When people think of casinos, they often imagine high-stakes bouts of chance where fortunes can be won or lost in seconds. But in the last decade, slots have taken center stage, bringing in more than half of all casino profits and putting them well ahead of table games.

When you play a slot machine, symbols arrange randomly on the reels after you place a wager and press the spin button. When these symbols line up, you win a prize, sometimes large enough to cover your betting costs for a while. These machines have been around since the 19th century and are still popular today. Their popularity has even surpassed that of table games in some nations.

While the mechanics of slot machines haven’t changed much, advancements in computer technology have made a big difference. Before the 2000s, slots were all-or-nothing affairs: you yanked the lever and either all the cherries or lucky 7s lined up to give you some money, or you got nothing. The newer computers allowed casinos to create more exciting games while giving them precision control over percentage payback and odds, Schull says.

A key to winning at slot is choosing the right game consistently. This requires understanding your own gambling habits and preferences, as well as the peaks and valleys of each game’s winning streaks. The best way to get a feel for a game is to watch videos of it being played online. Some are demos by the manufacturer that show the reels and graphics, while others are player videos that let you see the peaks and valleys for yourself.