Slot Machine Secrets

Gambling is a pastime that has been present in most civilizations from ancient times until today. It’s possible to find references to dice games dating back a few millennia; the early Olympic games had Greeks betting on their outcome. However, using a machine to do so is a relatively new development. Enter pokie machines: the first machine ever invented for gambling purposes.

The first machine of its kind, the Liberty Bell, was invented by Charles Fey, in California, at the end of the 19th century. It didn’t take long for the “one-armed bandit” to take over entire casino floors in Las Vegas and beyond. It’s a game with straightforward principles, but its gameplay and winnings can vary hugely from one title to another. Moreover, not all slot machines are born equal.

If you want to learn more about this game and make the best of it, this article is for you.

The First One

While browsing for the next slot game on an online casino today, full of special features, like expanding or collapsing reels, re-spins, bonus levels, and so on, it’s easy to forget how simple everything was at first. Charles Fey was an inventor and came up with the mechanics of the first slot machine, Liberty Bell, in 1895 using his experience as a car mechanic.

The Liberty Bell had three spinning reels with a total of five symbols in diamonds, spades, hearts, horseshoes, and one Liberty Bell. This game had only one payline, and the jackpot was as high as 10 nickels. The first Liberty Bell machine is still on display in Reno, Nevada at the Liberty Belle Saloon & Restaurant. The slot machine became very popular in the U.S. and not soon after the whole world.

Video Slots

Slot machines like Liberty Bell were already everywhere when the first video slots were created. For the first time, a slot game wouldn’t be constrained by the mechanics of its reels. Removing the mechanical component of slot games gave developers much more freedom to create their games.

Kearny Mesa created the first video slot game in 1976, also in California. The new machine was built based on a modified Sony Trinitron with an adapted logic board and display. Nowadays, video slots dominate the online gambling scene; all the slot games you’ll find online today are considered video slots. However, there are different types of games. Learn more about them below.

Single-Coin

Single-coin is the first slot game invented; Liberty Bell is a single-coin machine. Single-coin machines are tipping on a line between tradition and oblivion and aren’t very common, let alone hyped these days. On the bright side, this game used to be pretty cheap, although winnings also tend to be meagre. Single-coin games are a great starting point for beginners.

Multiple Paylines

Most slot games you’ll find online have more than one payline. You can find games with dozens of paylines and ones up to hundreds of thousands. Still, it’s necessary to pay for their activation; the more lines you activate, the bigger your winning chances. This kind of gameplay instigates players to bet more.

Multiplier

Multiplier games are very common. In this kind of game, your bet is multiplied by the value of a winning combination. Let’s say you put in $10 and land on a $100 combination: you’ll win $1,000. This kind of gameplay also invites players to place large bets.

Buy-Your-Pay

Instead of paying per line, you must pay to activate more winning combinations on buy-your-pay machines. Consider a game where you can insert between one and five coins. If you insert one coin, you might activate a three-cherries combination; but if it lands on three bars, you lose. You need to bet higher to activate more winning combinations in this game.

Wild Play

Wild symbols can be found in almost every slot game today. Wilds have the basic function of replacing any symbol in the game, except for scatters, when there are any. Depending on the game, wild symbols can also multiply your winnings and unlock special features. This kind of game was popularised by IGT (International Game Technology) when it released the first version of Double Diamond and Triple Diamond in 2005.

Progressive

You’ve probably heard about those extremely lucky, instant millionaires that scored incredible jackpots. Those are the progressive jackpots, and they get so high because this kind of machine links several machines together, and each bet placed on them contributes towards a standard pot. There’s no limit for this kind of jackpot: in 2014, an anonymous player scored $14 million on Megabucks on a single spin. .

Megaways

Megaways slots are very popular because of their sheer number of paylines; some games have over 100,000 paylines! The megaways mechanic was developed by Big Time Gaming, and the number of paylines can change from one spin to another.

This mechanic was exclusive to Big Time Gaming, but many other studios now have megaways games with varied themes and payouts.

