RTP: A Beginner's Guide
The RTP – which stands for the Return To Player – is a percentage seen in many online gambling games, that gives you an indication of how much money the machine can be expected to pay back to players, over time. If you frequent the Casinomeister Forum, there's a good chance you'll already be familiar with RTP – and what it means. It's been discussed in a number of threads, and thankfully, players are now more savvy about it than ever before. On this page, we're going to be taking a look at what the RTP actually is – and how it can (and should) affect your choice of which games you play.
What Is The RTP?
Penny Slots For Dummies, basic blackjack betting rules, casino action seriC3B6s, poker en ligne gratuit canada. Slot Machine Tips: A Beginner's Guide. Slot machines are one of the most popular games in the casino. Many beginners find themselves in front of slot machines, enthralled with its wonderful combinations of lights and sounds as it pours down coins for the lucky winners.
Let's imagine for a moment that you're playing an online video slot with an RTP of 96%. What this essentially means, is that if you were to play 100 spins on this slot at a stake of £1/spin, the machine would be expected to pay out £96. The other £4 – the 4% – is what the casino or online gambling operator can expect to make from the slot. In this example, the 4% is the house edge – or, in other words, the amount of money that the casino can expect to profit from each wager.
Learn how to play slot machine effectively and hope for luck to show up. Pick high RTP slots. Each slot is programmed to pay a certain percentage of all bets back to players. You're better off playing a slot with a 98% RTP than one which pays 92%. How to Play Slot Machines for Dummies – Common Questions Q. How are slot machines programmed? Jan 24, 2021 I've already written an article about the common elements of a slot machine called How Slot Machines Work from a Player's Perspective. That article, or at least the schematic of a slot machine found in it, should go a long way toward taking the mystery out of how all the buttons, panels, and interfaces work on a slot machine. ATC slots are issued as a function of airspace capacity. It's very simple: if you have a room that holds ten idiots, you can't put eleven idiots in the room, as much as you might like to. Idiot number eleven has to wait until one or more idiots come out or the room is made bigger, so the idiot (No11) is given a slot time.
While – on the surface – the RTP can seem fairly straightforward, it's worth pointing out that in actuality it's not as simple as this. For example, when developers are testing their games, they put millions – or, in some cases billions – of spin simulations through. This gives them an idea of what the RTP should be over the long-run. In the short term, the RTP can vary quite substantially. This is because a slot can produce a big win right away for a player. On the flip side, it can also go through long non-winning periods where the player's balance appears to disappear quickly.
Because of this, the RTP is also sometimes referred to as the theoretical return to player. Of course, when you're deciding whether to play a slot or not, the RTP is one factor which should be taken into account. It's not, however, a good indication of whether you'll win at that game for that specific session. Even if you put tens of thousands of spins through a slot machine, your personal RTP could be significantly different to the machine's theoretical RTP.
Why Is The RTP Important?
So, by now, we know that the RTP gives a rough indication of how much the casino can expect to make from a slot machine – and how much the player can expect to lose – but we finished off the last section of this post by telling you that in the short term, it's not overly important. So, what is the point of the RTP then?
Well, the RTP can also give an indication of how the slot will perform. For example, a video slot with a higher RTP means that there's more ‘available money' to payout to players – and this means that you're likely to see more (and more frequent) free-spins bonuses and other bonus rounds. Also worth pointing out, is that – generally speaking – the higher the RTP, the less volatile the machine is. Similarly, the lower the RTP, the more volatile a machine can be expected to be.
So what RTP should you look for when playing a slot online? Thanks to low overheads, most online casinos are able to offer slot machines with an RTP of around 96%. Anything higher than this is good – and as a general rule of thumb, anything below around the 94% mark is considered bad. Still, online players have it easy – if you head to land-based casinos and arcades, it's not uncommon to see RTPs as low as 85% and this can make a significant impact on your gameplay.
Does Anything Else Influence An RTP?
