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Traditional venues for playing poker, such as casinos and poker rooms, may be intimidating for novice players and are located in geographically disparate locations. Also, brick and mortar casinos are reluctant to promote poker because it is difficult for them to profit from it. Though the rake, or time charge, of traditional casinos is often high, the opportunity costs of running a poker room are even higher. Brick and mortar casinos often make much more money by removing poker rooms and adding more slot machines.
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Online poker

Overview


Traditional (or "brick and mortar", B&M) venues for playing poker, such as casinos and poker rooms, may be intimidating for novice players and are located in geographically disparate locations. Also, brick and mortar casinos are reluctant to promote poker because it is difficult for them to profit from it. Though the rake, or time charge, of traditional casinos is often high, the opportunity costs of running a poker room are even higher. Brick and mortar casinos often make much more money by removing poker rooms and adding more slot machines online poker.


Online venues, by contrast, are dramatically cheaper because they have much smaller overhead costs. For example, adding another table does not take up valuable space like it would for a brick and mortar casino. Online poker rooms tend to be viewed as more player-friendly. For example, the software may prompt the player when it is his or her turn to act. Online poker rooms also allow the players to play for low stakes and often offer poker freerolls (where there is no entry fee), attracting beginners online poker.


Online venues may be more vulnerable to certain types of fraud, especially collusion between players. However, they have collusion detection abilities that do not exist in brick and mortar casinos. For example, online poker room security employees can look at the "hand history" of the cards previously played by any player on the site, making patterns of behavior easier to detect than in a casino where colluding players can simply fold their hands without anyone ever knowing the strength of their holding. Online poker rooms also check players' IP addresses in order to prevent players at the same household or at known open proxy servers from playing on the same tables online poker.


Free poker online was played as early as the late in the form of IRC poker. Shortly thereafter Planet Poker was the first online cardroom to offer real money games. Author was one of the founders and the "face" of online poker.


The major online poker sites offer varying features to entice new players. One common feature is to offer tournaments called satellites by which the winners gain entry to real-life poker tournaments. It was through one such tournament on PokerStars that Chris Moneymaker won his entry to the 2004 World Series of Poker. He went on to win the main event causing shock in the poker world. The 2005 World Series featured three times as many players than in 2005. At least four players in the final table won their entry through an online cardroom. Like Moneymaker, 2005 winner also won his entry at the online poker online cardroom.


Sportingbet Plc, at the time the world's largest publicly traded online gaming company, announced the acquisition of online poker, one of the online poker industry's first and largest cardrooms. The $356 million dollar acquisition marked the first time an online cardroom was owned by a public company. Since then, several other cardroom parent companies have gone public online poker.


Online players engaging in a Texas Hold'em cash ring game on online poker


PartyGaming, the parent company of the largest online cardroom, PartyPoker, went public on the London Stock Exchange, achieving an initial public offering market value in excess of $9 billion dollars. At the time of the IPO, ninety-two percent of Party Gaming's income came from poker operations.


The market appears to be currently in a consolidation phase. In 2006, PartyGaming moved to acquire online poker from Empire Online. Later in the year, bwin, an Austrian based online gambling company, acquired online poker. Other poker rooms such as PokerStars and Poker.com that were rumored to be exploring initial public offerings have postponed them.



Legality

From a legal perspective, online poker may differ in some ways from online casino gambling. However, many of the same issues do apply. For a discussion of the legality of online gambling in general, see online gambling. Online poker is legal and regulated in many countries including several nations in and around the Caribbean Sea, and most notably the online poker.

In the United States, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill in 2006 to legalize and regulate online poker and online poker cardroom operators in the state. The legislation required that online poker operations would have to physically locate their entire operations in the state. Testifying before the state Senate Judiciary committee, Nigel Payne, CEO of Sportingbet and owner of Paradise Poker, pledged to relocate to the state if the bill became law online poker.

The measure, however, was defeated by the State Senate in 2006 after the U. S. Department of Justice sent a letter to North Dakota attorney general Wayne Stenehjem stating that online gaming "may" be illegal, and that the pending legislation "might" violate the federal Wire Act. However, many legal experts dispute the online poker claim.

North Dakota Rep. Jim Kasper (R-Fargo), the author of the legalization bill, has vowed to continue his efforts. He states that he is "not putting away the idea of getting into Internet gaming licenses in North Dakota" and that the "revenue we missed is too great to pass up." Kasper has also stated that he will introduce the legislation in the 2007 session of the Dakota.

In response to this and other claims by the DOJ regarding the legality of online poker, many of the major online poker sites stopped advertising their "dot-com" sites in American media. Instead, they created "dot-net" sites that are virtually identical but offer no real money wagering. The sites advertise as poker schools or ways to learn the game for free, and feature words to the effect of "this is not a gambling website." Televised ads still feature the dot-net conceit but print ads have been trending back toward advertising the dot-coms directly online poker.

United States federal agents, citing the Wire Act, arrested BetOnSports CEO David Carruthers in Dallas, Texas while he was changing planes. He was traveling between online poker in both jurisdictions online gaming and poker are legal and regulated.

Later in the year a similar event happened in France, where Norbert Teufelberger and Manfred Bodner, the CEO's of bwin , online poker were giving a press conference. The arrest was made due to offenses against the French gambling laws.

Since many banks and credit card companies will not allow direct money transfers to online poker sites, electronic money transfer businesses provide online “e-wallets” that players can load from a bank account, then transfer the funds directly to the poker site. The advantage of these services is that it makes it easy for people to transfer money between different poker sites without the money going back to a their bank account.

President Bush officially signed into law the Safe Port Act, a bill aimed at enhancing security at U.S. ports.[6] Attached to the Safe Port Act was a provision known as the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act online poker. According to the online poker, "unlawful internet gambling" means to place, recieve, or otherwise knowingly transmit a bet or wager by means of the internet where such bet is unlawful under any law in the State in which the bet is initiated, recieved, or otherwise made.

Thus, the online poker prohibits online gambling sites from performing transactions with American financial institutions. As a result of the bill, several large publicly traded poker gaming sites such as online poker and bwin closed down their US facing operations. The UIGEA has had a devastating effect on the stock value of these companies.



