Slot machines are the most played casino games today, both at brick-and-mortar casinos and online gaming outlets. They are simple games that are incredibly easy to learn and play, and they have countless hours of fun – and countless winning opportunities – in store for their players.
Slot machines are available for free in many places, from social casinos to real money outlets. You can click here for online casino slots you can play right now with no obligation and no real money involved. There are thousands of them to try, each one with its own perks, quirks, and theme.
But if you intend to play them with real money stakes, it’s not the same which game you play. There are a few aspects that set some of the games apart from the crowd that you should know about before you dive in.
Return to player (RTP)
Return to player or RTP expresses pretty much what its name suggests. When you play on a slot machine, you feed it some money – and the RTP expresses how much of it you’ll get back. In theory, of course.
The RTP is calculated over a large number of spins and expresses a theoretical return in the long term. The higher the RTP, the higher the amount you can expect the game to return to you. But it’s important to know that it’s just a theoretical number only valid in the long term.
Most slot machines have RTPs around 95 and 98 per cent. The higher the RTP, the higher the theoretical return. This, of course, doesn’t mean that you can’t win big on them – but the higher the RTP of a game, the less you can expect to lose in the long term.
Volatility or variability
As opposed to the RTP, there is nothing theoretical and long-term about the volatility or variability of a slot machine. This metric expresses, in simple terms, how often the game pays out.
The more volatile a slot machine, the less often you can expect it to pay. And the less volatile (or variable) the game is, the more often it will hit. Keep in mind, though, that this metric has nothing to do with how much the game pays out – it only expresses the frequency of the wins, not the amounts.
Generally, the lower a slot machine’s volatility, the more fun it is to play.
The entertainment factor
Finally, here is the most important aspect when choosing the best slot machine for you: it should be one that you enjoy playing. Slot machines are available in a variety of themes, each one with its quirks and perks, side games and features. When choosing the right slot machine for you, make sure it is one that you have fun playing – if it feels like a chore, you’re doing it wrong.