Common Slot Machine Misconceptions

Slot machines are quite popular. Unfortunately, so are misconceptions about them. Most people don't know how slot machines work and this is the source of the myths that have spread about them. Here are some popular beliefs about slots that have no basis in fact.

Common Slot Machine Misconceptions

1. Slot machines have patterns that can be analyzed and predicted.

Wrong. Slot machines use what is called the Random Number Generator. The RNG creates millions of random numbers in an instant. There is just no way that a human (or even a computer for that matter) can predict what pattern will appear next.

2. When somebody wins a slot machine jackpot, it will be a long time before the jackpot comes up again.

No. Slot machine payout percentages are measured for the long term - that equates to millions and millions of plays. What this means is the payout percentage does not apply in the short term. So after one jackpot, the odds of another hitting is about the same.

3. If someone plays a slot machine for days on end, the machine will pay out very soon.

Yet another misconception. There is no guarantee of this. The payout percentages are based in lots and lots (and we do mean lots) of plays or spins. If you play a machine for a few days, your odds of making the jackpot are the same as yon the day you started. Of course, you and your cohorts could keep playing at it indefinitely, but you'd have to have big money for it.

4. If someone wins the jackpot, the previous player could have won it if only they had stayed on.

For that to happen, the last player would have had to play in the exact same way at the exact time as the winner. Again, slots use the Random Number Generator. Everything is random and a split-second makes all the difference in the result.

5. If a slot machine is paying out heavily, one should keep playing during this "winning streak."

This is yet another gambler's misconception. There is no such thing as a winning streak in slots, or even blackjack or roulette for that matter. All games of chance are random. If you win three consecutive games, that in no way influences the next game or any other. If you toss a coin four times and heads comes up each time, the chances of either heads or tails appearing in the fifth toss is still 50/50!

Truth is, if you keep playing during your supposed "winning streak," you will only end up losing! So quit while you're ahead.