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Slot machines are more fun when you understand what’s going on with the game. If you don’t know what the slot machine symbols mean, and if you don’t know what it takes to get a winning combination, you might as well just play rocks scissors and paper with some stranger.
The purpose of this post is to take a detailed look at some of the inner workings of slot machines, especially as it relates to the slot machine symbols most commonly in use.
The traditions behind why slot machines use bar and fruit symbols are decades old, and the history of slot machines is fascinating all by itself.
In this post, I explain what the different slot machine icons mean and why it matters to the average player.
1-What Does the Bar Symbol Mean on a Slot Machine?
Understanding slot machine math can be daunt ing for even the most seasoned individual. You do not hav e to be an accountant, analyst, or even a statistician to understand the fundamentals of slot math. The take-away is to know why this math is so important in monitoring performance and compliance at your property.
Slot machines have been around since the 1890s. You’d find these early slot machine games in bars and taverns in cities like New York and San Francisco. When gambling became illegal, these businesses started giving away candy and chewing gum instead of money.
Imagine going into a bar today and putting money into a slot machine with the opportunity to win a free drink or a cigar.
That’s what gambling in a tavern was like in the 1890s.
What does the bar symbol mean?
Think about what it looks like.
It’s a rectangle, right?
My first guess would be that the bar symbol on a slot machine symbolized a candy bar, but that would be too big. After all, keep in mind that the idea was to have prizes that were small, like coins.
The bar symbols on slot machines represent sticks of chewing gum — specifically, BAR chewing gum. (It was a popular brand of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company at the time.) They were in color in those days, and different colors meant different flavors of gum.
Slot machine makers still use bar symbols out of tradition, even though I’ve never seen a slot machine game that offers gum as a prize.
2- What Do the Fruit Symbols Mean on a Slot Machine?
Just as the bar symbol meant you were going to win chewing gum, the various flavors of fruit-inspired candy were prizes you could win. Cherry symbols meant winning cherry-flavored candy.
Apples meant winning apple-flavored candy. Oranges and plums, well… They meant you won dragonfruit and huckleberry flavored candy.
Just kidding.
Obviously, the picture of the fruit in question represented the flavor of candy you won.
And, again, the reason these symbols are still in use have more to do with tradition than anything else. People are just used to seeing these symbols on these games.
3- How Many Different Symbols Are There on a Slot Machine?
An average slot machine game might have about 20 symbols on each reel. This does NOT imply that each symbol has a 1/20 probability of coming up on a spin, though.
Modern slot machines use a random number generator to determine their results. These are actually random — they’re not fixed or rigged in any way.
The casino makes its money because the prize schedule for a slot machine game pays prizes in such a way that the game is inherently profitable.
Think about it this way:
Suppose you played a casino game where you had a 1 in 600 probability of winning, but when you won, you only got a payout of 500 to 1.
Do you see how that would be profitable for the casino?
You’d lose $1 on 599 spins, but you’d win $500 on the one spin, for a net loss of $99.
Such a game would have a house edge of around 17%, on average.
The payouts on a slot machine game are more complicated than that, but it’s the same principle.
4- What Are the Odds of Winning on a Slot Machine?
Here’s the thing about slot machines:
You don’t know what the odds of winning are.
And, to an extent, the odds of winning are irrelevant. What you’re really concerned about is the payback percentage.
That’s a ratio that compares the odds of winning with the amount you win. Over time, it represents the long-term average of how much money the casino will win from you on each bet.
Most slot machines have a hit ratio of about 1 in 3 or 1 in 4.
So it’s fair to see that on most slot machines, your odds of winning something are 3 to 1 or 2 to 1.
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The problem is that the payouts aren’t commensurate with these odds of winning.
Also, slot machines pay off bets on an X for Y basis rather than an X to Y basis.
In blackjack, your payouts are in addition to what you risked. Bet $5 on a blackjack hand and win, and you get a 1 to 1 payout, or even money. You get your $5 bet back with $5 in winnings.
Gambling machines, though, pay back with odds on a 1 “for” 1 basis. Bet $5 on a spin of the slot machine reels, and you get $5 in winning in exchange for your $5 bet.
