One of the most common questions you'll see about anything in the casino gambling industry relates to 'honesty'. You'll see this question asked about every casino game under the sun. You'll also see it asked about every casino, especially the online gambling sites.
In this post, I want to address this specific question:
Are slot machines honest?
How Do You Define Honest?
When I use Google to look for a definition of honesty, I see some of the following definitions listed:
- 'Free of deceit and untruthfulness'
- 'Sincere'
- 'Morally correct or virtuous'
- 'Fairly earned, through hard work'
I think most people are thinking of the first definition when they ask whether slots games are honest. They want to make sure they're not being cheated. In this context, the answer is yes, slot machines are honest. I'll explain why in detail in the rest of this post.
In the second context, where 'honest' means 'sincere'—I'm less sure. Are the casinos sincere when they want you to think you're able to win money? I think so, but they know in the long run, anyone who plays slots long enough will lose all their money.
In the third and fourth contexts, I'd have to say that slot machines are NOT honest. Slot machines are closer to morally neutral than they are to sinful, but you might have a different belief system about such things. It's hard to say that slots don't appeal to one of the seven deadly sins, though (greed).
With newer machines, you may use a card loaded with credits, much like a credit card, which is provided by the casino. On reel-spinning slots, push a button marked 'play one credit' until you've reached the number of coins you wish to play. Then hit the 'spin reels' button or pull the handle. Carmichael is one of the most successful slot machine cheats, although he has spent time in prison for his crimes. He began cheating slot machines in 1980 when he used a metal device that was inserted into the coin slot and then triggered a payout.
I'm not sure anyone could (or would) consider money won on a slot machine 'earned' or to have anything to do with 'hard work'. It's a game of luck. If you win, then you got lucky—it has nothing to do with working hard or being smart.
I'll explain more about that later in this post, too.
How a Slot Machine Works Mathematically
Answering the question 'are slot machines honest?' begins with learning how the games work mathematically. The math behind the games is easier to understand than most people probably think.
The first concept to understand is basic probability. When someone says 'probability', they're talking about the mathematical likelihood that something is going to happen. That 'something' is called an event.
The probability of an event is always represented as a number between 0 and 1. An event that will always occur no matter what has a probability of 1. An event that will never occur has a probability of 0. An event that will occur half the time has a probability of 0.5.
For simplicity's sake, and to make understanding the concept easier, I just used whole numbers and decimals in the previous paragraph. But probabilities are almost always expressed as percentages or fractions.
How to Express Probability as a Percentage
You're watching the evening news, and the meteorologist says there's a 50% chance of rain tomorrow.
Amigo bingo no deposit bonus. That means it's just about as likely to rain as it is to not rain.
Here's another example:
You flip a coin. You have a 50% chance of it landing on heads. You also have a 50% chance of it landing on tails.
If you add the probabilities of all possible events together, you always get a total of 1 (or 100%).
Probability is the mathematical engine that makes gambling games possible.
How to Calculate a Probability
Here's how you calculate a probability:
You take the number of ways an event can happen. You divide that by all the total events possible (including what can happen and what happens if it doesn't.)
You're rolling a single six-sided die. You want to know the probability of getting a 6.
There are 6 possible outcomes. Only one of them is a 6.
The probability of getting a 6 is 1/6.
Another way to express that is using odds, which can be useful when calculating whether a bet is expected to be mathematically profitable or not.
Odds expresses the number of ways something can't happen versus the number of ways it can happen.
In the six-sided die example, the odds of getting a 6 are 5 to 1. You have 5 ways of NOT rolling a 1, and only 1 way of rolling a 1.
If you want to calculate a probability that includes the word 'or', you add the probabilities of the events together.
If you want to calculate a probability that includes the word 'and', you multiply the probabilities by each other.
You want to know the probability of getting a 1 or a 2 on a roll of a six-sided die. The probability of each is 1/6.
1/6 + 1/6 = 2/6
You can reduce that to 1/3.
Here's another example:
You roll 2 dice. You want to know the probability of getting a 6 on both dice. The probability of each is 1/6.
1/6 X 1/6 = 1/36
Applying Probability to a Simple Hypothetical Slot Machine Game
But how does all this apply to the honesty of slot machines?
I'll use a super simple hypothetical slot machine game to explain how this probability affects the integrity of the game.
This super simple game has 3 symbols on each reel—an orange, a lemon, and a cherry.
