Slot Machines

Have you ever wondered what the term RTP in online slot reviews means? It is included in almost every review you will read. Hopefully this feature will clear any confusion about the RTP of slot games. 

What is RTP?

The acronym refers to the phrase, Return to Player meaning the percentage of money that is paid out per what is put in. This is often displayed as below 100% for example a slot with an RTP of 95.6% for every £/€/$1,000 paid in the game will pay out £/€/$956. The mechanics of these games can be so complex that often the RTP will go further into the decimals. 

Why is it important?

The rules of the game are important when deciding if you want to gamble your money on a casino or an online gambling site. Without RTP, there would be no way for players to know that they have fair odds at winning their money back from games, so it is vital for casinos and sites with these types of gaming options to prove this in order to not lose business. There can be other variables involved as well such as the volatility of a game. The RTP should always come first before making any decisions about where to wager money. 

How does it work?

The RTP determines how much money is paid in comparison to how much it takes, however this is not as straight forward as that. If a player put £/€/$100 in to a 96% slot they are not guaranteed £/€$96 back otherwise why would anybody do it? The possibility has to exist that more money will come out than was put in however this works both ways and can also see nothing or significantly less returned form the game. This can be measure more by the variance of games with low variance paying out regular small win, medium variance giving average wins less often and high variance paying out jackpots scarcely.  

RTP’s Effect on RNG

The number a roulette ball stops on, the symbol a reel stops spinning on or the card that comes from a pile are all determined by what is called an RNG (Random Number Generator.) This software is used to automatically generate a string of numbers/cards/symbols at random that can feed into a machine continuously. These patterns of randomly selected variables all come from a starting addition known as a seed. Through the seed is how software can be manipulated to adhere to the RTP play that is intended for games. 

Summary

We hope you enjoyed this basic look at RTP rates and how they are used to advantage the house whilst still offering wins to players. The points of this feature should be remembered when looking at slot games and reviews but remember a high RTP does not guarantee high payouts. The same way that chasing losses will not get money back and could leave players more frustrated that ever. Why not check out the check out our affiliate sites and the games on offer and maybe get lucky with one of the great slots available.