What Does High Volatility Mean In Slots Average ratng: 3,8/5 9900 votes
Volatility (often also called variance or dispersion) refers to how much risk is involved in playing a particular casino game. When it refers to slots, the term is used to let players know how often they can expect the slot to pay out, and how big they can expect that payout will be.
High Volatility Slots Higher volatility equates to higher risk. Because payouts, while larger, are fewer and farther between, you can sometimes end up clicking the 'spin' button, watching your balance dwindle, with not a lot to show for it. That is, until everything lines up perfectly and bam! Therefore, High Volatility slots may present fewer winning combinations but can rack up a substantial payout over a period of time. Reactoonz and Dead or Alive 2 are an example of High Volatility slots. In these games, winning combinations may be few and far but can award up to 100,000x your stake at a time. What Is a Low Volatility Slot? Volatility standard deviation (SD), risk – The standard deviation is the most commonly used index of volatility. Highly volatile games will present rare but large prizes, whereas a low volatility game will award smaller prizes, but they will occur more often. Highly volatile slots are less predictable. The volatility, which may be low, medium (yet also medium-low or medium-high) or high is an element on which online casinos and slot providers communicate very little- if at all.
Volatility (often also called variance or dispersion) refers to how much risk is involved in playing a particular casino game. When it refers to slots, the term is used to let players know how often they can expect the slot to pay out, and how big they can expect that payout will be.
A slot with low volatility will award players with frequent wins for low to mid-sized amounts, while a slot with high volatility will provide players with much larger wins at a more irregular pace. Since the higher the volatility of a slot the less frequent it will pay out, high volatility slots are considered more risky options for players, as they can find themselves investing large portions of their balance looking for that one massive win.
Their ability to dispense these types of payouts have made high volatility slots by far the most popular slots amongst experienced online casino fans and thrill seekers, while lower volatility slots are known as the best choice for new and casual slot players alike.
What are high volatility slots?
High volatility slots are slots that have a large difference between the minimum and maximum win amounts. The bigger the jackpots that are promised, the higher you can expect the volatility of the game will be. Whenever you hear of a millionaire jackpot win on the news or see a video of a slot paying out a massive win of thousands of times the initial bet, it will definitely be coming from a high volatility slot.
That being said, high volatility slots are considered much riskier to play as you may find yourself going through periods where you don’t hit any significant winning combinations. Most high volatility slots still have a very high expected RTP (Return to Player), meaning that while in the short run you may not find many wins, in the long run they will still pay as expected – usually all at once in single spin or bonus game.
Therefore, if you are patient and have a large enough bankroll to continue spinning for periods without any significant rewards, you are bound to hit a free spins bonus feature or huge winning combination that will provide you with a massive win – often reaching between 1000x to 10000x times your investment.
Therefore, high volatility games are to be played with a long-term reward in mind, as one win or bonus game alone can often more than make up for long periods with no significant wins.
Should I play high volatility slots?
High volatility slots are considered by most slot players to be by far the most exciting of all slots. Bursting with bonus features such as free spins with multipliers, stacked Wilds and huge jackpot games, they are bound to give players plenty of thrills as the slot explodes with coins after that game-changing BIG WIN.
High variance slots provide players significantly larger payouts than any other type of slot, some of them offering jackpots that are thousands of times your initial bet. For those seeking even bigger thrills, Progressive jackpots are extremely high variance slots that allow you the opportunity to win a life-changing jackpot, usually consisting of literally millions of euros.
High volatility games are not for the risk adverse, impatient, or the faint of heart. Often you may find yourself despairing after long periods of time where you will only trigger small wins or even no wins at all and you see your balance disappearing. However, these games will reward those willing to plow forward as the RTP guarantees you are bound to eventually hit a payday that will make it all more than worth your while.
So if you are a thrill-seeking Viking who is willing to take big risks and navigate the harsh, fruitless seas in your quest to discover truly epic treasures, there is no substitute to high volatility games
When should I play high volatility Slots?
· When you are a “go big or go home” kind of person
· When you like to take big risks if they can possibly lead you to big rewards
· When you are an adrenaline junkie who lives for the thrills of that massive win
· If – like a true Viking hunter or a fisherman – you are willing to wait for long periods of time without any rewards, just waiting for the right moment to strike
· When you always play the maximum amounts in order to compete for the largest prizes
· When you are a fan of life-changing bonus games and jackpots
· When you don’t mind going risking a large amount of your bankroll in one session waiting for that one lucky spin
· When you are able to set a limit of how much you are willing to lose before you quit playing, and you respect it.
