Do ‘Hot' and 'Cold' Slots Exist? The Truth About Slot Streaks
If you've ever gone to the casino, you would've heard someone use the terms hot or cold. Hot slot machines are the machines that players explain usually pay out frequently, while cold slots are said to have the opposite effect, whereby they have been there without paying out any money for a long time before they are considered cold. But is there any truth in having such beliefs, or is that just part of the casino mystique? Let's pick apart the facts and see where the view that there are "slot streaks" comes from and whether they are as real as they seem.
The myth of "Hot" and "Cold" Slot Machines': Open first of all: slot machines do not have any "temperature". The notion of the machine, whether it be "hot" or "cold", really is more superstition than fact. Slot machines, especially video slots, run on Random Number Generators which turn every spin into an independent and random entity; in other words, the outcome of one spin has zero impact on the next one.
So if a machine is "hot" because it has been paying out nearly all of the time, or "cold" because it has been all dried out with really long dry spells, then neither a payout nor withholding is the result of any kind of change with that machine. That is merely a random chance. The truth of the matter is that every spin you play on a slot machine is an entirely new game. Jackpot or drought, your fate is all determined by the drawn numbers then one knows what the outcome will be next.
What Makes Us "Feel" Like There Are Slot Streaks?
However, according to most players, slot machines with RNGs "fire hot" without "sometimes cold," so why do people feel there are streaks? It's all part of the way our brains work, and then there's this thing called "gambler's fallacy."
The gambler's fallacy is the mistaken idea that if something occurs more often than it normally does in the short run, then it will happen less often in the long run. For example, if a slot machine has not paid in quite a while, somebody playing may think it's "due" to come out with a payment. On the contrary, after a machine has paid out one huge jackpot, there will be some who think it will get "cold" and no payoffs will come for a long while. Both ideas are wrong since, as stated, every spin is random.
The Effect of Pattern Recognition
Humans are wired to see patterns even when there aren't any. This is called "pattern recognition," and it is a survival mechanism that allows humans to interpret the world around them. However, the urge for patterns can give false positives in an arbitrary environment such as a casino. We start believing a slot machine has been paying out too much in a row such that it is "hot" or because a machine has not paid in a while, it is "cold." These are just tricks played by our minds; we usually try to see patterns where there is none.
Learn About the Role of Randomness
It's worth knowing slot machines are put randomly. Though every slot boasts a return-to-player (RTP) rate, which is how that refers to the percentage of cash the machine will give back over time, it's not that the player will have any control over the outcome by "waiting" for a machine to become "hot" or keeping away when it is "cold." Because randomness occurs, every spin is an independent event because of the RNG. In the long-term end, the machine would pay back nearly at the set RTP; however, in the short term, anything can go wrong.
Why Does Man Keep Holding onto Hot and Cold Streaks?
Despite an understanding that every slot machine operates under principles of randomness, hot and cold machines remain very much a belief. People resonate with these ideas because they need to feel that exert some control over the situation, especially when cash is involved. A machine "hot" seemed hopeful, giving the player a sense of being onto something; "cold" seemed a relief when leaving a machine to check out a new place under another perceived hot one, maybe having escaped a losing streak.
But it's quite simple. Each single spin results simply from chance, without any possible machine behavior to observe. That should get you considering whether you want to embrace this truth and make your experience in the casino a rewarding one rather than always trying to anticipate patterns that simply don't exist.
Welcome the Randomness
There are, really, no hot or cold machines. It is all about probabilities, and, hopefully, the next time you step into a casino, you will remember that every single spin is individual, an event unrelated to any other spin; enjoy the thrills, the excitement, and the randomness of the game, but don't let the hot and cold myth draw you into thinking you are clued into the predictabilities of the outcome. The truth is, it's all luck, and that's sometimes the best fun!
