How to Identify Loose and High-Value Online Slot Games
Despite there being thousands of games set-up on the global hub of information that is the internet, precious little is common knowledge when it comes to online slot games. Many people still go about playing these games online as they would in land-based casinos, taking the time and spending money to figure out which machines are loose and which ones are worth the wait. Despite the lack of openly available information on the mechanics of each slot, there are still ways to find the perfect games to suit your preferred style of play without spending to do so.
Finding the values that matter
Due to the waves and waves of new games that crash into the new games sections each month, many players find themselves so overwhelmed by the options that they pick a game that they’re familiar with – often based on the theme. It’s because of this that so many developers embrace the ever-popular and grandeur-emphasising Egyptian theme, as people recognise it, and so it makes the decision easy.
Some gamers seek out the highest RTP percentages. The return to player value has become a necessary value to show with slot games, but too much emphasis is placed on the percentage. It’s good to see that a game is in line with the industry standards of having an RTP of 93 per cent or higher, but it isn’t particularly telling of how the game will play or what to expect.
To learn this, you need to get a grasp of the programmed mechanic known as volatility. Also called the ‘variance,’ while the slots are still completely randomised under the RNG, the volatility factors the size and regularity of pay-outs on average within the randomisations. Volatility tends to be graded along a five-point scale: low, low-medium, medium, medium-high, and high.
At the extremes, on average, low volatility results in more regular pay-outs in smaller sums while high variance results in less regular wins in larger amounts. Most slot players seek the extremes of this mechanics, either going for the loose games or high-value games – low and high volatility, respectively – as they’re clearer to read for payroll management.
Where to look for the right games
None of the many providers and developers of these games specialises in a particular way of playing, so looking for similar games by seeking certain providers often doesn’t help. Sure, they’ll make similarly entertaining games with their preferred infusions of features and animations, but the volatility will typically change from slot to slot. As people tend to stick to games that end up playing to their style of preference, which is often particularly low or high volatility games, the popular section is a good place to start.
However, as each spin costs money, working out if a certain slot is right for you and plays to the volatility that you prefer can be costly. As such, the best place to explore is lists of popular free slots online. This way, you can get to grips with a game, learn if it’s particularly low or high in volatility, and then decide if you want a game that tends to pay-out more regularly or in larger quantities.
It is best to try the games out for free to get to grips with them before paying to play, which you can do with all of the following slots. Here, we’ve done some of the legwork to help you home-in on the different styles of slot:
- Low Volatility (Loose): Starburst, Shadow of the Panther
- Low-Medium Volatility: Guns N’ Roses, Erik the Red
- Medium Volatility (Balanced): Boomerang Edge, RainbowRiches
- Medium-High Volatility: Buffalo, Street Fighter 2: The World Warrior
- High Volatility (High Value): Jagr’s Super Slot, Drago: Jewels of Fortune, Book of Dead
The RNG will always keep slot game outcomes random, but it’s the volatility rating that helps you to generally understand the way in which the game will play.