No matter what type of casino game you prefer to play, it’s important for you to have an understanding of return to player (casino RTP). In this guide, we dive deep into the basics and the working of casino RTP. Also, we take a look at the return-to-player percentages of some popular casino games. Continue reading!
What is Return to Player?
Return to Player, commonly referred to as casino RTP, is a term that’s used to explain the amount of money you’ll get back from the casino game. Casino RTP is given in the form of a percentage and is calculated over the long run. So, players trying a hand or two at their favourite casino title don’t need to worry much about the RTP percentage.
If you’ve been playing casino games for a while or are aware of common casino terms, you’ll notice that RTP is just the opposite of casino house edge. For players who don’t know, the house edge is the mathematical advantage that the casino game has over you as you play over time. To give you an idea of the return to player percentage, a casino game with an RTP of 97% will return 97 cents on every dollar you wager in the long run.
How is casino RTP calculated?
Now that you’ve got a basic idea about casino RTP, let’s take a look at how it is calculated. As daunting as the term “RTP” may seem, its calculation is incredibly simple. All you need to do is use the following RTP formula: Amount of money that’s returned to players divided by the amount of money that’s wagered by players.
As mentioned earlier, casino RTP can’t be based on the history of a single gameplay round. So, the casino gaming software is made to play thousands or even millions of rounds over a brief period of time to finalize the game’s RTP. And as the outcomes in online casino games are completely random, you can rest assured that the return to player percentage is accurate.
The connection between RTP and volatility
You might have heard that the longer you play a given casino game, the closer you’ll get to its theoretical RTP. But to know why exactly that happens, you need to have an understanding of casino volatility (variance).
Simply put, volatility is a term that’s used to describe how risky a given casino game is for the player. For example, a slot game that’s reported as highly volatile has a high risk associated with it. On the other hand, the risk is lower in slot games that are described as lowly volatile.
Speaking about their characteristics, casino games with high volatility offer fewer but higher wins. In contrast, the winning amount in low volatility casino games is somewhat lower, but they offer more frequent wins.
While it’s easy to think that high RTP is correlated with high volatility, let us tell you that it isn’t so. Both RTP and variance are independent, and you need to have a good understanding of the two if you want to assess whether your chosen game is actually good for you.
A look at the RTP of some popular casino games
Blackjack
Blackjack is a casino card game that’s played against the casino. Blackjack is a highly popular casino title at both land-based and online casinos, all thanks to the high return to player percentage it has to offer.
By making use of a basic strategy, the RTP in Blackjack can be increased to as high as 99.50%. When playing Blackjack online, there are a number of playing techniques for you to choose from. So, you can easily select the one that suits you the most.
Roulette
Roulette is another popular casino classic that’s enjoyed by millions of players across the globe. In Roulette, your main aim is to guess where the ball will come to a stop on the spinning wheel.
Online gambling sites offer several exciting Roulette game variations, and all of them come with varying RTP rates. European Roulette, arguably the most popular Roulette variant, has a decent RTP of 97.30%. The double zero American wheel comes with the worst return to player percentage of 94.74%.
Slots
When gambling online, you’ll find thousands of different slot gaming options at your disposal. While the RTP rate in each of these slot games is different, it usually ranges between 90 to 99% in most online slot titles.
Does high RTP always mean a good online casino?
Getting a high RTP percentage is undoubtedly important when it comes to improving your winning chances in the long run. However, that’s not the only thing you should factor in when selecting an online casino. Your chosen gambling site should hold a proper gambling license, have a variety of casino games on offer and possess an intuitive website. Considering all these things will save you from online casino scams and also make for a top-notch casino gaming experience.