So, now we know what the RTP is, and why it matters, let's take a look at whether there are any other factors that can influence it. The house edge is one of the most important of these factors, and as we've briefly already covered, this calculates the total edge of the operator/casino offering the game. This is why you'll never find a real money slot machine with an RTP of 100%. The casino's have to make money somehow – and while there are a couple 98%+ machines, most are around the 96% mark we mentioned. After all, the casinos are businesses and need to turn a profit!
Another factor that relates to the RTP is the hit frequency. Unfortunately, unlike RTP percentages, developers are not legally obliged to tell you what the hit frequencies are for their games. A slot's hit frequency gives you an indication of how many spins it will take for you to win. For example, a slot with a hit rate of 1 in 5 will hit a winning spin – on average – once in every five spins. A slot with a higher hit rate means it will typically be lower variance – meaning you'll see more wins, but fewer big wins. On the other hand, a slot machine with a low hit rate will typically be more volatile – meaning the wins will be rarer, but bigger.
The Top 10 Slots With The Best RTPs
In this section, we're going to be taking a comprehensive look at ten of the best slot machines when it comes to RTPs. Remember, just because a slot has a higher RTP does not mean you're more likely to win on it. It simply means that – in the long run – you can expect to lose slightly less money. Let's take a look at the top 10 games to play with the lowest RTP.
Mega Joker: Mega Joker is a 3-row, 3-reel video slot from NetEnt that has just five payines. It's seen as somewhat legendary in the online gambling world, as the game's RTP is 99% – meaning the house edge is incredibly low. Playable from between £1 and £5, the game can be slightly expensive to play – but it's not uncommon to see long playing sessions on this game, even when starting with a fairly low balance.
Jackpot 6000: Jackpot 6000 is another popular slot from NetEnt, and it's developed around a retro one-armed bandit. The game uses three reels and three rows, and again – there's just five paylines. The maximum stake on this machine is just £2 – it's capable of producing some pretty big wins – and with an RTP between 95.10% and 98.90%, it can offer some fantastic play-time.
1429 Uncharted Seas: 1429 Uncharted Seas is a video slot from Thunderkick – and with an RTP of 98.6%, it's one of the highest RTPs you'll find in a video slot today. The game is uniquely designed, and the reels are designed to look as though they're set on a map. You'll also find a decent free-spins bonus, where you can win up to 50 spins! The game's also incredibly low variance, so it's the ideal slot for those wanting a more relaxing, laid-back experience.
Blood Suckers: For many years, Blood Suckers has been mentioned on the forums – for a couple of reasons. Firstly, with an RTP of 98%, it offers one of the highest RTPs on the planet. Secondly – it's excluded from most casino's bonus promotions. This is down to the fact that the RTP is so high, casinos fear too many players would be able to clear wagering requirements easily by playing it. The game is from a game developer known as NetEnt – who also happen to be one of the world's leading software providers. There's plenty of action within the game, including free-spins, scatter pays, wilds – and you'll also be able to trigger a unique vampire slaying game!
Starmania: Starmania is a video slot from NextGen Gaming, and it harbours an RTP of 97.87%, making it an excellent game for those wanting high RTP slots. The game is built around a 5-reel, 3-row format, and there's 10 paylines active on each spin. The game's symbols are designed to look like stars – although we feel as though NextGen Gaming's definition of a star is quite loose. Landing three scatter symbols will trigger the main bonus round, and there's also a gamble function which allows you to try and double or quadruple your wins.
Kings of Chicago: Kings of Chicago is a unique video slot from NetEnt that's designed to look as though you're playing a game of poker. With an RTP of 97.8%, it offers a very high return to player. The game's built around a 5-reel, 3-row format, and there's just five paylines. You'll also see scatter symbols attached to some of the symbols, and landing three or more of these in view will activate the free deals bonus. During this bonus, all wins are subject to a 2X multiplier, and it's also possible to win more spins.
