Most of us think that winning when playing slots is about spamming the ‘spin’ button until the machine gives you what you want, but this is far from the truth. As simple and easy as slots are, you still want to use some strategy, and you need some understanding of how the game works.
This even applies to playing online slots real money with no deposit.
Video slots are very complex, and they are well made, so they are extra safe, but they are also hard to predict, so any strategies you used in brick-and-mortar casinos tend to not always work when you switch to online casinos.
So, how do you work out the odds when you are playing online slots, and how on earth do they work?
Pay Tables
One of the first things that are usually recommended to be done before you start playing real money online slots is to check the pay table.
Pay tables can seem a bit intimidating at first, especially if you are new to this, but they are actually not that hard to understand. You should also note that each slot pay table will be different, as slots will have different winning combos and different features too.
The first part of a pay table will have information about winning combos and how symbols should appear. It will also have all the information about payouts as well.
Odds
However, slots are about much more than just pay tables, there is a lot that makes up online slots now, and how their odds are calculated, so let us consider all of these things…
RNG
A long time ago slots were mechanical and were powered by mechanisms that fixed combinations that slots landed in. However, video slots, are powered by something known as microprocessors, and the programs in online slots are known as RNG.
RNG stands for Random Number Generators. These are the formulae that are programmed into games that will generate random numbers or arrange the symbols as the reels spin. Any good casino has its RNG audited by independent bodies on a regular occurrence to keep play fair.
Software developers will be audited before as well, so they are legally able to give out a gaming license.
So, no, you might be losing a lot. But the game is not rigged against you.
Par Sheets
New online slot games will also have par sheets, these are blueprints for payouts and the permutations that go into the game. On a typical sheet, you will find the list of symbols on each reel and how many there are. The number will vary from each slot and this is what can actually affect what the payout will be.
Payouts & Combos
You do not need to calculate each of the odds you may get from each slot, you want at least a vague idea of how often a 3-symbol combo will appear. The chance of you being able to hit a win will depend on the number of icons on the reels and the reels in a slot.
So, if you imagine a classic 3-reel slot, a house with 3 reels and 20 symbols per reel then you need to do a little math to figure out your chances of getting one exact symbol will be 1 in 20.
If it is 1 in 20 to hit a single symbol and there are 3 reels then it is 20 x 20 x 20, which will exact an odd of 1 in 8,000 for a combo of all three.
So, if you want a jackpot with special bonus symbols, and there is one per reel your chance is 1 in 8,000. However, if there are 4 jackpot symbols per reel then it is 1 in 666. (4/20 x 4/20 x 4/20)
RTP Rates
Finally, let us not forget the RTP rate, this rate is the percentage of how much money you are likely to get back per play. It is made up of a percentage out of 100, and there is never going to be a 100 slot.
But if a slot has a 98% RTP rate, then this means that for every $100 you play, you will get about $98 back on average. Although this is not guaranteed.
