Randomization problem

[Grae]

Hi again, sorry to keep posting questions in this forum but i have nowhere else to find answers . I'm now trying to make a simulation of a slot machine but for some reason which i should probably already know the slot machine will always have the same three results.
I am using the time function for randomness which i think is the problem as the three results are calculated at pretty much the same time although i do not know how to fix this.

Here is the code the my unfinished program:

#include <iostream>
#include <cstdlib>
#include <ctime>
#include <string>


using namespace std;


int money = 1000;
int bet;


void slotResult()
{
    int counter = 0;
    while (counter < 3)
    {
        srand (time(NULL));
        int i = rand() % (3 - 1 + 1) + 1;


        switch (i)
        {
        case 1:
            {
                cout <<"BALL\t";
                break;
            }
        case 2:
            {
                cout <<"COIN\t";
                break;
            }
        case 3:
            {
                cout <<"STICK\t";
                break;
            }
        }
        counter++;
    }
}


int main ()
{
    cout <<"YOU HAVE $1000 TO SPEND ON THE SLOT MACHINE";
    cout <<"\n\n";
    cout <<"INSTRUCTIONS: PLACE A BET, IF YOU GET 3 MATCHING ITEMS YOU RECIEVE QUADRUPLE THE \nAMOUNT WHICH YOU BET, IF YOU DO NOT YOU LOSE YOUR BET";
    cout <<"\n\n\n\n";
    cout <<"ENTER BET: ";
    cin >>bet;
    slotResult();


}

Can someone please tell me what i am doing wrong here?

thanks in advance

[laserlight]

You should call srand once, near the start of the main function. Otherwise, you would end up re-seeding the PRNG before each call to rand, which doesn't work especially when your seed is based on the current time.

[Grae]

Ok thanks a lot

[Elysia]

Unless you are stuck with an older compiler, consider using the new random library in C++11: <random> - C++ Reference
std::rand is very poor at creating a uniform distribution and a little tricky into manipulating the values into a certain range.