Author: editor

All fair, modern slot machines rely on a Random Number Generator (RNG) that is hardware-based and, as such, generates random numbers by sampling naturally occurring electromagnetic noise. Random numbers are not derived by means of a repeatable algorithm, or set of rules, so even if the starting point, or any other number, in a sequence is known, the sequence cannot be reproduced at a later date.

The outcome of each spin of the reels of a slot machine is determined by the RNG, which generates thousands of random numbers per second. Consequently, while the outcome may be winning or losing, depending on the exact millisecond when the reels are activated, the player cannot predict what will happen, one way or the other, and each spin is an independent, truly random event. Indeed, it is the combination of fair, random numbers and other mathematical considerations, such as the weighting of the virtual reels, pay table and so on, that provide a casino with its house edge on slot machines.

By contrast, a so-called Pseudo Random Number Generator (PRNG) is software-based and relies on mathematical algorithms to mimic randomness based on a 32-bit integer, known as a ‘seed value’. However, PNRG algorithms can be reverse-engineered, such that the exact sequence of pseudo-random numbers for each seed value can be predicted. In the past, this vulnerability has been exploited by unscrupulous individuals, who have illicitly profited by hundreds of thousands, or millions, of pounds from slot machines at casinos worldwide. Consequently, the PNRG is a thing of the past as far as slot machines are concerned.

As a big fan of online slots, where you’re dealing with a known quantity, I was curious to find our whether there are ways to predict when slots are going to pay out. It is, or at least was, possible to predict when a slot machine will pay out. In a well-chronicled case, a criminal gang based in St. Petersburg, Russia successfully reverse-engineered the pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) employed by certain, older model slot machines, so that they could predict, with split-second accuracy, when a payout was due. The gang employed dozens of operatives, each of whom could reportedly profit by $250,000 a week, to exploit this vulnerability in slot machines in casinos in eastern and central Europe and in the United States.

The problem with a PRNG, as casinos discovered to their cost, is that results appear random, but are not, in fact, truly random. The algorithm, or set of rules, that generates pseudo-random numbers is initialised by a 32-bit integer value, known as a ‘seed value’; if the starting point in the sequence is known, the sequence can be reproduced at a later date.

The answer, as far as modern slot machines are concerned, was replacing the PRNG with a true random number generator (TRNG), which relies on atmospheric noise, rather than an algorithm, to generate random numbers. Consequently, it is impossible to predict when any modern slot machine, in a bricks-and-mortar casino or online, will pay out. The return to player (RTP) percentage, which describes what proportion of money wagered on a slot machine is returned to players over time, indicates what you can expect in the long-term, but not what to expect from one spin to the next.

Card counting is a technique employed by so-called ‘advantage’ Blackjack players to reverse the house edge – which is less than 1% in any case – and give themselves a small mathematical edge, typically between 0.5% and 1.5%, over the game.

One of the most popular card counting techniques, known as the ‘high-low count’, assigns a value of -1 to aces, court cards and tens, which are considered favourable to the player, +1 to twos, threes, fours, fives and sixes, which are considered favourable to the dealer, and 0 to sevens, eights and nines, which are considered neutral. Fairly obviously, at the start of a shoe the so-called ‘running count’ is 0, so the card counter simply adds or subtracts the appropriate value as each cards is revealed. The final step is to divide the running count by the number of decks left in the shoe, or a rough approximation thereof, to provide the so-called ‘true count’. As the true count rises and falls, the card counter can raise and lower his bets, and adjust his playing strategy, accordingly.

As far as legality is concerned, card counting essentially involves just basic arithmetic and requires nothing more sophisticated than the human brain, so is perfectly legal. Of course, card counters cannot win every hand they play; it is only over the course of hundreds of hours playing and tens of thousands of hands that they can expect to make a profit. Even so, casinos take a dim view of card counting and, if they suspect that a player has an advantage over the game, even in the long-term, take steps to remove the advantage. This could simply involve shuffling the cards when a card counter raises his bet or, in certain jurisdictions, to stop playing Blackjack and/or leave the premises.

The oldest casino in the world is Casinò di Venezia or, in English, Venice Casino, which is housed in a Renaissance-style palace, known as Ca’ Vendramin Calergi, on the Grand Canal in the Cannaregio district of northern Venice. Ca’ Vendramin Calergi was constructed over a twenty-eight-year period during the late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries, but did not become the home of Casinò di Venezia until 1959, after it was bought and renovated by the City of Venice.

Casinò di Venezia first opened its doors in 1638, in a wing of Palazzo Dandolo – a Venetian Gothic palace near Piazza San Marco, or ‘St. Mark’s Square’ – formerly known as Il Ridotto, or ‘The Private Room’. Under the auspices of the City of Venice, the space was converted into the first legal, commercial casino to be open to the public in Western Europe. Casinò di Venezia soon became famous, or infamous, as a centre for entertainment and, although it was closed in its original location in 1774 at the behest of the Venetian authorities, has existed, in one form or another, ever since.

The modern Casinò di Venezia is an eclectic mix of the old and the new, offering olde worlde style and sophistication, without a hint of stuffiness. Tuxedo-clad dealers operate against a background of modern décor, illuminated by cool, atmospheric lighting and the range of table games, which includes blackjack, poker and roulette, and slots should be sufficient to satisfy even the most ardent gambler.