Slot machines and video slots are wonderful games for casinos to offer because they entice all kinds of players. On the surface, slots are appealing because they are dressed up with flashy lights, quirky animations, and coveted bonus rounds that could be the key to a big win. If you click here, you’ll see a huge variety of modern video slot designs.

Unlike other casino games such as blackjack, roulette, and poker, there’s not much to learn about slots. You add your money, press spin, and wait to see if you’re a winner or loser. This makes it simple for both beginners and slot experts to take part.

What Are Slot Machine Myths?

One of the issues with video slot flashy lights and custom animations is that they hide what is going on behind the scenes. This has led to many slot myths developing over the years that are passed along from generation to generation of slot players.

Some common examples of slot myths include the idea that they are programmed to have hot and cold streaks, that once they’ve paid a big win then they won’t pay again for a while, and that they can become ‘due to pay out’ after a period with fewer winning spins.

How Are Video Slots Programmed?

Slot Variance Issues

The truth about video slots is that they contain a combination of pre-programming with random elements. It sounds complicated but it’s a straightforward process on the surface.

Firstly, all slots are programmed with payback percentages. This is often referred to as the Return to Player percentage (RTP), and tends to be displayed within the slot information found on casino websites or on physical machines themselves.

RTP is simple – if a slot is programmed with a 95% RTP, 95% of all the money put into the slot by all players will be sent back out as winnings. For every £1 placed into the machine, £0.95 will be paid back over a long-term period.

The other 5% is the house edge. In other words, the casino knows that it will make a profit of 5% over a long period of time. For every £1 placed into the machine, the casino will make a profit of £0.05 over a long-term period.

This is where it gets a little more complicated. RTP is calculated over millions of spins, which gives way to the randomness found within each play session. Some people will win in a single instance, others will lose in a single instance, eventually the casino will win 5% of the total amount played.

What Are Low Variance High and High Variance Video Slots?

Within the programming of video slots, you also have other features that make games play differently, even if they have the same overall RTP.

One example of this is called variance. This is the rate at which winning combinations will occur on any given video slot.

There are a wide range of variance possibilities, but at either end of the spectrum you’ll find low variance and high variance:

  • Low Variance – These video slots produce many wins but with lower rewards. Expect to win frequently but without huge wins.
  • High Variance – These video slots produce fewer wins but with higher rewards. Expect to lose frequently but with much bigger wins when they arrive.

The kind of variance you prefer will depend on your play style. Some people are content to know that they won’t win a lot of money but have a chance to win lots of little amounts along the way. Other people have a higher risk tolerance and will be satisfied knowing that they are more likely to lose but have a small chance of hitting a massive win.

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