The machine acts like it’s a win, but the reality is that it’s a push.
This is also one of the reasons slot machines measure their odds using payback percentage rather than house edge.
When a slot machine game has a 90% payback percentage, it means that on average you get back 90% of each bet. Place a $5 bet, and you’ll get an average of $4.50 back over time — which means you’ll lose 50 cents per bet on average.
And that’s just the average including any jackpots you win. If you play in the short-term and don’t see a jackpot, you’ll usually see a lower payback percentage until you get some winnings and catch up.
5- Which Slot Machine Has the Best Payout?
How do you know which slot machine has the best payout?
The short answer to this question is easy enough:
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You don’t.
You have NO WAY of knowing which machine has better payouts than the other machines. In fact, you can play an identical slot machine next to the one you started on and be facing a different payback percentage.
The casinos have no rhyme or reason in terms of where they place the higher and lower payout machines.
In the long run, it doesn’t even really matter. If you play a negative expectation game long enough — and slots are ALWAYS a negative expectation game — you’ll eventually lose all your money.
Stop worrying about which slot machine has the best payout.
Worry instead about how much fun you’re having — or not. If you don’t enjoy a specific game, move on to another game.
6- Why Are They Called “Slot” Machines?
They’re called slot machines because you put your money into a slot to play.
When they were first invented, slot machines only worked on a literal coin-in and coin-out basis.
Now, of course, most slot machines work by accepting bills and spitting out a piece of paper with the amount you’re owed on it.
But we haven’t changed the name of the games.
Also, it’s not called a slot machine in other countries, always. In the United Kingdom, they’re called fruit machines. In Australia, they’re called “pokies,” which is short for poker machines.
That last nomenclature comes from their original nature — the first slot machines, which predated the machines that gave away candy — used playing cards to produce random results instead of symbols on metal reels.
7- Who Invented the Slot Machine?
According to the Encyclopedia Brittanica, as well as many other legitimate sources, Charles Fey invented the first slot machines.
He born in Bavaria but was making his living as a mechanic in San Francisco when he invented slot machines in 1894. It didn’t take long for him to be doing so well that he started a factor to produce more slot machines.
The first 3-reel slot machine with machine-generated payouts in real money was invented in 1898, also by Charles Fey. The Liberty Bell, which most modern slot players would recognize as a real slot machine, came along in 1899 — another Fey invention.
There are only 4 Liberty Bell machines still extant.
Also, it didn’t take long for other companies, like the Mills Novelty Company, to steal Fey’s invention and start making money from their own versions of it.
Finally
Those are the most accurate and concise answers to some of the most common questions about slot machines and their symbols on the internet.
What other questions do you have besides what do the symbols mean?
Leave me a note in the comments, and I’ll respond with an answer if I can.
Tilt in slot machines is when an electromechanical switch is triggered when the machine is tilted, tampered with, or has an internal fault condition. Although modern slot machines no longer have tilt switches, any other technical fault is still referred to as tilt.
The control programs within a slot machine are set to recognize and report the error codes to a slot monitoring system. In addition, it will also render the machine into an unplayable status otherwise recognized as tilt.
The game error codes that may result in a slot machine going in tilt mode are, but not limited to;
- Stacker removed
- Game memory malfunction
- Power Outage
- Stacker door open
- External doors open, i.e. main, drop, and belly doors
- Hopper errors
- Authentication mismatch/ program error
- Reel motor failure
Unless the control programs manage to restore the slot machine to its original state as it was prior to its malfunction, it shall prevent the machine from being operational until the error is resolved.
How do you know a slot machine is in tilt?
In Nevada alone, there are more than 209,000 operating daily, throughout the week. Slot machine malfunction or tilt is therefore not a too rare phenomenon. As aforementioned, malfunction may stem from a variety of reasons. But how do you recognize a machine that has malfunctioned or one that is in tilt state?
It is a requirement by the gaming regulatory board for each slot machine to have a tower light, often located on the machine’s cabinet. It is a pre-requisite that the light tower be visible to both the player and the surveillance department from all sides.
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The purpose of the power light is to identify the operation status of the slot machine and that of the peripherals connected thereto that may affect its operation. The light tower is also used to identify the slot’s machine default denomination.
