The first slot machine called “Liberty Bell” was invented by Charles Fay. He created this at his workshop ... more]]>  

The first slot machine called “Liberty Bell” was invented by Charles Fay. He created this at his workshop in San Francisco in 1887. This slot machine was bit smaller than the present one. This slot machine, Liberty Bell had 3 reels and 20 symbols and its operation was the same as today’s slot machines. In relatively short period of time, Fay’s creation became popular and successful.

A slot machine “Operator Bell” similar to “Liberty Bell” in design was created in 1907, by Herbert Mills. He was a Chicago manufacturer. This slot machine had experienced a greater success. In 1910 slot machines became very common throughout USA.

What are slot machines?

A slot machine is a mechanical device which has varying number of circular reels of different dimensions. These reels have various symbols on it either painted on or they are attached to it. There can be any symbol but the most common designs are cherries, bars or the jackpot symbol number 7. The symbols on the machine make no difference to how the machine will play or what and how much it will pay out.

How to play the game?

The game begins when the player inserts a number of coins or gaming tokens into a coin slot which is in the front of the slot machine. Then the player pulls the handle which is fixed to the right side of the machine that sets the reels spinning. The reels come to a halt in order from left to right on the screen. The main objective is to line up matching symbols on the pay line. The schedule of winning combinations on the front or just above the machine, indicating the hierarchy of winning combinations and the amount that each one pays whenever it appears on the active pay line.

Some modern machines have a button instead of the handle. This button is marked as “spin” which is pressed by the players to start the reels turning. Some modern machines have the button marked as “credit”. If the player presses this button before inserting coins then, instead of paying winners off in coins, the machine will automatically credit winnings to a credit meter. The credited winnings appear numerically on the machine’s credit meter display, and, as an option, the player then has a choice of playing these credits, or cashing them out. If the player wants to play the credits, the player can press the button which is marked as “play one credit”. The each time this button is pressed the machine will reduce one credit from the credit meter and schedule one matching coin as “coin in”. The player can press this “play one credit” button up to the machines maximum coin limit.

For example, if the machine on which the player is playing takes 5 coins as maximum, then player can press this “play one coin” button 5 times. These coins are reduced from the player’s credit meter and then credited to player’s next pull. The machine will usually say “coin accepted” on the screen, when this is done or the display will light up in some cases. The result is the same as if the player had put five coins in the slot instead of using the credits he had collected. Most of the modern machines also have one more button called “play maximum coins”, sometime also identified as “play five coins” if that machine’s maximum is five coins, or “play four coins” if that machine’s maximum is four, and so on. By pressing this button, the player will automatically play the maximum coins which that machine takes. The player may also cash out these credits by pressing a button marked “collect”. By pressing this button, the machine will pay out in coins, or gaming tokens, all the credits indicated on the credit meter. These coins then fall to the plate mounted at the bottom of the machine.

The rules of slot machines simply rotate around the theory of any wheel spinning and stopping at a matching sequence of figures to hit a jackpot. Now almost all the slot machines are based on a computer chip that is designed to generate numbers always. And these numbers displays the output on the display screen of the slot machines.

The online slot machines have been in existence since decades. There are around forty different varieties of slot ... more]]>  

The online slot machines have been in existence since decades. There are around forty different varieties of slot machines available in different casinos around the world. The design and architecture of the slot machines is generally made to favor the machine owner. The slot machine is a very popular form of gambling and almost 70% of the games in casinos are slot machines.

The traditional slot machines operate like online blackjack when a player puts a coin in the designated slot and pulls a lever on the side of the machine. The three or more reels then set to spin after the coin is validated. The machine pays the player with money based on the patters that are formed with the spinning reels stops. When it fails to make a desired pattern, no money is paid to the player. This machine, which runs automatically, is most popular among gamblers.

The slot machine has a complex mechanism. The odd of you getting a jackpot is always against you. You may be exhausted with all your money but the slot machine has probably more money then you have. You can easily assume that the slot machines are devices that are programmed to trim down your pocket. The machine is always one-step ahead of the game and the chance of you hitting a lucky moment is rare.

The payout given by slot machine is broadly of two types, flat and progressive payouts. The flat rate machine consistently gives out the same percentage of payouts at all the times based on that particular machine’s result.

The progressive machines are the ones, which are linked in a network. Thus, the jackpot gets larger with the progressive increase in the number of players and the increase in time between successive jackpots.

The flat rate machine jackpot may not make you rich but you have more chances of winning compared to the progressive slot machine. In progressive machine, the chances of winning a jackpot are narrow. However, if you get lucky, you can hit thousands of dollars at the jackpot just with $1 in the slot.

However, it is always in your best interest to go for the flat rate machine because in such machines the odds against you hitting a jackpot are very high on progressives. When you play the flat rate machine, you will have money to play longer and increase your odds of winning even though they are smaller jackpots.

Out of the various online slot machines, the very basic machine has three virtual reels and each has about ten different symbols on it. These symbols include variations of bar, line, and a cheery. When the player spots any variation on the display line, then he can win 10 to 1. Generally, the player will get double of what he puts in when he spots a cherry on the payout line. When the player spots three identical symbols in a payout line, he will win from 100 or 200 to 1 odds. The odds of hitting a jackpot with a symbol or combination of symbols in an online slot machine is determined by the virtual reel set up.