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Some slots players swear that Random Number Generators (RNGs) are programmed to reject a winning combination.

To break it down, players feel that casinos have programmed the computers in slot machines to reject winning combinations. The RNG might be random and be choosing its outcomes in an unbiased way, but these players swear that the computers are programmed to recognize when the RNG has randomly chosen a winning combination and to reject it. They also swear that this happens in moments while the reels are still spinning.

And these slots players would be wrong.

The fact is that Nevada outlawed such programming when computerized slots first started becoming mainstream. And other states have followed suit.

What this means is that the computers inside slot machines, or in slots games for that matter, cannot reject an outcome generated by the RNG. Such actions would undermine the fairness and randomness testing that these machines and games undergo before being released to the public.

So where do these ideas of rigged machines come from?

They seem to come from slots players who tend to lose more often than win. And this goes back to the idea that these slot machines and slots games are somehow beatable. It seems that it is in our nature to try to overcome an obstacle when we really want something.

In the case of slots games, we really want to win. So we start looking to find ways to win or to name the things that are standing in our way. A good many slots players will see that there is not a thing they can do to affect the outcome of a slots machine. The next line of thinking is that there must be something in the game itself that is preventing me from winning.

And that is the truth. But it is not a rigged computer, but the nature of the game of slots—slots are games of chance. It is chance that causes us to lose. Unfortunately there is not a way to overcome chance. All we can do is to keep playing slots and hope we win. In the mean time we can enjoy ourselves while we play and focus on factors we can control.

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So slots players spend many hours trying to an effective strategy to increase their chances of winning. The truth is that this is not possible. By nature, slots games are games of chance in which the odds are stacked against us. It is true. In slots games, even though we can win a chunk of change through free spins and bonus games, over time you will spin your bankroll away.

Yes, it is possible to win a jackpot or a large payout. And there is no other feeling quite like winning such. But the reality is that this does not happen every day.

Because the outcome of a spin is determined by the Random Number Generator (RNG) and a slots player cannot influence the RNG, players need to look at other ways to influence their slots play.

Since there is not any way to really impact a slots player’s play offensively, slots play needs to be looked at from a more defensive point of view. If slots are a game of chance and the casino is taking more of my money than it is giving me in the long run, what can I do?

First you can choose what slots game or slot machine you play on. There are hundreds of different slots games. The casino does not tell you which one you have to play—you get to choose. So check out what the payout percentages are on the slots games that you are considering playing. The one with the highest payout percentage is the one you want to play.

You can also choose your speed of play—how many spins you make per hour. If you use the Stop Spin feature or are very eager to get those reels spinning again, you are playing more spins per hour, wagering more money per hour, and therefore losing more money per hour. So control your rate of play. Limit your number of spins per hour and do not touch that Stop Spin button!

Know when to walk away from a slots game. While there is no set way to determine this, you can judge for yourself if a slots game is cold or not. If you just are not winning at a game, walk away from it rather than keep feeding it money. And once you have won a large payout—one that puts you over your starting total—call it a win and quit for the night rather than risk losing it.

While you cannot control or influence the outcome of a spin of the reels, you can control how you play. And that has a big effect on your overall slots play.

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Earlier I mentioned a feature that is becoming increasingly more common on slots games, both on slots machines in casinos and on slots games in online casinos. I am talking about the Stop Spin feature.

What this little feature does is stop the spin once you have already started it. What a slots player sees is that when pushed, the reels will stop immediately rather than spinning out and to a stop on their own.

Casinos and game developers put this feature in their games because it has the potential to increase the casinos’ profits.

The way they want a slots player to think of the Stop Spin feature is that it is their ticket to having an influence on the outcome of a spin. But this is not true.

The reason for this is that the results of a spin of the reels is determined the moment Spin is pushed. As soon as a slots player hits Spin and sets the reels to spinning, that is when the Random Number Generator (RNG) chooses its results for that spin.

This means that a slots player is going to get the same results when they hit Stop Spin as they would if they let the reels spin to a stop on their own.

This is important to know because I am going to tell you what the Stop Spin feature does, and it does not help a player at all.

What the Stop Spin feature does is cause a slots player to play more spins per hour. In slots the player will, over time, lose more money than they win. But playing more spins per hour means that the slots player is losing more per hour and the casino is gaining more per hour.

By using the Stop Spin feature a slots player will lose their bankroll faster, which is what the casinos are hoping for. The sooner the money comes to them the better since it usually means the player will play more spins before stopping.

What a slots player needs to do is to avoid using this feature. It does not have in impact on the outcome of a spin so there is no benefit to using it. It is best to simply not use it and hang on to your bankroll longer.

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Every now and then I am asked what a slots player can do to influence their odds.

The truth is that there really is not a whole lot that a slots player can do. And it does not matter whether you play slots online or in a casino. It is the nature of slots as a game of chance that makes them what they are as a game and as a form of entertainment. It is also their nature that makes them unsusceptible to any sort of strategy to alter the player’s odds of winning.

