Slots Machine Games Online

Types of Slot Machines

In today's market, slot machine manufactures need to stay on top of their game with respect to technology. You won't find many one armed bandits or even coin hop slots at joe fortune. The majority of games, including online slots, have been replaced with video slots offering features like bonus rounds, animation and such. Below we've categorized slot machines by group with a brief description of the games.

Online Slots - The online slot market is still immature with only a handful of companies creating online slot games. This includes Playtech, Real Time Gaming, WagerWorks (a subsidiary of IGT), Microgaming, Betsoft, Cryptologic, etc. The most notable difference between online slots and live slots is the fact that you can play free from anywhere your heart desires. If you want to play slots in your PJ's you can. If you want to play riding on the train to work, you can. The online market is so versatile that it makes it incredibly easy for players to download and play slots. The games are essentially the same as you would find in the brick and mortar casinos and takes very little to adapt to the internet version.

Progressive Slots Online - Progressive slots are a network of slot machines connected to the same prize pool. When a player spins the reels, a fraction of the initial bet is added to the jackpot, which is how the jackpot increases (progressive). The general rule of thumb is that players are required to bet the maximum number of credits to qualify for the progressive, although all players playing the slots game contribute to the prize pool. Once a jackpot is won, the jackpot will reset to the base amount and will continue to increase until it is won again. The largest progressive jackpot won at a US casino was $38.7 million, again on Megabucks slots, whereas the highest progressive jackpot slot online paid out £3,594,700.

Pokies (Australian Slots) - A "pokie" is an Australian term for gaming machine. The games are essentially video style with very few pubs offering the mechanical pokie. Aussie pokies support five reels instead of three. Of the pokies available, multi-way games have taken the lead in terms of popularity.

One Armed Bandits - The one armed bandit is the typical mechanical lever slot. These games are no longer in production, although they are still available in the land casinos and of course as virtual games online. The one armed bandit was the original slot machine and offered three reels with fruit and symbols.

Fruit Slots - Fruit machines (also known as Amusement with Prizes) are the only legal slot machines in the UK. The fruit machine is a very distinct slot with unique features and concepts. Players have different bonus rounds than the standard five reel video bonus slot with such options as nudges, gamble features, cash ladder and more. Aside from the "game features", fruit slots use a pseudorandom number generator and not a random number generator. These games typically award smaller prizes.

Slot Machine Odds

Slot machine games and online slots are insanely popular, and although the odds of hitting the big payday are insane, people still love playing the games. Slot machines are the casinos biggest moneymaker and the odds are heavily stacked against the player. In fact, your slot odds of winning the Mega Bucks progressive jackpot in the US is 1 in 49,836,032. That's astounding! You would be more likely to become president of the United States or to be hit in the head with falling plane parts than you would to win the jackpot. That said, this still won't deter players from aiming high. Especially when they hear of players like Amy Nishimura winning $8.9 million dollars on a slot machine in Vegas. Of course players can always try to calculate the odds of winning a slot machine, however you would need to know the extact specs for the particular game. Assuming a three reel slot has 25 stops, the math would look something like this (1/25 X 1/25 X 1/25) so roughly 1:15625 of hitting any combination whether it be the jackpot or a single win. It's unlikely you will be able to find the exact specs of a slot machine or online slot, as that kind of information is not made available to the general public. Players take warning - there are people online who will try to sell you a magical formula to learn how to win at slots. These sites are scams. If anyone wants money in return for the best kept slots secret - our best advice is to run as fast as you can!

About Slot Machines and Online Slots

Slot machines are an American icon in any casino and although the games tend to be more popular on US soil than other countries, you will still find plenty of slot machine games across the globe. Slot machines are often referred to as pokies in Australia, fruit machines in the UK and one-armed bandits or slots in Canada and the United States.

Initially developed during the early nineteenth century, slot machines didnt award prizes like they do today. Instead, players would win gum sticks or free drinks rather than really money. These days, its hard to find a slot machine that doesn't award money to players which also means you can't play slots for free (unless online). The slot machines in today's casinos account for more than 75% of the casinos net revenue. This is huge when you consider Nevada alone generated $6,657,378 during the 2010 fiscal year from the 168,078 slot machines statewide. So why are slot machines so popular? Well, for starters they give players the once in a lifetime opportunity of changing their lives through progressive jackpots. You won't find any other game offering millions of dollars up for grabs, aside from the state lotteries. Slots and online slots can provide players with endless hours of entertainment through bonus rounds, animation and in some cases user interaction. Additionally, slot machine software companies like Bally's and IGT continue to reinvent the game through technology. With new innovations, it's pretty much a guarantee that these games will continue to grow in popularity.