How online poker rooms profit

Typically, online poker rooms generate the bulk of their revenue via three methods. First, there is the rake. Rake is collected from most real money ring game pots. The rake is normally calculated as a percentage of the pot based on a sliding scale and capped at some maximum fee. Each online poker room determines its own rake structure online poker.

Second, pre-scheduled multi-table and impromptu sit-and-go tournaments are not raked, but rather an entry fee around ten percent of the tournament entry fee is added to the cost of the tournament online poker.

Third, some online poker sites also offer games like black jack or side bets on poker hands where the player plays against "the house" for real money. The odds are in the house's favor in these games, thus producing a profit for the house online poker.

These are also the three primary methods brick and mortar casinos derive profits from operating poker tables.


Integrity and fairness

As with other forms of online gambling, many critics question whether the operators of such games - especially those located in jurisdictions separate from most of their players - might be engaging in fraud themselves online poker.

Internet discussion forums are rife with allegations of non-random card dealing, possibly to favour house-employed players or "bots" (poker playing software disguised as a human opponent), or to give multiple players good hands thus increasing the bets and the rake, or simply to prevent new players from losing so quickly that they become discouraged.

However, there is little more than anecdotal evidence to support such claims, and others argue that the rake is sufficiently large that such abuses would be unnecessary and foolish. Many claim to see lots of "bad beats" with large hands pitted against others all too often at a rate that seems to be a lot more common than in live games. This might actually be caused by the fact that online cardrooms deal more hands per hour. Since online players get to see more hands, their likelihood of seeing more improbable bad beats or randomly large pots is also increased online poker.

Many online poker sites are certified by bodies such as the Kahnawake Gaming Commission and other major auditing firms like online poker to review the fairness of the random number generator, shuffle, and payouts for some sites.

Differences with conventional poker

There are substantial differences between online poker gaming and conventional, in-person gaming.


One obvious difference is that players do not sit right across from each other, removing any ability to observe others' reactions and body language. Instead, online poker players learn to focus more keenly on betting patterns, reaction time, speed of play, use of check auto plays, opponents flop percentages, chat box, waiting for the big blind, beginner's tells, and other behavior tells that are not physical in nature. Since poker is a game that requires adaptability, successful online players learn to master the new frontiers of their online poker.


Another less obvious difference is the rate of play. In brick and mortar casinos the dealer has to collect the cards,shuffle, and deal them after every hand. Due to this and other delays common in offline casinos, the average rate of play is around thirty hands per hour. However, online casinos do not have these delays. The dealing and shuffling are instant, there are no delays relating to counting chips (for a split pot), and on average the play is faster due to "auto-action" buttons (where the player selects his action before his turn). It is not uncommon for an online poker table to average ninety to hundred hands per hour online poker.


This large difference in rate of play has created another effect among online poker players. In the brick and mortar casino, the only real way to increase your earnings is to increase your limit. In the online world players have another option, play more tables. Unlike a physical casino where it would be nearly impossible to play multiple tables at once, most online poker rooms allow this. Depending on the site, a player might play from 4 to 10 tables at the same time, viewing them each in a separate window on the computer display.

For example, a player may make around $14 per 150 hands at a lower limit game. In a casino, this would earn them under $5 an hour. After dealer tips, the player would probably barely break even. In an online poker room, the same player with the same win rate could play four tables at once, which at 60 hands per hour each would result in an earning of $24/hour. Some online players even play eight or more tables at once, in an effort to increase their winnings online poker.


Another important change results from the fact that some online poker rooms offer online poker schools that teach the basics and significantly speed up the learning curve for novices. Many online poker rooms also provide free money play so that players may practice these skills in various poker games and limits without the risk of losing real money. People who previously had no way to learn and improve because they had no one to play with now have the ability to learn the game much quicker and gain invaluable experience from free money play online poker.




Bonuses


While the practice of comping players with free meals, hotel rooms, and merchandise is quite common in B&M casinos, online poker rooms have needed to develop new ways to reward faithful customers. The most common way of doing this is through deposit bonuses, where the player is given a bonus code to enter when placing money into an account. The bonus code adds either a percentage, or a set amount of chips to the value of the deposit. One should be aware that these are not up front payments. The bonus is released in a piecemeal manner in accordance with the number of raked hands played. In addition, several online cardrooms employ VIP Managers to develop VIP programs to reward regular players and additional bonuses exist for players who wish to top up their accounts. These are known as reload bonuses online poker.

Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide. In 2006, revenues from online poker were estimated at US$ 650 million per month.
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Online venues, by contrast, are dramatically cheaper because they have much smaller overhead costs. For example, adding another table does not take up valuable space like it would for a brick and mortar casino. Online casino poker rooms tend to be viewed as more player-friendly. For example, the software may prompt the player when it is his or her turn to act. Online casino poker rooms also allow the players to play for low stakes and often offer poker freerolls, attracting beginners.

Online venues may be more vulnerable to certain types of fraud, especially collusion between players. However, they have collusion detection abilities that do not exist in brick and mortar casinos. For example, Online casino poker room security employees can look at the "hand history" of the cards previously played by any player on the site, making patterns of behavior online casino poker easier to detect than in a casino where colluding players can simply fold their hands without anyone ever knowing the strength of their holding. Online casino poker rooms also check players' IP addresses in order to prevent players at the same household or at known open proxy servers from playing on the same tables.

Traditional venues for playing poker, such as casinos and poker rooms, may be intimidating for novice players and are located in geographically disparate locationsonline casino poker. Brick and mortar casinos are reluctant to promote poker because it is difficult for them to profit from it. Though the rake, or time charge, of traditional casinos is often high, the opportunity costs of running a poker room are even higher. Brick and mortar casinos often make much more money by removing poker rooms and adding more slot machines.

The major Online casino poker sites offer varying features to entice new players. One common feature is to offer tournaments called satellites by which the winners gain entry to real-life poker tournaments. It was through one such tournament on PokerStars that Chris Moneymaker won his entry World Series of Poker. He went on to win the main event causing shock in the poker world online casino poker. The World Series featured three times as many players. At least four players in the final table won their entry through an online cardroom. Like Moneymaker, winner also won his entry at the PokerStars online cardroom.

