How Crypto Slots Work

Slots are the most popular games in crypto casinos. Even though LTC Casino offers online gambling with cryptocurrencies, the basic game rules have not changed since the late 19th century, when Charles Fey constructed the first slot machine.

In slots, the player makes a bet and spins reels with symbols attached to them. Subsequently, each reel stops at a random position. The player receives a payout if symbols of the same kind form a winning combination on an active payline. You can find the payouts for specific combinations in the paytable.

Modern-day crypto slot machines employ a random number generator instead of mechanical reels, but the principle remains the same. An unpredictable outcome is what makes slots so exciting. If you are interested in increasing your odds, it is crucial to understand how crypto slots operate.

In most crypto slots, you will encounter good old reels that are used to reflect the game results. That said, crypto slots come with numerous fresh features that would be impossible with mechanical reels. These features include expanding Wilds, free spins, bonus rounds, and so on.

How Crypto Slots Work

Random Number Generator (RNG)

LTC Casino offers slots exclusively from licensed and verified providers. This implies that the results of each game round are determined by a random number generator (RNG) protected from external interference, with no way to calculate the results of future rounds. The random number generator indicates in which position the reels should stop and thus determines the game results.

Here is how a game round in a typical crypto slot goes:

  • 1. The player clicks on the spin button in their browser;
  • 2. The game sends a message to the provider's server;
  • 3. The provider's server calculates the bet and asks the casino to deduct the corresponding amount from the player's balance;
  • 4. The casino responds with a confirmation;
  • 5. The provider's server requests a random number from the RNG;
  • 6. The RNG generates a random number and sends it to the server;
  • 7. The game math processes this number and calculates where the reels should stop;
  • 8. The game calculates the payout for the round;
  • 9. The provider's server asks the casino server to add winnings to the player's account;
  • 10. The casino server adds the winnings and confirms that;
  • 11. The result of the spin is displayed on the player's screen.

The whole process typically takes less than 200 milliseconds.

Whether you win or lose depends entirely on chance, i.e. luck. The result does not depend on whether you won or lost before or on the results of other players. After all, the outcome of a game round in crypto slots is just electromagnetic noise in the random number generator.

In this regard, you can compare the random number generator to an old TV with no signal transmitting black and white noise. The black dot is zero and the white dot is one. Take a picture of a section on the TV screen, count zeros and ones, and you will get a random number.

The random number generator hardware generates thousands of random numbers per second. On the one hand, you can influence the results by clicking the spin button a moment earlier or later. But on the other hand, you do not know which of these moments will bring the best result.

How Do Casinos Make Money on Slots?

You may be wondering: if the game results cannot be manipulated, then how do casinos make money? The answer is simple: slots are designed in such a way that the sum of payouts in the long run is always smaller than the sum of bets made by players.

Let's assume you play coin flip betting $1 per round, and landing heads awards you $1.50. Of course, you can win being lucky enough, but only if you don't play too long. The long-term advantage remains with the casino, even though the odds of landing heads or tails are equal.

Slots work in a similar way, but the math model employed in them is much more complicated. The game math in crypto slots is regulated by the following aspects:

  • A set of symbols on the virtual reels;
  • Payouts for winning combinations;
  • Available bonuses;
  • Rules and odds in bonuses.

Tuned game math and a fair random number generator allow the casino to gain a long-term advantage over the players. This is how casinos make money on slots without manipulating the game results.

Popular Crypto Slots Myths

Players trying to discover patterns in random outcomes have invented various myths about crypto slots. Let's refute the most popular ones.

  • Myth 1 There are winning cycles in crypto slots. You can increase your odds of winning by calculating the right time to play.

    As we have noted above, crypto slots employ a fair random number generator. Players may be more or less lucky in different sessions, but all of that is the result of chance, so it is impossible to predict a winning streak.

  • Myth 2 Slots are programmed to pay less after a big win and more after collecting a substantial sum from players.

    This myth has been known since the days of mechanical slot machines that directly poured coins to players, but even back then it was just a myth. If a slot machine ran out of money, the casino employees paid the missing amount. In modern crypto casinos, it is even simpler. You receive a payout from the casino wallet, and the probability of winning does not depend on whether someone won or lost before.

  • Myth 3 You win less in auto spins or turbo spins mode.

    Whether you press the button manually, use auto spins or turbo spins, the game math and probabilities do not change.

How Crypto Slots Work Technically

Despite the variety of crypto slots, all of them are based on a similar technical pattern:

  • 1. The casino starts a game session;
  • 2. Your browser communicates with the server of the game provider (not the casino);
  • 3. The game provider generates a random number and a result based on it;
  • 4. The outcome is displayed on your screen. The casino also receives the notification and reflects changes in your balance.

One should understand that even if you lose over and over when playing slots from certified providers, this is only due to bad luck. Even if you play in an unknown casino, you can be sure that the games are fair. The same, however, cannot be said about all casinos, so it is better to stick with trusted brands.

Volatility and RTP in Crypto Slots

Volatility and RTP are the two main properties of any crypto slot. They determine how often and how much you will win.

Return to Player (RTP)

Return to player or RTP shows how much the player wins in the long run compared to the total amount wagered. Let's say you play a slot with an RTP of 96%. You start with $1 billion on your balance and place a billion bets of $1 each. By the end of the experiment, your balance should be about $960 million.

On the other hand, if you play only a few rounds, the RTP can be anywhere from 0 to infinity. That is why we have picked such large values for the example above.

The RTP in crypto slots is 95-96% on average. The RTP is an important metric as it can be easily expressed with a number and helps to compare different slots.

Volatility

Volatility in slots is a rather complicated concept, so it can be better described using roulette as an example. A bet on color pays 2x and wins rather frequently (18 rounds out of 37). A bet on number, on the other hand, pays 36x but is much less likely to win (1 round out of 37). In the second case volatility will be much higher than in the first.

Volatility in slots cannot be expressed as a specific number. Therefore, slots are usually divided into categories: high, medium, or low volatility. Curiously, slots are the most volatile game category in crypto casinos. This is why many players prefer slots to blackjack or roulette. The latter two have higher RTP but cannot boast of such opportunities for big wins.