RTP: A Beginner’s Guide
Check casino slots RTP and find out more about return to player percentage. We have listed all NetEnt slots in one place! Pick the slot with highest RTP from NetEnt and start playing with free spins. Return to player, also known as RTP, is the percentage of stakes a casino game gives back to its players. Generally speaking, anything over 97% is considered to be a high RTP. It is calculated over a million spins, and divides the amount gambled, by the amount paid out to players. RTP also known as the Return to Player is the phrase casinos and casino games makers use to describe the long term theoretical expected payback percentage from all wagers on a slot machine, video poker machine, video lottery terminal (VLT), pokies or any other form of gambling with a set calculated house edge. RTP for Land-Based Slot Machines: Relying on Signs Inside of Casinos You’ll often see a sign hanging above a jackpot slot machine with the claim that “Pays up to 99%”. Obviously these signs are there as a means of drawing players to the slot machine. A sign like that promising a mere 1% house edge, is a very attractive machine.
The RTP – which stands for the Return To Player – is a percentage seen in many online gambling games, that gives you an indication of how much money the machine can be expected to pay back to players, over time. If you frequent the Casinomeister Forum, there’s a good chance you’ll already be familiar with RTP – and what it means. It’s been discussed in a number of threads, and thankfully, players are now more savvy about it than ever before. On this page, we’re going to be taking a look at what the RTP actually is – and how it can (and should) affect your choice of which games you play.
What Is The RTP?
The best RTP slots will be a much better bet in the long run, and they will make your money last longer and give you a prolonged playtime compared to low RTP slots. Online slots in general have a much higher payout ratio than land based casino slots, so you will get much more value for your money in an online casino compared to a land based.
Let’s imagine for a moment that you’re playing an online video slot with an RTP of 96%. What this essentially means, is that if you were to play 100 spins on this slot at a stake of £1/spin, the machine would be expected to pay out £96. The other £4 – the 4% – is what the casino or online gambling operator can expect to make from the slot. In this example, the 4% is the house edge – or, in other words, the amount of money that the casino can expect to profit from each wager.
While – on the surface – the RTP can seem fairly straightforward, it’s worth pointing out that in actuality it’s not as simple as this. For example, when developers are testing their games, they put millions – or, in some cases billions – of spin simulations through. This gives them an idea of what the RTP should be over the long-run. In the short term, the RTP can vary quite substantially. This is because a slot can produce a big win right away for a player. On the flip side, it can also go through long non-winning periods where the player’s balance appears to disappear quickly.
Because of this, the RTP is also sometimes referred to as the theoretical return to player. Of course, when you’re deciding whether to play a slot or not, the RTP is one factor which should be taken into account. It’s not, however, a good indication of whether you’ll win at that game for that specific session. Even if you put tens of thousands of spins through a slot machine, your personal RTP could be significantly different to the machine’s theoretical RTP.
Why Is The RTP Important?
So, by now, we know that the RTP gives a rough indication of how much the casino can expect to make from a slot machine – and how much the player can expect to lose – but we finished off the last section of this post by telling you that in the short term, it’s not overly important. So, what is the point of the RTP then?
Well, the RTP can also give an indication of how the slot will perform. For example, a video slot with a higher RTP means that there’s more ‘available money’ to payout to players – and this means that you’re likely to see more (and more frequent) free-spins bonuses and other bonus rounds. Also worth pointing out, is that – generally speaking – the higher the RTP, the less volatile the machine is. Similarly, the lower the RTP, the more volatile a machine can be expected to be.
So what RTP should you look for when playing a slot online? Thanks to low overheads, most online casinos are able to offer slot machines with an RTP of around 96%. Anything higher than this is good – and as a general rule of thumb, anything below around the 94% mark is considered bad. Still, online players have it easy – if you head to land-based casinos and arcades, it’s not uncommon to see RTPs as low as 85% and this can make a significant impact on your gameplay.
Does Anything Else Influence An RTP?