PartyGaming, the parent company of the largest online cardroom, PartyPoker, went public on the London Stock Exchange, achieving an initial public offering market value in excess of $8 billion dollars. At the time of the IPO, ninety-two percent of Party Gaming's income came from poker operations.

Free poker online was played as early as the late 1990 in the form of online casino poker. Shortly thereafter Planet Poker was the first online cardroom to offer real money games. Author Mike Caro was one of the founders and the "face" of Planet Poker.

From a legal perspective, Online casino poker may differ in some ways from online casino gambling. However, many of the same issues do apply. For a discussion of the legality of online gambling in general, see online gambling.

Online casino poker is legal and regulated in many countries including several nations in and around the Caribbean Sea, and most notably the United Kingdom online casino poker.

In the United States, the North Dakota House of Representatives passed a bill to legalize and regulate Online casino poker and Online casino poker cardroom operators in the state. The legislation required that Online casino poker operations would have to physically locate their entire operations in the state. Testifying before the state Senate Judiciary committee, portingbet and owner of Paradise Poker, pledged to relocate to the state if the bill became online casino poker.

Typically, Online casino poker rooms generate the bulk of their revenue via three methods. First, there is the rake. Rake is collected from most real money ring game pots. The rake is normally calculated as a percentage of the pot based on a sliding scale and capped at some maximum fee. Each Online casino poker room determines its own rake structure.

North Dakota Rep. Jim Kasper (R-Fargo), the author of the legalization bill, has vowed to continue his efforts. He states that he is "not putting away the idea of getting into Internet gaming licenses in North Dakota" and that the "revenue we missed is too great to pass up." Kasper has also stated that he will introduce the legislation in the session of the North Dakota.

In response to this and other claims by the regarding the legality of Online casino poker, many of the major Online casino poker sites stopped advertising their "dot-com" sites in American media. Instead, they created "dot-net" sites that are virtually identical but offer no real money wagering. The sites advertise as poker schools or ways to learn the game for free, and feature words to the effect of "this is not a gambling website." Televised ads still feature the dot-net conceit but print ads have been trending back toward advertising the dot-coms directly.

Since many banks and credit card companies will not allow direct money transfers to Online casino poker sites, electronic money transfer businesses provide online “e-wallets” that players can load from a bank account, then transfer the funds directly to the poker site online casino poker. The advantage of these services is that it makes it easy for people to transfer money between different poker sites without the money going back to a their bank account.


Second, pre-scheduled multi-table and impromptu sit-and-go tournaments are not raked, but rather an entry fee around ten percent of the tournament entry fee is added to the cost of the tournament.

Third, some Online casino poker sites also offer games like black jack or side bets on poker hands where the player plays against "the house" for real money. The odds are in the house's favor in these games, thus producing a profit for the house.

These are also the three primary methods brick and mortar casinos derive profits from operating poker tables.

As with other forms of online gambling, many critics question whether the operators of such games - especially those located in jurisdictions separate from most of their players - might be engaging in fraud themselves.

Internet discussion forums are rife with allegations of non-random card dealing, possibly to favour house-employed players or "bots" (poker playing software disguised as a human opponent), or to give multiple players good hands thus increasing the bets and the rake, or simply to prevent new players from losing so quickly that they become discouraged. This might actually be caused by the fact that online cardrooms deal more hands per hour. Since online players get to see more hands, their likelihood of seeing more improbable bad beats or randomly large pots is also increased.

There are substantial differences between Online casino poker gaming and conventional, in-person gaming.

Another important change results from the fact that some Online casino poker rooms offer Online casino poker schools that teach the basics and significantly speed up the learning curve for novices. People who previously had no way to learn and improve because they had no one to play with now have the ability to learn the game much quicker and gain invaluable experience from free money play.

One obvious difference is that players do not sit right across from each other, removing any ability to observe others' reactions and body language. Instead, Online casino poker players learn to focus more keenly on betting patterns, reaction time, speed of play, use of check boxes/auto plays, opponents fold/flop percentages, chat box, waiting for the big blind, beginner's tells, and other behavior tells that are not physical in nature. Since poker is a game that requires adaptability, successful online players learn to master the new frontiers of their surroundings.

Another less obvious difference is the rate of play. In brick and mortar casinos the dealer has to collect the cards,shuffle, and deal them after every hand. Due to this and other delays common in offline casinos, the average rate of play is around thirty hands per hour online casino poker. However, online casinos do not have these delays. The dealing and shuffling are instant, there are no delays relating to counting chips (for a split pot), and on average the play is faster due to "auto-action" buttons. It is not uncommon for an Online casino poker table to average ninety to hundred hands per hour.

This large difference in rate of play has created another effect among Online casino poker players. In the brick and mortar casino, the only real way to increase your earnings is to increase your limit. In the online world players have another option, play more tables. Unlike a physical casino where it would be nearly impossible to play multiple tables at once, most Online casino poker rooms allow this. Depending on the site, a player might play from 4 to 10 tables at the same time, viewing them each in a separate window on the computer display. For example, a player may make around $10 per 100 hands at a lower limit game. In a casino, this would earn them under $4 an hour. After dealer tips, the player would probably barely break even. In an Online casino poker room.

While the practice of comping players with free meals, hotel rooms, and merchandise is quite common in B&M casinos, Online casino poker rooms have needed to develop new ways to reward faithful customers online casino poker. The most common way of doing this is through deposit bonuses, where the player is given a bonus code to enter when placing money into an account. The bonus code adds either a percentage, or a set amount of chips to the value deposit. One should be aware that these are not up front payments. The bonus is released in a piecemeal manner in accordance with the number of raked hands played Online casino poker. In addition, several online cardrooms employ Managers to develop VIP programs to reward regular players and additional bonuses exist for players who wish to top up their accounts.

