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

In certain games, the use of an RNG has an obvious role. In European roulette, one example is 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 an individual deck card game, the RNG must "remember" which cards it has already dealt in order that they won't be dealt again. With multiple-deck games like online blackjack, the RNG has an even more complicated mathematical algorithm driving it.

Some RNGs require the user to specify an initial "seed" value, which itself varies randomly. A number of them use the time on a clock as a seed, so that there's no human intervention at all within the RNG. You can find some RNGs that actually involve numerous RNGs running all at the same time, with one RNG picking from among the results, creating a sort of super-randomness to the calculation. Of course, 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 our source unbiased. To make sure 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.

Within your online research about internet gambling, you could stumble across a person or site telling you that the specific slot machine has a "cycle" that's predictable enough that one can learn when it's "due" for a jackpot, or which will want to sell you some sort of system for predicting hits. These ploys are not gambles at all: they are just good ways to throw away your hard earned money. Save those hard-earned dollars for another thing!