So, now we know what the RTP is, and why it matters, let’s take a look at whether there are any other factors that can influence it. The house edge is one of the most important of these factors, and as we’ve briefly already covered, this calculates the total edge of the operator/casino offering the game. This is why you’ll never find a real money slot machine with an RTP of 100%. The casino’s have to make money somehow – and while there are a couple 98%+ machines, most are around the 96% mark we mentioned. After all, the casinos are businesses and need to turn a profit!
Another factor that relates to the RTP is the hit frequency. Unfortunately, unlike RTP percentages, developers are not legally obliged to tell you what the hit frequencies are for their games. A slot’s hit frequency gives you an indication of how many spins it will take for you to win. For example, a slot with a hit rate of 1 in 5 will hit a winning spin – on average – once in every five spins. A slot with a higher hit rate means it will typically be lower variance – meaning you’ll see more wins, but fewer big wins. On the other hand, a slot machine with a low hit rate will typically be more volatile – meaning the wins will be rarer, but bigger.
The Top 10 Slots With The Best RTPs
In this section, we’re going to be taking a comprehensive look at ten of the best slot machines when it comes to RTPs. Remember, just because a slot has a higher RTP does not mean you’re more likely to win on it. It simply means that – in the long run – you can expect to lose slightly less money. Let’s take a look at the top 10 games to play with the lowest RTP.
Mega Joker: Mega Joker is a 3-row, 3-reel video slot from NetEnt that has just five payines. It’s seen as somewhat legendary in the online gambling world, as the game’s RTP is 99% – meaning the house edge is incredibly low. Playable from between £1 and £5, the game can be slightly expensive to play – but it’s not uncommon to see long playing sessions on this game, even when starting with a fairly low balance.
Jackpot 6000: Jackpot 6000 is another popular slot from NetEnt, and it’s developed around a retro one-armed bandit. The game uses three reels and three rows, and again – there’s just five paylines. The maximum stake on this machine is just £2 – it’s capable of producing some pretty big wins – and with an RTP between 95.10% and 98.90%, it can offer some fantastic play-time.
1429 Uncharted Seas: 1429 Uncharted Seas is a video slot from Thunderkick – and with an RTP of 98.6%, it’s one of the highest RTPs you’ll find in a video slot today. The game is uniquely designed, and the reels are designed to look as though they’re set on a map. You’ll also find a decent free-spins bonus, where you can win up to 50 spins! The game’s also incredibly low variance, so it’s the ideal slot for those wanting a more relaxing, laid-back experience.
Blood Suckers: For many years, Blood Suckers has been mentioned on the forums – for a couple of reasons. Firstly, with an RTP of 98%, it offers one of the highest RTPs on the planet. Secondly – it’s excluded from most casino’s bonus promotions. This is down to the fact that the RTP is so high, casinos fear too many players would be able to clear wagering requirements easily by playing it. The game is from a game developer known as NetEnt – who also happen to be one of the world’s leading software providers. There’s plenty of action within the game, including free-spins, scatter pays, wilds – and you’ll also be able to trigger a unique vampire slaying game!
Starmania: Starmania is a video slot from NextGen Gaming, and it harbours an RTP of 97.87%, making it an excellent game for those wanting high RTP slots. The game is built around a 5-reel, 3-row format, and there’s 10 paylines active on each spin. The game’s symbols are designed to look like stars – although we feel as though NextGen Gaming’s definition of a star is quite loose. Landing three scatter symbols will trigger the main bonus round, and there’s also a gamble function which allows you to try and double or quadruple your wins.
Kings of Chicago: Kings of Chicago is a unique video slot from NetEnt that’s designed to look as though you’re playing a game of poker. With an RTP of 97.8%, it offers a very high return to player. The game’s built around a 5-reel, 3-row format, and there’s just five paylines. You’ll also see scatter symbols attached to some of the symbols, and landing three or more of these in view will activate the free deals bonus. During this bonus, all wins are subject to a 2X multiplier, and it’s also possible to win more spins.
