1. Slot myths

Chat with a group of online slots players and most, if not all, will swear blindly that they have the secret to success. Either it’s a specific game that’s rigged to pay out, a certain time of day when your odds are better, or a theory about how to know when a jackpot is due.

This kind of talk is common in all gaming circles. It’s the online equivalent of someone standing over a players shoulder at the pub fruit machine, giving ‘helpful’ advice about when it will pay out.

So, should players take any of this ‘advice’ on board or is it all just talk?

2. Are slot machines actually random?

All online slot machine software is designed with a Random Number Generator (RNG) as part of its programming.

  • It is this component, whose job it is to randomly select number sequences at millisecond intervals, which determines when a machine pays out and when it doesn’t.
  • The RNG has no memory, so it never knows when a player has won or lost. In fact, it has no record of the numbers it has generated previously, and no way of determining what is coming.
  • It is completely random.

Each time a player hits spin, the RNG kicks in. All online slots are required to have an RNG in order to meet regulations. That’s not to say that rigged games don’t exist online. In the early 2000s, a number of online casinos were shut down when online programmes were found to be rigged. It still happens, which is why you should always play with a trusted game provider online.

3. Can machines be ‘due’ to pay a jackpot?

The short answer is no.

Thanks to the presence of an RNG, as mentioned above, the programme has no way of recording the previous results. Each time the wheels spin it is 100% random. The jackpot is only won when a player’s numbers come up. The odds of winning a jackpot remain the same every single time the reels spin. It’s just a question of luck.

4. Is beginners luck a real thing?

Some players swear by beginners luck but the reality is that in a RNG-based game, there is no such thing.

  • Statistical bias and psychological processes may make winning as a beginner more memorable.
  • We tend to look back and remember things with an emotional bias that clouds memory.

This may make it seem like players won more at the start but the odds always remain the same.

5. Do slots pay more at certain times of day?

There is a lot of information online about when is the best time of day to play slots. Remember the people we mentioned above who always have a ‘guaranteed system’ for winning? Well this is the online equivalent.

There may be all sorts of personal opinions about when is the best time to play, but conduct research and there’s probably an even spread throughout the day.

Again, it goes back to the RNG. It’s a crucial part of any software programme and ensures that gameplay is fair, odds are regulated and players stand just as much chance of wining no matter what time they spin the reels.