Before you play any online slot game, you need to find out as much as you can about it. This includes its RTP value and how volatile it is – its volatility level.
But what do these things mean? Understanding them is the first step towards figuring out which is most important, and how you relate to the information when deciding which games to play.
What does volatility mean?
Some slots are far more volatile than others. All slots should show their volatility level somewhere. In some cases, you may need to research this online, but it is usually quite simple to find the answer.
The lower the level, the easier it is to pick up prizes during the game. That sounds cool… so why doesn’t everyone go for lower volatility levels? The reason for this is that low volatility slots pay out more often, yet those prizes tend to be smaller because of this.
Conversely, higher volatility games offer the chance to collect several big prizes in quick succession. However, you pay for that with the real possibility of spinning the reels for ages and never winning a thing.
So, an element of risk comes into play here. That means you need to think about what your own risk level is like. Do you prefer to take a bigger risk in exchange for a chance at a bigger reward? Would you prefer to stick with a safer game and have a chance of collecting plenty of smaller prizes more regularly? This is the trade off you need to think about whenever you play.
What does RTP mean?
To work out how this affects our game choice, we need to know what RTP stands for. The answer is return to player. It’s always a percentage and it should always be as high as possible.
For example, let’s suppose we have two slot games to choose from. One has an RTP of 95.5% while the other offers an RTP of 98%. If all other elements were equal, we’d choose the 98% RTP. That’s because the game will return 98% of all monies taken in bets, compared with 95.5% for the other game.
It's vital to remember that these percentages are worked out over the life of the game though. This could be many years long. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get back that percentage of the wagers you place on the game, whether it’s in that session or over two or three sessions.
Which one matters more?
They both do. Each one refers to a different aspect of the game. you always need to figure out what your own preference is about volatility. Some people never go for anything more than a low volatility slot, yet others sit at the opposite end of the risk scale.
This element of a slot bears no relation to the RTP. That’s why you need to think about the two things separately. We think they are of equal importance. We always look for slots with the highest RTP we can find, since they give out more in prizes than other slots. It’s that simple. We also prefer lower volatility slots, but others might differ on that.
Know where you stand before you play
You’ve guessed this by now, we’re sure. Whenever you see a slot game you haven’t played before, find out what you can about these two values. You should know what your targets are and whether you prefer a low or high volatility level, or something that sits between the two.
Once you have that information, you can choose your next slot game to play with more confidence.