Devil’s Delight: Despite being quite hard to find online (at reputable online casinos anyway), Devil’s Delight is famed for its high RTP – coming in at 97.6%. The game’s from NetEnt, and offers up a couple of decent features. Firstly, you’ve got a free-spins round, and during this bonus wins are multiplied by as much as 5X. You’ll also see a ‘Soul-O-Meter’ at the bottom of the screen. Once you’ve collected 15 souls, this meter will fill up, and you’ll then trigger the Sin Spins feature, which gives you a much better chance of hitting big wins.
Retro Reels Extreme Heat: The first game from Microgaming to appear on this list, Retro Reels Extreme Heat is an old-school game with 5-reels and 3-rows. There are 30 paylines, all of which are fixed in place. The game also utilises a unique ‘re-spin’ feature, where you can re-spin one or more of the reels. There’s also a free-spins bonus, where you can win up to 20 free-spins – during these spins, all wins are multiplied by 2X. With an RTP of 97.5%, Retro Reels Extreme Heat is a great game to play – if you can still find it!
Simbalism: Unfortunately, Simbalish looks to have been phased out by NetEnt – whether they’ll choose to re-release it in HTML5 remains to be seen, but it appears unlikely. Still, with an RTP of 97.5%, the game offered players an exciting playing experience, and landing three rabbit symbols on the reels triggered an exciting bonus game. The game also boasted a free-spins feature, during which all wins were multiplied by 3X.
Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business: Jack Hammer 2: Fishy Business is one of NetEnt’s most popular ‘old school’ slots, and it’s not hard to see why. The game offers up an outstanding visual experience, and a funky soundtrack accompanies all winning spins. The game also boasts a decent ‘locking symbols’ feature. On each spin during the base-game, landing a winning combo will lock these symbols in place, and the reels then re-spin. Any additional winning symbols also lock in place, and this continues for as long as wins are formed. There’s also an exciting free-spins feature which is activated by landing five or more scatter symbols in a single spin. Plus, with an RTP of 97.1%, it’s up there as one of the games with the highest RTPs.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are a number of video slots currently available to play (and a couple of others that have unfortunately been taken out of circulation) that offer a super-high RTP. However, it’s worth remembering that just because a game has a high RTP, it doesn’t mean you’ll end up winning on it – it just means that in the long run, your losses are likely to be smaller.
Do you have any favourite games that offer a high RTP you’d like to tell us about? Feel free to let us know in the forums. We’re always interested in hearing about your favourite games, and in this case, the higher the RTP, the better!
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If you haven’t ever played online slot games before, then the words return-to-player (RTP) may seem quite confusing upon first look. It’s important for you to know all about this though, which is calculated as a percentage. A slot’s RTP rate can give you some basic information about a game before you play it, and in some instances, may even determine whether you actually do play it or not.
It’s all very simple and easy for a slot developer to create a game and then just pick a percentage RTP rate for it out of thin air. However, that’s not how things work with regard to this. The RTP rate is something that is calculated to ensure that you’re getting the exact details about it. So, come with us at Lets Play Slots to see what it’s all about and how you can use it to learn more about a slot.
RTP values for Online Slots - Slots RTP Database
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Also check out:
- Slots RTP (Return To Player)
What Does RTP Mean?
The return-to-player rate of a game is basically how it sounds. It’s the rate of the return that you can expect to get from each particular slot. It’s given to you in the form of a percentage, so if you find a slot that has a 98.76% pay-out and one that has a 95.43% pay-out for example, the former is likely to provide pay-outs on a more frequent basis than the latter.
Now, the difference between 98.76 and 95.43 as percentages isn’t really that much, but you have to realise how the RTP rate is calculated to understand why these figures do actually matter. You see, it’s not a random percentage that is just plucked out of obscurity. The rate is actually an average that has been achieved over many multiple spins of the reels.
We’re not just talking about 50 or 100 spins of the reels either. RTP is usually measured via spinning a slot game over 10,000 times at the very least. Sometimes, this reaches up to 100,000 spins or more, depending upon the type of slot and the category they fall into.
Does This Mean I’ll Always Be Winning on a Slot with a Higher RTP?
Not exactly, no. You should still access any online slot game, even the free ones at Lets Play Slots, with the idea in mind that you will lose on some of your spins. It’s pretty much a guarantee if you’re intending to play several rounds of the game.