Devil's Delight: Despite being quite hard to find online (at reputable online casinos anyway), Devil's Delight is famed for its high RTP – coming in at 97.6%. The game's from NetEnt, and offers up a couple of decent features. Firstly, you've got a free-spins round, and during this bonus wins are multiplied by as much as 5X. You'll also see a ‘Soul-O-Meter' at the bottom of the screen. Once you've collected 15 souls, this meter will fill up, and you'll then trigger the Sin Spins feature, which gives you a much better chance of hitting big wins.
Retro Reels Extreme Heat: The first game from Microgaming to appear on this list, Retro Reels Extreme Heat is an old-school game with 5-reels and 3-rows. There are 30 paylines, all of which are fixed in place. The game also utilises a unique ‘re-spin' feature, where you can re-spin one or more of the reels. There's also a free-spins bonus, where you can win up to 20 free-spins – during these spins, all wins are multiplied by 2X. With an RTP of 97.5%, Retro Reels Extreme Heat is a great game to play – if you can still find it!
Simbalism: Unfortunately, Simbalish looks to have been phased out by NetEnt – whether they'll choose to re-release it in HTML5 remains to be seen, but it appears unlikely. Still, with an RTP of 97.5%, the game offered players an exciting playing experience, and landing three rabbit symbols on the reels triggered an exciting bonus game. The game also boasted a free-spins feature, during which all wins were multiplied by 3X.
Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business: Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business is one of NetEnt's most popular ‘old school' slots, and it's not hard to see why. The game offers up an outstanding visual experience, and a funky soundtrack accompanies all winning spins. The game also boasts a decent ‘locking symbols' feature. On each spin during the base-game, landing a winning combo will lock these symbols in place, and the reels then re-spin. Any additional winning symbols also lock in place, and this continues for as long as wins are formed. There's also an exciting free-spins feature which is activated by landing five or more scatter symbols in a single spin. Plus, with an RTP of 97.1%, it's up there as one of the games with the highest RTPs.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a number of video slots currently available to play (and a couple of others that have unfortunately been taken out of circulation) that offer a super-high RTP. However, it's worth remembering that just because a game has a high RTP, it doesn't mean you'll end up winning on it – it just means that in the long run, your losses are likely to be smaller.
Do you have any favourite games that offer a high RTP you'd like to tell us about? Feel free to let us know in the forums. We're always interested in hearing about your favourite games, and in this case, the higher the RTP, the better!
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If you're a total beginner and have never played slots before, or have played once or twice but are still confused by how it all works, this guide on how to play slot machines for beginners has been written just for you.
At Gambperspro.com, we're slot machine pros, and we know every element of the games to an expert level. We're going to explain exactly how slot machines work, what all the different slot symbols mean, the jackpot rules which determine payouts, and how to play slot machines from A to Z.
Even if you've never played slots before, you'll understand the A-Z of how to plays to machines properly by the time you've finished reading.
How to Play Slot Machines for Beginners
The first thing you need to understand about how to play slot machines is the different elements of the game. These are:
Reels – Slot reels run horizontally across the game screen and are the ‘slots' in which symbols spin. Games can be 3-reel, 5-reel, or even 6-reel. If you look at the screenshot above, this game has five reels.
How To Play Slots For Dummies
Rows – Each slot has a number of rows which run vertically. Most slots have three rows, but some have more. In the game screenshot above, you'll see three reels.
Paylines – Paylines are the patterns which can make winning combinations. For example, if a slot has 25 paylines and you play the game with all of them activated, you'll have 25 different ways to win. In the screenshot above, you'll see that this game has 25 paylines.
Symbols – The symbols are the icons which spin on the reels. Each symbol has a different value and how much you win for making combinations will be determined by the value of the symbols.
Once you understand the basics of slot machines, it's time to take a look at how to play casino slot machines step-by-step.
