Slot Play and Its Effect on Return to Player
Reel strip layout and effect on RTP
Game mathematics are usually calculated as the theoretical return when playing a single line. So does this mean that you’re going to win less if the reel strips are laid out in a particular fashion and you play more lines?
The answer, to be succinct, is no. Reel strip layout, especially when grouping items such as substitute symbols, will effect the volatility of payouts, but the overall expected RTP will be constant whether you’re playing 1 line or 25.
Similarly, line configuration such as overlapping (coinciding) line structures on multiple line games will result in more volatile play rather than effecting overall RTP.
Do Video Slot Reels Really Spin?
Video slot spins
An important item to note in regards to the manner in which a video slot functions is to understand how the spin occurs.
When a video reel strip starts to spin it has a known start position (let's say, symbol stop 17 is the start (middle vertical) position, on say a 45 long reel strip).
Once the game has been initiated by placing a bet the server is pinged and a result for the spin is generated (one result per reel). For instance, the RNG might send out a result for the reel to stop on position 10.
What will happen is that the start position will determine what you see when the reels take off and start spinning. At some point during that spin the game knows that it has to finish on position 10 on say, reel 1. Since there is a fixed length of time for each spin, at some mid point it stops showing the reels spinning from their start position and jumps to show the reels leading up to the position it will need to stop on.
It's almost impossible to notice, unless of course there's an extended anticipation spin going on, or the software is poor and doesn’t have good spin technology.
Other reasons it could become noticeable may be a lack of seamless transition between start and stop position strips (so in a seamless environment it would seem to be a natural spin, but if there's even a fraction of a delay it can look like a symbol arbitrarily changes).
Either way, however, there's nothing rigged about it. It's just trying to display the result the RNG has determined.
Return to Player and Its Effect on Slot Play
So what is Return to Player and how does it affect slot play?
It’s the average expected return of all bets based on a complete cycle of a given slot game, and indicates how much of an edge the casino operator has.
A game that is set to 100% would be one that has an exactly equal chance for the player to win as lose.
This doesn’t make for a viable enterprise for an operator though! Excepting some tournament play modes or special reward system the only casino game that you’ll find awarding 100% RTP is a straight double-up (gamble device).
In a fair, random system an option to gamble wins is entirely devoid of house edge. Mind you, you still have to get the win first in order to be able to double it!
Most slots from reputable operators you’ll find on the net tend to have RTP settings of between 92.5% and 97.5%.
Lower RTP’s are sometimes offered, but in my personal opinion the use of high RTP variants, coupled with advertising and proof of such, can make more for an on-line casino group in the long run than the use of low percentages.
Unlike physical clubs, pubs and casinos, players on the net have only to close a window and log in to a different site, they are not held captive by geographical considerations that often allow bricks-and-mortar gaming venues to get away with 85%-89% games (and even lower in some jurisdictions).
Reputation is worth a lot in the internet arena, and gaining a reputation as a tight operator that has low paying slots is not something that is easy to overcome once it is attained.
Players on the internet benefit from far greater competition between providers than traditional market players, so I’d say sub 93% slots on the net aren’t a great long-term strategy for any provider.
In the end it’s usually up to the individual casino operator as to what RTP setting they use, which leads to 2 important points:
- How are RTP settings determined? and
- How often can they be changed?
RTP Settings
The simplest and easiest way that a truly random game achieves a certain mathematical expectation of return is via the weighting of symbols on the different reel strips.
Changing just one minor symbol on a single reel strip can have an impact of anywhere up to 1% on the expected RTP, while adding a substitute would have a much larger effect.
Small shifts in RTP might not be immediately noticeable to a player, unless they play the same game for a prolonged period, or unless the change is done in an obvious manner such as adding or removing major symbols.
class="ts"Occasionally reel strips may be shortened (very slightly), in order to make combinations more likely and, more importantly, features more likely.
This is often a good way to produce a higher RTP variant, as it produces pretty tangible benefits for the player.
How often can they be changed?
Well that’s a question that really depends on the software system and any jurisdictional regulation. The later aspect mainly relates to traditional land-based gaming, where operators may be legally restricted from changing RTP settings more than once every 30 days, for instance, but rarely comes into play on the net.
Individual casino operators usually have the ability to choose the RTP setting for their slots from a fixed range. So when setting up their operation they might be offered the choice of, for instance, 94%, 95%, 96% or 97% settings.
It is rare that these would ever be allowed to be changed on the fly by a reputable casino system provider, but the operators can always request that a change be carried out and it would usually be implemented over subsequent weeks.
While conspiracy theories abound about operator kill switches it’d be a pretty short-sighted system that would support anything of that type.
