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Do electronic slot machines have a set order for symbols on reels, like physical reels would, or are they entirely randomly generated? (I know the ones with symbols that vanish when matched and replaced are probably random; I’m talking about the ones that spin as if they were physical reels.)
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Some slot machines have mini bonus games where you pick from an array of symbols and get rewards depending on what you pick. Would it be legal for the machine to randomly set what bonus money you get, and then “force” your picks to get to that number, as opposed to letting you pick “fairly” out of a random field? (I know the latter probably takes less programming work, but I was wondering.)
#1 will depend on the machine and type, but most of them are going to be emulating physical wheels, just because that’s the expectaction of the player and there’s no good reason not to honor it – people complain to regulators when they see things on these machines that “don’t look right” to them.
#2 My understanding (I don’t work in this field, but have friends who used to) is that the “result” of your spin is pre-determined when you pull the handle or push the button, and that the screen shenanigans are just an animation to get you there: the machine does not emulate the “physics” of wheels spinning, then look at the result – rather it picks the result, then models a spin to get you there. Is that the question you’re asking?
As you imply, this field is heavily regulated by various gaming commissions and other agencies. But most of that regulation is around (a) making sure the machines pay out what they say they will, and (b) making sure there’s not backdoors and other mechanism for allowing cheating. It’s not so much about whether the screen displays model the real world or not – that bird has pretty much flown.
Retired casino guy here confirming that TimeWinder is correct.
The “virtual reels” you see on the screen do not correlate with actual “physical reels”. They are randomly generated and you cannot count the number of stops and symbols to determine the odds of the machine. The payout percentage is determined by the software and can be changed at will by the operator by switches inside the machine or on a computer console on network linked machines. Payouts are random; machines do not become “due to hit”.
The outcome of the game is decided at the time you insert a coin or press the Spin / Deal / Play button. The software then shows a display to entertain the player.
My second question is not asking about spins, but bonus games where you pick out of a random grid of icons. Reread with that in mind.
My guess is that when you pick a door or symbol or whatever on the touchscreen is that it’s truly a free choice of yours. The better symbols are randomly shuffled when the bonus game starts and once set you either make a lucky pick or you don’t. I don’t believe that the machine preordains that you’ll win prize X in the bonus game and then has X display no matter what symbol you choose.
It is random. The machine is not “trying” to reach its set payback rate. The payout will approach the Expected Value given enough plays – it is not programmed “I haven’t paid a mini-jackpot for quite a while so I’ll hit one now.” or “I paid a jackpot on the last game so I won’t give one on this play.”
Each play has the same chance of a payout no matter what has happened on any previous number of plays.
Can anyone verify this? I’ve always suspected like Leaper that the machine has already determined what your bonus total will be before you even start playing the bonus game. If the machine determines you win 500 credits and wants to give them to you as 200 + 175 + 125 + LOSE then it will reveal them in that order no matter which object/door you select.
I don’t have a link, but I recall seeing an article awhile back that explained that, in Vegas at least, the outcome of bonus games is all predetermined and whichever door you choose means absolutely nothing - if the game has decided that it’s time for your run of luck to end, then whichever door you pick will be the “game over” door.
We don’t build these ridiculously huge casinos because people win, y’all.
[Nevermind. My point was already made 
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