Do Slots have some form of intelligence that can make me win or lose?

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Anyone who has played slots regularly over a number of years will be able to tell you that at one time or another they were convinced that a slot machine they were playing had some kind of malevolent intelligence that enabled it to know what they needed next and caused them to lose over and over again. This machine seemingly taunted them and delighted in their misfortunes at every spin.

This may seem a little "out there" but the thought that slots could be programmed with some sort of artificial intelligence has probably crossed more than a few players' minds, especially when faced with ongoing losing streaks. You'll even find players that will admit to hating a particular slot because they lost a substantial sum to it in the past, as if the machine knew what it was doing and had somehow intentionally caused them misfortune.

So are there intelligent slots? It may seem like it, but they don't exist...yet. Artificial intelligence is possible, we've seen it demonstrated in poker games where man took on the machine to see who would emerge the ultimate victor, yet ultimately, man still won. For now that is. Artificial intelligence is still in its infancy and it's safe to say that it will be a good few years before it can be successfully applied in the gambling industry.

So at present, whether you play at land based, online or mobile casinos, you will not be dealing with any kind of intelligent or even semi-intelligent machines. All you're playing against when it comes to slots is a Random Number Generator that randomly spits out combinations of multi-millions of possible outcomes.

These machines are programmed to be random, sometimes it will seem that they are hot, other times cold and you'll win and lose. No intelligence is required for these outcomes, and it's us humans that project our own emotion onto the machines, with the help of a little gambling psychology that developers have used when designing these games. From the tinkle and jingle of bells and flashing lights and icons when we win to stony silence or boo boo sounds and no action when we don't, these audio and visual cues go a long way to making the machine seem like it is a living entity, while also getting an emotional rise or fall out of us.

So those streaks where you feel like you'll never win again, and those times when you win big, area all par for the course, not because a machine likes or dislikes you and connives to make you win or lose. It is simply fulfilling its programming and you just happen to be there when certain events are taking place.

If you think a slot is programmed just to take your money, then you can stick with it and keep feeding it, or leave it and try another one. Our advice is generally to try another. While you won't be able to change the nature of the slots programming, you will be able to feel like you've got another chance at winning, and that will make you enjoy the game more, which is ultimately what it's all about.

The new machine may treat you the same way as the one you just left, or it may not. The point is that you should always enjoy the entertainment it offers, and let's face it, no one enjoys losing consistently.

So while you don't have to worry about slots being rigged, or that they have some kind of intelligence behind them that makes you win or lose, you should always be aware that if you're not enjoying a game anymore, only you can do something about it by stopping and playing another day, or moving on. After all, slot machines are not the Terminator and they are not out to get you.