In the early days of slot machines, numerous incidents of players managed to cheat at slots. However, today it is almost impossible in the computer age. Gaming authorities around the world regulate mechanical and online slot games. The advances in technology have made cheating at slots beyond the realms of possibility. Of course, if you have a trained, prepared team like in the movie Ocean’s Eleven, you might pull it off. Slots today use random number generators, so hackers will struggle to tamper with slots.
In the early days of slot machines, you could gain an advantage due to bad coding. Today, any inconsistencies are non-existent with the use of the RNGs. Authorities further ensure slots work legally, and all legitimate casinos are regulated. Unscrupulous slot players have come up with more and more inventive ways to cheat. Most breaches in the past had been on mechanical slots. As the technology improved, it becomes harder to cheat, and those few who did manage were mostly caught by the casinos, ejected and banned from the venues. Others were arrested by the police and went to jail.
Breaking the Code in the Early Days
At the turn of the last century, slot machines started to appear in saloons and gambling dens across the USA. They were initially referred to as one-armed bandits, and the name stuck until the present. From the very beginning, some individuals tried everything to cheat at slots, and some of them succeeded by triggering jackpots and gaining payouts unfairly. Early slot machines in the States used to accept nickel coins. Cheaters started to meltdown metal to fashion counterfeit coins and called slot slugs. The false coins tricked slot machines into offering free spins. Subsequently, dimes took over as a coin of choice. Then they started filing a penny into the side of a dime, thereby tricking the slot into giving them a nine-cent rebate with every spin. Another technique was to drill a hole in the coin, insert a sting, and lower it enough into the coin-slot to trigger spins before removing it.
Manufacturers’ Revenge
Slot manufacturers countered early slot cheaters with coin escalators. They displayed all the inserted coins in a glass window so casino operators could identify cheaters. As traditional 3-reel slots evolved into electronic video slots, cash bills and barcodes replaced coins. The old drum reel setup made way for complex random number generators. They shuffle the reels with infinite combinations making it impossible to cheat. Despite all that, there are still attempts to cheat at slots, with more inventive schemes and methods at land casinos. It’s even harder to cheat at online slots since they are electronic. They are entirely controlled by Random Number Generators and altogether unpredictable. There haven’t been publicized instances of online slot cheating, which shows how secure they are.
Win Without Cheating
Rather than cheating at slots, you can improve your chances of winning by following a few basic rules. Always quit when you’re ahead. If you make a killing and win a jackpot, take a break. Enjoy the feeling of victory. Don’t spoil that by losing it all again. You should seriously consider withdrawing your winnings and being content. You shouldn’t chase losses, as it’s hard to follow a losing streak with a winning one. Negative emotions will lead to a downward spiral and even more heartbreak.
Another wise piece of advice is to control your bankroll. Before depositing again, take a few moments to think if you can afford to lose more. Setting a budget with a clear head before heading to the casino is a wise strategy that all successful gamblers use. You could check the RTP percentage and choose a slot with a higher rate. You could also choose to play 3-reel slot machines, as they have fewer paylines and cost less to play. 5-reel slots have more paylines, and a good strategy is to bet on all of them to make the most of the game mechanics. So betting on five paylines will cost less than a slot machine with 50 paylines.
Round-Up
There was an individual who spent thousands of dollars to purchase a slot machine similar to the ones used in Vegas casinos. He attempted to break down the internal mechanics to gain insight into how they operate and if it was possible to find a back door. He wasn’t successful and abandoned the idea. Who knows if, in the future, someone will manage to cheat at slots, unlikely as it may seem? Most cheating attempts were on mechanical slots. The online versions are much harder to crack. Moreover, cheaters often return to the scene of the crime to try again. The casino will eventually catch the perpetrator. That will lead to criminal charges, fines or even prison. In a nutshell, slot machines are safer than Fort Knox and impregnable. It is a waste of time trying to cheat at slots in the modern age.