Knowing Your Casino Slot Machines

Game Review - Break the Bank Video Slot Game

Casino slot machines were first introduced to the public somewhere around the late 19th century by American inventor Charles Fey. Interestingly enough, slot machines were not widely accepted by the public when they were first released. It wasn't until they were introduced and installed in the famous Flamingo Hilton hotel of Bugsy Siegel in Las Vegas, Nevada that they began to achieve widespread popularity. From there, slot machines took off like wildfire and spread to other casinos, first in the United States and then later all over the world. Today, slot machines are the biggest draws in the gambling industry, and when you walk into virtually any casino in the world you are sure to see hordes of lever pulling enthusiasts hoping to hit the jackpot.

One of the primary attractions of slot machines is that they require practically nothing in the way of gaming or gambling skills in order to play. By far the easiest casino game to play-all it takes is a simple pull on the lever or a push of a button-slot machines are the ideal entry point for anyone who is thinking of entering the fascinating world of gambling. Most casino slot machines use $0.25, $1 and $5 coin denominations, with up to three-coin bets for each spin.

Most modern casino slot machines can be grouped into two general types: flat top or straight casino slot machines and progressive casino slot machines. These two types of slot machines are essentially the same thing, with one notable exception: flat top slot machines typically pay the winner a predetermined amount in prizes, while progressive slot machines offer a jackpot that continually grows as determined by a percentage of each coin that a gambler plays. Progressive slot machines work on a system wherein a certain number of progressive machines continually feed money into a collective jackpot wherein any single slot machine in the network can win. Obviously this set-up means that the jackpot can grow at an astounding rate. This is one of the main attractions of progressive slot machines.

Progressive slot machines can be grouped in two ways: they may be a certain number of slot machines in a single casino, or they can be linked together in a vast network of similar slot machines scattered throughout the whole state. There are even huge slot machine networks today that are made up of thousands of slot machines across the country and even around the world. You can typically identify progressive slot machines by the flashing electronic pay-off signs that are displayed on top of a single slot machine or above a group of machines.

Aside from the 2 basic types of casino slot machines, there are many other slight variations and themes for both. All of these variations may seem fairly minor and even insignificant, but they do add a lot of features and enhancements to the common casino slot machine theme. The number of choices for casino slot machines is virtually endless nowadays-so much so that you will never be lacking for options. Casino slot machines today offer options such as varying coin denomination, different numbers of reels, different coin number options, single or multiple paylines, and many other features and enhancements that really add a lot to the experience.

The most popular casino slot machines by far are the quarter and dollar machines. Any casino that you walk into will probably have dozens of these types of slot machines all over the casino floor. In some casinos, nickel machines are still quite popular, although the bigger casinos will probably not have too many of them. Certain casinos that cater to high-rollers, will even have several banks of $5, $25, and $100 machines, which are typically installed in the VIP section of the casino. More often than not, these machines use custom coin tokens or cash bills instead of actual currency.

Most casino slot machines today have three reels, but four or five reel machines are also becoming quite commonplace. When trying to determine your odds of winning at a particular slot machine what you should consider are the number of reels that a slot machine has and how many symbols it will display on each reel. The more reels and symbols there are, the harder it will be to hit the jackpot or any other winning combination of symbols.

What determines the number of symbols that are displayed? Modern slot machines actually have a computer built in that controls the machine's every operation. The number of symbols that show up usually depends on the size of the jackpot that is being offered. The computer in the slot machine ensures that the winning symbol combinations show up seldom enough that the machine will continue to generate income for the casino, in addition to paying for the jackpot in the event that a customer wins. Most slot machines are programmed to pay out from 83% to 98% of the money that is placed into it during a regular pay cycle.

Generally speaking, most slot machines impose a two or three coin maximum bet. Multiple coin playing slot machines will of course be slightly different. Some of these types of slot machines will set the number of coins that you can play proportional to the pay-off for example. Other slot machines will have a payoff that is higher than the number of coins. There are even some slot machines that will not pay a jackpot on one coin and in addition, the three-coin jackpot will pay out 150% of a two-coin win. With these types of slot machines playing the maximum number of coins is your best option.

Most standard slot machines will offer only a single pay-line. These types of slot machines are usually referred to as classic slot machines. More and more though, three pay line slot machines are becoming common on the casino floor. Multi-line paylines slot machines will typically require a player to play one coin for each payline in order to be paid for a winning combination.