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How Online Slots Work

Even though slots have been around for more than 100 years, they still work the same way today. Technology has only made them better, easier, and more interesting. The machines usually have between three to five reels, which the players spin and wait till it stops to know if they win or not. While the old land-based machines may not have a lot of the modern features like cascading reels, expanding wilds, and bonuses, the basics are still the same. Here are some important features to understand about online slots:

Random Number Generator (RNG)

Additionally, the only kind of slot machines allowed are electronic video slot machines. Therefore, you will not find any mechanical slots that have traditional reels - only video screens According to the terms of the compact between the state and the tribes, however, the minimum and maximum payouts are regulated as follows: video poker and video blackjack - 83% to 98%, slot machines - 80% to 95%, keno - 75% to 95%. Casinos, almost universally, put the highest-paying chips in the highest denomination machines and the lowest-paying chips in the lowest denomination machines. This means that $25 slots will have chips returning around 95-98 percent and the penny machines will have chips returning around 86-89 percent.

The RNG is one of the major features that differentiate slots at the Internet casinos from land-based machines. RNG is the software in these games that generates a sequence of symbols or numbers randomly. It generates thousands of numbers/ outcomes every second. The software is completely random, and this means it isn’t affected by the previous results. There is no strategy or method with which you can predict the result of the next spin. It cannot be manipulated or influenced by the casino or the player. And this makes the game completely fair.

RTP/House Edge

All casino slot machines have different RTPs/House edges. You need to understand them before you start to play online slots for real money. RTP means return to player, and it is the variable that determines how much you should expect from a slot after a period of playing.

On the flip side, the house edge is the return to the casino. The house edge is the amount the casino expects from the slot over a period. Thus, the house edge of any slot is 100 minus the RTP. Expert players take time to know the RTP of slots, as it is a very important factor.

For instance, let’s say a game has an RTP of 96%, the house edge will be 4%. If you wager $1,000,000 on that game over a period, you will get $960,000 as returns while the casino gets $40,000 as profit.

We made use of a large amount of money in our example because RTP is worked out over a long period. When you start playing, you may get returns of between 30% and 1000%, depending on how lucky you are. But if you play that game for long, your total returns will be close to the RTP.

For this reason, you must choose only slots with the highest RTP. You have better odds of winning or reducing your losses over a period. The industry’s average RTP is 96%, but it is possible to find games with up to 98% or 99%.

Volatility (Variance)

Slot Machines With The Highest Payouts

The volatility of real cash casino games is another important factor. They could be either low, medium, or high. If it is low, it means the game pays out small wins regularly. Games with high volatility usually give big wins but not often. The medium volatility stands somewhere between high and low. Many players usually go for low volatility slots to stay safe.

If you have a huge bankroll, you can carefully choose a game with high RTP and high variance. These types of games may be rare to find, but you could get a life-changing prize if luck is on your side.

Top Us Casinos To Play Online Slots

Whether you want to play online slot games for real money or for free, there are many casinos available to you. Some casinos offer hundreds, while some have thousands of these online machines on their sites. In the table below, we have listed some sites where you can play online slots in the USA. All the casinos on our list are reputable; you may only need to find out if they are legal in the state where you reside.

How To Play Online Slots In The US

Slots are the easiest types of online casino games to play. They require no specific knowledge or tactics. And whether you’re playing for free or real cash, the rules remain the same. Here are the two major steps to take:

• Place your stake: After loading the game, place your bets within the wagering limits. The machines usually have minimum and maximum stakes. You can always find out from the game info.
• Click on “Spin” or “Play”: Once you do this, the reels begin to spin. You can also choose to use the autoplay feature. Most slots allow you to choose up to 100 automatic spins.

You win the game round when the spin ends, and symbols are matched on the reels. Most games pay for matching at least 3 symbols, while some may pay for matching 2 high paying symbols.

Game Features

Here are some important elements of slot games.

Rows/Reels

The reels in a slot machine are the vertical positions on the grid while the rows are horizontal. Reels are spun when the game begins, and symbols land on them to create winning combinations.

Symbols

Best Payout Slots At Casinos

These are icons in the game, which are usually based on the theme. They appear on the reels, and the pattern in which they combine determines whether the player wins or not. The most popular symbols are the generic card symbols (A, K, Q, J, 10, and 9). Some special symbols which occur frequently are the Scatters and Wilds.

Paylines

This is another important feature. They determine the number of ways you can win in the game. The games may have as little as 5 paylines or as much as hundreds of paylines. Some games have all their paylines fixed, which means you have to bet on all lines. Other games allow you to choose the number of paylines to bet on.

Paytable

This is a table that shows the prizes or payouts for combining each symbol on the reels. You can find the paytable when you go to the menu icon on the slot interface.

Bonus games/ Extra features

These are optional parts, but they help to make the game interesting. The special extra features depend on the theme of a particular game. The general ones are free spins and multipliers. These features are usually activated when special symbols are matched. Other popular features include cascading reels: expanding wilds, and gamble bonus.

Highest Payout Slot Machines

In the table below, we have selected some games based on the biggest slots jackpots ever paid out.

Online Slots Vs. Land-Based Machines

As we’ve stated before, online casino slot machines work similarly to the land-based machines. They are controlled by RNG, which generates random results exactly like the land-based versions. Many software providers even develop their online slots to look like physical ones in terms of gameplay, sound effects, and visuals.

