Ah mathematics, both loved and loathed all over the world! Mathematics offers us a way to discover the past and predict the future through its many formulas and mathematical models and algorithms. It’s undeniable that casinos are a place of numbers because since machines transitioned from mechanical to digital, algorithms are how the games like slot machines work – learn more.
Ever since antiquity when civilisations first began to gamble and play betting games people have wondered if the perfect prediction is possible – can the roll of the dice ever be predicted, or will it remain a mystery that even mathematics can’t predict? Scientists can use mathematical formulas to discover so much about the universe, the planets, and the stars and even used mathematical models to discover the Big Bang, but they are still unable to simply predict the outcome of the roll of a simple six-sided dice.
Even using mathematics, we rarely, if ever, make the perfect prediction – the weather report is evidence enough of this fact! The same can be said of the outcome of the roll of the dice, no matter how much data you have and what mathematical model you have at your disposal, the outcome of the roll of the dice is unpredictable. This is how gambling was born, as without this unpredictability and our inability to accurately predict the outcome of the roll of a dice is how we are able to play and enjoy the casino games we do today.
As technology has developed, maths has proved to be a key ingredient to casino games. The slot machine is a perfect example of this, as the outcome of the symbols on the reels is determined by a random number generator, which is an algorithm which generates a set of numbers at random which correlate to different symbols that you see displayed on the reels. The randomness of this is what makes the game fair for everyone to play.
You might not even realise how ingrained mathematics is in everything we do and how much it makes possible. Numbers and casinos go hand in hand. In fact, online casinos would not exist without it as computers would not have been possible as they required binary codes. Numbers are an integral part of casino games including all-time favourites like Bingo, Blackjack, Craps, Poker and slots games which all heavily rely on numbers to function.
Every game you play in a casino functions on a probability – for example, the probability of you winning vs the house winning which is generally expressed using a percentage – a return to player percentage (RTP). Slots are a perfect example of this as each slot comes with an RTP which is displayed to players so they know what their chances of winning are.
However, these are still those who believe that at least theoretically the perfect prediction will one day be possible. However, until then, the roll of the dice will remain a mystery and we can’t deny that we kind of like it that way!
Leave a Reply