There are many different types of high volatility slots. If you are looking to find which high variance slot is best for you, we’d recommend you read our best high volatility slots list.
What are Low Volatility slots?
Low volatility slots are slots where there is not a huge difference between the minimum and maximum win amounts. Low volatility slots will produce plenty of small and mid-sized payouts that don’t deviate too much from the guaranteed RTP ratio set by the manufacturer. This means that no matter how long you play, you will usually trigger enough wins to make your action worthwhile.
Due to their frequent wins, low variance slot games are low in risk. This makes them perfect for new players that are looking to learn how to play slots or test out a new game, or for casual players that just want to play for as long as they can without having to deposit again.
Since low variance slots are low risk and pay quite often, you should not expect an earth-shattering payout or a jackpot that will get you on the news. However, unlike in high variance slots, you will not have to worry about playing for long periods of time bleeding money before your next win.
None of this is to say you cannot win big in playing these slots. Most of them also feature lucrative free spin bonus features that, while they may not come around too often, will often award you with wins between 10-100 times your initial bet.
When should I play low volatility slots?
· When you are playing just to have fun
· When you want to play for as long as possible
· When you don’t have a large bankroll and are not willing to risk a most or all of it
What Does High Volatility Mean In Slots Today
· When you are a casual player that doesn’t need huge wins to have fun
· When you are a new player learning to play slots
· When you want to get the most entertainment out of your money
· When you are a fan of classic video slots and do not like to wait until bonus games to win money
· When you enjoy getting constant little rewards throughout the game instead of few and far between larger ones.
· When you want to receive winnings that are within the machine’s advertised RTP (return to player rate) in the short run.
If you’d like to try out our low volatility slots, we’d recommend you check out our list for the best low volatility slots to find the one that best suits your tastes.
What are Medium Volatility slots?
Medium volatility slots are the happy compromise between high and low volatility slots. Medium variance slot machines will offer players plenty of low and mid-sized wins throughout the game, while also offering the possibility of winning large jackpots – often up to 1000x their bet size.
Medium volatility slots are perfect for players who are looking for big jackpots but also don’t want to risk too much of their bankroll to get them. Playing them will allow you to compete for large prizes and at the same time make the best of your balance, as there will be plenty of bankroll saving wins along the way to keep you playing. While the big wins from free spins bonus games and jackpots are not quite as colossal as high volatility slots, they are still big enough to get your heart racing and your pockets full.
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When should I play medium volatility slots?
· When you are playing for fun, but also want the thrill of competing for big prizes
· When you are willing to take larger risks with your bankroll for larger wins – but also want to get the most play out of your money
· When you are a new/casual player that has learned to play on low volatility slots and is looking to take his game to the next level
· When you don’t have a big bankroll but still want to try your hand at huge prizes.
· If you are a fan of hugely profitable free spin bonus games, Wilds and 1000x jackpots
· When you like to receive small rewards regularly, but also want the chance to win bigger jackpots
If you’d like to play a medium volatility slot but don’t know which to choose from, you can check our list of best medium volatility slots.
How to Determine Volatility
While casino game developers don’t usually give out information regarding a slot’s volatility to players, there are a few ways in which you can determine a slot’s volatility.
The first one is to select the slots by volatility lists posted further above this page, which will go over the slots considered by players to be the best for each volatility type.
Another way is to take a look at the difference between the payout of 4 identical symbols in a payline vs the payout of 5 symbols in a payline. If the difference in payout is 3 to 5 times the amount it will most likely be a low variance slot, between 5-10 times a medium, and between 10 to 15 times it will surely be a high variance slot.
Finally, the best and most accurate way to determine the volatility of any online casino game: Playing it! The more time you spend with a slot the easier it will be to gauge how often it pays out and how big each win is. The more you have to wait for wins and the bigger they are, the more volatile the slot will be.
The best way to test this, of course, is by playing for free. VikingSlots offers its players the possibility of trying out all of their slots for play money. However, if you would like to play for free with the possibility of winning real money prizes, make sure to check out our Casino bonus page where you can receive up to $2000 in bonus money and 100 free spins to test out our slots and find the right one for you.
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Updated on 26th March 2018
Since slot volatility and RTP play such an important role in the dynamics of casino slots and our players have been inquiring so much about these terms, we updated this guide. We’ve included additional sections and answers for those interested in understanding how casino games work. We’ve also included examples of low, medium and high volatility slots, expanded on strategies of gameplay on different variance slots and included some information on working out the variance of a slot on your own, among other things.
