Common Slot Machine Myths

There’s nothing wrong with being a little superstitious but some of the slot myths out there can get downright annoying. Some of them might even be costing you money! Some of these myths apply to both online and live casinos while others just apply to live casinos. Either way, it’s always good to go in armed with all the knowledge you can get.

1. Slots that haven’t hit a jackpot for a long time are due to hit any time now

This myth is a perfect example of the Gambler’s Fallacy which affects every game in the casino to some extent. Basically, this myth is based in the belief that as one outcome in a random event occurs repeatedly, the other outcome is more likely to occur in the future.

For example, if you toss a coin and it lands on tails 8 times in a row, you’d be falling into Gambler’s Fallacy if you thought it was more than 50% likely to land on heads on the next flip.

Slot machines, coins and every other fair casino game out there are based on independently random events. The slot machine doesn’t remember who hit the last jackpot and the coin doesn’t remember what side it landed on last time. Every event is independent and has the same chance of happening again no matter what previous outcomes were.

A slot machine that paid out a jackpot on the last spin is still just as likely to pay out a jackpot on the very next spin. There’s nothing you can do to change the odds so don’t waste your time looking for machines that haven’t paid out recently.

2. You would have hit the jackpot that someone else just hit on your last machine if you would have kept playing.

You can breathe a sigh of relief because this is one super false myth. Slot machines are equipped with random number generators (RNGs) that determine where the wheels stop. These RNGs cycle through thousands of numbers a second so the odds that you would have activated the slot machine at the same exact nanosecond as that other person are infinitesimal.

3. If you study a slot machine closely enough, you can determine patterns in the outcome that will make it possible for you to predict the next spin.

Nope. Refer to the above myth for a quick lesson on RNGs. The computer chips inside a slot machine are so good at developing random numbers that there’s no way you could ever predict the next spin at a slot machine. If that was possible, casinos wouldn’t have slot machines.

4. Casinos can control how loose or tight a slot machine is

This is wrong for live casinos and also for most online casinos. The factories and software developers set the payout rate of the slot machines before shipping them out. The casino has no access to the computer chip or ability to program the payout percentages. On top of that, all reputable casinos are regularly tested for randomness and fair payout percentages.

5. There is nothing you can do to increase your odds of winning

Incorrect! You can increase your odds of winning by doing a little homework before you hit the casino. Research the casino, find out which slot machines it has and then research those slot machines. You’ll be able to find the slot machines that have the highest payout rates and save yourself a little money.

There’s nothing you can do to gain an edge over the casino but at the very least you can play at the machines that have the lowest house advantage. Your money will last longer and you’ll be more likely to walk away a winner.