The probability of getting a lemon on the first reel is 1/3.
The probability of getting a lemon on the second reel is also 1/3.
In fact, it's the same on each reel.
But the game only pays off if you get 3 of the same symbol on each reel.
The probability of that is 1/3 X 1/3 X 1/3, or 1/9.
Let's suppose the payoff for getting 3 lemons is 4 for 1.
And let's suppose the payoff for getting 3 cherries is 3 for 1.
Finally, we'll suppose the payoff for getting 3 oranges is even money.
- The probability of winning 4 coins is 1/9.
- The probability of winning 3 coins is also 1/9.
- The probability of winning 1 coin is also 1/9.
- The probability of winning nothing is 6/9, or 2/3.
Now let's suppose you're putting $1 in on every spin, and you play 9 spins, getting every possible result once.
You win 4 coins once. You win 3 coins once. You win 1 coin once. That's a total of 8 coins you've won.
But you've inserted 9 coins into the game.
Where did the extra coin go?
In the pockets of the casino, that's where.
By setting up the payoffs so that they're lower than the odds of winning, the casino sets up a situation where it's guaranteed a mathematical profit over the long run.
Of course, most modern slot machines aren't quite this simple. They have more symbols on each reel, for one thing. For another, the probability of getting a particular symbol might be different from the probability of getting another symbol.
For example, you might have a 2/3 probability of getting a pear, and only a 1/24 probability of getting a cherry.
What Happens in the Long Run vs. the Short Term?
By manipulating the payoffs and the probabilities of the symbols, the casino can guarantee that over a long period and many spins, they'll profit.
But in the short run, a player might win a big jackpot or lose several times in a row.
That's the nature of random events. In the short run, anything can happen. In the long run, the numbers get closer to the theoretical probability.
This is obvious when you look at it with an extreme example.
On an infinite number of spins, your average loss per spin will mirror the mathematical expectation.
The closer you get to an infinite number of spins, the closer you'll get to the mathematical expectation.
Do Slot Machines Cheat?
The casinos don't need to cheat to make a healthy profit.
The slot machine designers and manufacturers don't need to cheat to make a healthy profit.
In fact, in well-regulated jurisdictions (like Nevada), games are thoroughly audited for fairness. When they're auditing a game for fairness, one of the things they check is whether a game has a jackpot that's impossible to win.
That's the main concern many players have when they ask if slot machines cheat.
Does the game have jackpots that are impossible to win?
The short answer in almost every case is no, they don't.
But you have no way of knowing what the probability of winning that jackpot is. Slot machine games have opaque odds and probabilities. The results are generated by a computer program called a random number generator (RNG).
The only people who know the exact settings for that RNG are the designers and the casino managers.
In fact, you could be playing two identical slot machines located right next to each on the casino floor and have different odds of winning. Not only is this legal, it's common.
Does that sound like cheating?
By the strict letter of the law, it's not.
Is it honest?
I'd say yes. Having two games next to each other offering different odds is intentionally misleading. It's legal, but it's not sincere in any way.
Online slot machines are no different, except that in some cases, these games HAVE been known to cheat. But not reputable casinos and not reputable software providers.
On an infinite number of spins, your average loss per spin will mirror the mathematical expectation.
The closer you get to an infinite number of spins, the closer you'll get to the mathematical expectation.
Do Slot Machines Cheat?
The casinos don't need to cheat to make a healthy profit.
The slot machine designers and manufacturers don't need to cheat to make a healthy profit.
In fact, in well-regulated jurisdictions (like Nevada), games are thoroughly audited for fairness. When they're auditing a game for fairness, one of the things they check is whether a game has a jackpot that's impossible to win.
That's the main concern many players have when they ask if slot machines cheat.
Does the game have jackpots that are impossible to win?
The short answer in almost every case is no, they don't.
But you have no way of knowing what the probability of winning that jackpot is. Slot machine games have opaque odds and probabilities. The results are generated by a computer program called a random number generator (RNG).
The only people who know the exact settings for that RNG are the designers and the casino managers.
In fact, you could be playing two identical slot machines located right next to each on the casino floor and have different odds of winning. Not only is this legal, it's common.
Does that sound like cheating?
By the strict letter of the law, it's not.
Is it honest?
I'd say yes. Having two games next to each other offering different odds is intentionally misleading. It's legal, but it's not sincere in any way.
