The reels are something to watch to make the game exciting and enjoyable, but the odds are already set. Most people don’t know this, but the reels themselves are just the physical manifestation, the expression, of what’s called a “random number generator.” Frank Scoblete, a prolific gambling writer, calls it “the god in the machine,” which is an interesting way to visualize it. It no longer has anything to do with the number of reels and the number of symbols that you see on each reel. Nowadays, most slot machines are computerized, allowing each casino to set the paybacks at whatever percentages they want to.
Back in the “good old days” when slot machines were mechanical, you could count the number of symbols on each reel and calculate the payback percentages. One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is, “How do I know which slot machine will give me the best odds?” Unlike video poker (as you’ll see in the next chapter), determining slot machine odds is not an exact science.
