Many gamers are unfamiliar with the random number generator. Since all of our readers know that we have tutorials about many aspects of online casino gaming, they ask Slots Play Casinos questions such as “is the random number generator really random?” or “how does the random number generator really work?” or “what does the random number generator really mean in online casino gaming?”
It is true that we here at Slots Play Casinos try to teach our online casino gamer readers many things that would help them get the most fun and profit from online casino gaming. So, we will try to answer these and other questions about the random number generator.
For the rest of this article, we will refer to the random number generator as the RNG.
Is the RNG Really Random?
Yes, it is.
The implications of this simple truth are quite profound. First, the RNG is an algorithm that acts like a perpetual motion machine. It runs continuously. When a player presses spin, deal, or throw the dice, the RNG is told to “stop” after a small number of seconds after the command is given.
This becomes the random number, card, or slot into which the roulette ball falls. It determines the count on the die in Banana Jones. It determines everything that happens in slots.
In Slots, the RNG Can be Calibrated
The RNG is always random, but in slots, the game provider, upon instruction from the casino, can calibrate the RNG to produce a desired return to player rate.
The online casinos that Slots Play Casinos recommends all have a return to player rate in slots of 96-97%. Most land-based casinos have a return to player rate in slots of 90% or less.
Once the RNG has been calibrated, all results are random.
What Does the RNG Really Mean in Casino Gaming?
It means a few very important things.
First, it means that no betting system can work in the long run. Second, it means that the Gambler’s Fallacy is as true a fallacy as any superstition that land-based casino players have.
The RNG Creates Complete Transparency for Online Casinos
The RNG gives online casinos complete transparency in the outcomes of games. Land-based casinos also achieve complete transparency but, on land, there are many games that do not use a RNG. Blackjack, baccarat, bingo, keno, roulette, and craps are possibly the best-known games at a land-based casino that are totally transparent without a RNG.
Every game that is played at a terminal at a land-based casino relies on a RNG to create fair and true outcomes. These games include video poker and blackjack. As you can see, modern casinos, both online and on land, could not exist without a true RNG determining a lot of gaming outcomes.
Online casinos could never have gotten off the ground without the RNG determining all outcomes.
The RNG has created competition between online casinos and land-based casinos. However, the RNG has not had anything specific to do with the greater popularity of online casinos versus land-based casinos. The growing popularity of online casinos is all about the nature of online casino gaming and land-based casino gambling.
We will come back to the nature of casinos after we complete our discussion of the RNG and its implications for online casino gaming.
How Does the RNG Affect the Gambler’s Fallacy?
Well, to start, we have to know what the gambler’s fallacy is.
This is probably the biggest fallacy of all at any casino online or on land. At land-based casinos, players have a lot of superstitions about the placement of terminals, how to throw the dice, where to sit at a blackjack table, and so on. The gambler’s fallacy tops them all. That’s because it seems so true and, yet, it is so false!
The gambler’s fallacy is simply that a given outcome is “due’ to happen because it hasn’t happened in a statistically long time. For example, if you are playing roulette and you bet “odd” and “even” comes up a few times in a row, you might say that odd is due to happen.
It is true that odd is due to happen, but the RNG does not know this!
The RNG is a mute piece of software. It has no memory. So, any outcome that is “due” might still be “due” a few rounds later!
Never Let Yourself Be Seduced by the Gambler’s Fallacy
One of the subtle ways a lot of players get seduced by the gambler’s fallacy is regarding betting systems. The most famous betting system is the Martingale System. In this system, you double your bet after every loss. When you finally win, you will have won your original bet.
According to the Martingale System, if you play only even money bets, you can never have a losing session.
The following chart and explanation will show why this is a sub-category of the gambler’s fallacy.
First, we have to make it clear that there are no real even-money bets at a casino. In roulette, which is alleged to have three even money bets, odd or even; black or red; first 18 numbers or last 18 numbers, the zero or zeros mean that these are not exactly even money bets.
Close, but no.
Now the chart that proves that the Martingale System is hooey.
| Bet | Outcome |
|---|---|
| $5 | Lose |
| $10 | Lose |
| $20 | Lose |
We have had three losing bets in a row. Not exactly an historical losing streak. But, now, the Martingale System tells you to bet $40. How much will you win if you bet $40 and win? Your losses were $35, so if you bet and win a $40 bet, you will have won $5, your original bet.
If you bet the $40 and lose, you now have to bet $80 just to win $5! Most gamers would not risk $80 for a $5 return. This is even though the next spin of the wheel is “due” to win for the player!
Does the RNG Affect Casinos in Any Other Way?
Yes, it does.
At all land-based casinos, the only game that can have the RNG calibrated is slots, and they usually calibrate the RNG in their slots to generate a return to player rate of 90% or less. At good online casinos, like the ones we recommend, the RNG creates a return to player rate of 96-97%.
In video poker and blackjack, the RNG cannot be calibrated. This has led many land-based casinos to reduce the payouts for some hands. In blackjack, the reduced payout for a blackjack is 6-5, whereas our recommended online casinos pay out 3-2 for a blackjack.
In video poker, many land-based casinos pay only 8-5 or even 7-5 for a full house and a flush, while our recommended online casinos pay out 9-6 for these hands.
At a land-based casino with reduced payouts for certain hands, the return to player rate in blackjack and video poker is a lot less than the 99.5% return to player rate that online gamers can earn.
What is the Nature of Online and Land-based Casinos?
Online casinos are available every day at all hours. Land-based casinos might be open all day, but players have to travel to get there. So, players at online casinos are mainly gamers, while players at land-based casinos are mostly gamblers.
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