Slots games are basically a lottery type game. You put your money in. You push a button—or click it. And then the computer inside of the game randomly picks a result. You may win or you may not.

Some slots players question whether the outcome of a spin of the reels is truly random. After all the results are determined by the computer that runs the game, and a computer program can be altered. Naturally slots players feel that the casinos have altered the program to favor the house.

But this is not true. The result of a spin of the reels comes from the Random Number Generator (RNG). When a slots game is created all possible results are programmed into the RNG. As soon as the Spin button activates the game the RNG randomly picks a resulting combination.

I make mention that the results are chosen as soon as the Spin button is pushed because that is the moment when the results are chosen. Pushing Stop Spin will not affect the outcome—it will be the same if you let the reels spin out or if you hit Stop Spin. But I will discuss the Stop Spin feature found on slots games in another post.

The point is that because of the RNG there is nothing a slots player can do to influence the outcome of a spin.

The randomness of a slots game is tested by an independent outside testing company, usually TST, and verified for randomness. Another independent body, eCogra, will only certify that an online casino is fair if their games pass test for randomness.

By making sure that you are playing at an eCogra certified online casino you can be sure that the games have not been tampered with.

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In my last post I discussed the aspects of slots play that you cannot control. Unfortunately such things as finding some way of effecting the RNG get hung up in a slots player’s mind, and cannot seem to be shaken out.

This probably comes from a strong human belief that we can to change something. But in the case of finding some action to have an impact on an RNG—like card counting in blackjack—is a futile search.

In fact it is pointless to get hung up on trying to find a way to find a way to effect the outcome on in a slots game. So if you cannot be a strategy slots player what can you be?

You can be a smart slots player.

A smart slots player understands what he cannot do, accepts it and then looks for what he can control.

As a slots player you can choose what slots game you are playing. There are hundreds of slots games out there, both online and off, and players are free to choose which one they play. A smart slots player will look for those with the highest payout percentage.

In way, online slots have the advantage here because not only are the slots games payout percentages able to be found, but so are the online casinos’ payout percentages. This way a smart slots player could find the slots game with the best payout percentage and then see which online casino with that game has the highest payout percentage. While playing that slots game at that online casino does not guarantee a jackpot win, it does give you a better opportunity. The smart slots player understands this.

A smart slots player also controls his bankroll. This means controlling the rate of speed at which you play. Overall slots players lose more money than they win. So if a slots player wants to keep playing for awhile and make their bank roll last, he will play at a slower rate.

Your rate of play is how many times you set the reels spinning in an hour. If you is there and press ‘Spin’ as soon as a round is over you are playing faster than the player who waits out the spin and does not rush to push ‘Spin’ to begin the next round. The less you wager per hour the longer your bankroll will last.

Keeping control of how fast you play and what slots games you play are aspects of slots strategy that you can control. Focusing on those can help your slots player rather than focusing on aspects that cannot be impacted

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As much as we would like for it to be otherwise, slots games are games of chance. When you place your wager and hit ‘Spin’ the fate of your wager is in the hands of something completely random: the Random Number Generator (RNG).

What slots players must remember before they pop over to their favorite casino or log into their accounts at their favorite online casino is that this is a game of chance. And a game of chance is just as it sounds—it is all chance on whether you win or not. When it comes to games of chance there is nothing that the players can do to affect the outcome.

What this means is that while we all wish that there was something that we could or some formula to follow that would bring that jackpot closer, the truth is that there is nothing we can do.

The RNG is what determines the outcome of each spin. This is a program that has had all of the outcomes possible loaded into its database. As soon as a player hits ‘Spin’ the RNG will randomly choose one of those outcomes.

And, yes, it does this the moment you hit ‘Spin.’ This means that Stop Spin button is useless. The outcome of your spin would not be any different if you hit Stop Spin or if you let the reels stop on their own.

The hardest aspect of playing slots is coming to terms with the fact that there is nothing you can do to influence the outcome. But once you have accepted this fact it allows you to see the game for what it is: a device that you give money to in which you might win money back or you might not.

But accepting this aspect of slots games, both online and land-based, it will allow you to look at other aspects that you do have control over. And while those aspects will not affect the outcome of a spin, it can affect your overall game play.

The aspects of slots strategy that you can control and use to impact you overall slots playing will be discussed in my next post.

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It has well been established that the results of a spin on a slot machine is determined by the Random Number Generator (RNG); and that the results of each spin is determined the moment you start the reels spinning. This is why Stop Spin has no effect on the outcome. And why you cannot affect the outcome of the spin.

This applies to both online slots games and slot machines found in land-based casinos. They all have RNGs that determine their results.

But what about the bonus games?

It is in the bonus games where you pick which briefcase, present, box, etc. Are the results of a bonus game determined from the moment you begin a bonus game?

Actually, no, they are not.

It is in the slots bonus games that slots players have an influence on the outcome of the round. Each box or present has already randomly filled with its prize amount. The results of the bonus round are not pre-determined by the RNG like a spin on the reels is.

