Random Number Generator in Casino Machines

Many gamblers in a casino may often mistakenly think that a video poker machine is a slot machine just by looking at it. Indeed the video poker machines do have some similarities with the slot machines in some aspects.

The external features of the video poker machine are quite similar with the slot machines. Both are coin operated machines with either a lever or a button that activates the machines to start running. Players can get their payout from a hopper that dispels coins corresponding to the amount that the casino player has won.

Newer version of the casino's video poker and slot machines can print out tickets to their winners instead of spitting out the coins won from either machine. While poker players usually play against a dealer, playing the video poker no longer subjects one to play against a casino dealer because playing the video poker game in similar way as playing the slots subjects the players to play against a machine or computer.

Furthermore both the casino's video poker and slot machines are operated with a random number generator (RNG) which is a computer chip that generates series of numbers in a random manner. This cycle continues even when the machines are not being played. The cycle only stops when the machine is played. The player gets a number which was generated by the machine during its on-going cycles just before the machine stops generating the series of numbers randomly.

Although the video poker and slot machines are operated by a random number generator, casinos program the RNG on each of their machines on slots and video poker differently. Most slot machines are programmed by the casino with an RNG that gives a payback average between 83% and 97%.

This percentage is completely determined by the setting of the slot machine's RNG. Most casinos do not advertise the payback percentage on their slot machines which is completely in contrast with the way video poker machines are programmed by the casino.

The casino's RNG program in a video poker machine is likened to a 52 card decks with the same chance of getting odds as when dealing in an actual deck of cards. The payout is typically dependent on the kind of hands played by the players along with the possible way of determining the mathematical probability on which hand to get, it makes calculating for the payback percentage relatively easy in video poker machine.

Thus, with the difference on the RNG operations on the casino's machine games as video poker and slots, one can typically conclude that there is a higher probability of winning in a game of poker where the RNG can be made more predictable on which hand to play in the video poker game.

Slot machines on the other hand have a more unpredictable RNG making the slot machine game a basic game of chance. To most casino players, it is preferable to play at a casino game of video poker machine where the odds of winning can be highly predictable compared to playing the casino's slot machines.