A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English), or poker machine (Australian English) is a certain type of casino game. Traditional slot machines are coin-operated machines with three or more reels, which spin when a lever on the side of the machine is pulled. The machines include a currency detector that validates the coin or money inserted to play. (The slot machine is also known informally as a one-armed bandit because of its traditional appearance and its ability to leave the gamer penniless.) The machine typically pays off based on patterns of symbols visible on the front of the machine when it stops. Modern computer technology has resulted in many variations on the slot machine concept. Today, slot machines are the most popular gambling method in casinos and constitute about 70% of the average casino's income.
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Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York developed a gambling machine in 1891 that could be considered a precursor to the modern slot machine. It contained 5 drums holding a total of 50 card faces and was based on poker. This machine proved extremely popular and soon there was hardly a bar in the city that didn't have one or more of the machines bar-side. Players would insert a nickel and pull a lever, which would spin the drums and the cards they held, the player hoping for a good poker hand video slot machine.

There was no direct payout mechanism, so a pair of Kings might get the player a free beer, whereas a Royal Flush could pay out cigars or drinks, the prizes wholly dependent on what was on offer at the local establishment. To make the odds better for the house, two cards were typically removed from the "deck": the Ten of Spades and the Jack of Hearts, which cut the odds of winning a Royal Flush by half. The drums could also be re-arranged to further reduce a player's chance of winning video slot machine.

The first "one-armed bandit" was invented in 1887 by Charles Fey of San Francisco, California, who devised a much simpler automatic mechanism.[2] Due to the vast number of possible wins with the original poker card-based game, it proved practically impossible to come up with a way to make a machine capable of making an automatic pay-out for all possible winning combinations. Charles Fey devised a machine with three spinning reels containing a total of five symbols – horseshoes, diamonds, spades, hearts and a Liberty Bell, which also gave the machine its name. By replacing ten cards with five symbols and using three reels instead of five drums, the complexity of reading a win was considerably reduced, allowing Fey to devise an effective automatic payout mechanism. Three bells in a row produced the biggest payoff, ten nickels. Liberty Bell was a huge success and spawned a thriving mechanical gaming device industry. Even when the use of these gambling devices was banned in his home State after a few years, Fey still couldn't keep up with demand for the game elsewhere video slot machine.

Another early machine gave out winnings in the form of fruit flavoured chewing gums with pictures of the flavours as symbols on the reels. The popular cherry and melon symbols derive from this machine. The "BAR" symbol now common in slot machines was derived from an early logo of the Bell-Fruit Gum Company. In 1964, Bally developed the first fully electromechanical slot machine called Money Honey video slot machine.

Description

A row of "Wheel of Fortune" slot machines in a casino in Las Vegas. This specific slot machine is themed to the TV game show Wheel of Fortune

A person playing a slot machine purchases the right to play by inserting coins, cash, or in newer machines, a bar-coded paper ticket (known as "ticket in/ticket out" machines), into a designated slot on the machine. The machine is then activated by means of a lever or button, or on newer machines, by pressing a touchscreen on its face. The game itself may or may not involve skill on the player's part — or it may create the illusion of involving skill without actually being anything else than a game of chance video slot machine.

The object of the game is to win money from the machine. The game usually involves matching symbols, either on mechanical reels that spin and stop to reveal one or several symbols, or on a video screen. The symbols are usually brightly colored and easily recognizable, such as images of fruits, and simple shapes such as bells, diamonds, or hearts video slot machine.

Most games have a variety of winning combinations of symbols, often posted on the face of the machine. If a player matches a combination according to the rules of the game, the slot machine pays the player cash or some other sort of value, such as extra games.

There are many different kinds of gambling slot machines in places such as Las Vegas. Some of the most popular are the video poker machines, in which players hope to obtain a set of symbols corresponding to a winning poker hand. Depending on the machine, players can play one, 100, or more hands at one time video slot machine.

Becoming more popular now are the multi-line slots. These slots have more than one payline. Reel slots commonly have three or five paylines, while video slots have 9, 15, 25, or even 100 different paylines. Video slots are themed slots, with graphics and music based on popular entertainers or TV programs (The Addams Family, I Dream of Jeannie, etc.) with a bonus round. Most accept variable amounts of credit to play with 1 to 5 credits per line being typical. The higher the amount bet, the higher the payout will be. Of course, there are the standard 3 - 5 reel slot machines, of various types. These are the typical "one-armed bandits" video slot machine.

One of the main differences between video slots and reel slots is in the way payouts are calculated. With reel slots, the only way to win the maximum jackpot is to play the maximum number of coins (usually 3, sometimes 4, or even 5 coins per spin). With video slots, the fixed payout values are multiplied by the number of coins per line that are being bet. In other words: on a reel slot, it is to the player's advantage to play with the maximum number of coins available. On video slots, it is recommended to play as many individual lines as possible, but there is no benefit to the player in betting more than one credit per line with regards to calculating the payout amounts. (There are some isolated cases where a video slot machine requires the maximum number of credits per spin to be inserted to win the largest payout, but those are the exception.) An example: On the "Wheel of Fortune" reel slot, the player must play 3 coins per spin to be eligible to trigger the bonus round and possibly win the jackpot. On the Wheel of Fortune video slot, the chances of triggering the bonus round or winning the maximum jackpot are exactly the same regardless of the number of coins bet on each line.

Larger casinos offer slot machines with denominations from $.01 (penny slots) all the way up to $100.00 or more per credit. Large denomination slot machines are usually cordoned off from the rest of the casino into a "High Limit" area, often with a separate team of hosts to cater to the needs of the high-rollers who play there video slot machine.

Slot machines common in casinos at this time are more complicated. Most allow players to accept their winnings as credits, which may be "spent" on additional spins.

In the last few years, new slot machines commonly known as "multi-denomination" have been introduced. In a multi-denomination slot machine, the player can choose the value of each credit wagered from a list of options. Based upon the player's selection, the slot machine automatically calculates the number of credits the player receives in exchange for the cash inserted and displays the amount of available credits to the player. (For example, a player could choose to wager one dollar per game on a nickel slot machine.) This eliminates the need for a player to find a specific denomination of a particular slot machine; they can concentrate on simply finding the machine and setting the denomination once they decide to play video slot machine.

