Return to Player (RTP) and Hit Frequency: What do These mean?

Return to Player (RTP) and Hit Frequency: What Does These Mean?

RETURN to the PLAYER (RTP)

Casinos make use of the term Return to Player to indicate how much of the wagered money that a VLT (or slot machine) will pay back to players. You might expect to make about $90 if you place 100 $1 bets in machines that have an RTP of 90. Both RTP and house advantage are usually calculated over the long term. The odds are pretty much anything can occur in the short-term (see Short Term Volatility versus Long Term Predictability) This is why you should only ever bet with money you're willing to risk.

RTP is actually the opposite of house advantage. If a machine has a 20% house advantage, then the average RTP will be 80 percent, which means that, over the course of time, the machine will keep about 20% of the money bet , and return the rest to the players who win.

Hit Frequency

Hit frequency is the term used by casinos to explain the frequency with which machines stop when it hits the winning combination. For instance, if a machine is able to hit a rate of 8.8%, it indicates that it will stop after a winning sequence about 8percent of the times. Also, RTP rate should know that VLTs, along with many slot machines, permit you to place multiple bets on every spin. The result is that, during a single spin a player could get several winning combinations, along with many losing combinations. Although it could appear as if players are winning more often than normal but the loss combinations in the course of time will be more.

Between VLTs and slots there can be great variation in the hit frequency. Some slots have a hit frequency in the range of 3%, while others, like video poker, have a hit frequency of almost 45 percent. While the video poker hit frequency might sound appealing, bear in mind that almost half of these "hits" are simply the return of his initial bet. A machine that has 3 percent hit frequency could sound rather uninteresting, however, it could offer players a chance to win huge jackpots. Jackpots that are large are less frequent in hitting however, they offer larger jackpots.

Players often perceive games with low hit frequency as being tight , because they are challenging to win. Games with high hit frequency are seen as less loose since they are filled with small wins.

Keep in mind that "hit frequency" refers to the frequency with which an winning combination appears in the an average. "Return to the player" is what percentage of all money put into a machine that it will return over time.