If you are serious about playing slots, then there are a few crucial concepts that you must grasp. Sure, everyone has heard of the dreaded house edge, expressed in its slot-form as the return-to-player percentage. However, something equally as essential, if not more, is volatility.
Volatility is a concept primarily used in finance, and it expresses the frequency of change in a specific value over a certain period. If that sounds too complex, think of it like this, in slot terms, it tells you how often you are likely to land a winning spin and the most likely sized prize from such a reel rotation. It is a game specification that informs you of the potential winning odds, the random number generator’s programming. What sized prizes is the game designed to pay out, and with what degree of regularity?
In general, there are three categories of volatility, low, medium, and high. However, each can have sub-categories, such as very or super-high. Low volatility games offer recurring wins that are smaller in size, while high ones incur more risk.
Meaning, the latter group payout substantial wins but rarely. Medium volatility titles are the best of both worlds and are more common on the top reviewed slot sites. They provide consistent payouts and a chance to score a medium-sized reward. Considering the win probability and the potential prize associated, you have to decide what works best for you.
How to Use to Your Advantage
Volatility, sometimes also referred to as variance, is a game characteristic that veteran spinners do not underestimate and consider a determining factor when choosing a slot. You should always pick a game that corresponds to your goals and budget.
What can you afford to spend, and what do you hope to get out of your gaming experience? If big wins are what you are after, the kind you read about in the newspaper, you have to play a high volatility game.
Know that such titles can be money-grabbing monsters and can quickly empty your pockets, as they will scarcely provide mini wins that may keep you ahead. When playing them, the goal is to hit that winning symbol combination that can buy you a new car.
If you are more conservative, not a thrill-seeker, but someone who plays for fun and aims to remain profitable, low volatility games are for you. Some such titles allow for bet sizes that are a penny per payline.
You can play multiple paylines at a time, increasing your chance of landing wins that will keep you ahead of the casino. If that is your goal, having fun, and walking away with a bit more than what you had before you sat to play, these are the type of slots that you should be looking at spinning.
Low Volatility Slots
Low volatility titles are usually favored by beginner players who want to learn how to play reel-spinners and casual gamblers, those who are on a tight budget. That said, it is not necessarily accurate to say that these slots are not exciting. Sure, they may not be able to provide the adrenaline high of landing a massive prize, but they can still pack a punch, and many of them provide max wins that are hundreds, if not thousands of times your bet.
Due to their acceptable minimum bet sizes and frequent payouts, they also allow players to spin for extended periods and implement different progressive betting strategies that provide an edge. Something that you could never do on high volatility slots because, in all likelihood, a winning combo may not occur during your gaming session. With these games, you get little rewards throughout, minor doses of gratification that keep you playing.
If this type of gameplay appeals to you and your expectations of what you hope to achieve from your gaming journey, these are five low volatility online slots that you should check out.
Low Volatility Slots:
1. Enchanted Garden (RTP – 97.5%)
2. Derby Dollars (RTP – 97.5%)
3. Diamond Dozen (RTP – 97.5%)
4. Lucky Rat (RTP – 97.5%)
5. Fruit Frenzy (RTP – 97.5%)
High Volatility Slots
If you want to spin highly volatile reels, know that you need a lot of cash and a lot of time on your hands. You also have to be a decent loser. These titles require patience, and you have to stay calm and not get irritated if an hour passes and you still have not landed anything of note.
Serious gamblers favor these types of games, as the risk involved exposes you to the most excellent chances of you shutting off the game penniless. Thus, these titles are for brave souls who want to take risks or those who can afford them. They are not for the faint-hearted.
Note that outside progressive prizes, the most significant industry rewards are to be had on these games. So, if you want to check out this sub-genre, these are a few good titles to start with:
High Volatility Slots:
1. Aztec’s Million (RTP – 94%)
2. Caesars Empire (RTP – 97%)
3. Reels of Wealth (RTP – 95.,29%)
4. SugarPop (RTP – 97.6%)
5. Viking Voyage (RTP – 96.12%)
To Sum Up
Picking whose reels to spin is a matter of personal preference. Having gone through all the information above, you are now in a position to decide what kind of slot best fits you. Naturally, volatility should not be the only factor that helps you choose a game. If big wins are what you are after, know that a medium volatility slot may have a more substantial max prize than a high one. The concept only gives you an idea of one aspect of the game, the probability of what size wins you can expect, and how often.
However, this is throughout millions of spins, short-term, anything can happen. You could land a mega prize on your first reel rotation on a high volatility title. All results are random. Yes, there is a probability percentage that you can factor in, but luck is the largest factor. If it is your day, the computer algorithm can spit out a favorable result for you. It is all indiscriminate mathematical equations. No one can tell for sure what is going to happen at what moment. That is the thrill of playing games of chance, the not knowing.
