Slot Machine | Payout Ratio

About Slots Payout Percentages

Loose Slots! 98% payout ratio! Reads a novice gambler from a billboard ad and is instantly excited. But what does it actually mean? Most people will immediately reach the conclusion that for every dollar they put into the machine, 98 cents will be returned to them. "I just need a little bit of luck and I can make it over 100% and have a small profit!" Well, the truth is a little bit more complicated than that.

The assumption that a 98% payout ratio machine will give back 98% of the money it earns back to the gambler is true. But what you have to remember is that the results will only be reflected in the long term. Actually, the results are much more likely to be reflected in the casino's bank statement than in yours. The percentage numbers reveal the expected gain for the casino in the lifetime of the machine. For 98% machine, the casino will always earn 2% of all the money deposited in to that machine. The other 98% are spread between the thousands of regular gamblers who frequent that machine throughout its lifetime. So in order to get a guaranteed 98% of your money back, you are going to have to play the same machine 24 hours a day for a long long time. Not a realistic goal.

Payout ratios for slot machines usually range between 75-99. Now, although the difference between a 98% payout and a 97% payout is not really meaningful for a casual gambler, the difference between a 75% and a 90% machine is large enough to make the 90% machine a clear favorite. If you are looking for high payout ratios there are two considerations you should take into account. First, online casinos tend to have higher payout ratios than regular brick and mortar ones. The reason is that online casinos have much fewer expenses than land casinos and can afford to give something extra to their clients while still maintaining profitably. A second recommendation is to play slot machines with a higher denomination since these machines tend to have a higher payout ratio. The casinos can expect to earn more from a higher denomination machine in terms of total cash invested and so they up the payout ratio a couple of percentage point higher.

If you like to play slots, you should always play according to your bankroll. Slot machines are a gambling form with a very high variance. You can lose a lot of money until you finally hit that jackpot you've been looking for. It is of extreme importance to play a machine with a denomination that would not grind out your bankroll too fast. If you play in a machine which will eat up your bankroll in less than 100 spins, you stand of no chance of turning a profit or even having some fun.

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