Slot Payouts: Thinking long term
- Filed under: Slots
- Date: Aug 28,2011
When we speak about slots, we don’t use the term “house edge”. Rather, we speak of payout percentages – that is, the ratio of a slot’s payout relative to the deposits it has received. Many players erroneously assume that a 97% slot payout means they can expect a 97% return on their investment. This is not the logic of the slots. The expected payout percentage is in fact based on the entire lifespan of that slot machine.
So if a slot machine’s life expectancy is eight years, it is expected that this slot would payout about 97% of its deposits over its entire eight year life span. It means that you can’t assume that all those payouts will necessarily take place while you’re sitting there pulling the proverbial lever. Three per cent might not sounds like a lot, but if you consider how many hundreds of thousands of dollars or euros are deposited in that machine over its lifespan, you’ll realize that the casino makes a very large profit on these reels.
Online slots range in their precise payouts. Ninety-seven per cent is an average. In truth, these payouts range from 96% to 98.5% in their ratios. This applies to both high and low deposit machines. Although the payouts on the higher denomination slots can be compelling and can certainly net you a handsome payout, these games will also cost you more over the long haul, especially if you can’t afford to play them, which could result in a disastrous situation of your own bankruptcy.
Also, don’t forget that maximum payouts tend only to apply if you’re playing multiple coins at once and sometimes across multiple payout lines, something not every player at every slot machine does. It can get expensive to play like this all the time.
Online slots range in their precise payouts. Ninety-seven per cent is an average. In truth, these payouts range from 96% to 98.5% in their ratios. This applies to both high and low deposit machines. Although the payouts on the higher denomination slots can be compelling and can certainly net you a handsome payout, these games will also cost you more over the long haul, especially if you can’t afford to play them, which could result in a disastrous situation of your own bankruptcy.
Also, don’t forget that maximum payouts tend only to apply if you’re playing multiple coins at once and sometimes across multiple payout lines, something not every player at every slot machine does. It can get expensive to play like this all the time.
Let’s take the 96% payout described above. Suppose we were to deposit $100 into the slots. After 100 x $1 pulls, you’d in theory end up with $96. After that you’d end up with $92, then $88 and so on. Because that 96% is a lifetime payout this isn’t an exact calculation, but it does illustrate how the house advantage is translated into the slot machines. Casino cannot arbitrarily change a slot’s payout ratio without approval from the local gambling commission. In the United States, if a slot machine offers a 97.5% payback it can only be moved down with approval from the State Gaming Commission.
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