Once the slot machine tilts, it will neither accept any more coins nor will it play the existing credit. Furthermore, the lights on the cabinet will flash and the machine is likely to display an error code or number. Following these, the reels are likely to stop briefly, then rotate slowly. There can also be an on-screen indication of the problem such as ‘hopper empty call attendant’. This can happen when you cash out your credits and the hopper runs out of coins.
If you happen to be a player and notice that the slot machine has malfunctioned, immediate action would be to call a casino employee to help resolve the issue.
What Happens to my balance if the slot machine tilts?
How fast the issue of balance in a malfunctioned slot machine is resolved will be dependent on how serious the ’tilt’ is. If the Hopper had read empty, you will resume playing as soon as the staff refills the hopper and closes the door. Hence, such is only a simple error.
There are, however, some slot machine tilt cases that may take more time as they are more serious.
Before the modern slots were introduced, slot cheats would use the ‘stringing’ technique to cheat casinos. They would tie a string to a coin, use it to play and then pull it out again. This would allow them to use the same coin repetitively until they won.
Modern slots machines now have an inbuilt sensor that would immediately recognize if a coin was pulled out from the same path it came through. This triggers the slot machine to automatically tilt and stop working.
For the machine to resume playing, the casino staff has to open up the machine and press the reset button. This would be to acknowledge the cheating attempt. At this point, I doubt if anybody would be standing anywhere close to that slot machine. Not after a failed cheating attempt.
In case of any error, the staff will be notified and will work to resolve the issue. Once the problem has been fixed, the machine is supposed to be reset. The reset is to simply acknowledge that the error was identified and that corrective measures were taken.
The employee number is also recorded from the employee card that was inserted. This would be for future reference in case a complaint was lodged.
Once the slot machine has been reset and the door closed, it goes to ‘post error’ state which is the point where it had reached. The issue is further discussed below.
Slot Machine will Return to the Post Error state After it Has Been Reset
The gaming experience of a particular slot machine will not change after its problem has been fixed, and the machine reset. This is contrary to what most people believe that you are unlikely to win after the casino staff has opened up the machine.
The machine will resume straight from where it was before it recorded the malfunction or tilt. This is because the machine will preserve its status before it malfunctions/tilts and displays the error code.
Slot machine control programs are basically responsible for the fundamental game operations. These include executable programs, random number generation, game outcomes, game meters, and communication protocols among others.
Control programs have the capability to store and recall the past 10 games. The history includes the game outcomes, available credits, wagers placed, as well as coins/credits awarded. It is the same control program that prevents the slot machine from being operational after a tilt and is designed to notify the patron with an error message when the machine malfunctions.
Will I be denied a Jackpot Payment if the Slot Machine Tilts?
Every slot machine result is entirely dependent on the Randomly Generated Numbers mechanism which ensures that each result is not dependent on the previous ones. Sometimes, a player may pull on the handle, and as the machine is in the process of Randomly Generating numbers, fails to complete the random selection process; hence, reverting to tilt mode.
Mostly for engineering purposes, some slot machines are set to stop briefly in the ‘jackpot position’. As the reels momentarily stop at the jackpot position before proceeding into a slow spin, it can cause some players to believe that they’ve won.
It is because of this that most players are denied jackpot payment after the slot machine they were using malfunctions or tilts.
To clear this misunderstanding, slot machine manufacturers are now changing the stop location to other than the jackpot alignment.
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According to the Nevada Gaming Control Board, there are some steps you should take if you believe that you won a jackpot before the machine malfunctioned. You should;
- First, contact a casino employee
- If they dispute your claim, you should go ahead to telephone the Gaming Control Board Enforcement Division. An agent will be sent to help arbitrate the dispute.
- If the dispute exceeds $500 and cannot be settled, then the casino is supposed to notify the Gaming Control Board.
Final Thought
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Brick and mortar establishments are the first thing to click to our minds whenever we speak of slots or casinos. However, with the recent increase in the number of online casinos, there has been a remarkable shift of players to the online platform.
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In addition to the convenience of accessing your favorite casino at any time, you can rest assured that a slot machine tilt is the last thing you would expect in an online setting.