Online slot machines are no different, except that in some cases, these games HAVE been known to cheat. But not reputable casinos and not reputable software providers.
How do they cheat?
They set up games which are impossible to win.
The reasons baffle me. You stand to make far more money in the long run if you offer an honest game.
Even an idiot can tell after a while that he's never going to win a rigged casino game on the Internet.
But otherwise smart people will continue to deposit money and wager it at a breakneck pace if they're winning something every now and then, even if they're showing a net loss over time.
That's how gambling works.
What About Video Poker Games?
You need to understand immediately that video poker games are NOT the same thing as slot machine games. They look similar on the surface, but the math and the gameplay couldn't be more different. And the philosophy behind these games is different, too.
Here's why:
A video poker machine uses a random number generator that duplicates the odds found in a 52-card deck of cards. You know the probability of getting a specific symbol. Any specific card has a 1/52 probability of appearing.
A card of a specific suit has a ¼ probability of appearing. A card of a specific rank has a 1/13 probability of appearing.
Payback Percentages and the House Edge
Knowing this enables mathematicians and computer programs to calculate the actual payback percentage for these games.
What's a payback percentage?
It's the percentage of each bet that's paid back to the player on average in the long run. It's the opposite of the house edge.
On a slot machine, you have no way of calculating a game's payback percentage. It's impossible, because you have no way of knowing the probability of getting a specific symbol.
But on a video poker game, you can calculate all the possibilities. And since you know how much the game pays out for various combinations, you can add the expected value of each to get an overall payback percentage for the game.
And you know what's even better than this?
The payback percentages for video poker games are significantly higher than the payback percentages on slot machines in almost every case.
Even the worst video poker game usually has a payback percentage of 95% or so. But the better games offer payback percentages in the 98%+ range. Some (rare) games have pay tables which offer a slightly positive game for the player, like 100.2%. But those numbers assume perfect strategy on your part.
But even the best slot machine games usually have a payback percentage in the 95% range. The more common games slip down into the lower 92% or so range.
Expected Hourly Loss Rates in Slot Machine Games vs. Video Poker Games
What does this mean to your bankroll?
Let's look at how much money you can mathematically expect to lose playing 2 different games:
We'll start with an average slot machine game with a 94% payback percentage. You're playing for $1 per spin, and you're making 600 spins per hour. You expect to win 94% of each bet back, which means you expect to lose 6% of each bet.
6% of $600 is $36, which is the amount the casino expects you to lose on this game on average over time.
Then we'll consider a 9/6 Jacks or Better game which you're playing with perfect strategy. The payback percentage for this game is 99.54%, which means the house edge is 0.46%.
We'll assume you're playing a quarter machine and betting 5 coins per hand. You're putting a little more money into action on each bet–$1.25. Most video poker players are as fast as slot machine players; they play 600 hands per hour. That's $750/hour in action.
But with a house edge of 0.54%, your expected loss on that kind of action is only $3.77.
That's right.
Playing slots costs you 10 times as much as playing video poker.
Video poker offers other advantages over slots, too. One of these is the skill element. You might not want to think about what you're doing when you're gambling.
But if you're anything like me, you want to be able to at least exert a little bit of control over your destiny.
In video poker, you get to do that. The decisions you make playing each hand have a direct effect on your bottom line.
Play your hands well, and you'll be playing one of the best gambling games in the house.
Should You Play Slot Machines at All?
This is a legitimate question. Should you play slot machines at all?
Here are some pros and cons of playing slots:
Pros:
- You can win bigger jackpots on slot machine games than any other gambling game except maybe keno. If you're looking for a life-changing jackpot, like you'd see if you won a lotto drawing, slots are the way to go.
- They require little in the way of attention or effort on the part of the player. This suits some temperaments just fine. Relaxing in front of the spinning reels seems like a good deal for a lot of people.
- They're available in an endless variety. You can find a slot machine game with any theme you can imagine. Love Elvis Presley? You'll find a slot machine for it. Play Dungeons & Dragons when you were 12? There's a slot for that, too. The themes and games are almost endless.
Cons:
- They offer some of the worst odds in the house. The house edge for slot machines vary widely. Some of them might offer good odds, but most of them have a house edge of between 5% and 10%. This isn't awful. After all, roulette has a house edge of 5.26%. The problem is that slots play so fast that you can easily put more money into an action than you thought you could.
