Beating the Sigma Derby

I'm going out in a few days and I'll be downtown. The D says what they have is an authetic Sigma Derby machine. I don't know much about it but if it's controlled mechanically, and not electronically, are the winners really random? Is there a way (if you watch it long enough) to see sequencing patterns? I'm not going to watch 1,000 races but if it's strictly a mechanical device can this work?

I believe that the results are predetermined by the RNG before the race even starts, and the mechanisms just do what the electronics tell them.

There's a whole thread about it here.

Quote: Joeman

I believe that the results are predetermined by the RNG before the race even starts, and the mechanisms just do what the electronics tell them.

I agree.

And it's true, the D does have a Derby game on the second floor. Great time killer.

Quote: Lovecomps

The D says what they have is an authetic Sigma Derby machine. I don't know much about it . . .

It is not a game you try to beat. It is a game you play with drunken friends or some sweet young thing you are trying to get drunk.

Where's Mission? He loves that game.

Quote: Lovecomps

I don't know much about it but if it's controlled mechanically, and not electronically, are the winners really random? Is there a way (if you watch it long enough) to see sequencing patterns? I'm not going to watch 1,000 races but if it's strictly a mechanical device can this work?

By "mechanical," I believe you're referring to the kind of slot machines before the mid-1970s in which there are no computer chips, just springs and metal contacts and oiled parts.

By "electronic," the game is run by computer chips, whether it be a slot machine with LED displays, "bubble" craps, or a video poker machine—so Sigma Derby definitely falls into this category. The horses themselves are mechanical and need a good oiling once in a while, but the mechanism that controls the horsies is electronic. The computers chips are programmed to pay back a certain percentage over the long-term, just like a slot machine!