Slot machines don’t involve much strategy. Instead, you rely mainly on luck to win. However, slot machines do have some small strategies. One of the most important concepts in this regard is hit frequency (aka win frequency). If you’re confused about hit frequency, you definitely want to know more. After all, it is a key factor in helping you maintain your slot machine bankroll.
What is the hit frequency?
Hit frequency is how often you can expect to win a prize on each spin. If a game pays you one out of every five spins, it wins 15% of the time. However, this is just a simple explanation of the concept. You also want to take paylines into account. So when it comes to the frequency of clicks, you need to consider the number of paylines involved. After all, you may have to pay more to get the same amount of wins as another slot machine with fewer lines.
What do slot machine players value most?
Most slot machine players don’t consider hit frequency or even what it means. Instead, they only consider Return to Player (RTP). RTP refers to how much the slot machine pays back on average. For example, a game with an RTP of 95% will return $0.95 for every $1 wagered. RTP is absolutely important as it determines the house edge for a given game. In the example above, you are facing a 5% house edge, which is about average for an online voslot slot machine.
Why is click frequency more important than RTP?
Winning frequency has no effect on house edge. At the same time, RTP is more directly related to your long-term winning chances. So return seems to be the more important concept here. However, if you are concerned about your short-term winning chances, you should definitely consider hit frequency. Win frequency has more to do with the present. The more times you win each round, the more money you will have back in your bankroll in the short term. Likewise, the frequency of hits does not determine the house edge or your long-term odds.
Instead, it only covers how often you can expect to win right now. But you should also be aware that the rewards are based on hundreds of thousands or even millions of spins. For a given session, or even ten sessions, your chances of producing results near the prescribed RTP are very low. Hit frequency is felt faster than returns. That said, you definitely want to consider this concept before playing online slots.
Different ways to judge the frequency of hits
I’ve established that win frequency absolutely matters. The problem, however, is that most slot machines don’t provide specific instructions on how often they hit. Study this blindly and you won’t know if you’re playing a high or low win rate game until you spin the reels thousands of times. That said, you should definitely consider the following factors to help determine how often you expect to win.
Jackpot size
The big jackpot means the game is hit less frequently. Developers have to seed the big jackpot with a lot of money, which means they make up for this by programming the game to pay out less frequently. You should pay attention to the seed amount of the jackpot, not the current value, to determine how often you win. After all, this is the money developers need to get back by paying less frequently.
See the example below:
● You are playing a game with a $1.5 million jackpot.
● You read the Help screen.
● The information section states that the maximum prize is $250,000.
● $250,000 is pretty high for the initial jackpot.
In general, slot machines with jackpots of $100,000 or more offer fewer payouts on average. Of course, you can play these games while dreaming of getting rich. But you can’t expect to earn many short-term bonuses with these slots.
The number of large and small expenditures
The jackpot isn’t the only payout that affects the frequency of hits. You also need to consider how other prizes relate to normal games. Are you dealing with a slot machine that offers multiple non-jackpot payouts worth between 1,000 and 10,000 coins? If so, the slot machine may win less frequently. On the other hand, games with a maximum non-jackpot payout of 1,000 coins or less may have a higher hit rate. You probably won’t get rich with this slot machine, but you can at least expect more payouts.
Number of bonuses
Bonuses appear to be an innocuous feature that increases the entertainment value of slot machines. But they also play a role in how often games pay. For example, a slot machine with free spins, pick’em rounds, second screen bonuses, and scatter payouts is likely to have a lower win frequency. This is especially true if one or more of these bonuses has the potential to award large payouts. At the same time, slots with only free spins and smaller jackpots may pay out frequently. After all, in a game like this, you don’t have many extra options to win big.
Volatility Rating
In the best case scenario, you’ll be playing a slot machine that actually offers volatility ratings. This is essentially interchangeable with hit frequency, as it refers to the volatility of payouts. A truly volatile game will award bigger prizes, but will also pay out less frequently. Meanwhile, less volatile games have less payouts and bonuses, but also more frequent bonuses. Most developers don’t offer these ratings. However, Pragmatic Play is one slot machine provider I know of.
Always keep money management in mind
Knowing how often you hit is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to managing your slot machine bankroll. You also want to keep simple concepts in mind that will help you stick to your budget when spinning the reels. First, you need to understand that slot machines are one of the most volatile forms of gambling in any space. You can lose an average of 200-300 bets per hour. You can also make up for these losses at any time by winning the jackpot. However, to be on the safe side, you want to go into each game with the mindset that you will continue to lose.
Here is an example of setting up funds this way:
You have a bankroll of $1,000 and bet $0.25 per spin.
1,000 / 0.25 = 4,000 stakes
Lose 250 bets per hour.
4,000 / 250 = 16
Your funds should theoretically last 16 hours.
You can come up with your own approach to slot machine money management. But the point is that you have some thoughts on the matter. With a good money management plan, you are less likely to take unacceptable risks. Also, you will have a good idea of how long you can last while playing the slot machine.
You may also want to set a stop loss limit
These limits refer to a predefined point at which you will exit the game after taking a certain amount of losses. For example, you can place a stop loss of $300. Assuming you have $1,200 worth of funds, you will be able to use the funds for at least four trades.
In conclusion
Winning frequency is one of the most overlooked topics in the slot machine world. Instead, RTP takes center stage because it correlates more directly to long-term winning odds. But hit frequency is as important as RTP, if not more so. It determines how often you can expect to win in the short term. If you can’t seem to win anything, you’re probably dealing with a slot machine that hits less frequently. At the same time, you can expect various prizes in games with high winning frequency.
Key aspects to consider when judging hit frequency include:
● Jackpot size
● Number of small expenditures
● Amount of large spend
● Bonus features
● Volatility rating
The latter is perfect because it clearly shows how often the game is won. Unfortunately, most slot machines do not have a volatility rating. Therefore, you need to consider other aspects to make this decision. As a general rule of thumb, any slot machine that offers huge prizes won’t pay out very often. You might still like the idea of playing this slot machine. After all, you can win big with jackpots or bonuses. However, if you want to win as many times as possible, high hit rate slots are the answer!
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