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Slot machine players are an interesting group – they are certainly not homogenous. With thousands of fantastic slot game titles available, from every possible theme, nuance, genre, and creation, slots epitomize the heterogeneous nature of society. They cater to every entertainment need within every one of us.
Not convinced? From inception to modern times, slots have evolved alongside humanity to deliver precisely what is required at that moment in time. Innovation par excellence characterizes slot game development over the years. It began back in the 1800s with the legendary innovator Charles August Fey. The year was 1894. The place was San Francisco. This rudimentary device – cutting edge for its time – began what ultimately became a revolution in slot machine games. A standard machine with three spinning reels and a single payline, the Liberty Bell became an icon of inspiration, innovation, and ideation!
What About Slot Mechanics?
Yet, little is understood about the mechanics of slot machine games. These seemingly simple devices are intricately complex in function and form. As an outsider looking in, one might be forgiven for assuming that slots are simply an agglomeration of randomized symbols appearing on screen. But it’s the internal mechanics of slots that make them must-play gaming attractions. To better understand this, we invite you to look at the Hit It Rich! guides on slots.
These expertly crafted blueprints delve into the fine print. For many players, a slot is a staple of the social gaming scene. It’s the poster child of the Las Vegas experience. However, there are several important components at play besides thematic elements. These include RTP, volatility/variance, minimum/maximum coin values, and player preferences. The least understood is volatility, which is the topic of today’s post. When we think of volatility, we think of fluctuations about the mean. Sometimes it goes way high, and sometimes it goes way low.
These fluctuations are all about the frequency of payouts. Put differently, it determines how often you win or lose. It’s also about the amounts that players are rewarded with. So, volatility is a measure of frequency and value. Slot games are characterized as low volatility, medium volatility, or high volatility. The volatility continuum is such that players have carte blanche to pick their preferred selection. Players are either risk-seeking or risk-averse.
Risk Seeking or Risk Averse?
Slots, by their very nature, are typically risk-on games. Beyond RTPs, coin values, and pay tables, volatility is typically higher with slots. Of course, classic slots are associated with simpler game mechanics and more predictable pay structures. The more complicated a slot machine becomes the greater the volatility. Things like 3D game mechanics, in-game features and functions, progressive jackpots, expanding reels, collapsing reels, and overlays tend to ramp up the volatility.
With a high-volatility slot machine game, players can expect substantial payouts at low frequency. In other words, you’d be spinning plenty of times before a substantial payout occurred. By contrast, a low-volatility slot machine game has a higher payout frequency, albeit with smaller payouts. It’s not an ironclad set of rules governing low, medium, and high volatility games – but it generally holds.
Of course, players can easily assess the volatility/variance of slot games by reading it off the machine (if available), or playing the game in demo mode. Fortunately, social casinos do not require real money deposits – so it’s easy to test the volatility of any slot machine game at any time. There are scores of slots that fit into each individual category, notably low volatility, medium volatility, and high volatility. It’s up to each player to determine how to select slots games.
Pertinent questions in this regard include: Am I opting for a high-reward, high-risk slots strategy? Or, do I want to play with a low-reward, low-risk slots strategy? Some players don’t mind either option – it’s the slot-spinning experience that matters. Volatility directly impacts slot payouts. Remember, volatility is calculated over the long term. As a slot player, you are unlikely to experience the long-term averages (in terms of RTP, payouts, or volatility) over short periods of play.
For example, if a high-volatility slot machine game has not paid in a long time, and you happen to be a player who just started playing that game, you might receive a fabulous prize. Put differently, anything can happen over the short term. Now, volatility is important regarding the number of gold coins you deposit on every spin. High-volatility games will eat up your GCs faster than low-volatility games. And that’s the way the cookie crumbles!
