Flyer35
Legend
Platinum Level
I'd never really given slots any thought till recently. I played very infrequently, only when I had some kind of a freebie, and only till the freebie funds were gone. I'd never risked my own money on any kind of slot game - online or in a casino.
But, with the new emphasis on casinos at Cardschat I've been spending some time playing online slots. And guess what? I'm actually enjoying it!
I did some research and found out about RTP (Return to Player) percentage and volatility. Most slots have an RTP of somewhere around 95%. That means that if you play long enough you should lose 5% of your bankroll. Kind of an entertainment fee. That doesn't sound too bad. Some of these games are a lot of fun!
Also, all games have some degree of volatility. Low volatility games will not generally pay as much but they do so more frequently. High volatility games will pay the most, but (and this is a BIG but), unless you have an unlimited bankroll you could easily go bankrupt before you ever trigger a BIG win. So the trick for a beginner with a small bankroll is to find high RTP, low volatility games that allow you to make smaller bets.
Sounds easy, but there's a hitch. Not all online games tell you their RTP and/or volatility. In fact from what I've seem so far, they're far and few between. Or, I just don't know where to look. But, there's a way to figure this out (more or less) yourself. And, you get to have fun at the same time.
All games that I've come across have a 'free' version. This is supposed to be an exact replica of the real money game, but you're using play money instead of real money. You usually have unlimited access to the free games. You might have to log out and then log back in again to reset your play money bankroll if you burn through it too quickly. This is where we learn a little more about volatility. If the game gives you $1,000 play money (not unusual) and you burn though it all pretty quickly making just $1 bets, that's kind of a big clue that the game is 'high' volatility. But if you go down $100 or so then back up around $100 and this happens over and over, then the game is probably high RTP/low volatility.
So, I'm going through the games that look appealing at my favorite online casino and playing each for maybe 30 minutes to an hour and a half. I'm keeping notes of the highs and lows. At some I'll point switch over to the real money versions to see if it's possible to make any money at the slots. If I don't, well I'm having fun trying and as long as I stick to high RTP/low volatility games I 'shouldn't ' lose my shirt.
So far the only assumption I haven't been able to prove is that the RTP/volatility parameters for the real money games are identical to the play money versions. From what I've read it's possible for operators to vary those parameters, but whether they do that or not is a guess right now. It may also be that this varies from operator to operator. So as with anything, It pays to pick a reputable operator in the first place.
But, with the new emphasis on casinos at Cardschat I've been spending some time playing online slots. And guess what? I'm actually enjoying it!
I did some research and found out about RTP (Return to Player) percentage and volatility. Most slots have an RTP of somewhere around 95%. That means that if you play long enough you should lose 5% of your bankroll. Kind of an entertainment fee. That doesn't sound too bad. Some of these games are a lot of fun!
Also, all games have some degree of volatility. Low volatility games will not generally pay as much but they do so more frequently. High volatility games will pay the most, but (and this is a BIG but), unless you have an unlimited bankroll you could easily go bankrupt before you ever trigger a BIG win. So the trick for a beginner with a small bankroll is to find high RTP, low volatility games that allow you to make smaller bets.
Sounds easy, but there's a hitch. Not all online games tell you their RTP and/or volatility. In fact from what I've seem so far, they're far and few between. Or, I just don't know where to look. But, there's a way to figure this out (more or less) yourself. And, you get to have fun at the same time.
All games that I've come across have a 'free' version. This is supposed to be an exact replica of the real money game, but you're using play money instead of real money. You usually have unlimited access to the free games. You might have to log out and then log back in again to reset your play money bankroll if you burn through it too quickly. This is where we learn a little more about volatility. If the game gives you $1,000 play money (not unusual) and you burn though it all pretty quickly making just $1 bets, that's kind of a big clue that the game is 'high' volatility. But if you go down $100 or so then back up around $100 and this happens over and over, then the game is probably high RTP/low volatility.
So, I'm going through the games that look appealing at my favorite online casino and playing each for maybe 30 minutes to an hour and a half. I'm keeping notes of the highs and lows. At some I'll point switch over to the real money versions to see if it's possible to make any money at the slots. If I don't, well I'm having fun trying and as long as I stick to high RTP/low volatility games I 'shouldn't ' lose my shirt.
So far the only assumption I haven't been able to prove is that the RTP/volatility parameters for the real money games are identical to the play money versions. From what I've read it's possible for operators to vary those parameters, but whether they do that or not is a guess right now. It may also be that this varies from operator to operator. So as with anything, It pays to pick a reputable operator in the first place.
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