Have you ever wondered which slot machines have the best odds? If you’ve ever played at a land based or online casino before, then you probably know that there is a huge amount of machines to choose from, and this can be a bit daunting and confusing for a lot of people. Sure, some people just pick the games they are most attracted, however there are others who are in it to win it, and could.
Slot machine odds used to be easy to calculate. When you’re dealing with three reels, ten symbols on each reel, and a limited pay table, then it’s just a simple math problem. But the rise of electromechanical slot machines and (later) video slots added some complexity to the situation.
How Probability Works
Probability has two meanings. One is the likelihood of whether or not something will happen. The other is the branch of mathematics that calculates that likelihood. To understand the odds as they relate to slot machines (or any other gambling game), you have to understand the basic math behind probability.
Don’t worry though. The math isn’t hard. Probability involves addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, all of which you learned in middle school.
The first principle of probability is that every event has a probability of between 0 and 1. If something has no chance of ever happening, then its probability is 0. If something will always happen, no matter what, then its probability is 1.
Probability is, therefore, always a fraction. It can be expressed in multiple ways, as a decimal, as a fraction, as a percentage, and as odds.
A simple example is a coin flip. The probability of getting heads when you flip a coin is 50%. That’s common sense, but how is it determined mathematically?
You simply take the total number of possible outcomes, and divide the outcome you’re trying to determine the probability of it by that number. There are two possibilities when flipping a coin, heads or tails, but only one of them is heads. That’s 1 divided by 2, which can be expressed as ½, 50%, 0.5, or 1 to 1 odds.
Odds are expressed as the number of ways something won’t happen versus the number of ways that something will happen. For example, if you’re rolling a single six-sided die, and you want to know the odds of rolling a six, you’re looking at 5 to 1 odds. There are five ways to roll something other than a six, and only one way of rolling a six.
When you want to determine the probability of multiple things happening, you use addition or multiplication, depending on whether you want to determine whether one OR the other event will occur, or whether you want to determine whether one event AND the other event will occur.
If you’re looking at an “OR” question, you add the probabilities together. If you’re looking at an “AND” question, you multiply the probabilities by each other.
So if you want to know what the probability of rolling two dice and having one or the other come up with a six, you add the probabilities together. 1/6 + 1/6 = 2/6, which is rounded down to 1/3.
If you want to know the probability of rolling two dice and having BOTH of them come up six, you multiply the probabilities. 1/6 X 1/6 = 1/36.
How Slot Machine Odds USED to Work
Early slot machines were mechanical devices. They had three metal reels that had ten possible stops each.
To calculate the odds of a single symbol appearing on a reel, you just divide the one symbol by the total number of potential outcomes. So if you had one cherry on a reel, your odds of hitting that cherry were 1/10, or 10%.
To calculate the odds of getting three cherries, you multiple 1/10 X 1/10 X 1/10 and get 1/1000, or 0.1%.
If the odds of hitting that symbol are the same as all the others, then you have 10 possible jackpots you can win, which means that your chances of winning SOMETHING are 10/1000, which is 1%.
Most people wouldn’t play a slot machine that lost 99 times out of 100, though, so slot machine designers added additional, smaller prizes for getting two symbols out of three for certain symbols. And as long as they paid out less in prizes than the odds of hitting those jackpots, then those slots are guaranteed to make a profit in the long run.
For example, if a prize for hitting three cherries was $1000, you’d be playing a break-even game, but if the prize were $750, it’s easy to see how the casino would be guaranteed a profit. The difference between the odds of winning and the payout odds is where the casino makes its money.
How Slot Machines Work Now
Modern slot machines use a computer program called a random number generator to determine the outcomes of the various spins of the reels. This creates an imaginary reel with a number of symbols limited only by the program in question.
A mechanical slot machine with 256 symbols per reel would be huge, too large to play, much less to build. But a computer can create an imaginary reel with 256 symbols per reel and take up no more space than an iPod Shuffle.
To make things even more interesting and entertaining, slot machine designers can program different probabilities for each symbol to come up. Most symbols might come up once every 256 spins, but others might come up twice as often, while still others might only come up half as often.
This enables slot machine designers and casinos to offer slot machine games with far larger jackpots than they were able to when they were limited by mechanical reels. And they’re able to offer these large jackpots and still generate a healthy profit.
How Does This Relate to Payback Percentages?
The payback percentage is the amount of money that the slot machine is designed to pay out over an enormous number of spins. This number is almost always less than 100%. The difference between 100% and the payback percentage is the house edge, and that’s where the casino makes its profits.
A simple example can help illustrate how this works. Suppose you have a slot machine with three reels with ten symbols on each, and it only pays out when three cherries hit. The odds of winning that jackpot, as we determined earlier, is 1/1000.
