The world of slots is a random one. Many of slot players have tried to add reason and logic to slot playing with no real results. That’s because the entire game is controlled by a RNG (random number generator). If you play slots in the real world, it’s possible that your slot machine is part of a “pool.” Many racinos, which are casinos at horse racing facilities, are built around a pool system instead of the RNG system. We will talk about both.
Pick a number between one and one million. Got it? Now imagine I had one million other people do the same. Let’s say the jackpot combination is number 5,821. Your job is to pick which person of the one million guessed 5,821. That is basically how a random number generator works, except it is constantly picking numbers. Twenty-four hours a day the RNG chip is cycling through randomly selected numbers. When you hit the play button on your slot machine—or pull the handle—the number for that play is selected and your fate is sealed.
The RNG chip in a slot machine is completely separate from any other functions. It does not know if you have just won a jackpot or been sitting there losing thousands for hours. It simply cycles through randomly generated numbers. Some slot players have this myth that the slot machine knows if they have won or not. There is no truth to that line of thinking. You can put your money in, take it out or hit the machine, but it will have absolutely no affect on the outcome of your playing. It’s all about being in the right place at the right time—playing the right machine.
There is a secondary type of slot machine and it’s found in racinos. These slot machines are called VLTs (video lotto terminals). They are not found in places like Las Vegas. These machines are identified at VLTs and are hooked up to a central computer—by state law. Rather than use random mathematics, the state uses the pool system to determine how much money is returned to all of the people playing. The idea is to limit potential profits to a certain amount.
When playing a VLT, your outcome is determined when you hit play or pull the handle. The slot machine accesses the pool and provides you with the next outcome. One possible bonus for playing a VLT is that the jackpots are certain to hit. As to the period of time, that depends on global system parameters.
Online casinos use a RNG, which is just a computer program, to control their slots. Remember, just because a slot is not hitting now does not mean it will hit soon. The RNG helps to ensure mathematical probabilities play out, but the “cycle” can be over tens of thousands of plays or longer.