While some casino games have a skill element within the outcome, some casino games are purely based on chance. Because all online casino games are partly or completely driven by chance, all casino games depend upon a random number generator, or RNG in the software that powers the game. The RNG is a mathematical application that does exactly what it says: generates a totally random number. Not all RNGs are exactly the same, and they have to be tested extensively to guarantee that the numbers they generate really are random.

In certain games, the utilization of an RNG has an obvious role. In European roulette, for instance, the RNG generates a number from 1 to 37 (with 37 corresponding to “0”) on the roulette wheel. The RNG generates a number, the casino stops, and bets are paid or forfeited.

In craps, the RNG must generate two random numbers simultaneously, as well as in single deck card games, the RNG must generate a number from 1 to 52, with each of those numbers corresponding to a specific card. During just one deck card game, the RNG has to “remember” which cards it has already dealt so that they will not be dealt again. With multiple-deck games like online blackjack, the RNG has an much more complicated mathematical algorithm driving it.

Some RNGs require the user to specify an initial “seed” value, which itself varies randomly. Some of them use the time on a clock as a seed, to ensure that there’s no human intervention at all in the RNG. There are actually some RNGs that really involve numerous RNGs running all at the exact same time, with one RNG picking from among-the results, creating a sort of super-randomness to the calculation. Remember, these are very oversimplified ways of describing how RNGs work, but it provides you with some notion of the “brain” behind the many online casino games you enjoy.

To be deemed as fair, numbers spit out by any RNG have to be unpredictable and unbiased. To ensure that this really is the case, internet gaming platforms have to be tested regularly by independent testing entities like eCOGRA. The testing groups have to test the RNG algorithms over millions of hands of card games or millions of throws of dice to make certain that the numbers are unpredictable and unbiased.

In your online research about internet gambling, you could stumble across a person or site telling you that a specific slot machine has a “cycle” that is predictable enough that you can learn casino online when it’s “due” for a jackpot, or that could want to sell you some sort of system for predicting hits. These ploys aren’t gambles at all: they’re just good ways to throw away your hard earned money. Save those hard-earned dollars for another thing!