HISTORY OF THE GAME

Because slot machines are relative newcomers to the gambling scene, there?s little doubt about their history or their evolution. Early slots prototypes date back only as far as 1870. Even though Charles Fey didn?t develop his first slot machine until 1894, and it wasn?t the first slot machine, he is universally considered the Father of the Slot Machine.

Originally from the Bavarian region in Germany, Fey?s life took a series of serendipitous twists, ultimately leading to his immigration to America. He first settled in New Jersey before moving west to California. Shortly after moving to California, Fey was diagnosed with tuberculosis in his twenties. The doctors gave him a year to live, but he managed to cheat death and alter the course of gambling history.

It wasn?t until Fey was in his early thirties that he devised the first slot machine in 1895. His early influence has survived and can be seen even on today?s modern computerized machines. It was during his tenure at a Munich farm tool factory that he developed his insatiable appetite for anything mechanical, and a mechanical savant was born.

Slots history can be divided into three distinguishable eras, each leaving a lasting footprint on the industry today:

The mechanical era

The electromechanical era

The computerized era

Fey's prototype mechanical machine used cards rather than the fruit we see today. It did, however, ring a bell each time the player won, an amenity that has survived the test of time.

Fey is probably best known for his cast-iron Liberty Bell slot. Each of three reels held ten symbols. Three of the same symbols on the pay line paid the jackpot, with a one in one-thousand chance of winning the jackpot.

The Mechanical Era
Fey owned the mechanical era through his introduction of the three-reel slot machine. Just as Bill Gates? dominance of the computer industry began in his garage, Fey?s dominance of the slots industry began in his basement. Based loosely on the lottery game, Policy, Fey placed his slot machines on a 50% rental basis.

The Electromechanical Era
The electromechanical era dominated the mid-twentieth century-the lackluster era of the slot machine. The highlight of the era was the release of Big Bertha, who was soon upstaged by Super Big Bertha. Super Big Bertha cost north of $150,000 to produce, was powered by a five-horsepower motor, and had 8 reels with 20 symbols per reel. All this power paid back only 80% to the players and the odds of hitting the jackpot were only 1 in 25.6 billion.

The Computerized Era
Today?s machines are computerized, relying on pre-programmed random number generators to generate numbers that correspond to patterns of symbols on the reels. Many machines use video to simulate reels, and fewer and fewer machines accept coins. Slots are rapidly moving into the coinless era, and players are moving from the casinos to the Internet slots, a venue that allows them instant play regardless of their location. The internal workings of today?s machine bear little technological resemblance to the original Fey machine, but the look and feel of the slot machine still bears Charles Fey?s indelible stamp.

FIVE VIDEO POKER TIPS

Do NOT use Auto Hold: Some online casino software will offer the options of the software automatically holding the best cards of a dealt hand and playing the entire hand out for you. The problem with this is if you are trying to go after a royal flush or a straight, it may not recognize this and instead keep high cards hoping for a pair result. As good as some of this software is, it may not be optimized for your strategy, so if you are serious about winning you will want to play the cards yourself.

Have a strategy: This ties into the first tip a bit- if you don’t have a strategy, auto hold won’t matter. But you should have a strategy, as video poker has a little bit of skill involved and is not based on just luck. For instance, you may have a pair of aces in your hand, but if you also have a KQJ, you may want to break up that pair and see if you can get a 10 to complete your straight, and especially if it is of the same suit- which means you would win with a Royal Flush. So basically, how you play your hands depends on how much you want to win- smaller, more frequent amounts with pairs or one big amount with a huge hand. It’s up to you, but the point is to have a strategy and stick with it.

Play max coins: This should be a part of your strategy, no matter what it is. If you can play with a quarter but up to three coins, then play the full 75 cents. If you hit on a big hand and didn’t play max coins, I guarantee you will be sorry. If this is the case, you will not hit on that big bonus amount; instead you will find a much smaller amount coming your way. Playing max coins means that you will win the max amount of money for any hand you hit on, and this is always a good thing.

Look for games with bonus rounds or Progressive jackpots: Bonus rounds and Progressive jackpots are great ways to increase your winnings, and quick! A bonus round means you can further push your wager and possibly double your money or more. A Progressive jackpot is an amount of money that grows with each play then is paid out to one lucky, random winner who gets the right hand. Either way, they are a thrill to win and require max coins, as stated in the last point.

Take your time: This is especially true if you are playing multi-hand Video Poker. There is not time limit- you will not hit on a better hand or have better results if you rush through your games. All rushing does is lead to reckless play and more losses. Take your time, and use your strategy. Not only will this prolong play, allowing for more bang for your buck but it ensures better play and therefore better results. Practicing also helps you with your strategy and will help you see the benefits of slower play when it comes to Video Poker.