Keep in mind that if a slot game comes with an RTP rate of 95%, that doesn’t mean that for every €1 you wager, you should expect to get €0.95 of it back in winnings on average. That’s because this is all that it is – an average. So, each time you access that game, you’ll play through a different sort of gaming experience as far as RTP is concerned.
Additionally, there aren’t that many players who have the bank roll to be able to play a slot game up to 10,000 times, which is where the RTP rate average comes from. If that was the case, then you’d be more likely to achieve a pay-out rate that is something similar to €0.95 for every €1 wagered. Of course, the average player doesn’t have the time or funds to be able to do this.
So, How Can I Use RTP Rate to My Advantage?
If you do take the time to find out the RTP rate of various online slots, you’ll generally find that they most frequently rest in the area between 95% and 98%, although they can be slightly higher or slightly lower than this, too. Far be it for us to say that if you play a 98% RTP-rated slot, you’ll win a lot more than if you play a 95% RTP-rated one. That’s just not how it works, unless, as mentioned above, you’re intending to play constantly for hours on end.
That being said, some people do prefer to play the higher RTP slots because they have the potential to pay out on a more frequent basis. Because of such, your bankroll that you have dedicated towards slot gaming would go further. In this respect, you have the potential of playing your chosen online slot for a longer time period.
Keep in mind that RTP rate isn’t the be-all and end-all of an online slot game, and not everybody is specifically looking to play a game for the pay-out experience. Some players enjoy the entertainment value of games and their inbuilt features. Yet, knowing the RTP rate of your chosen slot game can be quite a key component of a slot player’s strategy.
After all, if you’re looking for a long-term strategy, why would you go for an online slot that has a 94% RTP rate when you could go for one with a 98.5% rate instead?
Are There Slots with 100% RTP Rates?
To put it bluntly, no. After all, how do you expect the casino to earn its share? If you’re playing a slot game with a 96.5% RTP rate for example, the remaining 3.5% is what you could consider as the house edge. In this instance, that’s the money that the casino can expect to make from the slot over a long-term period.
If a slot game did come with a 100% RTP rate, then we at Lets Play Slots are quite sure that online casinos wouldn’t want to offer such a game in their lobby. After all, that would just result in you getting constant wins and the casino getting absolutely nothing. Great for you as a player, but casinos aren’t quite that giving.
The one thing to keep in mind when it comes to RTP rates, is that these percentages are specifically theoretical. They should never claim to always give you back such an amount when you play, but simply give you the idea that over a long period of time, you have the possibility of gaining such back from your bets.
The RTP rate of a slot game is also influenced by a couple of other factors, including the hit frequency and volatility level of such. This is another reason why the RTP rate is only a theoretical percentage – because developers cannot predict the outcome of every single players’ spins.
Top 10 Slots with the Highest RTP Rates
Here at Lets Play Slots, we’re fully aware of the online world’s best slot games when it comes to their RTP rates. That’s why we’ve gathered a collection of them together for you here, so that you can access their reviews, play them in demo mode and experience a high RTP slot for yourself. These all come from different developers and incorporate a variety of special features to enjoy as well.
So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the top 10 slots with the highest RTP rates.
#1. Fruit Warp (97%)
Released in 2014 by Thunderkick, Fruit Warp is quite the unique slot game due to the fact that it doesn’t actually have reels, rows or paylines built into it.
Instead, symbols of different fruits appear suspended in mid-air, and whenever you match three or more of these, you receive a win. What’s more, if you match five or more of them, then the bonus round of Fruit Mode comes into play for you to benefit from. Free spins and multipliers are also available to trigger within the slot and with it’s RTP of 97%, you’ll want to keep on playing.
#2 Jack Hammer 2 (97.1%)
Netent isn’t known for creating games that are of the lower-paying variety anyway, but Jack Hammer 2 is one of the better releases in terms of this, with a 97.1% RTP rate.
