Volatility
How much a game's results swing around. High volatility: rare big wins. Low volatility: frequent small ones.
Volatility, or variance (volatilité), is how spread out your results are around the average. Two games with the exact same RTP can feel totally different.
Why it matters
It decides how long your budget lasts and what a session feels like. A high volatility slot can go hundreds of spins with nothing worth mentioning, then drop a huge multiple. A low volatility one keeps feeding you small wins. Neither is better. They fit different budgets.
Real-life example
In limbo, a 1.1x target wins around 90% of the time, with small profits each time. A 100x target wins around 1% of the time. Same house edge on both. But with the 100x target, your balance swings way harder, and you're more likely to burn through your 50 $ for the night before anything hits.
How to use it
- Lower volatility works for long sessions and for clearing a bonus.
- Higher volatility needs a bigger bankroll compared to your bet size.
- Lots of slots show a volatility rating. Provably fair games let you set it yourself with your target or risk level.