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I very briefly had a job as a mathematician for a company that certifies pokies (slot machines). I was technically also a software dev, but my job mainly consisted of calculating the theoretical average returns for each machine, writing basic code to simulate the machine for millions of games and then making sure those two numbers matched. I'd pass that on to a physical testing team who hack them to run real games.
It was a horrible fucking job and I got out basically a month after I finished my training. All we did was prove the machines were exactly as profitable as allowed in whatever location they were going to be deployed at...
Now I work as a regular software developer and it's also a horrible job.
So... How profitable were they?
It depends on the region, we were certifying globally. I don't remember the numbers that well, it was years ago and I only did a few months there, but I think it's something like a 98% return for the player, so if you put $1 in, you get 0.98¢ back on average.
Thanks! I would have thought it be less for sure.
Is it so that the cash builds up and augments the chance of winning the more you lose (reward mechanism)? I read somewhere the coins were physically dumped in a bucket (huess some went yo the bank) and the heavier it weights the bigger the chance of winning it (like when completely full you insta-win). Guess if it existed it was an ooold machine :-)
It's just a regulated amount set by the government of each region, the manufacturers want to make them as profitable as possible, but the regulations say they can only be so profitable. The thing is, if you're losing 2% per game, it doesn't seem like much, but the point of slots is you play a lot of games, people sit there for hours and hours and the machines can run multiple games at once in some cases. You can lose all your money quite quickly.
I never worked on physical machines so I can't really answer any questions about coins, I just got data sheets with the reels on them and info about stuff like custom rules and bonus rounds.
Yeah it's maybe more insidious with a 2% loss rate too. I went to a casino once in my lifetime because friends, lost like 20€ split in 4 actions, and that's it. Had I been able to play for 20 minutes, gaining a little but eventually losing it all I might have felt I got something for the money for example.
Did you also calculate the variances, or just the means?