ShareOnline slots are undoubtedly the most popular casino game. As such, the number of slot games offered at online casinos is only rising. Amidst the overwhelmingly large pool of online slots, how do you find the best quality slots games for you?
While themes are a personal choice and depend entirely on your preference, there are some characteristic features you should always look for in a slot game before you decide to play a slot game for real money.
RTP
RTP or Return To Player is a measure of the expected returns from a slot. This is expressed as a percentage of your funds. A 96% RTP indicates that 96% of the amount staked on the slot will be returned to the player over time.
That means for every $100 you stake on the slot, you will get $96 back. That, however, is not a guarantee. This percentage of return is measured over hundreds of spins. You could still have a long losing streak while playing a slot with a 97% RTP.
It also tells you about the edge the casino has in the game. In an online slot with 96% RTP, the house has a 4% edge. Though essential to your slot experience, it is not the only thing that impacts your winnings with the slot.
Volatility
Volatility is another key aspect of the slot that allows you to assess if it's the right fit for you. It is all about the frequency of hitting the winning combination.
You are more likely to get bigger payouts with highly volatile slots. But the frequency of these payouts is less. On the other hand, you will find frequent but smaller payouts from a slot with low volatility.
There are also slots with medium and medium-high volatility. The type of volatile slot you wish to go with should depend on your appetite for risk.
Paylines
The number of paylines is as important a factor as any when it comes to choosing the best quality slot games to play online. Paylines are essentially a way to calculate winnings on a slot.
Winnings are triggered when there is a specific number of symbols on these lines. Some slots will require at least two or three symbols to land on a payline for a payout.
While more number of paylines usually means higher chances of winning, it can also affect other aspects of the game. A higher number of paylines increases the final bet amount and also affects the volatility of the slot.
Again, the choice of paylines, like volatility, depends on your bankroll.
Bonus Features and Extras
Look for bonus features and extras to get more for your buck. When the bonus symbols land correctly, they trigger a respinand also multiply your winnings.
Some slots have bonus features that go beyond a single respin. Three scatter symbols while playing Halloween Jack, for example, trigger 10 free spins!
Whereas, the Witches’ Brew Bonus round from the Halloween Fortune slot offers up to 20 spins and a 10x multiplier to increase your winnings.
These features are one of the best ways to boost your winnings on an online slot machine.
Payouts
Online slots will provide a table of symbols and their payouts. Some symbols pay even if they appear twice on a payline. Like the Green Witch symbol in Halloween Fortune which pays 5x when there are two of them on a payline.
The payouts depend on the number of times a specific symbol appears on a payline. The higher the number, the bigger the payout. Study the payouts to find out how much the low-value and high-value symbols pay.
Compare this with other slots and their payouts to get a better idea of whether the particular slot is the right choice for you. Here is an example - the lowest-value symbol in the Fruit Shop slot game pays 50x when it fills the entire payline.
Whereas the lowest-value symbol in the Age of Gods Fate Sisters game pays 20x when there are 5 of it on a payline.
While this was only a sneak peek into each of the key features of online slots that impact your winnings, you should dive deeper and find out more about them to make an informed choice when playing online slots for real money.
