What Is The Oldest Slot Machine Symbol
What Is The Oldest Slot Machine Symbol? This might come as a surprise to many, but the oldest slot machine symbol wasn’t part of a slot. Instead, the slot symbols you see today were poker icons at first. Poker machines and wheels of fortune were super popular in 19th century America. So popular in fact that they can be considered the. Slot machines do of course come with all manner of unique looking and themed reel symbols, but some of the oldest slot machines that you are going to find that are still available to players will come with often several different types of bar symbols.
- Slot Machine Symbol Meanings
- What Is The Oldest Slot Machine Symbol
- What People Play The Slot Machines
- Slot Machine Symbols
- What Is Slot Machine
- What Is The Oldest Slot Machine Symbols
When playing a classic slot, you can see a standard set of already iconic symbols, such as Bar, Bell, Cherry, Seven, and so on. What is the story behind these images? And which symbol is the oldest of them all? In this article, we’ll embark onto an exciting journey into the past and find out how the all-familiar images made their way into the world of gambling.
Early Days: Pioneer Slots With Poker cCards
Nowadays, even those who have never played a retro slot in their entire life, know the vibrant fruit symbols displayed on the reels. We bet you too know them from movies, TV shows, computer games, and YouTube videos! But if you think that fruits are the oldest slot symbols, you’re mistaken. The truth is that the prototypes of the first slot machines were video poker games. In the 1800s, poker games were an organic part of every respectable American bar. The creators of the first one-armed bandits were heavily inspired by poker games. It’s not surprising that the first slot machines featured card symbols on the reels. Now you see that poker and slots have much more in common that you’ve thought.
Liberty Bell And Its Symbols
The pioneer slots had one peculiarity – they could not pay out winnings automatically. If the player won a cash reward, it was the bartender who paid out the money to the lucky gambler. In 1895, an inventor named Charles Fey came up with the first fully automated slot. The new model only had 3 reels and 5 symbols. The symbols included the iconic Liberty Bell, horseshoe, and three card suits (hearts, diamonds, and spades). By the way, the Liberty Bell symbol gave its beautiful name to Fey’s machine. For some mysterious reason, Charles Fey neglected to patent his revolutionary invention. As a result, his design was copied, and 3-reel slots became wildly popular. As for the horseshoe symbol, nowadays we don’t see it much on the reels.
Why? Probably because it was replaced by Seven – another legendary symbol that is considered to bring luck.
Fruits And Bubble Gum
So far, we haven’t found any trace of fruit symbols in the old slot machines! How did they even come into existence? To find that out, let’s fast forward to the early 1900s when slot machines got banned for the first time. The reason behind the ban had to do with the fact that slots stripped people of their money. As a result, the state decided to intervene and put a stop to the mischief done by the one-armed bandits. Luckily, gamblers were not ready to abandon their passion for slot machines. Slot producers came up with brand new symbols – colorful fruits and bubble gum. Why exactly these symbols? If the player lined up three matching images on the reels, they got a delicious bubble gum with a fruity flavor. That new type of slots got nicknamed “vendor machines”. One of the slot manufacturers – Bell-Fruit Gum Company – decided to add its logo onto the reels. Looking like a bar of gum, the logo slowly transformed into the BAR symbol as we know it today. Fruit symbols stood for different flavors of bubble gum. Yes, this is the fascinating origin of fruit images that can be seen on the reels of any classic slot!
Slots are one of the most popular and easily-recognised games in a casino. It’s the simplicity of Slots that make them such a favourite among casino enthusiasts – just take a spin and hope that the symbols match up.
It’s purely a game of chance, which makes it the perfect option for those looking for some quick, easy casino fun without having to learn the rules of a more complex game.
Slots and slot machine technology have evolved massively over the last several decades, from the earlier days of clunky, mechanical slot machines to the modern computerised versions we see in casinos today.
The growth of online casinos have also played a part in these developments, with Betfair casino Slots available to play on your computer or phone. Let’s take a look at how the technology of slot machines has grown and adapted over time.
Slot Machine Symbol Meanings
The Early Days
Perhaps the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of casino Slots is a big, clunky machine with a lever.
That’s what the oldest slot machines were like – a series of reels, generally three, would rotate when the lever was pulled.
If the symbols visible on the pay-line of all the reels matched up, you would win. Sensors were used to detect if the symbols matched and this would activate the pay-out.
What Is The Oldest Slot Machine Symbol
These early slot machines were mechanical structures, with a complex arrangement of gears and levers, metal shafts, and notched discs to be found in the machines’ innards.
While these slot machines will spark nostalgia in many a casino gamer, as technology has advanced, these early configurations have been left behind.
What People Play The Slot Machines
Modern Machines
Slot Machine Symbols
Nowadays, most slot machines are computerised, with no mechanical parts to be found. These video slots feature a screen which displays the computer-generated reels and pay-lines.
Many machines will have more than three reels, which allows for more possibilities and more ways to win.
Randomisation technology is used in video slots to ensure their fairness. Random Number Generators (RNGs) decide the outcome of the game, which gives Slots their great appeal of being games of pure chance with no external factors affecting the outcome of the spin.
These modern slot machines have had a positive effect on the gamer’s casino experience. Instead of having to carry cups full of coins, players can simply bet money straight from a credit account instead of having to drop a coin in the machine before every spin.
Video slots can be programmed with a certain pay-back percentage, also known as a return-to-player percentage (RTP). This is the percentage of wagered money that will be paid back to the player over time.
What Is Slot Machine
Naturally, the higher the RTP percentage, the more likely it is that a player will enjoy success. The computer software and technology used in video slots has allowed this to be implemented so that both casinos and gamers can benefit in the long run.
What Is The Oldest Slot Machine Symbols
Online Takeover
Of course, the rise of online casinos has meant that many people now enjoy playing Slots on their computer or smartphone. The technology of these games is almost identical to that of video slots, with RNGs and RTP percentages utilised in both.
Online casinos are a prime example of how different technologies can complement each other. The advent and development of fast computers and smartphones have allowed online casinos to use the technology of video slots online and provide a new and exciting way for people to enjoy Slots.
With so many steps already taken in the advancement of slot machine technology, it will be interesting to see what the future holds.