Many novice players are under the impression that all slots are the same, but that’s not the case. The design, bonus rounds, and graphics vary widely from machine to machine. The more a machine pays out, the better its chances are of winning. You can determine which machine has the best chance of paying out by checking its Return to Player (RTP) percentage. To find the best slot machine for you, start with one that is closest to its RTP percentage.

The earliest slot machines used coins to activate the games, but this changed in the 1920s as casino owners tried to curb the addiction. In 1909, San Francisco banned slot machines, but not before there were only 3,300 of them in the city. To cope with the ban, manufacturers began building machines without coin slots, and paid out in beverages and cigars instead. The machines’ production eventually moved to Chicago, where they were more likely to be tolerated.

The payback percentage of slot machines is based on long-term mathematical expectations. In real slot machines, more winning combinations occur, but the prize amounts are lower. The payback percentage is the proportion of the total prize amount to the number of winning combinations. Modern-day slot machines use the same math, but employ computer programs to calculate their payouts. This has its perks and disadvantages. Let’s take a look at the payback percentage of slot machines.