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Many contemporary gamblers take it for granted they’ll have the chance to play slot machine games when they visit a brick-and-mortar casino, or they try their hand in a play- or real-money online casino. While slots have had a presence in physical casinos for decades and they’ve been available in a lot of reputable online casinos since their inception, slot machines are a relatively new phenomenon compared to some other casino games like roulette, which preceded the first slot machine by several hundred years.

Types of Slot Machine Games

Just as there are different variants of poker, you’ll find a wide array of slot games in most brick-and-mortar casinos. While slot machines have a variety of names, you can separate them into broader categories that are easier to digest based on how you can bet on them.

Here are some of the types of slot machine games you may find in a casino, based on how you can wager when you play them.

• Single-coin slot machines: Like mechanical slot machines, single-coin variants have pretty much gone the way of the T-Rex, but you may still encounter one if you visit an older casino. These machines are exactly what their name implies — machines that allow you to insert one coin per spin for a chance to win on a single line.
• Multipliers: As you may have guessed, multipliers are machines that allow you to wager multiple coins at once. The more you bet on a single spin, the higher your payout will be if you win.
• Buy-a-pay slots: Many buy-a-pay slot machine games accept five or more coins or credits per spin, with each added coin unlocking another combination of symbols that can result in a win.
• Multiple-payline slot machine games: With this kind of slots game, you can bet on several paylines by wagering additional credits on a single spin. If you bet multiple paylines on a single spin, the extra lines you wager on may zig, zag or even run diagonally across the face of your machine.
• Wild play slots: Wild play slot games are some of the most entertaining variants available because they employ a “wild” symbol that unlocks more winning combinations by making near-misses winners when the wild symbol lands on a payline. If the wild symbol has a multiplier, it may double the amount you win when it appears on a winning payline.
• Progressive slots: Today, progressive slots basically link a series of machines to a single jackpot, giving players at the individual linked machines the chance to win at least a portion of the common jackpot all the connected machines share. While progressive slot machines give you an opportunity to possibly win millions on a single spin, the tradeoff is that they typically offer less frequent and smaller payouts that don’t involve the combined jackpot per linked machine.

How Slot Games Work

New or newish slot machines are vastly different than their predecessors. Until the 1970s, slot machines were mechanical and didn’t require electricity to operate. Gamblers would be hard-pressed to find a mechanical slot machine as anything but a display piece in a physical casino in the modern era. Modern slot machines now come “wired” for vibrancy and noises that make them nearly irresistible to new and seasoned gamblers alike. When you walk into a casino these days, you’ll often encounter slots based on popular game shows or movies that boast vivid animations that make them inviting even to the least tech-savvy players.

The key to comprehending how modern slot games work is to understand the results of each spin are random and completely unrelated to all previous spins and all those that will follow. Whereas it may have been possible to predict the results of a mechanical slot machine, especially if one or more of its reels had a defect, it’s impossible to do the same with even a modicum of success with modern slot machines.

Today’s electronic slot machines use a random number generator, or RNG, to produce results. Every possible combination of symbols a given slot machine can produce gets assigned at least one number. Even when someone isn’t in front of the machine, its RNG will continue to cycle through these numbers. The RNG will run through numbers until it receives input, such as a player inserting a coin or wagering a credit. Once it gets an actionable signal, the RNG will lock on a number, and the machine will produce the related results.

Because RNGs produce random results, as their longhand name suggests, the odds that you’ll win or lose are the same for every spin. If a casino has programmed a slot machine to pay its top prize every 12,000 spins, the game may produce a big winner after 100,000 spins, or it may yield back-to-back jackpot wins. That’s the fun of slots — you can’t predict what the results of a given spin will be. Remember, there’s no reason to feel bad if you step away from a machine and the ensuing player wins. To have had the same results, you would have had to make the same play at the exact time as the other person, which isn’t at all likely.

Just as you have to understand the results in modern slot games are purely random, you should also know every slot game has a payout percentage. A payout percentage is the amount of every dollar you wager on a machine you can reasonably expect to win over the long haul, but not necessarily in the short term. In many cases, a slot machine’s payout percentage will be around 93%. That means you can typically expect to win 93 cents and lose seven pennies per spin over hundreds of thousands of plays at the same slot machine.

Secrets to Winning on Slot Machines

Now that you know how slot machines work, you might be ready to pick up some tips about the game. Unless you’re a professional gambler, the best advice you’ll ever get about slots or any other type of casino game is to make having fun the point of your wagers. While there’s always a chance you’ll win some money, consider your winnings a bonus — not the objective — of gambling.

