Why is the Random Number Generator So Important?

Every single one of the more than 300 online games we offer at Everygame Casino is run by software called the Random Number Generator or RNG.  We feel that gamers should embrace the concept of the RNG!  It is possibly the single most important aspect of gaming online.  We will explore that idea and others in this article.

RNG Makes Digital Gaming Possible

You remember that the original slot machines were mechanical devices.  A player had to pull the arm to get the three reels spinning.  A land based casino may have a few old fashioned mechanical slot machines on hand for nostalgia lovers but the vast bulk of their slots these days are digital video slots.

Every slots game we carry is run digitally as well.

The RNG is so sophisticated that once the casino calibrates the return to players rate it desires, the RNG does the rest.  Impartial third parties can regularly examine the RNG at any casino, online or land based, to determine that the casino has not tampered with the RNG in any way.

The RNG Guarantees Fairness

For many generations—before the start of the digital era and the beginning of online casino gaming— people came only to land based casinos and played mechanical games or table games with real dealers and real cards, real roulette wheels, real dice and so on.  There was a clichéd sense that a land based casino could manipulate the outcomes of games.

There is not one single reputable online casino that can manipulate the outcome of any game!  This confidence that online gamers have, that every game is run in a fair and honest manner derives initially from the presence of the RNG.  Players at Everygame Casino also feel confident that the casino and its games are run fairly because we submit to regular audits by outside companies.

These audits show the true return to player rate for every game in the preceding months since the last audit.  The casino can tell the software team to set a certain return to player rate but each game from that point on runs independently.  That means that the real return to players rate can be a percent or more higher in a given period or a percent or more lower.

Return to Player Rates

One of the singular advantages of gaming at Everygame Casino or at any other reputable online casino, is that the return to player rate that the software company sets for online games is generally several percentage points higher than the return to player rate they set for the same games at land based casinos.

The reason is plain and simple: land based casinos have higher expenses.  A land based casino has to maintain a building.  The big casinos have very big buildings to maintain.  The casino has to pay salaries to dealers, croupiers, floor bosses, waitresses and waiters who bring free drinks, aspiring actors dressed in period costumes based on the basic theme of the casino.

Then, land based casinos have restaurants, pubs, hotels and a theater all of which employ many people and must be maintained.

Everygame Casino also has many employees behind the scenes but far fewer than any land based casino has.  We don’t have a building to maintain.  All in all, we can easily afford to set a return to player rate for slots of about 97% and for blackjack and video poker of greater than 99%.

The RNG Doesn’t Know Statistics

Because of the RNG, there are no “hot” or “cold” slots; there is no such thing as a number that is “due” to come up in roulette.  In blackjack, every hand is independent of the hands before it.

This simple fact means that there are no betting systems that work at any game run by a RNG.  However, there are sound and proven betting strategies.  This creates a huge difference in the best way for gamers to bet on online games that can be won through best strategy.

We said at the beginning of the article that online gamers should embrace the RNG.  Here is a very good reason why.  Many gamers are misled by books and blogs that talk about sure-fire betting systems.  These systems don’t work in the long run.

When Can a Betting System “Work”?

In the short run, any betting system can work.  By that we mean that if your roulette betting system is to always bet 21, the number 21 might actually come up several times in just a few minutes.  That doesn’t mean that the betting system made any sense at all; it simply means that the player got very, very lucky!

The true odds of any single number coming up on any single roulette spin are always 37-1 in European Roulette or 38-1 in American Roulette.  Even if a number has not come up in 50 spins, the odds of it coming up on this next spin are still and always 37-1 or 38-1.  Embracing the RNG means understanding this simple rule of how the RNG works.

By embracing the RNG, you can avoid getting caught up in an unsound betting system.  The alternative would then become a sound betting strategy.  In the games of skill such as video poker and blackjack, playing with sound betting strategy can bring the return to player rate to 100% or even higher.

The RNG Doesn’t Know Who You Are

This is extremely important.  You might be a high roller but the RNG does not know that.  As far as the odds are concerned, a high roller and a penny bettor have the same odds on every spin or hand.

The RNG doesn’t know how many times you play at this casino, how long your gaming sessions are, which games you like the most, and so on.  The RNG only chooses “numbers”.

How the RNG Works

Obviously, the RNG doesn’t choose numbers in every game.  In blackjack and video poker, it chooses cards.  In slots, it chooses symbols.  So, how exactly does this happen?

The RNG is run by an algorithm.  This term basically refers to the technical way computer software works.  Google uses an algorithm to determine which sites get on page 1 and which sites are relegated to page 10.

The RNG at an online casino basically assigns a value for each card in the deck or for each symbol and for each reel in a slots game.  The RNG thinks of the card as a number.  It thinks of the reels and the symbols as numbers.  It is pre-set to stop at the same instant on every spin or every card drawn or dealt.

In a sense, the RNG is like a fast moving roulette wheel that is programmed to stop in say 2.3 seconds.  Whatever value is on the RNG at that point becomes instantly translated into a card, number, or symbol.

The Indispensable RNG

As you must see at this point, no online casino could run fair and honest games without a fair and honest Random Number Generator.  The commitment here at Everygame Casino Red to excellence in online gaming means that we are particularly sensitive to maintaining a perfectly functioning RNG.