RNG, what is it? Due to the fact you’re on this website and reading this page, I imagine you’re quite fond of gambling. Whether you’re in a land-based casino or playing online, chances are you’ve run into RNG before. So what exactly is this RNG I speak of? Well, in short it is an acronym which stands for Random Number Generator but we’ll just call it RNG for short.
Who uses RNG?
Well, RNG is used quite a lot in gaming and I am not talking just about casino games. If you or your children have a favourite video game, chances are there is RNG going on there. For example, if you’re playing a shooter game, when you fire the in-game weapon, does the bullet hit the exact spot you’re trying to shoot at or does it go a little high or low, left or right. That is RNG…
But we’re here to talk about how it works when it comes to gambling. In a land-based casino, there is no need for RNG, except with games like slots or video poker. But if you’re playing Roulette or Blackjack at the tables, there is a natural randomness to those games. However, as soon as you start playing at an online casino, this natural randomness has to be artificially created by a program, which is the RNG.
How does it Work?
There’s no other way to say this, a Random Number Generator is an extremely complex piece of software that we could spend pages explaining and even after that, we may be no closer to understanding. The short version though is that they use sophisticated algorithms to produce strings of random numbers whenever it is required of them. While a computer program can never be 100% random, they can produce so many numbers that any pattern is unrecognisable and pretty much meaningless.
Each string of random numbers is started by another number, known as the seed. The seed is also chosen at random and as such, these programs are just about as random as they can be.
Can the RNG be used to cheat the player, or the casino?
In truth, it is possible for a casino to use the RNG to cheat its players but, this is not likely to happen. Remember with all games at a casino, the house always has an edge. There really is no need for any casino, land-based or online, to try and cheat their players. It will just put their business at risk, whereas if they play fair, they will still make a profit in the long run.
We’ve all had losing streaks while playing at a casino and wondered if the game was cheating us. In truth, you were just unlucky, just as you were lucky when you had a winning streak. It happens to all of us and it is part of the gambling experience.
As for whether you could use RNG to get the edge on the casinos, we wouldn’t even bother. While it is in the realm of possibility, chances of success are really low.
In the end, just make sure that you are gambling at a reputable casino and we can guarantee you that the RNG will be fair. Casinos tend to be regularly tested for fairness, so even if there is one that is trying to get an even bigger edge, chances are it won’t last long.
