What Is Volatility In Casino Games?
Volatility refers to a game’s risk level, indicating how often and how much it pays out.
By considering volatility, you can tailor your casino gambling experience to better suit your preferences and elevate your strategy.
Let’s go over the basics:
- High Volatility: Games with high volatility offer large but less frequent payouts. You might experience long periods without winning, but the potential for significant rewards is attractive if you’re a high-risk taker.
- Low Volatility: These games provide smaller, more frequent payouts. They’re ideal if you prefer steady, consistent wins, and are less inclined to take big risks.
Once you’ve grasped the fundamental concept of volatility, you can factor a game’s volatility into your:
- Risk Assessment: Knowing a game’s volatility allows you to choose games that match your risk tolerance. If you’re a high roller, you probably prefer high-volatility games, while low-volatility slots are ideal if you’re on a limited budget or don’t want to take too big risks.
- Budget Management: Awareness of volatility helps in managing your budget effectively. High-volatility games require a larger bankroll to withstand dry spells, whereas low-volatility are more suitable for smaller budgets.
- General Expectations: While it’s not an exact science, and all games are ultimately based on luck, you can set more realistic expectations once you’ve understood how volatility works. If you’ve decided to play a highly volatile slot, you know you can’t expect frequent wins.
How Volatility Is Graded
There isn’t a universally defined grading system for slot volatility. It ultimately depends on how the game provider specifies volatility for its games.
Volatility can be measured numerically, typically on a scale from 1 to 5, or classified as low, medium, or high.
The latter classification is more popular and is usually defined as follows:
- Low volatility – Slots that pay out small but somewhat frequent wins.
- High volatility – Slots with high win multiplier in which wins are often few and far between.
- Medium volatility – Strike a balance between the two, offering modest wins at a moderate frequency.
How To Find Out A Game’s Volatility Score
For the most accurate game volatility score, checking the game provider’s website is your safest bet. Here you’ll find all the necessary information or downloadable game sheets containing all specific game data from the primary source.
Top Tip
Who Decides The Game’s Volatility?
Did you know it’s the software providers that set the volatility levels, and not the casinos? This means the online casino has no control over it. Volatility is determined by the game developers during a game’s design and testing phases.
How A Game’s Volatility Relates To Its RTP
Return to Player (RTP) shows a game’s overall payout percentage, while volatility determines the distribution pattern of these winnings.
Slot volatility and RTP go hand in hand. RTP indicates the percentage of stakes returned to you as winnings over time. For example, an RTP of 95% means you get back $95 for every $100 wagered. Volatility describes the frequency and size of these wins.
High RTP slots aren’t always volatile. Some low-volatility slots can have a high RTP, returning consistent but smaller wins. Conversely, many high-volatility slots have high RTPs to balance the risk of frequent losses with the potential for substantial rewards.
Top Tip
Learn More About RTP and Casino Games
Still a bit iffy about RTP and why it matters? Have a look at our article about RTP and House Edge to learn everything you need to know.
When Volatility Matters The Most
Knowing when volatility matters in slots can help you match your play to your risk appetite and bankroll status.
We’ve broken down a few key scenarios in which volatility can play an important role:
| Volatility Type | Situation | Explanation |
|---|
| Low | Funds running low | More frequent but smaller wins, helping you gradually rebuild your bankroll. |
| Medium | Balanced risk and reward | Moderate win frequency and payout size, providing a balanced approach that offers both excitement and some level of security. |
| High | On a roll or sufficient bankroll | Long waits between wins but the potential for larger payouts, making the risk worthwhile and possibly recouping all losses with one big win. |
| Very High | Feeling very lucky | Very rare wins but extremely large payouts, suitable only when you’re willing to take significant risks for the chance of massive rewards, or when you have a bankroll big enough to sustain you until you hit a big win. |
You should always alternate between slot volatility based on your current game session. This will allow you to strategically manage risk and maximize your chances of winning.
Why You Should Consider A Game’s Volatility When Wagering Bonuses
Since low-volatility slots pay out more frequently, they’re ideal for making your bonus balance last as long as possible, which is precisely what you’re trying to do when wagering a bonus.
Moreover, low-volatility slots increase your chances of winning when you have limited bonus funds or a few free spins. For these two reasons, the consensus is that you’re more likely to win with bonuses and turn those winnings into real money if you stick to low-volatility slots.
