Many people believe that the slots are “fixed”, “rigged”, or predetermined. This, according to them, makes the game unfair to play and also not fun. But we’re here to tell you that there is nothing fixed or rigged about these games. They may all be predetermined to a certain extent.
Most modern machines use the RNG, that random number generator, which makes the game impossible to unpredict. Let’s take a deeper dive into understanding this in the article below.
How People Believe Slot Machine Bonuses Are Predetermined
Many people believe that the bonuses on the slots are predetermined as soon as you hit the start or spin button on the slots & and that what you see on the screen, the rolling of the icons, the selection of the symbols, and the spinning of the reels are all just part of the show.
Countless people strongly believe all this is done just to make people feel like they’re in control of their slot-playing destinies.
Many believe they’re predetermined to the extent that they have patterns that can be figured out. For example, some people believe you can win the jackpot prize if you wait a couple of seconds in between spins or combinations or when inserting the coins.
But alas, that is all hearsay, and it can be hard to keep track of who’s telling the truth about this and who isn’t.
Sometimes when the machine resets due to a power outage or other electrical issues, the bonus recovery gives you the same choices and results until the interruption occurred.
People see this as an indication that the machine was predetermined to give a bonus. When in fact, it is keeping track of people’s failure to reach the bonus up to the point of interruption.
Bonuses can be predetermined…yes. But they’re predetermined based on the user’s choice or the RNG’s timing in a machine. RNG stands for random number generator. The machines are programmed with an algorithm, and the movement and payouts that the machines give are completely random.
Not even the casino managers or the workers know when and what will trigger the bonus round, eventually giving a huge payout.
How To Trigger The Bonus Round On Slot Machines?
Usually, the way to trigger the bonus round is by stacking a specific combination of symbols.
Bonus rounds with stackers (such as stacked wilds) and multipliers come randomly, so when they do come along, you need to be playing at the top of your game. Because you know when you lay your eyes on those shiny tokens on the screen about to line up, your mother’s prayers of you either giving up the slots or winning a huge payout have finally been answered.
There are numerous ways to trigger the bonus round on slot machines. For easier understanding, let’s first take a look at triggering the bonus round in an online slot such as the Mustang Gold Slot. In this game, if you see three of the same icons or designs on your screen, then you have triggered the bonus round.
Now let’s take a look at how you can trigger the bonus round on the slot machine in the casino. Many casinos give you a free spin when they give you 5 pay lines.
Some say it takes 8 – 12 spins to trigger the bonus round. But according to experts, the bonus round is usually triggered after the 8th spin in many of the machines.
So when you get this free spin, spin it in a way that gives you another free spin and keep building on it. In the industry term, this is known as “retriggering”. This can take you toward that bonus round you stay up praying about at night.
Another way of triggering the bonus round is to look at the payables and memorize the sequence in which the bonus payout will be triggered. In some games, the bonus round is triggered at a random spin. In some games, you must line up the symbols or icons in a specific way or zigzag lines, depending on the slot machine.
Sometimes the bonus round can be triggered when playing a mini-game bonus too. While other times it can be triggered when you’ve come close to a certain amount of cash collected or won. In many or all of the machines, the RNG dictates that you can hit the jackpot on any spin.
Are Slot Machines Actually Random?
Combining a certain set of symbols is what triggers the bonus round. The only thing predetermined about the machines is that there are a set of symbols on different paytables of different machines that determines what symbols you have to match to trigger the bonus round.
Slot machines are completely random because the RNG determines the result of every spin and every lever pull. This is what’s used in the slot machines.
The RNG determines what symbols will come forward in the reel, thus determining how much money you’re going to win or lose or what kind of payout you’ll get based on the number generated randomly on the slots.
Usually, the machines are designed in a way to randomly give payouts, eventually leading to the jackpot prize.
The machines are so random that, at times, they may seem like they’re rigged. And sometimes they are. Sometimes, the casino will program a machine purposefully to give a lesser chance or probability of a huge payout just to save money.
Sometimes the machines aren’t rigged, and sometimes the machine has a specific combination that can give you the jackpot.
While other times it depends on sheer dumb luck to win the jackpot or even to recover the lost money and break even. So even though many times you may think that the machines seem rigged or that you’re unlucky. It is none of those.
It is simply the fact that the machine is randomly predetermined using a set of mathematical equations and algorithms. The RNG determines every reel, combo, and lever swing outcome.
So yes, the slot machines, at least the ones that use RNG, which all of the modern ones do, are random because RNG is not something you can predict. Every number spat out by the RNG is random. Emphasis on the “random”.
Conclusion
Apart from all this, different companies regularly audit slot machines to ensure the machines are operating within the limits of the state and local gaming commissions. These audits are extremely thorough as they test the RNG of the game to make sure it is truly giving random results. They also test the software and the hardware of the machines as well to ensure this.
Ironically, the chances of winning the jackpot or the bonus rounds are determined by the game’s payout table and have very little to do with the players’ ability to play or the machine’s behaviour or its pattern.
