am wondering if it will catch on.

In the industry 3D online slots games are not new, but they are usually slots games with very realistic, high quality graphics. But nothing pops out of the screen and special eye attire is not needed to properly view the graphics. The rich graphics make them popular with slots players.

Online slots game developers are constantly trying to push the envelope when it comes to online slots games. No small wonder when you think about it—after all the core of a slots game is the same no matter how you dress it up. This means that developers will try all sort of new things to dress up a slots game. As a result we now have iSlots, slots with video clips and those 3D slots with their realistic graphics.

But now Microgaming has taken 3D online slots one step further to literally the third dimension. Their upcoming release, 3D Sterling Silver, has graphics and symbols that will pop out of a player’s computer screen. That is it will so long as the slots player is wearing 3D glasses.

Personally, it is a fun concept and I have no doubt that at its outset real 3D online slots games will be popular. But they have one drawback: they are really 3D. I know; the thing that sets them apart could potentially be their downfall.

The reason is because slots players will need 3D glasses in order to get the most out of the game visually. Online casinos are not going to expect players to go out and buy their own glasses; it would be an inconvenience. Instead players can request special 3D glasses from the online casino they are playing at, but then they will have to wait for the glasses to arrive.

While the real 3D online slots game is a fun concept and no doubt to be popular for a time, I do not foresee it lasting.

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Okay, I know that the beginning of May is a busy time for online casinos and software developers. But where are the new online slots games?

Not a word. Not an announcement. True there are some great online slots tournaments and promotions being hosted at online casinos for Mother’s Day. But I have never seen a month go by in which new online slots games are not launched.

And really a continually new offering of new online slots games is important to the slots end of an online casino. Slots games are the cash cows of online casinos. The games are designed to slowly take a player’s money over time while holding up an impressive jackpot. The jackpot is why most online slots players keep playing and coming back for more.

Considering that online casinos scoop in a good chunk of revenue from their online slots games it is important to always have something fresh in their line ups.

While online slots games are entertaining, the action never changes. And you can only look at the same bonus game again and again so many times. It is not uncommon for online slots players to become bored when faced with the same game over and over again. And boredom could send a player to a competitor. A continually updated line up of slots games gives players new choices and new experiences.

Also new online slots games give online slots players motivation to return to the online casino. If there is fresh, new games to choose from, players are far more likely to return to check them out.

Those points considered, I want to know where the new online slots games from the big software developers like Microgaming, Vegas Technology and Rival Gaming are.

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There is a new feature that has begin to show itself in a number of new online slots games and make a slots trend of itself, most particularly in new Microgaming online slots games. And this new feature is known as the respin.

The respin feature comes into play, no pun intended, after the reels stop spinning from a turn. Meaning the slots player clicks spin, the reels spin and then the reels stop. If an online slots game has the respin feature it goes into effect then.

Slots players will see a coin value beneath each reel. That coin value is the cost to respin that single reel.

The whole purpose of the respin feature is to allow players another chance of landing a winning combination without disrupting all of the symbols that have landed on a spin.

Imagine having four out of five symbols on a payline, but the symbol needed on reel three is not there. Slots players could utilize the respin feature for that reel, and take a shot at landing the needed symbol without losing the other four symbols that are already in place.

However, slots players must weigh the value of respinning a single reel.

If there really are not any symbols in the right place on the paylines then there really is no reason to use the respin feature.

The respin feature is an increasing trend because it allows online casinos to get a little more money from online slots players who feel that paying to respin a single reel is justified. And since online casinos see the respin feature as a way to pull a little bit more from online slots players, it has become a feature that online casinos look for from their software providers.

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Just like in regular brick and mortar casinos, there are trends in games to be found in online casinos. More specifically, to be found in online slots games.

The latest in trends in online slots is leaning on entertainment—online slots games from TV shows and movies.

Within the last twelve months, we have seen the release of the Iron Man slots games, King Kong, Bruce Lee slots and 100,000 Pyramid.

And that is just to name a few. There has been an increase in the number of online slots games created which feature themes from TV and movies. Playtech is a prime source of such entertainment slots games.

The biggest entertainment online slots game to be released within the last twelve months was the Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring from Microgaming last year. It is the first in a three game series which will feature an online slots game for each movie in Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie trilogy.

The possible cause behind the trend could be that these online slots games bring together the enjoyment of characters from TV, movies—even comic book series—and combine it with the thrill of spinning the reels of an online slots game. Some of these entertainment derived online slots games feature clips from the shows or movies which meld the two together even more so. Then there are the bonus games that place the player on an adventure or in the shoes of a popular character to play out the bonus game for the prize.

Similar to how we are seeing more movies based on books, I have no doubt that this trend in online slots will continue, and we will see more online slots being derived from TV shows and movies.

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There is a reason why so much attention is given to online slots.

Online slots are the most popular form of online casino games outside of poker. But poker does not make the money for the online casinos that online slots do. Like their counter parts in the brick and mortar casinos, online slots are the cash cows of the online casino industry.

That is why online casinos will give special bonuses to slots players. This is always why more than half of an online casino’s tournaments will be devoted to online slots. Other casino game tournaments for blackjack or roulette might only be weekend tournaments or midweek tournaments only. But for online slots there are daily, weekend, mid-week, holiday and freeroll tournaments.

Online casinos are willing to offer more to online slots players as a return to these players who fund so much of an online casino’s operation.

But players also benefit from this popularity from the software developers as well. Software developers will launch anywhere from one to three new online slots games each month. This gives slots players a constant flow of new games with lots of options to choose from. No other online casino game gets so much variety pumped into it. These same online slots games are designed to accommodate both low stakes players and high rollers so that anyone can enjoy a particular game.

And the best part for online slots players is that they can enjoy all of the bonuses, tournaments and new slots games from the comfort of their homes. Or on the go if that suits them more. Online slots give players a constant fresh source of game play no matter where they are.

With so many options open and constantly being launched, online slots players truly do have an upper hand over other online casino patrons.

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There is a lot to do with 3D things out in the world of late. There are more 3D movies. And now there are the 3D TVs for sale. So it is not so surprising that casino game software developers began creating 3D online slots games.

And while this all sounds like a lot of fun and a very creative way to advance online slots games, some online slots players are a bit concerned about these 3D online slots games. There is worry that players could possible miss out on playing a really cool online slots game because it is a 3D online slots game and they do not have 3D glasses on hand.

This stipulation comes from the fact that other forms of 3D viewing require special glasses. Going to see a movie in 3D means wearing those blue and red glasses, or the new fangled grey looking ones. As for 3D TV, special glasses are required for seeing the 3D effect.

But while you do need those special kinds of glasses for 3D TV and movies, they are not necessary to play and enjoy a 3D online slots game.

By 3D online slots game, software developers are meaning a very realistically rendered. This gives the graphics a more solid look to them rather than the flat two dimensional images that we are all accustomed to seeing in online slots games.

The point of 3D online slots games is to try to bring online slots to a new level. It is likely that within the not so distant future we just might have real 3D slots games on our computers. But for now we are fine with not having to wear those dorky glasses just to play a game we like.

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