RTP is the acronym for “Return To Player”, and it’s a term we see applied to our favorite slot games, but what does it mean and what should we know about it?
RTP is simply a metric used to express the amount of a player’s original stake money a slot game will return to the player in the form of wins and prizes. It is not the only factor to consider when choosing a slot machine to play, but it is one that tends to give an indication of how the game fairs with its competition.
1. Not All RTPs Are Equal
The return to player average varies between games; sometimes this variance can be quite significant. A clued-up player will check they are happy with the RTPs, often comparing them with other similar slots before making a final choice. It’s interesting to note that legally there is no minimal RTP applied to online slots.
This may seem strange at first, but when you understand that a slot machine with a poor RTP has to compete in the marketplace with those that can offer much higher percentages, it becomes clear that RTP is more controlled by market forces than legislation would possibly be able to achieve. Most slot machines’ RTP falls somewhere between 92% and 98%, a good indicator for the range of RTP a casino slot game can operate with and be successful.
2.Within RTP, Slots Remain Random
The RTP Percentage of a machine is set over many plays, sometimes as many as 100,000 consecutive plays. Each play however does not always have the same outcome, so the RTP is an average over time. The individual game’s prize structure will govern the spread of prizes. Some slots will favor a larger jackpot, paid for by slightly lower basic wins, other slots will tend towards a slightly lower jackpot and more or higher paid basic wins.
3. Use RTP Knowledge To Your Advantage
Knowing the RTP of a game can help us, as players, manage our spending and assess the risk/reward status of a prospective slot game.
If you like spending time playing the game as much as you do the chance of financial reward, on average a slot game with a higher RTP will see you able to play longer for the same spend. Sure, you won’t win every time, but the high RTP means over time you will get to make more plays with the same stake and in doing so increase your chances of winning.
Put it this way, you can’t win the next play if you have spent all your money already; this could mean missing out on a big win and can be mitigated by careful play on a high RTP game. There are games like Barcrest’s ‘ Ooh Ahh Dracula’ and ‘Mega Joker ‘that take the RTP returned percentage to the extreme and offer a figure of 99%, but any slot with an RTP of 97% or over should be considered high, slots with less than 95% RTP can be considered to be low. Now you have a better idea of what return to player means, you will find more RTP games here.
Of course, high RTP does not protect you from your own poor judgement, so as always when playing slot games, set your own hard financial spending limits and take breaks often. It is better to walk away and preserve your enjoyment of slots for another day. This brings us back to player enjoyment and if your favourite game has a lower RTP, do not worry, if you enjoy the game and your experience, RTP can be less critical.