If we set the jackpot as $900, and charge $1 per bet, the payout percentage for that game will be 90%, or $900/$1000. Of course, no one would play a slots game which only paid out once in every 1000 spins, which is why there are various smaller payouts programmed in.
There’s no way to tell what the payback percentage on a particular game is unless you have access to the par sheet for that machine. Casino management has that information, but players never have access to that info.
The best slot machine odds are almost always found in real casinos. If you see slot machines in an airport or a bar, be aware that the payback percentages on those games is much lower than you’ll see in a real casino.
If you’re in it to win it, one of the most popular questions you’ll hear from someone playing slot machines is, “how to find the slot machines with the best odds”? As simple as it may sound to answer, it’s not. Slot machines from a reputable casino use a special software called a Random Number Generator (or RNG). The RNG ensures that all the spins that take place on the reels are indeed random. With this generator in place, it’s impossible to know what’s going to happen and which symbols are going to land on the reels.
Aside from the RNG, you should also be familiar with the payout percentage for each game you play. There are tons of different slot machine out there. Different games with different themes, designs, features, architectural layouts and of course, different returns they give out to the people playing them. Some people could care less about the payout percentages and whether they win or not. They look at it from a different perspective as they are paying for a product, in this case, they are paying for a game to play. Just like you do with any other games you pay for or shows you see, etc. They’re strictly in it for the entertainment. Regardless of why you like to play slot machines, we’ll be discussing some ways on how to find the slot machines with the best odds.
Best Slot Machines
As mentioned before, there are tons of different slot machines out there and we’re here to try to narrow it down for you by discussing some of the best slot machine types available. Since there’s so many slots out there, it’s a good idea to place them all into different categories. For example, you have machines with progressive jackpots, and you also have machines with multiple lines offering bonus rounds. Aside from the machines, you also have different categories of players, some that like the simple kind of machines such as classic slots and those that like more of the modern video slot machines. Let’s go ahead and take a look at some of the different machines so you can find the one that suits you.
Video slots
Today’s day and age slot machine, the modern machine which uses virtual reels powered by electronic game computer technology. You’ll see that many of the themes behind these slots are from popular television shows, movies, bands, etc.
Reel slots
These are the original slot machines that have physical reels rather than the screen displayed reels (video reels). These can only be located inside the land based casinos and are no longer being produced.
Single Line slots
Hands down the simplest and most basic slot machine out there. Like the name, it only uses a single payline and is becoming rare to see them as much in casinos nowadays. With the increasing popularity in the video slots, it’s hard to compare multiple paylines to single paylines.
Bonus Round slots
A bonus round is triggered on these slots whenever the specific symbols land on the specific reels. These bonuses can range anywhere from free spins to a bonus game where you actually have to play in order to get a reward.
Multi-Denomination slots
The denominations on these sort of slot machines can range anywhere from a penny to a hundred dollars.
Muti-Line slots
Unlike the single payline, this machine’s paylines go in all kinds of different directions. These machines are more common now with the 30 payline machine being seen more frequently now, however there are some machines that have a lot more paylines.
Progressive slots
Each time you spin on a progressive slot, a percentage of your bet goes towards the jackpot and doesn’t stop until someone wins the jackpot. That means there are more people playing other slots associated with the same jackpot in which everyone is contributing towards. These jackpots can range from smaller ones being around the thousands and the bigger ones reaching the millions.
Best Slot Machine Games
Depending on the type of person you are, the best slot machine games can vary. As mentioned before, there are those who are in for the win, and there are those are simply in it to have a good time. Some are strictly about winning money and could care less about what sort of slot machine they’re playing, and there are those who love the different styled games, art, characters, sound effects, music and themes behind them. With all this said, it’s best to play the slots you love the most and understand the paytable fully. That way you know how features are triggered and know what is needed to win a progressive jackpot or to trigger a bonus round, etc.
Slot Machine Odds
As mentioned before, all reputable slot machines should be using the RNG to ensure all the spins you’re making on the reels are random. Aside from the RNG, you have a certain payout percentage on each machine. These percentages can range anywhere from around 90% – 99%. Usually the percentage of payout is higher for the machines that require a higher bet to be made. For example, a machine with a $1 minimum could payout anywhere from 95% to 99%, and say, a 50 cent machine could payout anywhere from 92% to 95%. These payout percentages could also explain usually why the easier a game is the worse the slot machine odds are. This could explain why the odds on table games like blackjack are better than most slot machine games.
The higher the bet, the higher the payout percentage usually is. This is good for those who have a fat stack of coins, but whatever the case, it’s important to make sure you can afford you potential loses if you lose.
Conclusion
Best Odds Of Winning
Through all this discussion, it’s important to note, if anyone ever tries to tell you some tricks or secrets on how to win, just walk away. There are no secret recipes out there that will guarantee you will become a winner from slot machines. As long as you’re having fun, that’s the only thing that matters. You can start having fun now playing our wide range of free slot machines now at Caesars Casino online.