The notion of volatility in slots means how much a particular pokie game can potentially pay and how often. Since many beginners and even experienced punters confuse it with other online slot notions, our experts dedicated their new guide to volatility. We will explain how it works, the pros and cons of its types, and the process of volatile-based game selection.
The notion of volatility refers to the risk level in a particular title. It tells how often punters can theoretically win and how much. It’s not providing the exact chances of payouts but rather the statistical average based on thousands of spins.
There’s no such thing as the right volatility = winnings. We’ve played thousands of hours on slots and can assure everyone that’s a myth!
The volatility statistics are gathered over a long period of time and don’t necessarily reflect the experience players can have with a particular session. They can have a winning streak on a high-volatility slot and lose many times in a row on a low-volatility game.
Online casinos usually provide information about the volatility of each game. After punters launch a slot machine, they can find this rating under the “Info” or similar buttons. If this doesn’t work, they can search for this information online, but sometimes results offer contradictory data, so it’s always better to double-check.
Finally, betters should give a game a few spins in demo mode to see how volatile it is. We’ve always found that hands-on experience tells the most. No matter which slot game they like more, punters can come across slots with three levels of volatility: low, medium, and high. Each has its pros and cons, which we will discuss in the following sections of our guide.
These games are perfect for newbies. Low-volatile slots offer small but frequent payouts, which is ideal for people who don’t like to spend a lot of time and money on gambling. Such slots also help them foster responsible betting habits. They are a perfect introduction to the various components of online slot gameplay.
While these games aren’t suitable for players expecting to win big on online gambling, we still like to spin low-volatility slots in Australian casinos from time to time. They offer some fun without frequent potential loose streaks, which makes them ideal for casual players.
Many punters choose games with medium volatility rates for their balanced experience. Such machines provide higher payouts and more frequent wins than their low-volatility alternatives. They are popular among more experienced gamblers who wish to take the risks of highly volatile machines or have outgrown low-volatility slots.
Highly volatile slots mean the highest potential rewards but balance them with very low payout rates. Punters sometimes spend a vast amount of money and time trying to win big on high-volatility machines without tangible results. There are even times when the winnings are smaller than the sum of the bets.
Players can potentially win big on these machines, but the risks don’t always pay off, and they may have significant losses. High volatility in casino games is best suited for high rollers with an extensive gambling budget. We strongly recommend that common betters avoid such slots and stick to the volatility levels within their gambling limits.
Picking the right game can be complicated, so we've described this process step-by-step so that gamblers can make better judgment calls.
Calculate the risk
Punters may wish to keep a low profile, take some risks, or win big. This decision allows gamblers to be more careful about their game choices.
Set up a gaming budget
Players can either be careful with their bankroll, try higher stakes, or bet big. No matter what they choose, chasing losses is never a good idea.
Find info on the game's volatility
As we’ve said before, this data can be found in several places, including the game developer websites. Players should avoid slots that hide this information.
Play the demo version
Once they find a game with the correct volatility, punters should check out its free version. Spending time with the slots helps them evaluate the actual measure of a game.
Know when to stop
As part of healthy gambling habits, players must limit the funds and time they spend at a given machine. Whenever they land a big win, it's always better to withdraw the funds and walk away from slots for the day.
These simple steps ensure that punters find or adjust the games that suit their current habits.
All types of volatility have their place in online slots, and it's the players' responsibility to keep this metric in mind.
We hope our guide provided sufficient information about this metric, its various types, and how to select games based on it. If players wish to learn more about the basic gambling terms, they can check out our other guides about casino wagers and return-to-player ratio. Meanwhile, we’ll continue doing our best to explain the settings of online slots so that everybody can enjoy them.
Currently, the games with the highest volatility are Towers of Olympus, Fruit Shop Megaways, and Bass Boss.
This characteristic means that a pokie theoretically has large but less frequent payouts.
Yes, because these machines offer higher average chances of winning and make it easier for players to learn the rules of online slots.
