Random Number Generator
(RNG)

So what is a Random Number Generator? RNG’s are used in slot machines, video poker and video keno machines in casinos. It’s a computer chip that allows the unit to continuously roam through random number combinations at the rate of thousands per second.

How the Random Number Generator Works

These combinations are mapped to a specific outcome. It will not stop to select a display until the spin button is pressed, when bonus play options are selected, or when a deal/draw button is chosen. The Random Number Generator operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The old fashioned three reels, 2 and 3 play coin machines function the same way.


 When the reels start spinning they’re only doing so to amuse you. The machine already knows where it’s going to stop. Each spin is independent of the next one. They have absolutely no effect on one another.


Numbers that are generated by the RNG are not truly random. A computer may be fast but it’s not intelligent. The industry calls it pseudo-random. Pseudo meaning false, and random meaning, having no specific pattern. The process also has to be given a seed (starting point) and an algorithm (mathematical formula.) The seeds are constantly changing.


 If you’re a dedicated slot player, you probably experienced a favorite video machine eating your last 2,000 pennies with the same delight as when you eat a hot fudge sundae. You turn to a patron waiting to play and say, “Don’t waste your time, it’s not hitting.”


Nevertheless, the patron sits down and starts to play. Walking away, you can’t resist a final glance at the screen, and there it is! JACKPOT! With lights blinking, music playing, and screen graphics going wild. The lucky player watches the credit meter run up and up to stop at 100,000 pennies! Aka, $1,000! “I should’ve won,” you grumble. “If only I played just one more time!”


Hopefully you didn’t lose too much sleep over it because you wouldn’t have won even if you played, “just one more time”. Here’s why: In the extra time it took for you to get up and the other patron to sit down, insert the money and press spin, millions of numbers were being drawn combing through different outcomes. Jackpots can happen anytime with the random Number Generator, Even when the machine is not in play.


The terms loose and tight refer to certain payback percentages that are made at the factory upon the request of the casino(s). They can vary between 85% and 98% depending on jurisdiction. These are the percentages of monies that are returned to the players over a long period of time. Hence the house take is between 2% and 15%. The casino’s hold is usually larger on the smaller denominations machines such as pennies, nickels and quarters. The payback percentages can only be set and changed by the manufacturer. Contrary to what many players think, casinos cannot change payback percentages at will. Strict jurisdiction laws also prohibit this.

Playing Tips

The popular penny machines have the lowest return at around 85%. Hence, a house edge of 15%. A $3 or $4 max bet will return less to the players over time than the higher denomination machines such as dollars, which can return up to 98%. Although the penny units have attractive bonus features, think about playing the higher denominations that return more to the player(s) over time.

If you find a machine that boasts a 98% return it will be a 98% return every day, every hour, no matter where it’s moved to on the floor, until the casino gets rid of it.

Here’s a little tip. If you see a bank of machines with one sign that boast a 98% return, not every machine in that bank will return 98%. It may be only one or two from a bank of twelve. However, if a 98% return tag is on the individual machine, that’s the one you want to play. GOOD LUCK!

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