On the flip side, the benefit of wagering bonuses on high-volatility slots is that you have better odds of hitting wins large enough to instantly guarantee you’ll have bonus funds left after clearing the wagering requirement.
As such, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ approach when factoring volatility into the bonus wagering process. You just need to understand how volatility works and choose a strategy.
Top Tip
Remember to Gamble Responsibly
While understanding volatility can help you choose games that suit your preferences and risk appetite, slots will always remain 100% luck-based. Never forget the importance of gambling responsibly. Visit our responsible gambling page for useful tips on how to maintain healthy gambling habits.
When To Play Games With Low Volatility
If you’ve read this far, you might already have a clear idea of when it might be wise to play low-volatility slots.
With that said, here are a few simple guidelines you can refer back to:
- When You’re Low On Funds: By having smaller wins trickle in somewhat frequently, you’re more likely to maintain or rebuild your bankroll.
- When You Want To Extend Playing Time: Lower risk and more predictable outcomes help you play longer.
- When You Want To Wager Bonuses: Frequent wins are the surest way to sustain your bonus balance long enough to clear a wagering requirement and turn bonuses into real money.
Recommended Casino Games With Low Volatility
There are loads of great slots with low-volatility to choose from, but here are three games we can highly recommend.
Dragon’s Luck (RTG)
Get ready to be captivated by an enchanting Asian-themed slot with intricately designed dragon symbols and a serene soundtrack. Dragon’s Luck is a low volatility slot, boasting an RTP of 96.29% – perfect if you prefer frequent, smaller wins over larger, infrequent jackpots. Its low-risk nature ensures a steady stream of payouts, ensuring an engaging and enjoyable gambling experience.
Fishin’ Frenzy (Blueprint Gaming)
Enjoy the charming fishing theme and simple mechanics that provide a relaxing and enjoyable play session. Fishin’ Frenzy is ideal if you’re a casual slot player. But you’ll still appreciate its generous RTP of 96.12%, as it promises a fair return over time.
Blood Suckers (NetEnt)
With its impressive 98% RTP, Blood Suckers is a great low-to-medium-volatility slot choice for consistent returns. It has an enchanting vampire theme and bonus features that add extra excitement. Blood Suckers provides the best of both worlds: a thrilling yet risk-averse gambling experience. In a nutshell, it’s ideal if you enjoy a thrilling slot without the high-stakes rollercoaster ride.
When To Play Games With High Volatility
Then there are instances when high-volatility slots are the better choice, namely if you:
- Are On A Winning Streak: If you’ve amassed a big bankroll via frequent wins, you may consider taking a bigger risk for a bigger potential reward.
- Have A Large Bankroll: If you’ve got enough funds, you may want to ‘wait out’ the slot until you hit that massive win multiplier. Just remember there are no guarantees, and that slots are ultimately based on luck.
- Consider Yourself A High Roller if you aren’t interested in smaller wins and prefer potentially larger payouts.
- Enjoy The Thrill And Excitement: Where potentially higher losses are suitable if you don’t mind a more intense gambling experience.
Recommended Casino Games With High Volatility
If you’re more of a high-roller or risk-taker and enjoy the thrill high-volatility slots bring with them, we’ve got a few recommendations worth considering.
Sweet Bonanza (Pragmatic Play)
Sweet Bonanza promises substantial rewards, with a generous RTP of 96.51%. This candy-themed game features vibrant graphics and tumbling reels, offering dynamic and exciting gameplay. Its high volatility means you can expect fewer but chunkier wins, perfect if you’re a risk-taker who’s on the hunt for big rewards. With its potential for massive payouts, every spin is packed with anticipation.
Book of Dead (Play’n GO)
Hop on to a high-stakes adventure with the possibility of massive rewards. Renowned for its high volatility, Book of Dead makes for a thrilling slot, if you’re a thrillseeker. With a 96.21% RTP, it offers substantial wins, though they may be infrequent. Its ancient Egyptian theme, coupled with expanding symbols and free spins adds to the excitement.
Immortal Romance (Microgaming)
Microgaming never disappoints with its titles, and Immortal Romance is a testament to this. With its high volatility, 96.8% RTP, and 243 paylines, this vampire-themed game offers exciting features like the Chamber of Spins and Wild Desire. The captivating graphics elevate the excitement, making it an exhilarating choice if you’re you’re ready to embrace the risk in return for big payouts.