How to Play Slots for Beginners – A Step by Step Guide
For the sake of keeping this guide on how to play slot machines simple, we're going to pretend you're playing the game you see in the screenshot above. It's called Mega Fortune and is a great game for beginners since its simple and has several huge progressive jackpots.
Below is a step-by-step procedure showing how you how to play slot machines, specifically Mega Fortune in this example. It works basically the same way for all slot machines, although there may be some variations depending on the software developer.
So, to place a bet on Mega Fortune slot, you would:
Step 1
Make a deposit. Unless you're playing free slots or have a no deposit free spins bonus, you'll need to deposit funds before you can play. You can usually do this in the ‘account' or ‘banking' section of your casino.
Step 2
Determine the number of paylines you want to play. In this game, the number is fixed at 25, but you can view each payline by clicking the numbers at either side of the game screen. In some other games, you can determine how many lines you want to play per spin.
Step 3
Decide your coin value. In Mega Fortune, you can set your coin value between £0.01 and £0.50. Remember, you're betting one coin per payline, so if you were to set your coin value at £0.01, you would be betting £0.25 per spin.
Step 4
Set your bet level. This isn't a feature of all video slots, but it is for this one. You can increase your level from between one and four. The higher you go, the bigger your bet size. For example, if you bet with a coin value of £0.01 at level one your bet size would be £0.25. If you bet with the same coin value at level four, your bet size would be 4x greater or £1.
Step 5
Hit the spin button. This is where the fun begins. You'll see the symbols spinning on the reels, and if you land a winning combination, you'll receive a payout. The payout size depends on how many symbols you've landed, your bet size, and the value of the symbols.
Playing slot machines is as simple as that. It's not rocket science, and you'll master it in a few spins. If it all seems foreign to you, we suggest getting familiar with the process by playing some of our free slots until you feel comfortable.
Slot Machine Lines Explained
Paylines often confuse beginner slots players the most, and no How to Play Slot Machines for Beginners guide would be complete without explaining them further.
Basically, paylines are patterns, and if you match symbols across them, you win payouts. On most slots, payline one will be straight across the middle row, as in the screenshot below.
However, paylines aren't always so simple. They can go in all sorts of directions. Just take a look at payline 10 on Mega Fortune in the screenshot below.
Paylines can go in many directions, but don't worry about them too much. All video slots will calculate your wins for you automatically. You don't have to look out for these patterns at all. If you land symbols on an active payline, the game will let you know. It will also calculate and display exactly how much you have won.
Understanding How to Play Slot Machines – Game Symbols
The basic mechanics and structure of a slot machine is one thing, the paylines are another, and the different symbols are yet another thing you'll need to understand. Alice and the mad tea party slot.
Most slots have the following symbols, although again, it can vary from game to game.
Common Symbols – These are the common slot machine symbols which make up winning combinations. They don't hold any special function, and landing combinations of them pays out wins in accordance with the paytable.
High-Value Symbols – These are common symbols, but they pay the most. If you look at the screenshot above, the white limo is the highest value common symbol. Keep in mind that this might not be the highest value symbol once special symbols are considered, as is the case in Mega Fortune.
Scatter Symbols – Scatter symbols can trigger bonus rounds and also often pay when you land three or more of them on the reels.
Wild Symbols – Wild symbols can substitute for other symbols. For example, if you had four matching symbols on reels one, two, four, and five, and a wild landed in the middle, you'd have a five symbol combination. Wild symbols can sometimes stick, move, or expand on the reels.
Bonus Symbols – These are special symbols which trigger bonus rounds when the land is certain patterns or combinations. For example, in this game the bonus symbol is a wheel, which leads to a special bonus round.
Understanding Slot Machine Bonus Rounds
Modern video slots are a far cry from the simple fruit machines you might find in pubs and bars across the world. Even in world-class casinos in Las Vegas and elsewhere, few slots have bonus rounds which can match online slots.
