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A reel slot machine is one of the oldest models of this popular gaming device. Its name reflects the essence of the machine’s construction where the central component is three (or five) reels. Pressing the button or pulling down the lever (as it was the case with the classic one-armed bandits), activates the spinning mechanism. After the reels fully stop, a winning combination is formed if the symbols displayed on the reels fall on the payline in a certain order. The payout is given according to the applicable pay schedule.
History
The forefather of modern slot machines is called the Legendary Bell, a gaming device created by a German American mechanic named Charles Fey. Nonetheless, reel slots had come about some time before he completed his invention. As early as 1891 Sittman & Pitt, a casino equipment manufacturer, introduced a full-fledged prototype of the modern slot machine, a device sporting five reels with ten cards on each (the total of 50 cards). The player had to insert a five-cent coin into the slot and pull down the lever activating the reel sinning mechanism. The win was determined based on poker combinations: the higher the combination that came out on the reels, the bigger the award. While Sittman & Pitt managed to devise a fully functioning slot machine, they did not really give enough thought to the matter of setting payouts. Thus, in some establishments a pair of kings would pay the player a free beer, while a royal flush could mean free cigars or drinks. In other words, the question of how to award the player for a win was left entirely to the establishment where the slot machine was installed.
As early as the beginning of the 20th century, just several years after Sittman & Pitt introduced their invention, reel slot machines became a mandatory part of any entertainment establishment, let alone casinos and saloons. The popularity of these machines among business owners was easy to explain: anyone installing a slot machine on his or her premises could take one card or more cards off from the reels, thus, reducing the winning odds. Most often the cards removed from the machine were a 10 of spades and a jack of hearts. Without them, the odds of having a royal flush immediately dropped by 50%. But even this was not enough for cunning owners of some establishments, and they would remove many more cards from the reels, increasing the house profit by several times.
General principles
Reel slot machines operate on extremely simple principles. All the player has to do is to insert a coin or a token (in modern models a token may be replaced with a bar-coded card) into the slot, press the button or pull down the lever activating the sinning mechanism and just then wait to see if the reels stop and form a winning combination.
Payout formulas vary depending on the type of slot machine being played. To memorize them is difficult and hardly necessary: this information is provided in special payout schedules. The schedules, which are either displayed on the front of the machines or can be pulled by pressing the Payout button, list all possible winning combinations available. In some slot machines, such a combination contains only two or three symbols while in some it may include as many as five symbols falling on the horizontal, vertical and even diagonal payline.
The mechanism of reel slot machines is also very simple. It is for this reason that they are still actively employed by numerous casinos despite the emergence of video slots, which are more complex and technologically advanced. In essence, each reel slot machine is a device with reels (usually either three or five) attached to an axle. Spinning the axle causes the reels to rotate, but eventually the rotation is slowed down by special stoppers. Finally, the reels make a complete stop, and a detector reads what symbols hit the payline, thus, determining if there is a winning combination.
Rules
The rules of playing a reel slot machine vary depending on whether a player plays in a traditional casino or online. In a traditional casino to gamble on a slot machine, one has to take the following steps:
- Buy slot tokens (sometimes chips, small coins, special bar-coded cards or electronic cards may be used).
- Choose the appropriate slot machine.
- Insert a token or a coin into the slot.
- Choose the number of credits/coins to be played. This can be done by pressing the Bet button (the minimum bet of one credit) or Bet Max Button (the maximum bet allowed).
- Spin the reels by pulling the down the lever or pressing the button.
- If after the reels stop there is a winning combination, collect the payout by pressing the appropriate button.
Any online casino lets you play a reel slot machine in a slightly different way. This has to do with the fact that usually a software program designed for the casino offering the game, must be downloaded and installed first. In all other respects, the game’s algorithm is generally the same as in a traditional casino. To play a reel slot machine online, a player puts the money in, makes a bet and spins the reels. The payout is normally credited to the player’s account.