The game brings a comic book to life on your screen, with 99 paylines for you to bet on at the same time. A selection of inbuilt features make it all the more appealing, such as the Sticky Win perk and free spins round. Of course, it features Netent’s trademark selection of high-quality graphics, too.
#3 Big Bad Wolf (97.35%)
We’ve all heard of the tale of the three little pigs who built various houses, only for the big bad wolf to come forth and blow them down by huffing and puffing. That is, until they managed to build a house out of bricks.
Well, this Quickspin slot tells that tale to you in game form, featuring the developer’s superior graphics and an RTP rate of 97.35%. To add to that, Big Bad Wolf has exploding symbols, a free spins round and wilds that will come into play and enhance your overall gameplay experience.
#4 Kings of Chicago (97.8%)
Proving that it has the ability to create unique and innovative slots, Netent released Kings of Chicago a few years ago to much interest. This takes the game of poker and merges it nicely with a slot layout. All of its symbols come in the form of playing cards and unlike most standard video slots, pay-outs are received by creating a poker hand across one of its five paylines.
There’s also a joker card, which is the game’s wild, while a free deals round is also involved in gameplay. Having an RTP rate of 97.8% makes this one all the more appealing.
#5 StarMania (97.87%)
It’s easy to see the influence that has been the force behind Starmania’s creation, although NextGen Gaming does do it in its own unique way.
Colourful stars come into view against a space-like background, and the game’s 97.87% RTP rate ensures that you get longer to play this one. It’s got 10 paylines built into it, as well as a free spins round for you to trigger. A gamble round will also become active whenever you form a winning combination, giving you the chance to double up on your winnings.
#6 Immortal Romance (98%)
Immortal Romance brings forth the idea of vampires to your screen, and it contains the usual to-quality graphics that Microgaming is quite famous for.
When you also consider that this game has a wild, scatter and free spins round for you to enjoy while you play, it’s not difficult to see why it exists as one of the most-popular from this brand. Add to that the fact that it comes with a 98% RTP rate and you’re pretty much likely to spend a lot of time playing Immortal Romance.
#7 Blood Suckers (98%)
Vampires are also the focus of this Netent slot, and it comes with a 98% RTP rate as well. It’s a great theme to incorporate into a slot game, and as is usual with Netent games, it has some impressive inbuilt features to enjoy, too.
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Bonus features within the game include a free spins round and a sort of Pick Me round, where you have to select coffins to stake vampires through the heart for extra wins. Blood Suckers has been a popular offering from this developer for many years now, and it’s clear to see why.
#8 1429 Uncharted Seas (98.6%)
It’s time to sail the high seas with this Thunderkick slot offering. We at Lets Play Slots very much enjoy this game, with its 98.6% RTP rate, five reels and 25 paylines.
The game also has a wild symbol for you to spin into view and benefit from, as well as a free spins feature round to activate. Up to 50 free spins are available within the game, while Thunderkick incorporates some exciting graphics throughout to make it one of the best games from its own catalogue.
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#9 Jackpot 6000 (Up to 98.9%)
There’s a lot of retro imagery at work in this Netent slot game, which has a 98.8% RTP rate. Even its setup and design feature a slot machine with various buttons to press. You’ll find this one to be a lot more basic than the others noted on this list, but it does incorporate something known as the Supermeter mode.
Should you trigger this, you’re able to win a mystery prize of anywhere between 10 and 6,000 coins. Keep in mind that you need to be playing with the maximum of 10 coins to be able to have an RTP rate of 98.9%, due to Supermeter mode being quite skill-based.
#10 Mega Joker (Up to 99%)
Jackpot 6000 from Netent may have been trying to eke its way into the top spot, but Mega Joker just manages to sneak by and get in there first. With an RTP rate of up to 99%, this is one of the all-time best paying online slot games.
Casino Slots Rtp List
If you bet with just a single coin, then you’ll find that the RTP rate is a very paltry 76.9%, but when you increase that up to 10 coins, you improve your chances of winning. As with Jackpot 6000, it has a Supermeter mode, which is where the variance on RTP comes into play. And as with that game, Mega Joker also has some traditional inbuilt symbols for you to experience.