What is Slot?

The basic concept of a slot machine is fairly simple: players pull an arm to rotate a series of reels that have pictures on them, and if certain images line up along a pay line (typically the center of the viewing window), the player wins. In most cases, winning amounts are determined by which symbols land on the pay lines (although certain single images may be winners as well). Other features, like wilds or bonus levels, can increase the odds of hitting certain combinations.

Modern video slots have replaced traditional mechanical designs, but the basic mechanics are still the same. The computer systems that run these machines are programmed to give players a fair chance of hitting the jackpot, whether the machine is manned or not.

Most slot games have a large number of paylines that create dozens, or even thousands, of ways to win. In order to calculate the odds of a particular combination, the software needs to know exactly where each physical reel stopped at the moment it spun. This information is sent to the computer chip which determines if that reel will stop at a blank or a paying symbol.

As computers and video technology improved through the ’70s, ’80s and ‘90s, so too did slot machines. The first digital versions were wholly electronic, but they still used the same basic mechanism of a physical reel with a computer chip inside to control what symbols would appear and when.