High Variance, Medium Variance or Low Variance?

[SlotMonster]

Hello,

Just a quick poll: which slots you prefer to play?

 

[Pulver]

High variance...

They can be brutal at times, but when you have the possibility to hit 300-1000x wins even in regular game play, it makes it worth it. (Break da bank again, Paydirt++)

It's a gamble and I like to have the possibillity to win big.

That beeing said, Ho Ho Ho is a very good low variance slot, so I play a bit of both.

 

[Smokeycasino]

I usually have this pattern Low V to build a roll to play High V games.
= Cash out

Patterns,Strategy is always needed to have an edge or think you do lol.

 

[H1_Roller]

I'm a sucker for BdBA, LOTR etc so I'd say HV as well

 

[KasinoKing]

Well since it is a multiple choice poll, I had to vote for ALL of them!
I like all types, my choice depends on my mood, how much I like a particular slot and the bonus I'm playing (if any).

I do generally prefer low variance though, like most GV slots which tend to give me a lot of play-time and features but still with the chance of hitting a reasonably big win!

KK

 

[GamblersDen]

I usually have this pattern Low V to build a roll to play High V games.

Same here!

 

[chuchu59]

it really depends on what software platform you are playing at, usually for mg, mv slots can carry you thru the wrs but for rtg with an attached bonus you might as well go for high v ones since any of the supposed low v. slots can be h. variance and wont give you a feature for 500-600 spins.the same for rival recently where you get no features in ages for low variance slots like cleo' coins, future fortunes and metal detector.

 

[SlotMonster]

it really depends on what software platform you are playing at, usually for mg, mv slots can carry you thru the wrs but for rtg with an attached bonus you might as well go for high v ones since any of the supposed low v. slots can be h. variance and wont give you a feature for 500-600 spins.the same for rival recently where you get no features in ages for low variance slots like cleo' coins, future fortunes and metal detector.

I have to agree here. Personally I prefer playing low variance slots, but medium are also pretty good. And I don't want to wait 500-600 spins for feature to appear

 

[Repro]

I like to play high variance, the higher the better

Sure, you take your losses most of the time, but when it finally hits you get paid nicely

 

[ultra100]

HV + 1

 

[Christoff]

Medium Variance for sure - I want fairly frequent wins with a decent return (prize).

Low variance is great for wins but tend to be small whilst high will ruin me

 

[shoveply]

Variance

Fairly new to online slots but how can you tell what is High, Medium, Low Variance?

 

[chuchu59]

Fairly new to online slots but how can you tell what is High, Medium, Low Variance?

i cannot define these as well as other guys but if you tell me what your favourite slos are maybe i can explain.

 

[leonardo99]

If I play with a bonus balance I prefer high variance. On my money, low and medium, but if I have a good balance I give few try to high variance slots.

 

[3mptyseat]

Hmmph

I prefer high variance, tuts over payola for example... and eternity is not a place...

 

[shoveply]

i cannot define these as well as other guys but if you tell me what your favourite slos are maybe i can explain.

I play Thunderstruck II, LOTR, Break the Bank, Queen of Hearts, Party Island.

Thanks for your help

 

[KasinoKing]

Fairly new to online slots but how can you tell what is High, Medium, Low Variance?

Basically speaking:
High Variance = Wins are not very frequent but the wins are quite big.
Low Variance = You get loads of wins, but they are mostly quite small.

But these are only generalisations, because what influences the variance most on the most popular 5-reel bonus video slots is the bonus itself. On most slots probably 30 - 40% of the return comes from the bonus rounds; hit loads & you'll be quids in, but dry spells can decimate your bankroll.
Also of course, some bonus features have high return potential, and some are quite low which also effects variance.

I play Thunderstruck II, LOTR, Break the Bank, Queen of Hearts, Party Island.

Thanks for your help

Generally speaking, slots with stacked wilds are high variance due to the possibility of lining up a load for a mega-win, also the less win-lines a slot has (or you select) the higher the variance, so IMO:

Thunderstruck II: Low/Medium
LOTR: High
Break the Bank (AGAIN): Very High
Queen of Hearts: High
Party Island: Never heard of it...

KK

 

[jenn1381]

Party Island: Never heard of it...

KK

Party Island is a ladies night clone.

I tend to go for Medium or High lately.. which means I'm losing a lot more than I'm winning. Waiting for the big one to hit, might be waiting a while! lol

 

[shoveply]

Basically speaking:
High Variance = Wins are not very frequent but the wins are quite big.
Low Variance = You get loads of wins, but they are mostly quite small.

But these are only generalisations, because what influences the variance most on the most popular 5-reel bonus video slots is the bonus itself. On most slots probably 30 - 40% of the return comes from the bonus rounds; hit loads & you'll be quids in, but dry spells can decimate your bankroll.
Also of course, some bonus features have high return potential, and some are quite low which also effects variance.


