Random Number Generators - RNGs

When the first slots machine was developed by Charles Fey back in the late 19th century, what governed the movement of the reels were hydraulics. When the lever of the one-armed bandit was pulled, the mechanics inside the machine moved gears and cogwheels inside in order to turn the reels.

However, as technology progressed, slots machines, just like any other machine in this world, evolved as well. Time passed and slots machines are now ruled by electronics and microprocessors. One said electronic device is the RNG, which is short for "random number generator." What is the random number generator? What role does it play and how does it work?

How RNGs Work

In the early days of slots machines, it was fairly easy to understand how the machine arrived at the final combination of pictures at the reels. It is determined by the rotation of the three reels. However, in modern slot machines it is entirely electronic. Now how do you think the machine rotates the reel in order to arrive at a specific combination?

That is where our friend comes in. The Random Number Generator spits out a set of numbers regularly. All of these numbers correspond to a field in the picture database of the slot machine's memory. Generally, you don't see the numbers because all you see are the patterns of pictures in the video screen. However, each picture is represented by a number which in turn signifies the index indicating its place within the database of the slots machine.

So, if a slots machine generates a set of numbers made up of "34 56 126" in one specific line alone, before it outputs images the onboard computer looks up the values of these numbers in the database. The fields have an entry that denotes what image is represented by that number. Once it finds the right field, it then looks up what image is in there and outputs it into the video display. That is how online and electronic slot machines generate their pictures and reel combinations.

The Impact of RNG on the Winning Odds

The random number generator is solely responsible for the rate of winning and losing for the player. There's no way to cheat or manipulate a slots machine into continually paying you out in the software side of the equation. As you could infer from the way the RNG works, you can tell that there's no factor that you can influence the slots machine's results with. It all depends on luck.

The slots machine's microprocessor however, has a built-in percentage rate that determines how often and how lucky a person can be with that particular slot machine. This is called the payback rate, which is pre-programmed into the machine by the manufacturer. The payback rate can be changed by the Casino at will, but they have to report that to the necessary government agencies in charge as dictated by law.

It is amazing how simple things really are, even for the operations of complicated machines such as slots machines. The RNG is just one proof of some simple the logic is behind electronic slots machines.