Understanding Slot Machines
When a gambler inserts cash or, in “ticket-in, ticket-out” machines, a paper ticket with a barcode, into a slot on a gaming machine, it activates reels that spin and symbols that appear on them. When a winning combination is spun, the machine awards credits to the player based on its pay table. Having a comprehensive understanding of the pay table is important to help players make informed decisions and maximize their potential for winning big.
In addition to the standard symbols found on traditional reel machines, most modern slot games offer numerous additional symbols and bonus features. These extras can add up to huge jackpots that can quickly change a player’s bankroll. It’s also important to understand how these bonus features work so that you can choose the best game for your money.
The probability of hitting a particular symbol on a slot machine is usually expressed as a percentage of the total possible combinations. The higher this percentage, the more likely a particular symbol is to appear. This information can be found in a slot machine’s pay table, which is typically located near the symbols on the screen and is easy to access. While it may be tempting to jump right into a slot machine without reading its pay table, doing so can lead to disastrous losses.
Generally, slots are classified as either low or high volatility. Low-volatility slots are those that do not win often but when they do, they payout large amounts. High-volatility slots, on the other hand, win often but pay out smaller amounts.
Another important feature of a slot is its configuration options. Depending on the type of slot, its configuration can include display format, units, and compression mode. The configuration options for scalar slots are displayed in a Slot Viewer (Scalar). If the slot is undocked from the Slot Viewer, it becomes its own Slot dialog box.
Slots can store any table of data, including curves (2-Dimensional) or surfaces (3-Dimensional). A 2-Dimensional slot requires monotonically increasing values in its first column, while a 3-Dimensional slot requires a surface. Each type of slot has its own Slot Dialog that can be opened by clicking the Slot icon on the viewer.
A number of different settings can be configured for each slot, including display mode and a display format that can include numeric values, decimal points, and commas. In a periodic slot, the configuration options also include a period and interval for the data.
A special icon is placed in the column header of a slot with an expression, as shown in Figure 6.18. Clicking this icon opens the slot in a Slot Dialog so you can edit the expression and data. For more information, see Slot Dialog Functionality. The Periodic and Table slots have additional configuration options for a period, an interval, and data interpolation.