Bonus rounds can confuse some new players, so we thought we'd describe them here so that this How to Play Slot Machines for Beginners piece is complete. Bonus rounds contain lots of slot machine secrets.
First, you should note that you can always find out what bonus rounds and special features a game has by viewing the paytable.
As the above screenshot shows, you can see which slot machine bonus games the game has built into it. You can also see how to trigger each one. One of the best things to do when you're learning how to play slot machines is to study game paytables.
Some of the best slot machine bonus rounds are:
Free Spins – You'll get a predetermined number of free spins. Sometimes you'll be given a multiplier which boosts your wins, for example by 3x or more.
Bonus Wheels – The name explains it all, really. A wheel will spin, and you'll win cash prizes, free spins, and access to other special rounds and features.
Picking Rounds – You'll see a number of items on the screen and will need to pick some of them to win cash payouts. Sometimes progressive jackpots are built into picking rounds.
Secrets to Winning on Slot Machines
If we knew how to play slot machines and win every time every time, we'd be too busy sunning ourselves in the Bahamas to write this guide for you.
However, while we can't tell you how to play slot machines and win every time, we can show you a few slot machine tricks which will help you win more often. This is knowledge we've gained over decades, so take it in and make sure you understand it before choosing which game to play.
- Manage your bankroll effectively. This is probably the number one trick to winning slots more often. Don't get carried away and don't chase losses. Decide how much you're willing to lose beforehand, and only increase the size of your bets when you're playing with ‘house money.'
- Check how volatile the game is. Some games go for long dry spells and then pay big wins, or lots of big wins, suddenly. These are high volatility slots. Some pay smaller amounts more frequently. These are low volatility slots. Your strategy on how to play slot machines should be determined in part by the game's volatility.
- Investigate the bonus rounds. If one free spins round has a 2x multiplier while another has an 8x multiplier, it makes sense to play the one with the bigger potential. Take your time to look at the paytables and see what's in store.
- Understand that you can't cheat. There are lots of articles online titled ‘How to cheat at slots' and other variants of this. They're all BS. Save yourself the time and money wasted with these systems. Random number generators determine game outcomes. There are no patterns, and slot cheat codes don't work. Learn how to play slot machine effectively and hope for luck to show up.
- Pick high RTP slots. Each slot is programmed to pay a certain percentage of all bets back to players. You're better off playing a slot with a 98% RTP than one which pays 92%.
How to Play Slot Machines for Dummies – Common Questions
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Q. How are slot machines programmed?
Random number generators control slots payouts. These are advanced mathematical programs which spit out billions of numbers per second. Some of these numbers will instruct the slot to pay. Just hope you're playing when a winning number is generated.
Q. Are slot machines rigged?
There are some dishonest casinos which run rigged slot machines. However, the vast majority of them are legit and fair. Stick with our approved casinos to avoid getting cheated. The games at them are powered by world-class slots software companies like Playtech and Microgaming.
What is a progressive jackpot?
Progressive jackpots can pay out multi-millions. Every bet made on a progressive jackpot slot at every casino which offers it contributes to the progressive jackpot. This network effect leads to massive jackpots, some of which can be truly life-changing. You can win them randomly, or for landing a specific combo of symbols, or in special bonus rounds. when you're learning how to play slot machines, these jackpots can be tempting, but you should be aware that these games almost always have a higher RTP than regular slots. When studying how to play slot machines, make sure you have every fact about the game first.
Q. What are free spins bonuses?
Some casinos choose to give new players free spins on slots for making a deposit. For example, you might get 10 free spins for making a £10 deposit.
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Free spins bonuses are not the same as the free spins bonus rounds built into games. Special symbols trigger these features within the game. They offer a number of free spins at no additional cost.
That about wraps up our How to Play Slot Machines for Beginners guide. If you've enjoyed it and are ready to try some free slots for yourself, check out our free slot games page now. After a few spins on those, you'll fully understand all of the concepts you've learned about here.
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