Generally speaking, slots with stacked wilds are high variance due to the possibility of lining up a load for a mega-win, also the less win-lines a slot has (or you select) the higher the variance, so IMO:

Thunderstruck II: Low/Medium
LOTR: High
Break the Bank (AGAIN): Very High
Queen of Hearts: High
Party Island: Never heard of it...

KK

Thank you for your information.

 

[colly]

A mixture-all the MCG slots I play are high variance but at RTG I prefer the high variance (love affair with tiger treasures and TRex) but will often play the medium variances if my deposit is small or I am using a bonus- once the bankroll is high enough to potentially cover the variance risk I switch to my preferred games unless the mediums are paying very well in which case I stick to them.

 

[ShayDrew]

My strategy is (To use an example of round figures) If my bankroll for the session is $100 I will tend to play high variance for the first $50 to try and start of well. Once I hit $50 I tend to drop back to lower variance to try and get a few hits - anything above $50 = Play HV, anything below $50 = Low or Med Variance.

 

[De Beuker]

High variance to build a bankroll, medium/low variance to grind out a WR once I've had a few decent hits.

But its all relative, high variance games can play like low variance (BDBA, Alaskan Fishing) and low variance can suck you dry in no time too if they are in a bad mood...

 

[zaaaaabaaaaam]

i understand the theory of high, med and low variance games but in reality how do you know which games actually are?

i could understand that a game with a massive jackpot game would be high variance, right? but does this mean that a game with a smaller jackpot would be med variance and a game without jackpot would be low variance?

 

[KasinoKing]

i could understand that a game with a massive jackpot game would be high variance, right? but does this mean that a game with a smaller jackpot would be med variance and a game without jackpot would be low variance?

Not at all!
The jackpot amount is largely irrelevant - a big jackpot machine could be low variance and vice-versa.
I don't want to be repeating myself, so please look at my post #17 above.

Very few softwares publish the variance of their slots - only 3Dice & RTG that I'm aware of - so for most others it is subjective based on each person's playing experience.

KK

 

[zaaaaabaaaaam]

Ok, that's cool. Now I know. Every day you learn new things! :notworthy

 

[spin2win]

I like the High Variance Slot games more. There is nothing better in Online Gambling than a massive payout in LOTR etc.

 

[H1_Roller]

Not at all!
The jackpot amount is largely irrelevant - a big jackpot machine could be low variance and vice-versa.
I don't want to be repeating myself, so please look at my post #17 above.

Very few softwares publish the variance of their slots - only 3Dice & RTG that I'm aware of - so for most others it is subjective based on each person's playing experience.

KK

Wouldn't the payout table (excluding Jackpots) hold clues to a game's variance?

 

[gerilege]

In some sense yes, but that is not the decisive factor, especially nowadays with all the expanding, sticky and stacked wilds, etc.
With the newer slots variance is more and more made up of the base game variance and feature variance independently from a gameplay perspective. Combining those two can give you an estimate on the total mathematical variance of the game, however it also makes sense to get a feeling about the distribution of variance in feature and non-feature mode. (i.e. compared to the old Thunderstruck in which you simply get 15 spins @3x with the same paytable and reel layout, so the full game variance implicitely contains both feature and gameplay variance). It is also useful to have an idea on the feature contribution to the total payout on a specific game. Also the total number of lines influence variance for the same betsize.
Let me add a few examples:
Isis is a very high variance slot despite of being a 25-liner, Avalon is a mediumish-high. I do not know the exact numbers, but for both slots a major part of the total payout (~50%) is in the feature. In Thunderstruck it is around 35% only if I remember correctly. Besides that their (Isis, Avalon) variance mainly comes from the feature only, they do not really have notable line wins.
BDBA is a different example of a very high variance game, and basic game play also have high variance (compared to Avalon, but even to Isis), but feature play (even with the very few extremely monster wins like the best 5-of-a-kinds with wild @25x) is not that high variance like Isis, as you will have a lot of middle-sized wins with the 3-5 T,J,Q,K,As which you mostly hit in features.
Or take the Playtech Archer game, which is a 243-way slot, and the feature contribution to the payout is relatively low, I would say it is lower than Thunderstrike. This is because the main game is high variance, and although the feature is a different game, but not that much different to the main game.
So it's tricky and there are a lot of factors.
The best clue is the percentage of smallish wins, like empty spins, max 1x total bet, max 3x total bet. Once you play a slot for a while, already after a few thousand of spins you can get a feeling on the percentage of those wins. Once you know this, you can make a good guess on what percentage of the total payout is used for those smallish wins and how much room is left for other wins, and after some iterations you can effectively extrapolate the total variance with this method.

 

[H1_Roller]

Thanks for the very thorough explanation gerilege