Recently, some casinos have chosen to take advantage of a concept commonly known as "tokenization": 1 token buys more than one credit. A casino can configure slot machines of numerous different denominations to accept the same type of token. (For example, all penny, nickel, quarter, and dollar slot machines could be configured to accept dollar tokens.) This significantly reduces a casino's inventory costs and coin handling costs. A tokenized slot machine automatically calculates the number of credits the player receives in exchange for the token inserted and displays the amount of available credits to the player. When a player chooses to collect his credits (by pressing a "Cash Out" button), the slot machine will automatically divide the number of credits on the credit meter by the value of one token and return the result to the patron. Any remainder is known as "residual credits" and cannot be collected. Residual credits must be either played or abandoned video slot machine.

Terminology

Bonus is a special feature of the particular game theme, which is activated when certain symbols appear in a winning combination. In the bonus, the player is presented with several items on a screen from which to choose. As the player chooses items, a number of credits is revealed and awarded. Some bonuses use a mechanical device, such as a spinning wheel, that works in conjunction with the bonus to display the amount won video slot machine.

Candle is a light on top of the slot machine. It flashes to alert the operator that change is needed, hand pay is requested or a potential problem with the machine.

Carousel refers to a grouping of slot machines, usually in a circle or oval formation.

Coin hopper is a container where the coins that are immediately available for payouts are held. The hopper is a mechanical device that rotates coins into the coin tray when a player collects credits/coins (by pressing a "Cash Out" button). When a certain preset coin capacity is reached, a coin diverter automatically redirects, or "drops", excess coin into a "drop bucket" or "drop box" video slot machine.

Credit meter is a visual L.E.D. display of the amount of money or credits on the machine.

Drop bucket or drop box is a container located in a slot machine's base where excess coins are diverted from the hopper. Typically, a drop bucket is used for low denomination slot machines and a drop box is used for high denomination slot machines. A drop box contains a hinged lid with one or more locks whereas a drop bucket does not contain a lid. The contents of drop buckets and drop boxes are collected and counted by the casino on a scheduled basisvideo slot machine.

EGM is used as a short-hand for "Electronic Gaming Machine".

Hand pay refers to a payout made by a slot attendant or cage, rather than the slot machine. A hand pay occurs when the amount of the payout exceeds the maximum amount that was preset by the slot machine's operator. Usually, the maximum amount is set at the level where the operator must begin to deduct taxes. A hand pay could also be necessary as a result of a short pay video slot machine.

Hopper fill slip is a document used to record the replenishments of the coin in the coin hopper after it becomes depleted as a result of making payouts to players. The slip indicates the amount of coin placed into the hoppers, as well as the signatures of the employees involved in the transaction, the slot machine number and the location and the date video slot machine.

Low Level or Slant Top slot machines include a stool so you can sit and play. Stand Up or Upright slot machines are played while standing.

Optimal play is a payback percentage based on a gambler using the optimal strategy in a skill-based slot machine game.

Payline is a straight or zig-zagged line that crosses through one symbol on each reel, along which a winning combination is evaluated. Classic spinning reel machines usually have up to nine paylines, while video slot machines may have as many as fifty.

Rollup is the process of dramatizing a win by playing sounds while the meters count up to the amount that has been won.

Short pay refers to a partial payout made by a slot machine, which is less than the amount due to the player. This occurs if the coin hopper has been depleted as a result of making earlier payouts to players. The remaining amount due to the player is either paid as a hand pay or an attendant will come and re-fill the machine video slot machine.

Display screen of a slot machine in tilt mode

Tilt In the old mechanical days, slot machines had tilt switches. While modern machines no longer have tilt switches, any kind of mechanical failure (door switch in the wrong state, reel motor failure, etc) is still called a "tilt".

Theoretical Hold Worksheet is a document provided by the manufacturer for all slot machines, which indicates the theoretical percentage that the slot machine should hold based on adequate levels of coin-in. The worksheet also indicates the reel strip settings, number of coins that may be played, the payout schedule, the number of reels and other information descriptive of the particular type of slot machine.

Weight count is an American term, referring to the dollar amount of coins or tokens removed from a slot machine's drop bucket or drop box and counted by the casino's hard count team through the use of a weigh scale video slot machine.

Pay table

Each machine has a table that lists the number of credits the player will receive if the symbols listed on the pay table line up on the pay line of the machine. Some symbols are wild and will pay if they are visible in any position, even if they are not on the pay line. Especially on older machines, the pay table is listed on the face of the machine, usually above and below the area containing the wheels. Most video machines display the pay table when the player presses a "pay table" button or touches "pay table" on the screen; some have the pay table listed on the cabinet as well video slot machine.

Technology

Random number generator

It is a common belief that the odds on a machine have something to do with the number of each kind of symbol on each reel, but in modern slot machines this is no longer the case. Modern slot machines are computerized, so that the odds are whatever they are programmed to be. In modern slot machines, the reels and lever are present for historical and entertainment reasons only. The positions the reels will come to rest on are chosen by a Random Number Generator (RNG) contained in the machine's software video slot machine.

The RNG is constantly generating random numbers, at a rate of hundreds or maybe thousands per second. As soon as the lever is pulled or the "Play" button is pressed, the most recent random number is used to determine the result. This means that the result varies depending on exactly when the game is played. A fraction of a second earlier or later, and the result would be differentvideo slot machine.

Some professional gamblers observe that the RNG does not actually generate random numbers. Indeed, all RNG (also called Pseudorandom Number Generators or PRNGs) will eventually repeat their number sequence. This behavior is due to poor programming, as it is relatively easy to build PRNGs with periods so long no computer could complete a single period in the expected lifetime of the universe. Having access to the PRNG code and seed values, some cheats, such as Ronald Dale Harris, a former slot machine programmer, discovered equations for specific gambling games like Keno that allowed them to predict what the next set of selected numbers would be based on the previous games played video slot machine.

