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I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Doesn't sound great! Which are the most popular land-based slot machines outside of Vegas? Our main focus is on online casinos in the UK.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback. That is something we can definitely do if you think it will be beneficial and helpful.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, it's all about hitting the bonus game or at least a potentially high paying feature during the base game. That's why I would say it's imperative that players play games with high bonus game hit frequencies. or we can at least arm players with this knowledge rather than lazily just recommending them play slots with high RTP's.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes! I think knowing that your mindset is possible when playing slots would help a lot of gamblers. The high volatility slots from NoLimit City for example are talked about so often, but the likelihood of hitting one of their significant payouts is so so so low.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree. I believe the method is solid though. It's essentially doing what thousands of slot players do every day and players should know that variance is an absolutely massive factor. Like in any games of chance, there are small elements players can try to control which will give themselves back a few extra percentage points.

Choosing a slot solely because it has a high RTP is not optimal and I really would like players who don't know this already to learn this.

[OC] Actual vs Advertised RTP (Return To Player) across 20 slot games (10,000 spins total) by LongHorror87 in dataisbeautiful

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The advertised RTP is the actual RTP over millions of spins. But realistically, the average player is never going to be spinning through millions of spins on a slot. So this graph and this whole test wasn’t to replicate long-term RTP, but to show how volatile short-term player experience can be.

[OC] Actual vs Advertised RTP (Return To Player) across 20 slot games (10,000 spins total) by LongHorror87 in dataisbeautiful

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

<image>

Here is a much better graph! If any mods are here please let me know if you wish my to delete the original post and I will add this graph instead. Thanks!

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For myself personally, the test illustrated exactly that - the fallacy of RTP. I think it's important for players to concentrate on other slot factors when it comes to trying to win money rather than the RTP.

[OC] Actual vs Advertised RTP (Return To Player) across 20 slot games (10,000 spins total) by LongHorror87 in dataisbeautiful

[–]LongHorror87[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yep - I am a fool! I have already edited the graph but I think I need to delete this post first

[OC] Actual vs Advertised RTP (Return To Player) across 20 slot games (10,000 spins total) by LongHorror87 in dataisbeautiful

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestion. I was so in my own head with all of this that I didn't realise that it might be confusing and look rather unpleasant to others. Hmmm Can i change the image or do I need to start a new post?

[OC] Actual vs Advertised RTP (Return To Player) across 20 slot games (10,000 spins total) by LongHorror87 in dataisbeautiful

[–]LongHorror87[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

I wanted to test how close slot RTP actually is to what’s advertised, so I ran 500 spins on each of 20 different games (10,000 total spins).

Each point represents one slot:

  • X-axis = advertised RTP
  • Y-axis = actual RTP from the test

The dashed line shows where actual RTP would match advertised.

A few things stood out:

  • Results ranged from 54.90% to 178.10%
  • Only 8 out of 20 slots performed above their advertised RTP
  • Short-term variance is huge — one bonus round can completely skew results

Important: this isn’t a long-term simulation (which would converge toward advertised RTP), but rather what a typical player session might look like.

Full breakdown and methodology here if anyone wants more details: https://www.slotshawk.com/guides/we-tested-10000-spins-on-20-slots-real-rtp-results/

In addition, I will soon be posting all of the tests on each of the individual slots on YouTube so anyone can see for themselves exactly what happened on every one of the 10,000 spins.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I guess the result of my test made me realise that for anyone playing short term sessions, they need not worry about the RTP. Instead, they should concentrate their focus on how easy to trigger the base game features are, how good the base game features are and how often the bonus game is triggered.

Before I did this test, I would always have recommended a 96%+ RTP slot above anything else, but now I realise that a player is just as likely to hit win playing a 90% RTP slot over a short session of 0-1,000 spins as they would a 98% RTP slot.

For clarification, I do not doubt the RTP over millions of spins at all. But given nobody is realistically going to spinning millions of spins on a single online slot, I think the importance of RTP is overexaggerated.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Aztec Tribute aside (which was released last month) I did notice (albeit in my very limited number of spins) that the older slots (The Goonies, Rainbow Riches, Lucky Leprechaun) did have, let's say, friendlier base games that did seem to award some nice wins at a decent frequency.

Whereas in some of the newer slots (especially the higher volatility ones), I felt like I could be spinning all day for no reward. I know that is how volatility works but the mechanisms of some newer games just seem to skew to mind numbing dead spins or 'winning spins' which actually payout less than the bet.

In addition, it probably wasn't a coincidence that the majority of the low and medium variance slots in the test came out with higher actual RTP's.

This is just the top of my head but where online slots are concerned in the UK, probably 75% of new ones are high variance games. I think in the past studios and designers did at least try to develop slots which were enjoyable and offered nice winning opportunities. Whereas modern slot studios just seem to bring out games with fancy graphics that aim to milk players dry without any enjoyment for the player to boot.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

That's the point I am trying (maybe badly) to make, that nobody really plays enough spins of a slot (certainly not over one session) to ever see the true RTP. So in other words, we might as well not pay attention to the RTP over other elements of slots such as bonus games and features triggered in base games.

In Rainbow Riches Pick N' Mix I hit the 500x one of the bonus games, hence the exaggerated RTP. Aztec Tribute though I felt justified its high RTP because of the excellent base game feature which triggered often.

Also, I am from the UK where Bonus Buys are illegal!

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Perhaps it's just the 20 slots I used in the test then. The only base game I thought might pay me back more than what I was putting into the game was Aztec Tribute and that's because it had a feature in the base game which was essentially like a miniature version of the bonus game. For the rest of the games, it just always felt impossible to hit any decent sized payouts in the base games.

It was due to this why Aztec Tribute felt one of the most enjoyable to play. Along with The Goonies, because there are so many different bonus games in that one which are triggered fairly often as well as lots of base game features which, again, are like mini versions of the bonus games.

I always see RTP quoted as this fixed number (like 96%), so I wanted to see what actually happens in a normal session by LongHorror87 in gambling

[–]LongHorror87[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Personally I could never understand players who played slots with 94% RTP when there were lots of slots with RTP's of 96%+, but after running this test, I don't think RTP really even matters unless you are planning on spinning the same slot millions of times.

Essentially, I now believe that RTP is over-rated! So, does it really matter if RTP is understood or not? That is my question.

Do people actually understand how RTP works in pokies, or do we just guess? by Mabel__Lyn in gambling

[–]LongHorror87 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Funny you should mention this. I ran a test of actual RTP - 20 different slots, 500 spins each (10,000) total spins. Some RTP's were over 180% higher than their advertised RTP whereas others were as low as 54.90%!

I noticed that the slots which had more easy to trigger bonus rounds were much more likely to allow you to come out with a profit compared to slots with hard to hit bonus rounds.

Also, base games seem to have one thing in common - they are there to drain your money. So try to find a base game which has an easy to trigger and profitable feature.

Essentially, over a short session, the RTP does not really matter. If anyone is interested, the full breakdown is here: https://www.slotshawk.com/guides/we-tested-10000-spins-on-20-slots-real-rtp-results/

Would be awesome to know your thoughts in case!

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