If you often read slot reviews, you might have heard the term ‘slot volatility’ before. But what does volatility mean? Also known as variance in the world of slots, volatility refers to one basic idea: how risky the game is. We’re not talking about the chances of death from a slot, by the way, we all know that the biggest risk for gamblers is losing money.
So the mobile slot volatility simply indicates the chances of ending a playing session with a boosted bankroll. It also somewhat influences how much cash we can win and put in our wallet afterwards. Slots have a range of volatility levels, mostly referred to as low, medium or high. Today we’ll talk you through what these kinds of categories mean, the benefits of each and what kind of slots fall into each group.
What Does Volatility Mean In Slots And Which One Is For Me?
It’d be easy to be convinced that what you’re looking for, to end up with more cash, is low risk slots. However, you couldn’t be farther from the truth. If it was that simple, all games would have low slot machine volatility and we’d review all high risk slots as worth avoiding. But why would developers stick to high slots volatility, then?
In actual fact, different types of players should be using different types of slots. Sure, low volatility slots pay out more, but you’ll find that high volatility slots pay out bigger sums of money. That’s because low risk slots pay often, but their jackpots are small. High variance means the opposite – rare wins, but larger single payout average.
Which type of variance you prefer from a slot will depend on a few things. Most importantly, what you want out of your gaming experience matters the most. However, the kind of money you can afford to spend will also affect your choice. After all, we’d always like to have more than we actually do. To fully understand how slot machine volatility works, the RTP is a very helpful term.
How Is RTP Related To Slots Volatility?
RTP is short for ‘return to player’ and is expressed as a percentage. Slots usually have around 93 to 98 per cent return, NextGen and NetEnt slots RTP often being slightly better than others’. What this means is that for every £100 wagered, up to £98 will be returned to the player. This applies to an unlimited number of spins and is a theoretical value rather than a practical one. If a slot has a 97% RTP, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll definitely get 97% of your bets back.
How is this related to slots volatility, you may ask? It’s this exact variance that decides how much a slot may differ from the theoretical RTP in a single session. Low volatility slots tend to vary only slightly from this percentage. That’s why they pay in small, but frequent sums. If you wagered £10 and ended up with £15, that’s 150% RTP and it’s considered a decent win on such a game.
Preferring high slot machine volatility means you want your games to offer a greater variance in its returns. Therefore, such games will usually differ much more from the theoretical RTP than in the previous example. That’s why you can often end up with a 0% return after the first ten spins. But if you stick to it, you might as well receive a payout that’s 1,000x your bet after 300 spins. This would mean that your RTP for the session is around 333%. That’s far more than the theoretical 95% or so.
High slot volatility tends to come with lower RTP percentages. They’re usually more lucrative to the operator and often leave the players empty-handed. However, players that do win, actually win a lot. This means that low risk slots often have comparably high RTP, around 97% or even around 98.5%. Are you seeing the tendency here?
Low Volatility Slots
Simply put, low volatility slots are those that pay out frequently and are often high RTP slots. These payouts will be small, but they will occur every five spins or so. Most of the time, these rewards will be just enough to keep you going, whilst a decent win may take you just over your starting budget.
Jackpots on low volatility slots are much lower than high volatility slots, which makes sense given they are low risk. There’s less chance of you winning a life-changing amount, but you’re also less likely to have a streak of spins without a single win. The best low variance slots, however, should still have a decent maximum win. If you can leave the game with around 25% more than your starting balance, then we’d say you’ve done well.
So, for example, say you start with £30 to play with. Perhaps you’ll have a few spins without winning, but then may cash in with a £10 win, which should top your balance back up. If you end up with closer to £40 then you’ve had a good session and can call it quits.
Low variance slots are best for players who don’t want to spend so much money or want to play for a longer period of time. You don’t need to place high wagers to see rewards, and as you’ll receive frequent wins your play time should be extended.
Medium Volatility Slots
Medium volatility slots are quite self-explanatory, now that you’ve got the idea what slots volatility is. Not everything is black and white, so these kinds of slots are between the two opposites. They’re medium risk, which means you’ll receive both enough payouts to keep playing, and the chance at some big wins.
Unlike high volatility slots, medium variance slots should pay out relatively frequently, although much less often than low volatility games. A noticeable win should come your way every 20 spins or so. Therefore, many players think that medium variance games are the ones to play if their budget allows spending a bit more than usual.
In reality, medium volatility slots can sometimes be more frustrating to players than either of the other two types. This is because they occupy the middle group and it can be hard to know what to expect. The size of your wins on medium volatility slots can vary enormously, yet there should be a large jackpot amount for a maximum win.