Payout percentage

Slot machines are typically programmed to pay out as winnings between 82 to 98 percent of the money that is wagered by players. This is known as the "theoretical payout percentage". The minimum theoretical payout percentage varies among jurisdictions and is typically established by law or regulation. For example, the minimum payout percentage in Nevada is 75 percent and in New Jersey is 83 percent. The winning patterns on slot machines, the amounts they pay, and the frequency at which they appear are carefully selected to yield a certain percentage of the cost of play to the "house" (the operator of the slot machine), while returning the rest to the player during play. Suppose that a certain slot machine costs $1 per spin. It can be calculated that over a sufficiently long period, such as 1,000,000 spins, that the machine will return an average of $950,000 to its players, who have inserted $1,000,000 during that time. In this (simplified) example, the slot machine is said to pay out 95%. The operator keeps the remaining $50,000. Within some EGM-development organizations this concept is referred to simply as "par". "Par" also manifests itself to gamblers as promotional techiniques: "Our 'Loose Slots' have a 93% Pay-back! Play now!" As an aside, the "Loose Slots" actually may describe an anonymous machine in a particular bank of video slot machine.

A slot machine's theoretical payout percentage is set at the factory when the software is written. Changing the payout percentages after a slot machine has been placed on the gaming floor requires a physical swap of the software, which is usually stored on an EPROM but may be downloaded to Non-Volatile Random Access Memory or even stored on CD-ROM or DVD depending on the technological capabilities of the machine and the regulations of the jurisdiction. Based on current technology, this is a time consuming process and as such is done infrequently. In certain jurisdictions, such as New Jersey, the EPROM is sealed with a tamper-evident seal and can only be changed in the presence of Gaming Control Board officials. Other jurisdictions, including Nevada, randomly audit slot machines to ensure that they contain only approved software video slot machine.

In many markets where central monitoring and control systems are used to link machines for auditing and security purposes, usually in wide area networks of multiple venues and thousands of machines, player return must usually be changed from a central computer rather than at each individual machine. A range of percentages are preprogrammed into the game software and selected by configuring the machine remotely.

Nevada Gaming Commission began working with Las Vegas casinos on technology that would allow the casino's slot manager to change the game, the odds, and the payouts remotely via a computer. The change cannot be done instantaneously, but only after the selected machine has been idle for at least four minutes. After the change is made, the machine must be locked to new players for four minutes and display an on-screen message informing potential players that a change is being made.

Linked machines

Often machines are linked together in a way that allows a group of machines to offer a particularly large prize, or "jackpot". Each slot machine in the group contributes a small amount to this progressive jackpot, which is awarded to a player who gets (for example) a royal flush on a video poker machine, or a specific combination of symbols on a regular or 9 line slot machine. The amount paid for the progressive jackpot is usually far higher than any single slot machine could pay on its own video slot machine.

In some cases multiple machines are linked across multiple casinos. In these cases, the machines may be owned by the machine maker who is responsible for paying the jackpot. The casinos lease the machines rather than owning them outright. Megabucks may be the best known example of this type of machine. Megabucks Nevada starts at $10,000,000 after a jackpot. (Prior to September 2005, Megabucks Nevada reset to $7,000,000.) The new penny Megabucks video game also has a jackpot that starts at $11,000,000 video slot machine.

Slot machines that are not linked to a large regional jackpot such as Megabucks usually have higher payout percentages, as linked machines have to take into consideration the large jackpot amount into their payout percentage calculations.

Near-miss programming

Because the reel display of modern slot machines is controlled by computer software, it is possible to make the slot machine frequently display combinations that are close to winning combinations. For instance, if the jackpot combination is "7-7-7", a slot machine could be programmed to frequently display "7-7-(non-7)". This can fool the player into thinking they "almost won", Teasing them into playing more often video slot machine.

This practice of showing combinations that are similar to winning combinations more frequently than would occur randomly is called "near-miss" programming. It has been ruled illegal in the U.S. states of Nevada and New Jersey. The Nevada Gaming Commission did review some machines with this type of programming and refused to authorize them video slot machine.

There is a related phenomenon that is also sometimes called "near-miss". The chance of a winning combination appearing on a payline is controlled by the winning percentages programmed into the slot machine. However, the combinations appearing above and below the payline are all roughly equally randomly distributed. This means it is much more likely that a "winning combination" will appear above or below a payline than on the payline. Using the same example above, it is much more likely that a "winning combination" of "7-7-7" would appear on a line above or below the payline than the chance that it would appear on the payline video slot machine.

The issue of a near-miss above or below the payline was also investigated by the Nevada Gaming Commission. They ruled that this was legal, so long as the "near-miss" above or below the payline was not specially programmed. In other words, the "near-miss" must be just as likely to occur as any other combination. The machine cannot be specially programmed to show "winning combinations" more frequently than other combinations above or below the payline.

The calculation is more complicated than implied here. The stops are not 'programmed' in the sense that their outcome is the result of a calculation. In fact, the reel strips (like a mechanical poker machine) are designed so that the machine will pay according to the relevant video slot machine.

Near-miss programming, where a near miss is innacurately displayed (i.e. the player is shown something that is not an accurate representation of the reelstrips) is not allowed in Australia either. Due to this, regulators use stop motion cameras to audit manufacturer's practices.

Regional variations

Row of slot machines inside Las Vegas airport.

United States

In the United States, the public and private availability of slot machines is highly regulated by state governments. Many states have established gaming control boards to regulate the possession and use of slot machines. Nevada is the only state that has no significant restrictions against slot machines both for public and private use. In New Jersey, slot machines are only allowed in hotel-casinos operated in Atlantic City. Several states (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri) allow slot machines (as well as any casino-style gambling) only on licensed riverboats or permanently anchored barges. Since Hurricane Katrina, Mississippi has removed the requirement that casinos on the Gulf Coast operate on barges and now allows them on land along the shoreline. Delaware allows slot machines at three horse tracks, they are regulated by the state lottery commission. For a list of state by state regulations on private slot machine ownership, see U.S. state slot machine ownership regulations video slot machine.

Native American casinos

Native American casinos located in reservations are not permitted to have slot machines unless the tribe first reaches a pact with the state in which it is located (per Indian Gaming Regulatory Act). Typically, a pact entitles the state to receive a percentage of the gross revenue from slot machines.

Slot machine classes

The Following statements are generalities, not actual laws for every state. There is no federal law governing slot machines, so these classifications may vary from state to state video slot machine.

Some states have restrictions on the type (called "class") of slot machines that can be used in a casino or other gaming area. "Class III" (or "traditional") slot machines operate independently from a centralized computer system and a player's chance of winning any payout is the same with every play. Class III slots are most often seen in Nevada or Atlantic City and are sometimes referred to as "Vegas-style slots".

