Posts Tagged ‘slots’

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Slot Machine Odds

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Understanding slot machine odds is integral to being a good slot player, regardless of whether your primary playing field is the free slots section of the online casino you favor or alternatively the high stakes slot machines that all online casinos have. Even if you play free slots therefore, understanding slot machine odds is a good idea if for no other reason than to understand exactly how slot machines work.

The average slot machine payout on the internet is in the range of 85% to 95%. That range can not really be lowered down any further for the simple reason that slot machine odds are variable enough that a simple average is not really a useful number. However, when you take a look at individual slot machines, the picture becomes a lot clearer to most people.

Penny slot machines tend to have the highest payout percentage of any slot machine on the internet, with a payout average of 95%. This means that the odds against you when you play slot machines is about 100 to 95 and that means that for every dollar you put into the slot machine, on average you will get 95 cents back. This is of course not a universal number, but it is an average that you can keep in mind when taking a look at individual slot machines from individual online casinos.

Nickel slots rank in just below penny slots with a payout percentage in the 92% range, while dime slots are in below nickel slots with a payout percentage of around 90%. Quarter slots have a payout percentage of 88%, while slot machines that are dollar or higher slot machines tend to have the worst payout percentages at 85%. These are once again just general average figures as it is important to keep in mind that slot machine odds will vary greatly between different machines and different casinos.

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Benefits of Free Slot Play

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Online slot machines are not that different from offline slot machines in many respects, but there is one major difference between the two slot machines and it has to do with the idea of free slots. The online casinos of the world allow you to play free slots or paid slots depending on your wishes. These free slots have some major benefits inherent to their use.

The first of these benefits is that you get a chance to test out the actual slot machine software and see if it is something that you like. You can take a look at the graphical user interface, the sounds and the actual performance of the slot machines for free and you can make sure that everything is to your liking before you spend a single cent on playing online slot machines.

The second of these benefits is that you actually get the chance to familiarize yourself with the software at the same time you are testing it out. While most online casino slot machines are similar in terms of their usability, this does not mean that they are exactly the same. The simple fact of the matter is that there are actually minute differences in where different buttons are located and these differences can really do you in if you are not aware of them. Going to play free slots before you actually play paid ones will give you a chance to know exactly how your specific slot machine of choice works and that will save you some embarrassing moments later on down the road.

Finally, a third benefit of free slot machines is that you can actually play them as long as you want. For people that are nervous about giving their information or their money to online casinos, the free slot machines are the answer. You can play them as long as you want with no pressure whatsoever to make a deposit and this in turn will allow you to get to know and trust the casino before you commit your money to its care.

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Tips on How to Play Online Slots

Sunday, October 26th, 2008

Whether you are looking to play free slots online or are interested in the wide array of paid slot machines the internet has to offer, there are some ground rules when it comes to slot machines online. These rules apply to free slots and to paid slots, because the programming behind both is precisely the same. If you want to get good at online slot machines, following these tips or rules is the best way to go.

The first tip that you will want to follow in this area is making sure you get an appropriate amount of break time in between your online slot machine gaming. There are a number of people that will argue with this tip, wanting to get in as much action as possible, but you need to understand that staring at a computer screen for hours on end will do nothing but stunt your focus. If you want to come out of things with as good a grasp on the situation as possible, take at least one five minute break each hour to make sure that you refresh your mind and keep your wits about you.

The second tip that you will want to follow is to make sure that you play free slots before you tackle the paid machines. The main reason for this is that since the programming behind them is the same, free slots with the same name as paid slot machines will function in the exact same manner. This will allow you to get a grasp on how the machine works without putting any of your money at risk and in the heat of the actual gaming session, understanding which button does what without even having to look could be the difference between a winning and a losing slot machine session.

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Slot Machine Betting Types

Saturday, October 25th, 2008

One of the fundamental concerns of most slot machine players has to do with the different betting types that slot machines have. Even free slots actually have different betting types that you can use over the course of a particular gaming session and that is why even if you play free slots, you need to be aware of what you are getting yourself into.