- You can't figure out what the odds are. I have a philosophical problem with slot machine games. No other casino game is opaque about your odds. You can calculate the house edge for any table game in the casino. You can calculate it for video poker, too. But you're never given the information you need to figure out the house edge on a slot machine. This is unacceptable to me.
- They're designed to be addictive. Slot machine manufacturers spend millions doing research into what kinds of stimuli are going to put most people into the 'flow' state. Flow is great if you're interested in personal productivity at work, but if you're playing a gambling game, it's awful. No other casino game is as addictive as a slot machine.
Conclusion
Yes, slot machines are honest—in a manner of speaking, anyway. Casinos don't make claims about slot machines that are blatantly untrue. If a game has a maximum jackpot of $1 million, you do have a chance of winning that much money.
What you don't know is how likely or unlikely it is to win that amount.
Is this disingenuous on the part of the casinos?
I think it is, at least to some extent.
But all casino games have math behind them that puts the odds in the casino's favor. That's just the nature of the games. Slots are no different in that respect.
No matter which casino game you play, if you stick with it long enough, you'll eventually lose all your money.
The only exceptions are certain games that can be played with advantage techniques, but that's another subject entirely.
The only way for you to get an edge against a slot machine game is to cheat.
In most jurisdictions, cheating is blatantly illegal. You're better off learning to play poker at an expert level, or learning how to count cards in blackjack.
Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.There have been cheaters and cheats used by punters across the globe at casinos to beat the slot machines. History has many gamers that have famed because of their cheating hacks. One such popular name is Tommy Glenn Carmichael who was in the slot machine cheating business for over 20 years. He used a tool at the machine which was a piece of metal that slideded into the coin release slot. This triggered un-earned payouts in massive amounts but today modern slot machines don't usually pay out in real coins anyway so Carmichael had to think of something else to cheat but was caught cheating and spent his 5 years in jail.
Online slot machine work on RNG computers making it impossible to cheat the game. An RNG cycles through thousands of number combinations and stops the moment a player hits the spin button. The results are displayed for the player after the reels stop spinning. RNGs are always tested and certified by third-party agencies to make sure that they are fair and reliable, and that outcomes are not rigged.
Many times in a casino you will hear players say whether certain tables or slots are running hot or cold. However, because slot machines operate on RNGs, no amount of luck or perceived hot or cold streaks will impact the outcome of each spin. Each time a player hits a button to spin the reels or pulls the arm of a machine, the result is a unique event. Card counting strategies. Slots machines and online slots games are therefore never due to hit regardless of what someone might tell you. Streaks and payouts boil down to a matter of pure chance, even multiple jackpots can occur for a single machine.
The best ways to cheat slot machine be it land casino or online casino.
Know your betting and spending limits
Betting concepts and spending habits is what experts want punters to know of. It also claims to help you apply your common sense regarding slot machine decision making. As slot machines are entirely random so you don't get to make many decisions at all. You can decide which machine to play, if any, and you can decide how much to gamble. But none of that is going to help you become a winner on a consistent basis, because a slot machine is a negative expectation game in which you stand to lose more than the odds of winning suggest.
The casino always pays out your win at less than the odds of winning, which guarantees them a long term profit. Common sense doesn't increase your chances of winning. Neither does any combination of betting concepts and spending habits. Thus you need to set a win goal and a loss limit for each session. While that might be an entertaining way of managing your bankroll, it does nothing for your long term expectation.
Make use of no deposit bonus codes
Slots strategy is about giving yourself as many slots advantages as you can. Lot of playing the slots comes down to chance, which is why the best strategies are about seizing whatever opportunities you can to get ahead. Almost all Canadian online casinos offer bonus codes out if which many are no deposits. You can make use of these bonus codes to enhance your bankroll when you play slots.
Use bonuses with low wagering requirements
One of the best slot machine cheat is to look for bonuses with low wagering requirements and no maximum cash-out limits. Many casinos offer new players large bonus, and do not disclose that you'll need to bet a huge amount before you can redeem it. But you can read the terms and conditions for each bonus and find wagering requirements of 10x or less. Many Casinos have as wagering requirements as high 50x, which means that on a $100 deposit, you can't get your money until you've made $5,000 in bets! Also, avoid bonuses that come with a maximum cash-out. Find a bonus that doesn't limit how much you can win from it
Find the loosest online slots at land casinos
At real land casinos if you have been playing a particular slot for a while you should change the machine if you are losing. Slots vary in how easily they pay out, and according to industry insiders and leading experts, major gaming centers avoid placing loose slot machines close to each other. The best option when you're on a losing streak is to move on to an adjacent slot machine or try your hand at a completely new online slots game. Remember, each spin is a completely unique event, so feeding more coins into a losing machine in no way increases your chances of finally winning.