When your goal is to have fun when you gamble in a casino, it takes all the pressure off your shoulders. It will enable you to enjoy the company of your fellow gamblers and make the most of all the games and amenities the casino has to offer.

Adhere to Slots Etiquette

If you’re one of the approximately 80% of first-time casino visitors who will play slots, you should pay close attention to this tip — follow slots etiquette. Here are some fundamental rules of etiquette you should adhere to at all times.

• While it’s not uncommon for a single person to play multiple slot machines at once, you should limit your play to one machine on a crowded floor where bystanders are waiting for a chance to try their luck on a “one-armed bandit.”
• If a person has left any indication they’ll return to a given machine, such as a tipped chair or a coat slung across the back of a chair in front of a machine, avoid taking their place.
• Many slots players are superstitious, including people who acknowledge the game’s results are entirely random. If you encounter a player who has a good-luck charm resting on their machine, in their hands or around their neck, ask about the fortune the emblem has helped the person win, rather than mocking the individual.

Set a Budget and Stick to It

Whether you’re playing slots or another kind of casino game, few things will prevent you from having fun at a casino more than gambling with money you can’t afford to lose. With this in mind, it’s imperative for you to set a budget and commit to sticking to it before you even set foot on a casino floor.

In general, casinos make it simple for you to access extra cash without leaving their properties by having ATMs throughout their premises. Just because it’s convenient for you to withdraw money on site, it doesn’t mean it’s advisable. If you can’t trust yourself to refrain from withdrawing more money than you initially expected to gamble with, consider leaving your debit and credit cards at home. Just be sure you’ll still have access to additional funds in case an emergency arises.

Remember — casinos like Tachi Palace Casino Resort have plenty of other things for you to do besides gamble. If you exhaust the money you set aside for playing our fun slots, you can always take a dip in the pool, relax in our spa, catch a show, enjoy some live entertainment on our casino floor or grab a scrumptious meal in one of our restaurants during your stay.

Manage Your Bankroll Responsibly

While basic math shows a casino will be the winner in the long run when it comes to slots, that doesn’t give you an excuse to blow through your bankroll willy-nilly. It’s not up to chance to make your bankroll last. It’s also not up to your slots results. The responsibility for making your budget last as long as possible rests entirely upon your shoulders.

The first step toward managing your funds is to find a slot machine you can afford to play on comfortably. The next step is to determine the amount of money you’re going to wager during a predetermined period. As you play, pocket any winnings you earn, so you’re only gambling with what’s left of the money you started your playing session with. When you exhaust that sum, end your playing session even if it’s before your set end time and do something else until your next “scheduled” playing session begins.

If the money management strategy just described doesn’t appeal to you, come up with an alternative. If you play slots or any other casino game without a means to manage your funds, you’ll risk going through your entire budget faster than you planned.

Bet the Maximum

While there is no way to increase the odds that you’ll win on a given spin in a slots game, there is something you can do to maximize the amount you will collect when you hit a winning payline: Always bet the maximum on every spin.

How would you feel if you were on a buy-a-pay machine that allowed three coins or credits, you only played two and then the third coin’s payout line hit for big bucks? The odds are good you’d feel pretty silly if you could have won a sizeable jackpot in exchange for just one more coin or credit.

Your budget, bankroll management system and your choice of slot machine all converge at this point. If your budget and money management plan allow you to make the maximum bet at a high-stakes machine every spin, by all means — go for it. People who can’t make the maximum wager consistently at a high-stakes machine or even a $1 machine may want to play quarter slots instead. If those stakes are still too high, seek out a nickel machine where you can maximize your bets without exhausting your funds too quickly.

Play at Tachi Palace Casino Resort

To get the most fun out of your gambling sessions, you should actively seek out a casino where you’ll be comfortable playing slots. Comfortable is exactly what you’ll be whenever you decide to visit Tachi Palace Casino Resort to try your hand at slots or any of our other casino games.

Our gorgeous property, nestled in Central California’s San Joaquin Valley, is easily accessible from multiple highways. Whether you’re coming from the coast or you’re looking for an ideal spot for a staycation closer to home, you won’t have to look beyond Tachi Palace to find four-star accommodations, an array of sought-after amenities and a welcoming casino.

New and experienced slots players can enjoy an upscale experience without the resort fees as they play their favorite slot games in a variety of inviting settings located throughout our property. Whether you’re a new or veteran slots player, our friendly staff will make you feel right at home throughout your stay at Tachi Palace.

To stretch your budget even further and make your bankroll last, play slots at a casino that doesn’t have resort fees — play at Tachi Palace Casino Resort. Contact us to book a time to stay and play at Tachi Palace now.

Please play responsibly. If you or a loved one has a gambling problem, reach out to the National Problem Gambling Hotline.