Every slot machine has the most basic betting type and this is the betting type that sees you bet a particular amount based on the coin value you are playing with and then in return for that you can get a winning combination along the horizontal centre pay line and win some money based on getting that combination. Conventional slot machines as well as every slot machine to follow have this particular betting type. Another betting type that all slot machines have is known as the accumulation betting type and this is a betting type in which you leverage extra coins in order to get better odds when you play the slot machine. Most conventional slot machines allow you to use the basic betting type with one coin per spin or to accumulate on two or maximum three coins per spin in order to increase your overall odds.

In the new age of casino gaming however, these are not the only betting types displayed by slot machines. Video slot machines in fact have another betting type known as the pay line betting type and when you play with this betting type, you can bet additional coins not only to increase your odds with the slot machine, but also to increase the number of ways in which you can win. Typically, you need to bet an additional 5-10 coins in order to get the extra pay lines and for this reason it is not uncommon to see something like a 30 pay line video slot machine in which the maximum coins per spin is 300.

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Fraud with Slots

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Slot machines are easily the most popular entertainment tool in the world and for that reason it is also quite true that there are many people out there that would like to take advantage of slot machines. Fraud with slots, whether they are free slots or paid slots, is unfortunately something that is going to happen. However, do not make the mistake of thinking about it as a widespread problem, because it is a small problem in a few areas that does need to be dealt with.

Another mistake that people make when thinking about fraud with slots is that it is a problem that only happens online. If you play free slots or paid slots online and give your information away without checking into the background of the company then you can be a victim of fraud with slots, but it does not happen offline. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that there are dishonest people in all walks of life and even though the offline slot machines are strictly regulated, fraud can still happen on a fairly regular basis in some parts of the casino industry.

The best way to guard against fraud with slots is to simply do your research and become educated on the subject before you trek into any particular areas. When you are playing at a casino offline or a casino online, make sure you know what that casino is all about. Read reviews and find out what the statistics behind the casino’s slot machines are like and based on that information determine if the casino is trustworthy. If you do this beforehand, you will eliminate all of the unscrupulous online and offline casinos from the mix and that in turn will of course also allow you to avoid instances of fraud with slots.

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Ins and Outs of Progressive Slots

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Progressive slot machines have been around for a very long time in the offline casino world, but there are many reasons as to why they have reached their full level of prominence only after being converted into online slot machines. One reason for this is the fact that you can now play free slots with attached progressive jackpots and while you do not get a chance to win the progressive jackpot from the free slots version, you can at least get a taste for how things work. This has led many people to convert from free slots to paid slots once they have had a taste of the progressive jackpot and that in turn has resulted in much more popularity for progressive slot machines as a whole in the online arena.

Progressive slot machines are varied in how the machine actually works. Some of the slot machines will be conventional in nature while others will be video slot machines. What defines a progressive slot machine is therefore not exactly what type of slot machine it is, but rather the fact that it has a jackpot attached to it that increases with the steady passage of time if nobody wins the slot machine grand prize. In this sense, progressive slot machines can be any type of slot machine so long as this jackpot is present and in the case of all progressive slot machines, the progressive jackpot replaces the normal top prize that another slot machine of the same basic type would have.

One of the things to keep in mind about progressive slot machines is that because of this increased progressive jackpot, the odds of the slot machine keep changing. The effective pot odds (to use a poker term) of the progressive slot machine gets larger as the jackpot gets higher and for that reason there are rare circumstances in which the progressive jackpot gets so large that you can actually turn the odds to your favour by playing the slot machine at that particular time. It is a rare occurrence however, but by the time the jackpot gets to that size the casino has already made so much money off the slot machine that it does not mind giving a little back.

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How Slot Machines Work

Sunday, October 19th, 2008

When discussing something like the technology behind slot machines, it is vitally important to divide the slot machines themselves up into two categories. These categories, as you might already be able to guess, are the categories of online slot machines and offline slot machines. The reason this is necessary is because they work in completely different ways.

Offline slot machines have a lot more hardware involved in their performance and for this reason need to be maintained quite a bit more. The actual operation of most offline slot machines nowadays is completely electronic and for that reason the mechanisms themselves are tied to when you press the spin button or pull the actual arm of the slot machine. Once you have done that, the mechanisms will spin the reels and will randomize the stopping so that particular symbols end up coming up on the reels. Those symbols are tied to patterns that can be recognized by the slot machine and for this reason the machine knows exactly when you have a winning combination. Most slot machines will give you credits rather than coins for each win and then at the end of your session you can cash out and the machine will release the appropriate number of coins to you.

