Slot machines have been a long-established part of the casino gaming landscape for decades, even before the internet began to play a significant role. Throughout this timeline, slot gamers have sought ways, techniques, and strategies to improve their odds of winning on slots. But is there a way to maximise winnings in slot gaming? What are some of the techniques long-time slot gamers use? Let’s deep into.
Breaking Down Volatility & RTP
If you’re looking to break down the numbers, statistics, and odds of slot machine games, then exploring low, medium, and high volatility, as well as RTP, is an excellent place to begin.
Slots are mathematically structured using RNG (Random Number Generators), which go under rigorous testing on multiple levels, and ensure that out of the millions of outcomes, they remain provably fair.
Important:There are no common patterns, and each spin is entirely random.
Payout design is modelled around these designs, with different volatility games programmed to pay out slightly less or slightly more, adding variety to the mechanics.
Slot Volatility – How Does It Work
While the mechanics of volatility and payout rate are complicated, the definition of low, medium, and high volatility slot games is broken down into terms to understand clearly:
- Low volatility: games that pay out the most often, but pay out smaller amounts.
- Medium volatility: pays out less often than low volatility, but when they do, the amounts are slightly higher.
- High volatility: pays out the least, but can yield the greatest return.
These characteristics of a slot game are calculated over millions of spins.
RTP (Return To Player)
RTP is detailed as a percentage. It calculates how much a player will return based on every $100 worth of spins. It’s fairly simple, and it undergoes a serious amount of testing to ensure the games pay out at random.
Clarification:A game with a 95% RTP pays out $95 for every $100 worth of spins, and so forth.
As a general rule, the best way to remember it is to break it down into categories. Games with an RTP of 94% or lower tend to be classic games from the past, or they are slots with very low minimum bets, also known as penny slots.
| RTP | Rating | Description | Impact on a player |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98% to 99.5% | extremely high | Classic games, such as fixed jackpot 3×3 grid reel games. | Smaller house edge, smaller payouts, but more regular. Less yield for profit for casinos. |
| 96% to 97.9% | high | Popular slots, often featured with multipliers and free spins rounds to enhance payouts. | Higher payouts but less often. |
| 94% to 95.9% | medium range | A mix of conventional classic games and some online titles. | The house edge is around 5%. |
| 91% to 93.9% | low | Games that are primarily found in conventional casinos and classic games. | Payouts are more infrequent and often refer to fixed or progressive jackpot games. |
| Less than 91% | extremely low | Rare and affordable slots. | Poor long-term value; high house edge. |
Slot Volatility vs RTP
Pay attention:Both of these standard measuring tools stem from different types of game design, and there’s no real connection between the two.
For instance, a high RTP game might also have low volatility, and a medium volatility game might have a low RTP; it depends on the gaming genre, the prizes involved, and the company behind the design.
Can You Leverage These Stats In Your Favour?
No, as there is always a marginal house edge. Even for games with the best odds in a casino, such as slot machines with an RTP of up to 99%, this still means there’s a house advantage. In a regular slot game, your strategy doesn’t affect the house edge. It’s one of the highest rates in casinos, typically over 7%. Even in skill-based slot games, the casino still has an advantage.
Here’s a table that provides the hypothetical house advantage for different types of slots, typical for US casinos:
| Slot Type | House Advantage | Player can lose for every $100 bet |
|---|---|---|
| Penny Slots | 8% – 12% | $8 – $12 |
| Nickel Slots | 6% – 12% | $6 – $12 |
| Quarter Slots | 5% – 10% | $5 – $10 |
| Dollar Slots | 2.5% – 6% | $2.50 – $6 |
When choosing a slot machine, it’s important to consider how the cost per spin is calculated. Although penny and nickel machines seem like the cheapest option, playing multiple paylines on a penny machine can increase the cost to $1 or more per spin. In some cases, a 50-cent machine might actually be a more cost-effective choice.
Tip:Your bet is determined by the number of paylines you select, so it’s important to choose your paylines wisely.
This table highlights how the denomination affects the house edge and RTP.
| Denomination | House Edge | RTP |
|---|---|---|
| 1 or 5 cent slot | 8% to 15% | 85% to 92% |
| 25 cent slot | 5% to 10% | 90% to 95% |
| $1 slot | 2% to 7% | 93% to 98% |
| $5 and up | 0.5% to 3% | 97% to 99.5% |
Takeaway:This means a 1-cent game with a lower RTP (88%) can make it harder to win, while a $1 game with a higher RTP (98%) can provide a longer playtime and more winning opportunities.
RTP in Progressive Slots
Unlike standard slot machines, where the jackpot remains fixed, progressive slots offer a jackpot that grows with every spin made by players. This means that a small percentage of each player’s bet contributes to the prize pool, causing the jackpot to increase over time until someone wins it. However, it’s important to note that the RTP rate for progressive slots is often lower compared to non-progressive ones. This is because a portion of each bet is allocated to the growing jackpot, which means less of your wager goes into the regular payout pool. While the potential rewards are much higher, the RTP for progressive slots can sometimes be between 1% and 5% lower than that of non-progressive games. Always check the game’s details before playing.
Key Takeaways
In both regular and progressive slots, it’s difficult to estimate the odds of winning on slots because the game’s underlying parameters and configurations are not publicly available. So, check the prompts below that players can do to take full advantage of playing:
- Choose slots with higher RTP and denominations.
- Practice with free games to know the mechanics.
- Bet the maximum to activate all lines and features.
- Balance risk and reward.
Last Bits of Advice
Maximising your winnings is knowing when to stop, when to manage your bank, and when to walk away. There’s no strategy you can use in slot gaming to gain an advantage. It doesn’t matter if you are playing blackjack, slots, or roulette; your responsible gambling strategy must be the cornerstone of your overall approach to the game.
- Set time and deposit limits.
- Use cooling-off periods and self-exclusion tools.
- Reach out to problem gambling charities if you believe that your casino gaming is spiralling out of your control.
You should never view slot gaming or any casino game as a means to make money. Focus on maximising your enjoyment, rather than maximising your winnings.
