Volatility and RTP in gambling - a guide for beginners

Two key parameters determine whether you get lucky at roulette, blackjack or slots when you visit an online casino: volatility and return to player (RTP). Strategy and knowledge of bonus rounds or the mechanics of a particular game is one thing, but in parallel it is worth licking a bit of theory about how online casino games work. In many cases, this can help us tip the balance in our favour.

A lot of myths and misunderstandings have grown up around RTP and volatility. In fact, these two indicators are quite easy to understand with concrete examples. So if you thought you knew everything about money gambling, read on!

RTP or player return

The RTP indicator goes first. To understand what this value is, it is worth looking at how casino gambling works.

Let's start with the fact that every casino gambling game has a certain statistical advantage over us. The exception to this is tournament-played poker, but this type of game is rarely offered in virtual gambling houses; instead, we can play it in poker rooms and with friends.

The casino must win more often than we do (i.e. the player must statistically lose money more often than win jackpots), otherwise its owner would have to add to the business. Every video gambling game is therefore programmed so that the casino has an advantage of a few percentage points over us. For example, the classic European version has a player advantage of 2.70%. The opposite of this ratio is the aforementioned player return, which is 100%-2.70% or 97.30%. What does this mean?

The probability calculation shows that by betting PLN 100 on a game with a statistical return of 97.30%, exactly PLN 97.30 should come back into our pockets. As you can easily guess, the higher the RTP in a given game, the better for the player. Games with the highest RTP in online casinos are usually table games. In blackjack, we can count on a return of more than 99.70%. In slots, the average RTP is around 96%, although there are many slots where it will be higher - the Book of 99 slot, for example, has a record high RTP of 99%. Find out more about Book of 99 and other slots with record-breaking RTPs - perhaps you'll get lucky with them too?

Is it worth paying attention to RTP?

For many players, a high RTP equates to a sure win. This is clearly not the case. For a number of reasons. Firstly, you will not find a game in a casino with a return higher than 100%, and only such a value is a guarantee of winning.

Secondly, it is useful to know how game producers calculate the average RTP. For this purpose, a properly programmed game performs between 10 and 100 billion virtual spins in the computer's memory. On this basis, the developer is able to get an idea of how much of the money the player has wagered will come back to him with a long enough game. It is not difficult to deduce that none of us would be able to place 100 billion bets on a single game in an online casino. Even if it only took us 10 seconds to make each spin, that would require us to spend 31,709 years in a casino continuously playing 24 hours a day.

So what is the use of knowing the RTP ratio? Experienced gamblers know that the calculus of probability is inexorable and that winning at gambling is little a matter of knowledge and experience, but mostly a matter of luck. By playing games with a higher RTP, a little bit of it helps.

Volatility in gambling

From a probability calculus point of view, volatility is the spread of outcomes around an average value. The higher the volatility, the higher the risk associated with the game. In online gambling, volatility can be low, medium or high. Not all manufacturers include information about this parameter in the game manual, but we can usually find out its value by visiting the developer's website.

OK, so what does this mean for the player?

The importance of volatility in online gambling

High volatility means that the results of the game over the course of play will vary greatly. Players can experience big wins, but also significant losses in a short period of time. The result? Our budget will melt quickly. In contrast, low volatility means that we can expect fairly regular wins of similar value over time. In the jargon of players, slots with low volatility are referred to as lower-risk games.

If you've ever played roulette, you know that the more numbers you bet on, the better your chances of winning. For example, betting on black or red means that you are betting money on 18 different numbers at the same time. In such a deal, the casino pays double or nothing. Now imagine a player who places a bet on just one number. In this case, the payout is usually 35:1. Not surprisingly, if we expect to win regularly, we will bet on red or black (low volatility) rather than on a single number (high volatility).

Volatility therefore has an impact on a casino's capital management strategy. This allows the player to better manage his risk and maximise his chances in the long term.

A few words in conclusion

A visit to a casino can be fraught with both wins and losses. RTP and volatility are key terms in gambling. The return to the player tells us what percentage of the money spent in the casino will come back to us in the form of chips or money. This is a purely statistical parameter whose role in the casino is often overestimated. Higher volatility, on the other hand, may be attractive due to potentially larger winnings, while other players will opt for games with lower volatility to limit the risk of losses. The choice is ultimately up to you!