If you're a veteran slots gamer, you know how you feel when you've done everything right – found a game with a generous Return to Player percentage, budgeted your bets, entered your bonus codes – and you start playing, only to watch your bankroll vanish after a losing streak. What went wrong?
Chances are that you simply didn't pay proper attention to the game's volatility. While the RTP tells you how much a slot machine will pay back, theoretically, over millions of long-term spins, it is the game's volatility rate (or variance) that dictates how that money is actually distributed in real-time. Prepare for your next gaming session with Grande Vegas's slot machine volatility guide.
Volatility
Volatility is the invisible element that most players don't understand, or even know. The game's volatility controls the risk profile of your session. It determines whether a game will feed you a slow, gentle stream of tiny, frequent wins to keep your budget alive for hours, or completely starve your balance with long, losing streaks.
Volatility, in slots, is the measurement of the inherent risk level programmed into a game. It dictates the size and frequency of payouts that you can expect over time. There are three basic volatility categories in today's slots
- Low Volatility – low risk/low reward games. You will hit winning combinations frequently, but the payout amounts are low. This type of game volatility is generally suggested for gamers who want to keep their bankroll steady
- Medium Volatility – medium volatility games are a type of middle-ground balance that allows you to experience a steady flow of minor wins mixed with the occasional moderate payout prize.
- High Volatility – high volatility games are for players who want a high-risk gaming event that will deliver high rewards. There are long, dry spells but they are interspersed with wins that deliver huge payout prizes.
Check out some of the options in these different game selections here at Grande Vegas:
Mighty Drums
Mighty Drums slot is an example of a low volatility game that combines engaging symbols, cultural explorations and dynamic features with fast wins that come slowly and steadily. The game focuses on the culture and communities of East Asia where drums signify power, sacredness and cohesion. The reels are full of goldfish, frogs, dragons, boats and other images that evoke the imagery of the unique Asian landscape.
Mighty Drums demonstrates that a game's volatility doesn't impact its gameplay – Mighty Drums includes 243 Ways to Win, 2 Wilds, Scatters, free spins and a Jackpot Pick feature where jackpot prizes are awarded.
The Bat Door and the Coin are the game Wilds. Coins land only on reel 3, where they act as a multiplier to multiply the payout. The Bat Door appears on reels 2, 3 and 4 to substitute for other symbols and complete combinations. Three Scatter Drums trigger the free spins round for 12 free spins, in which only the top payout symbols appear.
During the Jackpot Pick Feature, you can pick one of the Magic Coins – your choice will determine whether you are awarded the MINI Jackpot, MINOR Jackpot, MAJOR Jackpot or GRAND Jackpot.
Olympus Thunderhold
Olympus Thunderhold is a recent release which attests to the popularity of games that balance high and low volatility in a medium volatility slot machine. In this game, a follow-up to the Fortunes of Olympus gaming event, the reels are packed with precious gems that Zeus is guarding on his Olympus mountaintop, including rubies, sapphires, amethysts, emeralds and more.
Cascading Wins can trigger at any time. During Cascading Wins, winning symbols disappear from the reels after a win and the empty positions are filled with new symbols that cascade down from above. Other special features include a Buy feature and a Bonus Bet feature, each of which allows you to go directly into the free spins round and collect the highest payout rewards.
Four or more Scatters during the regular game trigger the free spins round for 10 no deposit, real money spins and wins with multipliers for Cascading Wins during the free spins.
Spicy Reels Fiesta
The high volatility Spicy Reels Fiesta slot machine keeps things zesty with 243 Ways to Win so it's easier than ever to create winning combinations with the Mexican kitchen-inspired symbols.
The reels are full of friendly avocados, grinning tacos, mischievous limes, happy dishes of hot sauce, and other fiery friends. The Wild is grouped so when it appears on reels 2, 3, 4 and 5, it groups together for special Wild wins. The Morphing Feature morphs symbols into new symbols for new wins. During Free spins, the Morphing Symbols Feature is active. Payouts can go as high as 20,000x!
Expert Tip
Understanding why the volatility rate matters goes beyond casino math. Volatility is the single most critical factor in matching the way that a slot machine pays out with the reality of your bankroll and budget. If you don't know the variance of the reels you are spinning, you aren't playing a strategy—you are simply letting the machine choose exactly how fast your session ends. If you're juggling a bankroll, consider the volatility rate when you choose your machine.