How slot volatility impacts winnings

Slot volatility is not a term that is commonly used outside of industry professionals, but the craftier players aware of the concept can use it to their advantage at online casino sites.

Read through the information present in this guide and you will soon have a strong grasp of slot game volatility.

What are the best slots? The ones that payout the most of course. Our list has the best payout slots online, try them!

What is slot volatility?

Volatility is a popular term in the financial world, but its use in slots is slightly different.

In the most basic sense, this term is used to define the level of risk found in a slot game.

At the same time, there is a level of reward that will also play a factor.

Low Volatility Slots

Like the name suggests, there is much less risk attached to playing low volatility slots.

They are playable with smaller stakes and shall deliver frequent winnings.

However, the drawback of these slots is that the winnings are relatively low.

Basically, these are the types of slots where winning a couple of euro or pounds feels like a major result.

Why Play with Low Volatility?

There are actually several reasons why you should want to play with low volatility, and these are the standouts to consider:

• Affordable wagering: you should expect to be able to lower the line values right down and make the most of your bankroll.

• Longer sessions: combine the low wagering with the consistently small winnings and you can play for longer than with a high volatile slot.

• Clear bonuses: you can clear wagering requirements much simpler with low volatile slots. The consistent turnover of winnings for a long period time makes this a safe strategy for unlocking bonuses to be withdrawn.

• Have fun: losing a large chunk of your bankroll in just several spins is no fun at all. Low volatile slots are less serious and often more fun to play, as a result.

High Volatility Slots

Think of high volatility slots as being the polar opposite to the low ones.

These slots cost more to play and the winning potential is far superior, but you should expect to go through long cold streaks without results.

The challenge of playing these more volatile slots is to successfully ride out the cold patches.

Why Play with High Volatility?

In stark contrast, there is a very different case to be made for playing high volatile slots, starting with the list below:

• Larger winnings: the reason to play comes down to the potential winnings being much higher. Targeting a 100x multiplier just isn’t the same as playing for 5,000x.

• More features: high volatile slots are usually made with higher budgets and fewer time constraints, given their greater profitability for casino sites. Therefore, you are more likely to find special features, such as free spins and bonus games.

• Get out quick: a solid run of winnings can place you in a very solid position. So long as you understand that a slot is highly volatile, you can be ready to walk away when you have struck a major win.

Tips for Gauging Slot Volatility

For the most part, slot developers are not keen to divulge information on the exact volatility of their slots.

They would prefer that players just naturally work their way through the games without focusing on such details.

Slot developers are known for defining the return to player (RTP) percentages of slots, but the volatility is something you will usually have to figure out for yourself.

This cannot be calculated exactly, though it should be simple enough to gauge whether or not a slot is closer to low or high on the spectrum.

Here, the guide is going to share some basic tips to aid you in determining slot volatility.

Please bear in mind that these do not guarantee accurate results, but are merely intended as a supportive aid. Now, these are the tips to consider:

• Check the lowest wager: a large number of fixed paylines and a higher payline value could point towards a high volatile slot. For instance, it might cost €1 or £1 just to play one spin.

• Look at the multipliers: always look at the base game multipliers. If they highest symbols pay out 100x or 200x for matching five, then the slot is low in volatility.

• Winning frequency: simply watch the action to see how frequent and large the winnings are. You can compare the outcomes to the definitions of low and high volatility slots from earlier in the guide.

You can encounter slots that feel like they fall between low and high. These are better-defined as medium volatility slots, but they are tougher to categorise compared to low and high.

Also, you can find that some casinos or developers will use the term slot variance, but this is interchangeable with volatility.

Understanding slot volatility will enable you to only play slots you feel comfortable with. After all, nobody wants to encounter unwelcomed surprises.

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