Understanding Slot Game Variance

One aspect of choosing just which online slot game you play, is that you need to understand each slot you will come across will have been designed to play in a certain way. The designed structure of all online slots will fall into one of three industry recognised structures and these are low variance, medium variance and high variance.

Variance is something that is often overlooked by many slot players, however knowing how it affects the way the slot game you are playing will enable you to locate and then ultimately play a slot which has a playing structure that appeals to you and also the actual amount of cash that you have set aside to play any slot game for.

As part of our continuing series of slot playing guides, in this one we are going to enlighten you on just how the three types of slot game variance will affect the way you end up playing slots and more importantly the way those slot games can and will payout.

What is Low Variance?

You will come across quite a lot of slot games that have been designed with something known as a low variance playing structure and format. These slots will tend to offer you the chance of winning a small modest sized jackpot.

Another feature you will often find attractive when playing low variance slots is that they have been designed in such a way that you will spin in lots of lower valued winning combinations when playing them. Three reel slots offering a low variance playing structure will spin in the lower paying winning payouts very regularly and as such you are virtually guaranteed of having some quite long playing session when playing these types of slots due to the very high hit frequency of those lower paying winning combinations.

You will also come across many Video Slot Games which have been designed with a low variance playing structure and format, and the bonus games which are attached to these type of slots will trigger frequently, thus giving you an enjoyable and longer than average slot playing session, but you will find those bonus games tend to regularly award the lower valued winning payouts.

What are High Variance Slots?

High variance slot games offer playing a very high risk type of playing structure, for when playing these types of slot games online you will find you can play a large number of spins and hardly get any winning combinations forming.

However, what you will also find is that often quite out of the blue you could be awarded with a huge winning payout. Three reel slots for example that offer a high variance playing structure and format will come with a set of wild multiplier symbols, which can massively increase the value of a winning payout when one of two of those special reel symbols help to form a winning combination.

When playing video slot game that have been designed with a high variance playing structure they will often come with a bonus game that has some form of built in additional features that can award some huge winning payouts from time to time, those built in bonus features could be huge multiplier values attached to free spins or you could be awarded with a large number of free spins when those bonus games are triggered.

You can usually instantly spot a high variance slot as they tend to offer some of the largest base game jackpot payouts.

How do Medium Variance Slots Work

A medium variance slot game will be designed with a playing structure that fits into the middle of the above two types of slot games, and as such when playing these slots online you will find you get a fair number of both low and high valued winning combinations, and from time to time you will also be awarded with a high paying bonus feature round if you are playing a medium variance bonus game awarding video slot.

The jackpots attached to most medium variance slot games will tend to be higher than those found on low variance slots but lower than the jackpots you can be awarded with when playing high variance slots.

Summary

Always ensure that you choose the exact type of slot game to play that is going to first and foremost enable you to get the type of playing session you are seeking, but more importantly always play a slot that is suitable for the stakes that your available slot playing budget will allow you to play.

It really is going to be pointless you playing a high variance slot game if you only have a limited amount of cash available via your slot playing bankroll, for you are highly unlikely to be able to ride out the often large number of base games spins required before you start to see the higher winning payouts or the better paying bonus games being triggered and awarded to you.

If you do have a limited amount of funds to play online slot games with, or if you have claimed one of the huge number of generous casino bonus offers that are available at any of our top rated casino sites, then it may pay dividends for you to select a low variance slot.

For when you do play low variance slot you will get plenty of play time for your money, and when you are churning through a casino bonus offers play through requirements the high hit frequency winning payout structure of those low variance slots will often let you get through those play through requirements quite quickly, due to the number of winning payout you will get awarded.