This massive hardware setup that offline slot machines have is quite different from the online slot machines which are pretty much completely software in nature. While hardware is required in the form of servers to run the slot machines, the actual machines themselves run through the use of programming code, most of which is written in order to simulate what the offline slot machines do hardware wise. Rather than actual randomness which is easy to accomplish with hardware, slot machines are mostly pseudo-random, with their random number generators evaluated and certified by third party agencies. Free slots work in the same manner, which is why you can play free slots in order to evaluate the paid ones.

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Online Casino Slots

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Most of the slot machines in the world today inhabit offline casinos. However, increasingly people are starting to see the value of online casino slots and the many advantages of the online slot machines are starting to come to light.

Perhaps the most obvious advantage of online casino slots involves free slots. Now, people that have primarily gambled through offline casinos will have no idea what free slot machines are, but the fact of the matter is that if you play at online casino you can actually play free slots for as long as you’d like. Free slots are simply normal slot machines of the online world with the money element removed. The programming and the slot machines are exactly the same, but instead of playing for real money you play for fake money credits. These were originally put in place to allow people to test out the software before they committed their money, but the modern online casino will have free slots that anyone can play for as long as they want.

Another advantage inherent to online casino slot machines is the convenience factor. If you wanted to play slot machines in the offline world, chances are very good that you would be forced to drive a few hours to get to the closest place that had them and then you might still be out of luck if your particular slot machine of choice was not available. The online world allows you to choose from hundreds of different machines from the comfort of your own home however and then allows you to play those slot machines for free or for money for as long as you want. You can visit the casino in your bathrobe if you want since it is online and in cyberspace, meaning that nobody else can actually see you play.

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History of Slots

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Depending on who you are, the history of slots can start in a number of different ways. There are many historical records around of ancient cultures that used to have a slot machine system that worked in the same way, except instead of the electronic slot machines that we are accustomed to, it was actually a concentration type game in which the contestant picked cards from a face down pile and their prize was awarded to them based on the combination of cards that they picked. Such games are still available today in carnivals and many people would argue that these types of games were the basis for modern slot machines.

As for modern slot machines however, most people would argue that the modern slot machine is purely a Las Vegas invention. While there were similar games involving cards available in the casinos of Europe, the modern slot machine would not really be possible without the advent of electricity and that did not happen until the 20th century. Most of the modern slot machines that are popular in the world today were invented in Las Vegas and for that reason it is quite appropriate to credit Sin City with being the inventor of the modern slot machine.

With online slot machines and the free slots that came along with them however, it is much harder to make that type of value judgment. It is certainly true that there are many online casinos within the United States initially that came up with the code necessary to create such online slot machines, but the simple fact of the matter is that most of the online slot machines of the modern day were created outside of the country in places like South America and Asia. For this reason, it is quite possible that the history of slots is now shifting from a base of North America and Europe to a base of South America and Asia.

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Multi Line Slots

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Out of all of the different inventions the internet has come up with in the field of online gaming, multi line slot machines are arguably the most popular. They have become popular as free slots but even if you don’t play free slots as a rule, you can find the same multi line slot machines in the paid slot machines that you play. Multi line slots are really a revolution in slot machines and they have become so popular that even offline casinos are now offering multi line slot machines.

What exactly are multi line slot machines? Well, simply put, they are slot machines that allow you the opportunity of winning through multiple different winning combinations across different pathways on the slot machine. With a conventional slot machine, the only time you could win is if a winning combination came across the main horizontal left to right pay line on the slot machine. If you could win with diagonal winning combinations, do you think it would have increased the amount of money that you’d have won? It definitely would have and with multi line slot machines you can make that idle thought a reality.

And the best thing about it is that multi line slot machines are combined with video slot machines in the online world to produce slot machines that everyone can fall in love with. These video slot machines have five reels and in some cases have seven or even nine reels, allowing massive amounts of pay lines to trace all kinds of pathways across those extra reels. Because of this, there are multi line slot machines in the online world that have 15, 20, 30, 40 or in some cases even 50 pay lines that you can win across. With that kind of action possible, it is no wonder online casinos that stock these slot machines are so popular.

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