Multi Line Video Slots

When Losses Are Disguised as Wins

The trouble with multi-line slots is that many losing spins are disguised as wins. Here is an example of how this happens. You play a slot with 20 active paylines and cover each line with a coin, for a total bet of 20 coins. The reels are weighted so that low-paying combinations occur more frequently than the top payers.

Suppose, for instance, the slot in question returns 6 coins for combinations of three Q and 7 coins for three J. The two low-paying combinations hit on line 12 and line 20 at the end of a spin. You “win” a total of 13 coins with your 20-coin bet. Essentially, you are 7 credits down for this round.

What’s troubling here is the effect losses disguised as wins have on the psychology of the players. Multi-line slot machines behave as if the player has hit a big win instead of losing. The overall loss is “masked” by celebratory sounds and animations.

Worst of all, this behavior of the machines influences the players and urges them to continue betting. This causes some spinners to overestimate the winnings they have generated during a betting session and underestimate their losses.

On a side note, players respond similarly when they experience near misses on classic three-reel slots. It turns out nearly winning and actually winning affect their brains in a rather similar manner.

The long and the short of it is losses disguised as wins encourage spinners to bet on more than one line, allowing gaming designers to create slots that award payouts on almost every spin. Despite the higher hit frequency, the proportion of the money paid back is often less than the player’s overall wager.

Multi-Line Slots and Random Number Generators

The driving force behind advanced multi-line slots is the Random Number Generator (RNG). This technology is used in both online and brick-and-mortar casinos. It guarantees the outcome of each spin is entirely independent from previous results.

The RNG starts to generate thousands of random numbers per second the moment the slot machine is turned on. The outcome of the round is determined in the very millisecond the player hits the spin button. The reels begin to spin solely for aesthetics and authenticity purposes.

The software chooses a random number for each of the five reels. Each randomly generated number corresponds to a specific stop. The machine tells the reels to halt on the stops picked by the RNG. Many of them contain blank spaces and low-value symbols, which explains why top-paying combinations occur less frequently.

Modern multi-line machines do not even need physical reels to award payouts. You could just place your wager and the game could immediately tell you whether you win and if so, how much. The reels are there just for show to tell the player what result the game’s software has already chosen.

As previously explained, all slots have their reels weighted to guarantee the casino turns a profit over the long run. Physical reels are not big enough to hold a larger number of symbols. The RNG uses virtual reels where more symbols can be mapped.

The positions of the symbols on the virtual reels always remain the same. The symbols are permanently mapped in place, making sure the slot arrives at its expected theoretical return percentage.

There are tons of strategies for sale online that supposedly enable players to beat the slots. Unfortunately, these are all ineffective because it is impossible to predict randomly generated results.

Return Percentages and Volatility in Multi-Line Slots

All video slots are preprogrammed with a specific theoretical return percentage. This is the amount paid back to players over the long term. For example, a game with a payback percentage of 97% is expected to return $0.97 for every dollar wagered on it.

Payback percentages are cumulative and are distributed between all players who bet on a specific slot. Great fluctuations can be observed in the short term, with spinners losing or winning big within a dozen or so spins.

No slot game in the world offers a theoretical return of 100%. All machines are programmed to return less money than players collectively wager. If you play long enough, you are guaranteed to come out in the red. Because of this, reel spinners are always recommended to keep their sessions short and collect their profits as soon as they hit a decent win.

Machines with higher minimum denomination normally have better payback percentages. For example, a slot that uses a minimum betting unit of $1 would pay better than a $0.50 game, which pays better than a $0.25 game, and so on.

This is achieved by improving the paytables of high-denomination slots and mapping more random numbers onto the high-value symbols. The theoretical return percentage is almost always the same no matter how many coins you wager per payline.

Some players are left with the impression they win more frequently when they bet the minimum and less frequently when playing the maximum. It causes them to believe the RNG is programmed to pay out more often on minimum bets and less often with maximum bets.

This misconception stems from the fact such players are working with very small sample size. The results would balance out with extended play and more observation. Betting patterns are irrelevant to the Random Number Generator – it has no way of knowing the size of your bet. Bet size has no impact on the random numbers and the probability of alike symbols lining up on the paylines.

The hit frequency of a slot tells you how volatile the game is. Slot volatility is a measurement of the distribution of outcomes within a specific period. It also denotes the level of risk involved in the game, i.e. how likely you are to deplete your bankroll when playing the slot.

Games with low volatility are less risky and have higher hit frequencies but the payouts they reward you with are lower. In contrast, video slots with high volatility are riskier because winning combinations occur less often. Such games compensate with better payouts.

Provided that high-value combinations yield big enough returns, a slot with high volatility might have a better return percentage than a low-volatility game where most of the returns result from low-paying symbols.

Video Slots without Paylines

Most video slots are equipped with scatters which pay whenever three or more symbols land anywhere on neighboring reels. More often than not the matches should occur from left to right although there are games that pay both ways. It is irrelevant whether the symbols appear in top, middle or bottom positions on the reels.

Some game developers have taken this concept to a whole new level, creating video slots where all symbols behave like scatters. Such games are entirely devoid of paylines. They have many winning combinations but low dispersion, which means wins occur more often but the payouts they award are lower.

Their Simplicity Renders Them Suitable for All Experience Levels

This is perhaps the most compelling factor behind the immense popularity slots enjoy. Many novice gamblers are intimidated by the table games where things tend to get rather hectic and confusing, especially during busy hours.

This is not the case with slots which offer a solitary experience to the bettor. When at a landbased casino, you sit down at the machine by yourself and can play at your own pace, without dealers urging you to place your bets and annoying table mates pestering you with unsolicited advice.

Additionally, you do not need much in terms of teaching to understand how slots play. The intuitive interface and gaming controls make it possible for anyone to learn in under a minute. You simply post a bet, press the spin button, and wait for the outcome. If you are lucky, you collect a payout. If not, you keep your fingers crossed that the next spin will produce a win.

Casinos Offer a Broad Choice of Options to Slot Players

One particularly appealing aspect of slots, especially if you play online, is the vast choice of games you face. Many web-based gambling operators offer such immense collections that it would take you forever to try them all.

The games are usually structured in different categories based on the theme, payline number, bonus events, and even volatility. New titles are regularly released, often boasting improved and unique features. Software developers are constantly looking to better the experience of reel spinners, introducing newer and more advanced games.

Video Slots Are Broadly Available

Finally, we arrive at the topic of availability. The tables at landbased casinos are often overcrowded but you will experience no such issue with slots, especially at larger gambling venues where there are hundreds of multi-line machines.

Things are even better if you play online where there is no limit on the number of spinners who can join and play the same slot simultaneously. This gives you round-the-clock access to your favorite games at all times, not to mention you have the option to try the new releases for free before you risk your hard-earned money.