Medium volatility slots are great for those who want more excitement than low variance games can provide. It’s also an option if you have a slightly bigger budget but still want to play a bit longer than high variance slots would allow. Medium variance game players should strive to end their sessions with RTP higher than just 125%.
High Volatility Slots
High volatility slots are high risk, high thrill and fast-paced. They’re the equivalent of bungee jumps or fast cars. In short, they’re the casino’s answer to YOLO. If a slot machine volatility is high, it will promise mammoth jackpots. The trick here is that they come at a price because they only pay out once in a while. So the risk is much larger than with other types of slots.
Playing this type of slots, you can spin for a long time without any reward. However, when they do decide to rain cash, they pour, as the saying goes. There’s really no telling what to expect from this kind of machines, so it’s important to know your limits. In general, high volatility slots are best for those with a large bankroll, as then you can afford to keep spinning through a dry patch waiting for that big win.
When it does pay out, you will often end up with more than you started with anyway. You won’t always manage to land such a win, though. It’s not that high volatility equals only big wins. Such slots will pay in small amounts too. The difference from low variance games is that the latter don’t have huge wins. Their five-of-a-kind wins are quite small compared to the same wins on high variance slots.
Examples Of Low And High Risk Slots
Now that you know everything about slots volatility, it’s time to see all this in action! So, here are a few examples of the best RTP slots UK in each category of slot variance.
Troll’s Tale is a great example of a low volatility slot. It’s filled with plenty of smallish wins to keep you going. Copy Cats is another example, including a copy-cat feature that will often provide decent wins. Low slot volatility doesn’t mean that only small wins are possible, though. Divine Fortune jackpot game is considered as low to medium variance slot, too, if we don’t count the jackpots in.
Piggy Riches, not be confused with Piggy Payout slots, is an excellent example of a good medium volatility slot. Many of the most popular slots of all time have medium variance. This includes Foxin’ Wins and Gonzo’s Quest. Not surprising, considering that the middle ground is where the most players can feel comfortable in.
Maybe that’s the reason why Starburst is an all-time favourite for many. Starburst slot RTP is just above 96% and its low to medium variance makes it both lucrative and cheap enough for most players to enjoy. For more on this game, however, you should check out our Starburst slot machine review.
Finally, a perfect high volatility slot example is 300 Shields, featuring a 300x multiplier bonus. Such insane features aren’t necessary to make a game highly volatile, though. Hong Kong Tower and Golden Mane slots prove it.
How Do You Work Out The Volatility Of A Slot?
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The examples above may not be enough if you decide to try even more games. Besides, slots developers don’t like to give away the variance of their slots. After all, this could dissuade some gamers from playing certain games. Luckily, it’s possible to work out the slot machine volatility on your own.
The only real way to assess a slots variance is to play, and keep playing until you work out a pattern. Although, of course, we’re not expecting you to do this. Instead, you can read our game reviews or you can put the game into demo-play mode until you can make a judgement call.
In general, you need to look at what the slot’s doing over around 200 spins. Keep track of how often it pays out and how much. Little and often shows signs of a low variance slot, whilst a long wait for a win is probably a medium to highly volatile slot. You can also look at the paytables of games to try and find some clues. High jackpots indicate high variance slots, as do large differences between four-of-a-kind and five-of-a-kind multipliers.
Strategies For Different Slot Volatility
Having chosen a slot to play, it’s time to take this slot machine guide one step further and check your strategy based on the slot’s variance. We’ll just give you a few leads for each type and, hopefully, help you win a fortune. Or a small win, if you’re into low variance slots.
Speaking of those, never play a low volatility slot with the expectation of a huge windfall. If you see that things aren’t going as expected, quite before you lose it all. Remember that the RTP is always below 100%, so the more you play, the greater your theoretical chance of losing. Even if that loss is just a small one.
When playing medium volatility slots, it’s always a good idea to decide on your budget and stick to it. Also, keep in mind that some games may have a low to mid or mid to high volatility. This means that different strategies might equally work, so consider playing the game in the demo to see what works best.
You need to be disciplined to play this type of games and know how and when to concede. This is because there’s always the hope of a jackpot win in the back of your mind. Unfortunately, it could easily just not come your way due to the nature of the game. Depending on each particular case, expect to leave with at least 35% on top of your starting amount.
You need to be in it for the long haul with high variance slots. These games can swallow up your money very quickly, with no reward. Luckily, staying patient for anything from 100 to 300 spins will often pay out. This might be difficult with high bets, but even small ones can bring an impressive win. So, it’s up to you to either bet big or spin more.