"Class II" slot machines (also known as "Video Lottery Terminals" or "VLTs") are connected to a centralized computer system that determines the outcome of each wager. In this way, Class II slot machines mimic scratch-off lottery tickets in that each machine has an equal chance of winning a series of limited prizes. Either class of slot machines may or may not have a player skill element video slot machine.

In general a game must have all characteristics of a Class II game to be a Class II game. Any characteristic of a Class III game makes it a Class III game. The casino pays a fee to the state for each Class III game and can only purchase so many Class III licenses. There is no such restriction for Class II games. Class II games are not so nearly regulated by the state.

Class II game characteristics
The player is playing against other players and competing for a common prize.
There is certain to be a winner in each game. The game continues until there is a winner.
In a given set there are a certain number of wins and loses. Once a certain combination has happened it cannot happen again until a new batch is initiated. This is most obvious in scratch card games that come in a pack. Once a card has been pulled those winning combinations cannot occur again until a new pack of cards is installed. One game is dependent on previous games.
The player must be an active participant. They must recognize events as they occur and must recognize when they have won and announce their winning. Bingo is an excellent example here video slot machine.
All players play from the same set of numbers as they are announced.

Class III game characteristics
The player is playing against the house.
There is a very real possibility that the player may lose the game.
Each game is independent of previous games. Any possible outcome can occur in any game.
Wins are announced automatically video slot machine.

Slot clubs

Many American casinos offer free memberships in "slot clubs", which return a small percentage of the amount of money that is bet in the form of "comps" (complimentary food, drinks, hotel rooms, or merchandise), or sometimes as cash back (sometimes with a restriction that the cash be redeemed at a later date). These clubs require that players use a card that is inserted into the slot machine, to allow the casino to track the player's "action" (how much the player bets and for how long), which is often used to establish a level of play that may make a player eligible for additional comps. Comps or cash back from these clubs can make a significant difference in the maximum theoretical return when playing slot machines over a long period of time video slot machine.

Australia

Queen of the Nile (manufactured by Aristocrat), one of the most popular Australian poker machine games, also very popular in some American casinos

Slot machines in Australia are generally referred to as "video poker", "poker machines" or "pokies", but are officially termed Gaming Machines. Australia has seen changes in regulations leading to proliferation of gaming machine venues in various states, most notably New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. Various bodies, including religious organisations and welfare groups, claim that this has increased levels of "problem gambling" video slot machine.

Australian-style gaming machines use video displays to simulate physical reels, usually five. These machines have additional bonusing and second-screen features such as free games and bonus levels. They also allow for multiple lines (up to 50) or multiple ways (up to 243) to be played. This higher level of complexity offers greater opportunity of rewards for players.

Gaming machines are found in casinos (approximately one in each major city) as well as pubs and clubs (usually sports, social, or RSL clubs). There are suggestions that this high level of accessibility may be linked to problem gambling; however, the precise nature of this link is still open to research. The first Australian state to legalize this style of gambling was New South Wales in 1956 when they were made legal in all registered clubs in the video slot machine.

Laws governing gaming machines in Australia are controlled at the state level and as such, those laws vary between states. In the state of Queensland gaming machines in pubs and clubs must provide a return rate of 85% while machines located in casinos must provide a return rate of 90% [1]. Most other states have similar provisions video slot machine.

United Kingdom

Row of old fruit machines in Teignmouth Pier, Devon

Slot machines are usually known as Fruit machines, Bandits and AWP (Amusement with Prizes) in Britain. Fruit machines are commonly found in pubs, clubs, arcades, and some take-away food shops. These machines commonly have 3 or 6 reels with around 16 or 24 fruit symbols printed around them. These reels are spun, and if certain combinations of fruit appear, winnings are paid from the machine, or subgames are played. These are very similar to slot machines seen in casinos and elsewhere around the world, but the term "fruit machine" is usually applied to a type of machine more commonly found in pubs and arcades. These games have lots of extra features, trails and subgames with opportunities to win money, usually more than can be won from just the reels. However, the jackpots from these fruit machines are strictly limited. An old-fashioned word for these machines can be video slot machine.

Currently in the UK, the cost of an individual game may not exceed 50p. The maximum payout for an individual game depends on the type and the location of the machine, but is typically ?35 in pubs where people under the age of 18 are not allowed entry. It is known for machines to payout multiple jackpots, one after the other (this is known as a streak) but each jackpot requires a new game to be played so as not to circumvent the maximum payout. The minimum payout percentage is 70% in Britain, with pubs often setting the payout at around 78%. Private members clubs are allowed "club machines", which have higher jackpots and are allowed to charge more per game video slot machine.

These machines also operate in a different fashion to American slot machines; whereas slots are programmed to pay a percentage over the long-run, there is no reason why a jackpot cannot be paid straight after one has already been won - this is because over the long-run the percentage payout will be the same. However, in the UK, a fruit machine takes on an amount above its payout percentage before winning, so if a payout is 95%, a machine will make the player lose ?10 before paying out ?9.50. As such, it is sensible to watch for people playing these machines but not winning as the likelihood of a win increases. This, however, is called video slot machine.

It has been alleged by the Fairplay campaign that UK fruit machines employ fraudulent techniques in which gambles and chances which appear to be random are in fact pre-determined and cannot be affected by player choices.


The claims centre around the emulation of fruit machine hardware on windows-based computers, which can allow for a fruit machine's RAM state to be saved at a particular point and replayed making a different choice. Although there was only two practical example demonstrating this which the end user could replicate, there was a lot of debate between fairplay campaigners and the fruit machine emulation authors about the reliability of these claims. The authors suggested that the emulators did not have 100% complete core emulation and does not lead or prove the assumption that fruit machines "cheat"; The fairplay campaign, led by Stuart Campbell rubbished these claims publically on various internet forums. After some TV and radio coverage on behalf of the fairplay campaign on this issue, the fruit machine industry has hit back at the allegations through video slot machine, releasing a statement on the issue. BACTA at the time, issued guidance to provide voluntary notices are to be put in place on a sticker for older machines or integrated on the "top glass" artwork, most fruit machine manufacturers have done this for circa 2005 machines. This is in fact the law now in the UK, and all machines carry a notice informing the user that the machine may at times offer the player a choice in which they have no possible chance to win. You can often find messages on the artwork on machines also stating not to reproduce the software, artwork, etc in any way, shape or form without permission video slot machine.

