Not all slot machines are made equal, and a good understanding of the payout percentages can shave off a few of the house’s percentages, and you can have a better time and a more prominent bank for your buck as you spin the reels, either online or offline.
Explaining slot payout percentage
Let’s start this discussion with an example as it is the easiest way to illustrate what we’re talking about here:
- Your slot machine of choice has a payout percentage of 95%.
- You bet 50$.
- Your average return will be 95% of 50$, or 47.5$, in this particular example.
What does that mean from a player’s perspective? Though each slot machine has a built-in edge for the house – that is the source of the casino’s profit margin, after all –, they are not all the same. This helps you figure out which slot machines pay the best.
Identifying the slot machines with a higher payout percentage can help you go a long way in trying to beat the odds: a slot machine with an 80% payout percentage would only return you $40, severely shortening your rope throughout an average session.
This metric is sometimes referred to as RTP, or “return to player,” which is perhaps an even more valuable Google search term alongside the game’s name to figure out the math behind the flashing lights. It is also known as the “house edge” in some circles, which refers to the same thing.
For reference, popular casino games like Baccarat, single-deck blackjack, and the single-0 roulette wheel have a house edge of 1.06%, 0.5%, and 2.7%, respectively.
Of course, the thrill of the game here is that not every session is an average session. Smart gamblers can find the small edges needed to improve their odds by carefully selecting the slots they play slots machine: though there’s no sure-fire way to beat the house, you can make sure that you can outperform the average punter when playing slots, and this holds true both in an online and an offline environment.
Which online slots have the highest payout?
So what are the luckiest slot machines? In general, online slots offer slightly higher payouts than their offline counterparts because the casino has a lot lower maintenance costs to factor into the equation. They can also serve a theoretically infinite number of customers at the same time.
Another factor to consider is the slots’ variance. Payout frequency or volatility refer to the same thing, just as the more casual “loose” and “tight” terms. It’s all about how often you win when playing the machine. Low variance slots offer many opselecte usually small payouts.
High variance slots reward perseverance with huge winnings but force you to wade through a desert of fat Ls to get there. Medium variance slot games are somewhere between the two. This means that which slots have the highest payout doesn’t factor into the equation as much as you would perhaps think.
This, of course, also makes it easier to gather data and figure out the payout percentages on these machines. It should be of little surprise that there are many online data sources collated by enterprising bettors and experts detailing the RTP of the various online slot machines.
Here’s a list of the best slot machines to play with notably high payout percentages:
- Ugga Bugga from Playtech offers a whopping 99.07% RTP and low volatility in their 2006 invention, featuring, as the name implies, a jungle/tribal aesthetic.
- Mega Joker by NetEnt promises a 99% RTP alongside a progressive jackpot and a simple, traditional design.
- Barcrest’s Ooh Ahh Dracula offers the full vampiric vibe with a killer soundtrack and memorable visuals. A 99% RTP and a high-roller option make this medium-variance slot a worthy entry on this list.
- NetEnt returns to the list with Jackpot 6000, yet another classical design with a built-in in-game jackpot in the form of the “Supermeter.”
- Yggdrasil’s Jokerizer also offers 98% RTP in the form of a reimagined old-school fruit machine. Released in 2016, it is one of the newer entries on this list.
Once more with feeling: NetEnt’s newer offerings are also worth a mention, with 2021’s Reel Rush and its 97% RTP making this online slot machine another one worth checking out and, quite honestly, making anything below 95% downright stingy by comparison.
How to win money with online slots
As discussed, you’re starting with a built-in disadvantage, so there is no sure-fire way to beat slot machines. Still, maximizing your odds will get you more bang for your buck at the very least, and these tips will help you to do just that:
- Manage your bankroll – Never bet money you can’t afford to use: make sure to set your limits mentally before stepping up to the slots, virtual or otherwise.
- Research the various slots – As discussed above, there can be significant differences in RTP, which means you leave money on the table if you don’t select the right online slot.
- The pay table is your friend – Understanding how much the various symbols payout and whether scatters or wild symbols come into play are crucial when playing slots, so you need to make sure you know how the slot you’re playing operates before you get started with your slot machine strategy.
Best real money online slot sites
You can find the most trusted and secured real money online slot sites on a wide variety of online repositories, and as we’ve discussed, taking your time to do some research is the difference between the casual punter and the veteran in the fields. It’s no wonder they tend to go home with very different amounts of money in their pocket.
Among the wide variety of offerings, BetUS, Las Atlantis, and Wild Casino stand out as the highest-rated options by experts for the best online casinos in the United States.
Final thoughts
Though this article only covers the basics of the world of online slots and the math behind slot payout percentages, you should now have a good general idea of which direction to continue your research in and what to pay attention to when selecting the slots of your choice.
Narrowing down the field to the online slots with the best returns can be challenging, but putting in the time and effort required for a better understanding of the various machines can ensure that you’ll get more enjoyment out of your funds, and with it, a slightly larger chance for that coveted jackpot.
