Advice for Finding Good Slots at Casinos – Low Variance and 8 Other Things to Look for

As with art, we may not know much about slot machines, but we know what we like. Some people like the constant reinforcement of micro-wins, while others keep one eye on that huge progressive jackpot displayed in lights above the bank of slots.

Still, others have a favorite machine or slot game they play simply because they got a hand-pay on it a couple of years back and hope for that again.

But what makes good slots good? A lot of the appeal of any wagering game is our own subjective response to it, but game developers and casinos have spent some time and not a small amount of money looking into the main things that go into good slot machines.

If you’re wondering about what to look for in a slot machine, start with a good RTP. Return to Player (RTP) is a number used to compare various slot machines to one another. It’s expressed as a percentage and represents the amount of money wagered vs. the amount paid back over the slot machine’s life.

You’ll know you’ve found one of the good slots when you see an RTP of 96%—although there are a few real money slot machines out there with RTPs of 98% and even 99%.

A coin flipped ten times might come up heads exactly five times and tails exactly five times. But that’s not common. And when you’re dealing with much longer odds than 50-50, a variance will be much more obvious.

Back to your 90% RTP machine. During your $100 session, it may only pay out $30—and then again, it may pay out $500. Remember that while the random number generator has no respect for, every dip in payout will eventually be answered with a run of wins.

Of course, the trick is to play the machine when that run happens—and not play it when the dip is occurring. Kind of like Steve Martin’s advice on how to be a millionaire and never pay taxes: “First, get a million dollars.”

By the way, we’ve got an entire blog dedicated to how to find hot slots. Be sure to read that when you get a chance to enhance your search for great slots greatly.

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What goes into a good slot? That would be volatility (sometimes referred to as variance) and isn’t quite so self-explanatory as RTP.

A low volatility slot, for instance, will pay out small wins but will pay them out rather frequently. On the other hand, a high volatility slot will not pay out for longer periods, but when it does, the win will be larger.

There’s a psychology behind each of the two extremes. Some people will be encouraged by the low volatility slot because it is paying out, while others will keep playing the high volatility slot because it hasn’t paid out… yet.

Both reactions are human nature—and you can find both sorts at the best online casinos.

The most likely candidates for our short list of good slots are those with well-developed themes featuring engaging artwork, great soundtracks, and even better effects.

The secret here is simple—slot developers who spend that much money building an attractive slot machine that everybody loves to play are also developers who understand what people like. And people—at least the ones I’ve encountered—like to win.

Plainly speaking, we like what likes us back, and a slot machine that engages all our senses in a pleasant and exciting way while paying us (even in micro-wins) is a slot that we will flag as one of our favorites. We’ll seek it out at any casino we frequent.

By the way, if you’ve already found your favorite slots, perhaps it’s time to take your play to the next level: The slot tournament. If so, be sure to check out how to win a slot tournament below.

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Slot developers are always looking for new ways to differentiate their products from those of other slot game developers, so you’ll find plenty of diversity out there in terms of the bonus features offered on various slots.

The more, the merrier, so look for machines that feature as many of the following as possible.

A chance to win money at no risk to me? Where do I sign?! Good slots often award free spins as part of regular play. It’s a concept so popular you even find it on keno machines like Cleopatra Keno.

The best slots offer retriggering free spins, where you can win additional free spins during your free spins. It’s like finding a Starbucks inside another Starbucks.

Wild symbols are one of the staples of the slot world, but since digital animation took over the playing screens, many slot developers have introduced the concept of the expanding wild.

When it appears on a reel, this is a wild symbol that expands to fill that reel from top to bottom, spreading its wild goodness to all pay lines.

If you’re the type of slot aficionado who thinks a 243 pay line isn’t quite enough, you’ll be happy to learn that many slots offer cluster pays, where any group of the same symbol on the playing screen can pay off.

Straight and zigzag pay lines may have been all well and good back in grandpa’s day, but we modern demand abstraction in our slots. You wouldn’t understand.

This one’s pretty straightforward: You’ve just won a jackpot on a slot machine. You can now press a button that allows you to “double or nothing” your win.

In some cases, the machine will allow you to risk half of your win or all of it but do remember that a bird in the hand is worth… well, ask your grandpa.

Scatters are slot symbols that appear anywhere on the playing screen, and typically they offer free spins or multipliers to any win on screen. Usually, you’ll need a minimum of three scatters to trigger whatever bonus they provide.

Most bonus rounds feature a wheel of fortune-type chance at winning a jackpot ranging from the insignificant all the way up (in some cases) to life-changing amounts. Others have novel and often entertaining ways to win that differ greatly from the standard lay lines and 5×3 format of the normal play screen.

You’re probably already familiar with slots with progressive jackpots. But hot-drop progressives are special: For a progressive jackpot to be considered a “hot drop,” it must be required to pay out within a specific time period, typically every hour.

Since you know somebody is winning that jackpot within the next 60 minutes, it encourages you to keep playing. If you enjoy progressive jackpots (the ones with a realistic chance of hitting), add these hot drops to your good slots list.

Nothing is more annoying than a slot machine that seems worth playing and yet somehow manages to make the actual play far more difficult and/or confusing than necessary.

One of the reasons slot machines are so popular is that they take virtually no time to learn how to play. You can win on your first spin.

So, when a game developer thinks so little of their audience that they make you set your wager amount before every spin, or they put the SPIN button in an odd place, or they don’t have an auto-play feature—well, that game developer just got added to my no-fly list.

Good slots are designed to anticipate where you’re going to look for the spin button, where you’re going to watch for winning combinations, and what information you want to understand the play.

If you want in on some slot machine secrets, we’ve got your covered.

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The top game developers are popular because their creative team understands slot players and gives them what they want. Odds are if you like Aristocrat’s Buffalo! then you’ll like their Five Dragons, as well.

If you find that you tend to play one developer’s slot games to the exclusion of others, you should probably visit that developer’s website, where you’ll often find free-play versions of their other games.

Nothing like a risk-free test drive of a new game from a developer you trust. Who knows, it just might be the next addition to your great slots list.

Be sure to give our slot machine strategy guide a glance to know to give yourself the best chance of winning money while playing.

I probably should have put this at the beginning of this list because it’s that important.

If you’re planning to play online, you want to find a vetted and well-reviewed casino that has a responsive and available customer support team, easy to understand terms & conditions, as well as a solid variety of games you like to play.

Note that different online casinos tend to feature slot games from specific developers, so even the best and most reputable online casinos may not have what you’re looking for in the slots department.

One may have an abundance of RealTime Gaming slots, while another may showcase slots from NetEnt or Playtech. Before making that first deposit, ensure the casino has the slots you’re looking for.

Luckily, most online casinos offer even non-members an opportunity to see their slots inventory. Some even offer you a chance to play a free version of the game.

What makes a good slot game? Dovetailing with reliability is convenient. If you love the Buffalo slots but have to drive 250 miles to the nearest casino, then that’s not very convenient, is it?

Likewise, signing up with reliable online casinos won’t be all that useful if that particular casino doesn’t have the type of slots you enjoy the most.

Be sure that any casino you go to or sign up with features great slots that match your expectations in each of the categories noted above.

If you want to experience some fun, here are some fun slots and where to play them online.