Set an amount to lose
You have read it right. To lose you need to set an amount. Statistically, the longer you play the better the chances are that you will lose your money. If your bankroll is heading towards a slump, be sure to stop once you've reached your loss limit. Never chase losses. It is always advised to play responsibly rather than with stupidity to lose.
Find the perfect place to play slots
At land casinos you need to find a perfect a place to play slots. Slot machines are placed all over the casino floor quite strategically and in a meticulous way. Physical placement revolves around the fact that the casinos want everyone to see a big win. It encourages others to play, so often loose machines are to be found in highly visible areas. It's far better to wait until you're actually in the casino. Thus go for a spot with a wide range of machines so you can move on if you hit a cold streak. For even better chances to find loose slots, look no further than your computer. Online slot machines generally pay out more than slots on the real land casinos. Having a constant stream of players makes it possible for real money online casinos to offer slots with the best odds yet.
Play slots with random jackpots
Often players pick the slot machines with jackpots to win. Popular jackpot slots are fixed and progressive. Slots machines with a fixed jackpot will have a maximum payout/jackpot amount that does not change. Whereas for progressive machines the jackpot increases the more people play on them. A fraction of their bet falls into the jackpot pool, and the jackpot will continue to increase until won. Progressive machines usually come with an indicator that shows the player that the maximum payout can change based on how many people play that particular machine, therefore making the jackpot progressively higher or lower.
As far as playing progressives are concerned there are different views of experts. Some believe that progressives are the only true way to strike it super rich at the casino; many claim that it's quite the long shot, even as difficult as winning the lottery. Whatever the case, playing on progressive slot machines are a lot of fun. If you manage your bankroll well and pace yourself, you just might find yourself entering the millionaire's club.
Use free slots and free spins
Is There A Way To Cheat Slot Machines To Play
All online casinos offer free slot games to play. With free slots you can try out the game, all free. It's an easy way to learn a game and understand before you pump real cash in it to play. On the other hand free spins can be used to play the slots and spin free to increase your bankroll.
Bet to the Max
This is popular cheat that many slot experts recommend to punters.There is a common misconception that if you do not bet the maximum bet every time you will always lose to the casino in the long haul. However, that's not quite how it works. This strategy can actually increase the odds for you on some specific machines. Also it is advised to stay away from the penny and nickel slot machines because the payouts are very poor. Fortunately, this isn't really an issue for online slots. All you need to do is to choose whether to bet minimum of maximum coins. You could spend hours wasting away in front of a nickel or penny slot only to find out that the jackpot you hit is not worth the effort. It isn't half as rewarding as hitting it big on a machine that has higher bet minimums and larger jackpots or prize multipliers. Up the ante and avoid those $0.01-0.05 machines in order to win really big.
Note that the majority of slots chances at winning are absolutely the same whether you bet minimum or maximum. The difference is simple: the more you risk, the more you can win on a lucky spin. This is particularly true when it comes to online slots with bonus features and rounds.
All slot machines have a set 'volatility.' A high volatility slot machine doesn't pay out as many wins, but when it does the wins can be huge. In order to take advantage of the exponential size of the multipliers on these high volatility games, it can often be a good idea to bet high.
On the other hand, low and medium volatility slot machines pay out a large amount of smaller wins, and a few big ones. These machines are more about slow and steady winning the race, so you won't feel the need to bet as high as you can to hit that one huge payout.
Study the Pay tables
It is very important to always check on the payout rates of every single slot machine you decide to play and most importantly, you must check on this before choosing a slot machine. Each slot machine has its own set-up with different payouts, and the outcome can really make a difference.
For online slots, the pay tables can be found under the help and rules menu of each game. Pay tables and the number of paylines can vary widely by game, so taking the time to do a bit of homework and select the games with the best pay tables, advantageous paylines and most bonus features.
Now use these cheats when playing slot machines at casinos and see the difference it makes on your game play.
Is There A Way To Cheat Slot Machines