However, the number of slots available online is far higher than what is available at physical venues. You can have access to thousands of slots on just one casino or different online gambling sites. The online versions are being developed with better graphics and extra features that cannot be found in physical ones. There are also benefits like no deposit bonuses, free spins, etc., which are given at online casinos.

Another significant difference is the environment where you play. Land-based venues provide an extra vibe, and you get to enjoy the feeling of people around you. On the other hand, online slots can be played from homes or any location with PCs and mobile devices. Online games do not give the real casino feel, but they offer more convenience and are easier to access at any time.

In addition, you can decide to play online for free or real cash. This allows you to try out the games and only wager with real money if you like it. But when you play for free, there are no chances of winning money. Land-based venues will not allow you to try out the game for free.

Conclusion

Playing at online casinos can be interesting, especially when you choose slot machines with the highest payout percentage. The first thing you need to do is choose a casino that offers you safety and security. Then, consider the RTP and variance to increase your chances of winning.

Overall, always remember that slots are games of chance. Thus, you should manage your budget efficiently and do not wager more than you are ready to lose.

So who pays for those Volcanic eruptions? Pirate Battles? Carnival Parades? and Glittering Showrooms? Slot Machines. 60-65% of casino revenue is generated by those bell-ringing one armed bandits that seem to multiply on casino floors like rabbits. So how does the average player gain an advantage and possibly win? Well... aside from cheating (which we really don't suggest you get involved in) the only way to gain some sort of advantage is to choose your slots with utmost care and discrimination.

Slot machines in Las Vegas are required by law to payout 75% of the money that goes into them, actual payout in Las Vegas is approximately 95%. Will you be the one that takes the money instead of gives it? That is up to luck, but with a little investigation one can easily learn to identify which machines are more favorable to the player than others. Slot machines are all about the payout... Red White and Blue, Double Diamond, Dick Fucking Clark, Cherry whatever. At the end of the day what every slot player needs to do is look at the pay schedule on the machine they want to play. Very often the same machine one row over will pay 5,000 credits on 3rd credit jackpot while you're playing on a 2,000 3rd credit machine. Plain and simple you're cheating yourself.

Slot Spotlights

A few notable slot machines we here at VT have found more playable, or more interesting, than the other nonsense out there like Leprachaun's Gold or Tabasco Slots or whatever.

We like machines that have the best payouts on the lowest winning spins. These will keep you going longer between larger wins and not enact the ATM-In-Reverse principle seen at many of the larger joints (Venetian being the worst we've experienced).

100 or Nothing
Red, White and Blue
Slot Machine Jackpots Photo Gallery
Wheel of Fortune
Wild Cherry

Slot Machine Payback Percentages

Below are the slot payback percentages for Nevada's fiscal year beginning July 1, 2002 and ending June 30, 2003:

5¢ Slot Machines
The Strip - 90.32%
Downtown - 91.50%
Boulder Strip - 93.03%
N. Las Vegas - 92.97%
25¢ Slot Machines
The Strip - 92.59%
Downtown - 94.83%
Boulder Strip - 96.47%
N. Las Vegas - 96.63%
$1 Slot Machines
The Strip - 94.67%
Downtown - 95.35%
Boulder Strip - 96.48%
N. Las Vegas - 97.21%

Highest Paying Slot Machines

$1 Megabucks Machines
The Strip - 89.12%
Downtown - 88.55%
Boulder Strip - 87.76%
N. Las Vegas - 89.41%
$5 Slot Machines
The Strip - 95.33%
Downtown - 95.61%
Boulder Strip - 96.53%
N. Las Vegas - 96.50%
All Slot Machines
The Strip - 93.85%
Downtown - 94.32%
Boulder Strip - 95.34%
N. Las Vegas - 95.32%

The Math of Casino Slot Machines

For every dollar you wager in a slot machine, you will lose 100% - Payback% of that dollar. For example, you're at Bellagio playing the $1 Double Diamond slot, wagering Two Credits ($2) per spin. According to the table, for every $2 spin you will lose 5.33% of that bet... just shy of 11¢. Granted these 11 cents don't get extracted instantly... this is computed over time. So if your bank roll limit is $10 it will take you, on average 52 spins before your bankroll is toast (under $1) and you are out of credits.

How was this number derived:

STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = STAKE x (Payback Percentages) = ...
Repeat calculation until the number gets below the minimum bet - if you play long enough, you're gonna go broke. THAT is a FACT. Slot machines are entertaining, relaxing, require little thought beyond pressing a button. IF you want to truly GAMBLE, you might want to look into Video Poker, and eventually Blackjack as other options.

Granted, sometime in there you just might hit that $500 win on the Wheel of Fortune, or The Elvis progressive might shake rattle and roll $1000 your way... but the math inside the machine determines that you will in fact lose a certain percentage of your wager on each spin, and the more you spin... the more you will lose despite short runs of successful jackpots. If you find you are UP... leave. Every spin of a slot machine generates a random number that has NOTHING to do with previous numbers. SLOT MACHINES do NOT run in streaks (even if you might wish to think they do). Don't expect to get any of the money you put into a machine out of it unless you learn to press the CASH OUT button.

Gamblers Library

VT fully recommends the following books to help you decrease the house advantage on casino card games.

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