Japan

Japan has a relatively new involvement in slot machines, roughly since after the American occupation during the World War II era. Most machines can be found in Pachinko parlors and the adult sections of amusement arcades, known as game centers.

The machines are regulated with IC chips, and have six different levels changing the odds of a "777". The levels provide a rough outcome of between 90% to an astonishing 160% (200% if using skills). Indeed, the Japanese slot machines are "beatable". The parlor operators, naturally set most of the machines to collect money, but intentionally place a few paying machines on the floor so that there will at least someone winning, encouraging players on the losing machines to keep gambling video slot machine.

Despite the many varieties of the machines, there are certain rules and regulations put forward by the "Security Electronics and Communication Technology Association", an affiliate of the National Police Association (NPA). For example, there must be three reels. Also, all reels must be accompanied by buttons which stop these reels, no more than 15 coins can be paid out per plays, credit meter cant go higher than 50, 3 coin maximum bet, etc.

Although a 15 coin payout may seem ridiculously low, the regulations allow "Big Bonus" (~400-->711 coins) and "Regular Bonus" modes (~110 coins) where these 15 coin payouts occur nearly continuously until the bonus mode finished. While the machine is in bonus mode, the player is entertained with special winning scenes on the LCD display, and energizing music is heard, payout after payout video slot machine.

Three more unique features of Pachisuro machines are "Stock", "Renchan", and "Tenjoh". On many machines, when enough money to afford a bonus is taken in, the bonus is not immediately awarded. Typically the game merely stops making the reels slip off the bonus symbols for a few games. If the player fails to hit the bonus during these "standby games", it is added to the "Stock" for later collection. Many current games, after finishing a bonus round, set the probability to release additional stock (gained from earlier players failing to get a bonus last time the machine stopped making the reels slip for a bit) very high for the first few games. As a result, a lucky player may get to play several bonus rounds in a row (a "Renchan"), making payouts of 5000, even 10,000 coins possible! The lure of "Stock" waiting in the machine, and the possibility of "Renchan" tease the gambler to keep feeding the machine. To tease him further, there is a "Tenjoh", a maximum limit on the number of games between "Stock" release. For example, if the "Tenjoh" is 1500, and the number of games played since the last bonus is 1490, the player is guaranteed to release a bonus within just 10 games video slot machine.

Because of the "Stock", "Renchan", and "Tenjoh" systems, it is possible to make money by simply playing machines on which someone has just lost a huge amount of money. This is called being a "hyena". They are easy to recognize, roaming the aisles for a "Kamo" ( "sucker" in English) to leave his machine video slot machine.

In short, the regulations allowing "Stock", "Renchan", and "Tenjoh" has transformed the Pachisuro from a low-stakes form on entertainment just a few years back to the hard-core gambling it has become in 2006. Many people may be gambling more than they can afford, and the big payouts also lure unsavory "hyena" types into the gambling halls video slot machine.

To address these social issues, a new regulation (Version 5.0) has been adopted in 2006 which caps the maximum amount of "Stock" a machine can hold to around 2000--3000 coins worth of bonus games. Moreover, all Pachisuro machines must be re-evaluated for regulation compliance every 3 three years. Version 4.0 came out in 2004, so that means all those machines with the up to 10000 coin payouts will be removed from service by 2007. Only time will tell how these changes will affect the Japanese Pachisuro industry video slot machine.

Skill Stops

'Skill Stop' Buttons were added to some slot machine by Zacharias Anthony in the early 70's which allowed the player to stop each reel allowing a degree of 'skill' to satisfy New Jersey gaming laws of the day which required that players be allowed to control the game in some way. This is the first known use of the skill stop on slot machine. The conversion was applied to late model Bally slots. Because the typical machine stopped the reels automatically in less than 10 seconds weights were added to the mechanical timers to prolong the automatic stopping of the reels. There were approx. 50 machines involved in the original conversion. By the time the New Jersey ABC ( Alcoholic Beverages Commission ) had approved the conversion for use in New Jersey arcades the word was out and every other distributors began adding skill stops. The machines were a huge hit on the Jersey Shore. The rest of the unconverted Bally machines were destroyed as they had become instantly obsolete video slot machine.

Common misunderstandings

"Hot" and "Cold" machines

Standard slot machines do not get "hot" or "cold". The odds of hitting a winning combination are determined by a random number generator contained in the machine's software and is exactly the same with every spin. Such slot machines are never "due to be hit" if they haven't paid out a jackpot in a while. UK-style AWP and Japan-style Pachisuro machines are progressive which means chances of winning will increase over time if the machine has not paid any wins out. Many also "force" wins on players in order to meet the payout percentage video slot machine.

Placement

There is a science to the placement of slot machines on the gaming floor, but the highest paying machines are not necessarily placed in high-traffic areas. Typically, machines of similar payback percentages are grouped together, with 1% or less difference from machine to machine in the group video slot machine.

Payout changes
In most jurisdictions, casinos cannot alter the machine's payout percentage by time of day, day of week, or remotely via a computer.
Using a slot club card does not affect the machine's payout percentage. The card just allows the casino to keep track of the amount wagered by a player and issue complimentaries accordingly video slot machine.

Missed opportunities

Consider these two scenarios:
You leave a machine. Another player comes up and immediately hits a jackpot. You think, "If I had played just one more time, I would have won that jackpot."
A machine returns a higher jackpot for playing more coins. You play fewer coins, and a winning combination appears. You think, "If I had played more coins, I would have won more money."

In both cases, you did not "miss" an opportunity to win. The results of modern slot machines depend on exactly when you play them. It is very unlikely in either case that you would have received the same result if you had played just one more time or just one more coin. This is because the random numbers being generated are constantly changing thousands of times per second. It is impossible to assume that the instant you would have made the play would be the same for the other opportunity, thus getting different results from the machine. See Random Number Generator above video slot machine.