If you’re a regular slots player, the odds are ten to one that at some point or another you’ve experience the frustration that these much loved casino games can induce. If you’ve played more than a few sessions without coming out a winner you’ll know that you can feel disheartened and that your budget doesn’t stretch very far compared to when you play other games like blackjack, baccarat, roulette or craps.
The fact is though that in spite of losing a few rounds, slots are not as bad as you think and instead of feeling frustrated, learn to look at these games and think about then with a long term perspective. Here we’ll look at why this will help you to appreciate and enjoy slot machines more than ever before.
Payback isn’t reached in a day
As most slots players know, ascertaining what a particular machines payout percentage is before you play is always helpful as it not only helps you to select the highest paying slots but also helps you determine what type of returns you are looking at.
When playing slots online you’ll generally encounter a 95% payout rate on most machines. This is pretty decent as you can expect to win $0.95 for every dollar you bet. This is comparable to playing a game of American Roulette that has a 5.26% house advantage.
The difference between the two games however lies in the fact that American Roulette payouts, especially when you play even-money bets, are decidedly more consistent than slots which only pay out according to the payout percentage after hundreds of thousands of spins. This means that you could end up winning $1000 in your first hour of play or losing your entire $200 bankroll.
Due to the volatile nature of slots one can never predict what is going to take place in the short term, especially considering that you’re only likely to win between 10% and 20% of your spins. Large sums of money are spread across the jackpot payouts and as such, slots cannot pay out consistently like other casino games, but when they do, you can also earn way more than you can on other games.
Surviving Slots Variance
Variance is an inevitable factor when playing slots, in fact you may play 20 spins or more without winning at all which can be very frustrating and even more so if you are playing high stakes or have a limited bankroll as you end up losing quickly without too much enjoyment.
In order to ride out the variance factor when playing these games you must always ensure that you are playing the right stakes for your budget. This means that if, for example, you play quarter slots, play 600 spins per hour and play a machine with a 95% payout then you’ll probably lose, on average, around $7.50 an hour (this is calculated as follows: ($0.25 wagered x 600 spins x 0.05 house advantage). While volatility will mean that you may win or lose more than this, over the long term it will even out. Generally you will require a minimum of $150 to $200 when playing quarter slots in order to survive the variance and maximize your game play enjoyment as this will give you sufficient funds to weather any downswings that may come your way.