Picking the Right Slot Makes a Huge Difference

Indeed, the gameplay doesn’t change much from one game to another. Inserting a coin, pushing start, and hoping for the best are pretty much the only things a player can do. It would be a huge mistake to think there’s no optimal strategy for playing slots. There’s a lot a player can do just by employing clever bankroll management, and that’s when your knowledge about different kinds of slots comes into play. Check the hottest tips about slot machines here, at betkiwi.co.nz.

Pick Your Favourite Theme

There are games of all kinds of themes you can imagine, from traditional fruit games to games based on rock’n roll bands. Picking a theme you like is the first step since you canl easily get bored.

Higher RTP Rates

RTP stands for return to player, which defines how much a player will likely get back from bets in the long run. Games with higher RTP rates are typically “low volatility” games, which means they’ll reward you more often, although with smaller payouts. Conversely, games with low RTP rates are typically “high volatility”, meaning they pay out less frequently, but it’s likely to return bigger winnings.

Choosing low-volatility games is a way of increasing your winning chances, although your profit margins are likely to be also lower. You can start by placing small bets, and once your bankroll is robust enough, you can increase your bet, which will, in turn, increase your payout.

Bonus Features

It is advantageous to play games with many bonus features and the more bonuses, the better. Those features increase your winning potential with multipliers, respins, special prizes, and bonus rounds. In some cases, buying access to such bonus features is also possible, increasing your chances even further.

It’s Impossible to Beat a Slot Machine in the Long Run

It’s true that some people became millionaires after one lucky spin; it has happened on slots at online and land-based casinos. Still, you’ve probably heard the adage, “the house always wins”. Slots are a lot of fun, but at the end of the day, it’s all about making money and that goes for casinos and game developers alike. It means that every game in a casino is built to generate profit for the house.

Let’s recall the concept of RTP for a moment: consider a game with an RTP rate of 95%. If you’ve bet $100 over 1,000 spins, chances are that you’re likely to see only $95 of it back. It’s a statistical estimate, of course, as there’s no way to predict the outcome of a spin. While some people hit the jackpot, others will never have any significant winnings, no matter how much they play. Still, the house’s share is guaranteed at the end of the day the typical house edge for slots is 5%-10%.

Slot Games Are Purposefully Fast

Most slot games have fast-paced gameplays, with soundtracks and features influencing the player to keep spinning. Because hitting spin or play is pretty much all a player can do here, developers want to ensure that players will constantly keep hitting those buttons. How do they do it?

One way of doing so is to create fast games, where there are only a few seconds between a spin and another, and the beat of the music sets the rhythm for your fingers. It’s easy to lose track of time or budget while immersed in a frantic insert-coin-hit-play cycle.

Simple Slots Often Pay Better

If you’re just getting acquainted with slot games, it’s better to start with simple games with fewer symbols and, maybe, fewer special features, as well. Don’t let the simplicity fool you: some 3×3 single-pay line games have fat jackpots, and even progressive jackpots, in some cases. Simpler games allow for better bankroll management, as it’s easier to understand what’s going on onscreen.

Slots and Online Casino Bonuses

Several online casino bonuses, like welcome packages or weekly offers, include free spins for certain games. Here, you’ll need more than your knowledge about different games and gameplays; you’ll also need to know how this game works in the context of your bonus offer.

In some cases, there’s a limit of spins per day, bet per spin, and even limits on payouts. Moreover, you must meet the wagering requirements of that offer before cashing out your winnings. So, before enjoying your free spins, read the Terms and Conditions carefully, where all the rules should be clearly stated.

Play for Free

If you love slot machines but don’t want to risk your hard-earned money, don’t worry; there are plenty of free options for you. Pretty much every slot game has a demo version, which you can find on the developer’s website, on specialised blogs, and also on online platforms for free games.

It’s always advisable to try the demo version of a game for a while before playing for real money. Then you can get acquainted with its functions and features. Many online casinos offer demo versions of the games on their catalogue so that players can try them before playing for real.