An Introduction to Traditional Slot Machines
Traditional slot machines are basically the original slot machines. These machines are called traditional slots because they truly are the first original form of this gambling machine. Slot machines were originally found at pubs.
The traditional slot machine was originally designed by Sittman and Pitt of Brooklyn, New York, U.S is a coin-operated slot machine with five reels. 50 Cards were placed on these reels which once spun would stop giving a five card poker hand. These machines did not have an automatic payout mechanism and if one had a good poker hand, would win by receiving a free beer or some drink of that sort. The name slot machine derives from the actually part of the coin insertion which in definition is a coin slot. In 1887, the first slot machine which could calculate payouts was invented by Charles Fey of San Francisco, California, U.S. it was slightly changed to 3 reels and the cards were changed to 5 different symbols. Producing 3 bells in a row would be the highest payout. These traditional slots which the reels are spun using a pulling motion of a single lever present on one side are also called ‘One Armed Bandits’ because of the lever which resembles an arm and ‘bandit’ because it left you penniless. Another common name is ‘fruit machine’ because of the pictures on the reels was changed from playing cards to fruit types. .
Operating a Traditional Slot Machine
The operation of a traditional slot machine is simple. As mentioned earlier, the machine has a slot in which you insert a coin. Once you insert the coin, you need to depress the lever. These two actions – of inserting the coin and depressing the lever – cause the reels to spin. How does the traditional slot machine know that you have inserted the correct coin? How does it know that you are not cheating by inserting a coin of a cheaper denomination? The traditional slots have currency detectors in them. These detectors check the denomination of the coin inserted, and allow the game to proceed once they ascertain that the denomination is correct.
You win at the traditional slot machine if the reels on the machine all throw up the same number or pattern once the reels stop spinning and the machine stops.
Traditional Slots vs. Online Slots
Traditional slots and online slots are very different in a number of ways. For starters, there is the question of physical presence. Traditional slot machines are located physically while online slots exist in a virtual world, on the Internet. In online slots, all you have is the representation of a slot machine, not the machine itself.
Also, traditional slots are big, meaning transportation is a serious issue. That is why these are located at fixed locations such as gambling houses or even neighborhood drugstores. There is no such problem with online slots, however. You can access online slots from the confines of your bedroom; all you need is access to a computer and an Internet connection.
While in traditional slot machines the spinning of the reels is initiated by inserting a coin and then depressing the lever at the side, there is no such exercise involved in online slots. Everything happens at the click of buttons, basically, and the results of your spin are displayed on the computer monitor. The winning doesn’t flow out from the computer but is deposited in the same account you used for payment of the slot machine.