While the prize amount in each box is randomly chosen, it is chosen at the beginning of the bonus game before the player has made any choices. This allows for the fairness and randomness to remain intact. So a slots player cannot say that a bonus game is rigged.

The way it works is the slots player, both online slots players and land-based slots players, will win a bonus game. The screen will fill with, say, nine boxes—three of which the player will choose; the total of those three boxes will determine their bonus amount. The bonus game will load on the screen with the prize amounts already determined.

This is where a slots player actually has an effect on the outcome. The slots player is choosing which boxes he wants, ergo he is choosing which prize amounts he wants. In the end, the slots player is the one responsible for the amount he has won.

So if you win a small bonus amount remember that you chose the boxes, the game is not rigged for a small amount. And if you win a large amount you, as they say in Indiana Jones, have chosen wisely.

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There is some debate amongst slots players as to what exactly the stop button on slots games does. Some players view it as the key to affecting the outcome of a spin. Others do not see it as doing anything other than getting you to the next round faster.

Those in the latter group would be the correct ones.

The truth is that the Stop button does not have an effect on the outcome of a spin. The outcome of a round is determined the moment you press Play or Spin.

What you need to remember about slots games is that they are a show. That is all. The actual components that control whether you win or not is a play button, a currency validation system and a display to tell you whether you have won or not. That is all a slots game is. The reels, the symbols, an RNG, they are all for fun to dress up the actual game. And the game, when you come down to it is to put money into the game, activate it and then wait to see if you get a winning combination at random.

But that does not sound like a very interesting game. Hence reels and lights and sounds and animated symbols were added to increase the enjoyment of the slots. Otherwise it would just be an RNG deciding the outcome the moment you give the device money.

So you see the Stop button does not in fact actually affect the outcome. If you click Stop while the reels are still spinning, they will only stop on the same outcome you would have gotten if you had allowed the reels to stop on their own.

Slots are designed to be a show that you watch while you wait for the machine to finish its show to tell you whether you won or not. And when you think about it we should be glad that slots games have the show, otherwise we would be left with a small, probably ugly device with no real entertainment appeal.

So keep it in your mind that the Stop button does nothing to change the outcome of the reels since the reels are not a key part of how the game functions. All a stop button does is speed up your rate of play, meaning you make more spins—and more wagers—in a set time than if you were to just let the show play out. If you want to play slots for entertainment, then do not even bother with the Stop button.

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We are well aware that the Random Number Generator is what creates the outcome of each spin of the reels on a slots game. The RNG is what makes the outcome random each time. It is a part of the game’s programming that determines the results.

There is some debate amongst slots players as to how the RNG works and when it picks the outcome for a spin.

The RNG will take a poll, so to speak, of all the possible outcomes that particular slots game can have. It will then randomly select one.

But what is really disagreed upon is when the RNG makes this decision. Does it choose an outcome when you put money in? When you hit Spin? Or right when the reels stop spinning?

The RNG will select an outcome when you hit Spin. Not before and not after. And it can choose a selection that quickly as it is a computer program after all.

Some slots players believe that they can affect the RNG by clicking on a Stop Spin button. But this is not true. And when it comes to free spins features, clicking on a Stop Spin or Take Win button will not affect the RNG either.

Think of it as the outcome as far as the game’s programming is concerned, is decided as soon as the reels start spinning.

As much as all the slots players the world over would like believe that there is something that we could do to influence the outcome of the reels, there is nothing that we can do. And we would especially like to influence the outcome in some of the free spins features in some slots games—most will double your winnings after all.

But what we need to keep in mind is that slots are games of chance that we can use to enjoy the thrill of hoping for a winning outcome. And that includes the free spins that we win.

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I was cruising around the internet today, and I saw that Wagerworks has launched a new “slots” game. I use quotations because I am not sure that it can be called a slots game.

What makes a slots game a slots game? What do you think of when yea hear the words ‘slots game?’

My first thought is reels. To me, a slots game must have reels. And reels are the core of a slots game. They are what makes the game what it is. The whole point of a slots game is to put money in, activate the game, and then watch the reels spin to see what lands on a payline. And if something does you win.

The key factor of a slots game is the reels. Otherwise it would not be a slots game.

Apparently, Wagerworks thinks otherwise.

Their latest game, Slotbox, does not have reels. At all. But it has boxes.

The way that this “slots” game is played begins with players making their wagers and activating the game. So far, this is similar to a real slots game. But when the game begins, boxes begin falling from the top of the screen into the playing grid. They move left to right (no turning or rotating), but not by through the player’s control. Rather the part of the game’s programming that controls the random factor—much like an RNG—moves the boxes for the player.

If the boxes, through no player control at all, create rows the player will then win a payout. The more rows that are formed the more payouts they receive. The game is over once no more rows can be formed.

And to me, that sounds an awful lot like Tetris, but a worse form of it. At least in Tetris you can control where the shapes go and can turn and rotate them.

I would not begin to call this a slots game since it does not actually have reels.

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