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Understanding the Random Number Generator (RNG)

A Simple Example

by Bill Burton
for About.com

To use this as an example of the operation of the slot machine, we will replace the numbers 0 -9 on the balls with slot symbols. In each bowl, we will have one ball with the jackpot symbol on it. Two balls with a Bar, three balls with a cherry and four balls which are blank. Imagine the RNG in the slot machine as the person drawing the winning combination.

Here is the breakdown of the number of times out of a thousand that the winning combination made.

3 Jackpot 1 (1x1x1)
3 Bars 8 (2x2x2)
3 Cherries 27 (3x3x3)
Total Wins 37

There are 963 losing combinations consists of:
3 blanks
2 blanks and a symbol.
1 blank and two different symbols.
3 mixed symbols.

The RNG picks these combinations of numbers thousands of times each second. Now imagine a sting of blinking lights where only one bulb can be lit at a time. The electrical current is zipping from bulb to bulb down the string. When you push a button the current stops moving and the bulb in that position lights up. In this example the light represents the three digit number just picked by the RNG. If you hesitated a second before pushing the button the results would be different. This is the same as you getting up from a machine and seeing someone else sit down and hit the jackpot. The chances are astronomical that you would have hit the spin button at the exact same millisecond.

I hope this simple example has given you a basic understanding of the RNG and how it operates to determine the outcome when you play.

Until next time, remember: "Luck comes and goes...Knowledge Stays Forever!"

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