Ah, slot machines paying back more than 100 percent, who wouldn’t want to go to such wonderland? The field of dreams where the players always win and the casinos always lose. And if you were to believe the marketing materials coming out of some less-than-questionable online casinos, this is not only a reality, you can be there today! But in all seriousness, there is a good chance that you’ve seen some questionable online casinos advertise slots with paybacks of 100% or more. Today we will try to dispel this myth that there are slot machines with a payout of 100%.
First, we can go the common sense route. If you were the casino, would you offer a slot that not only has no possibility of making any money, but it will actually cost you to operate?!? Because while this imaginary video slot pays back all the money the players put in, your overhead continues to accrue. So why would you, in your right mind, offer such games at your overhead of course you wouldn’t, and neither would any online casino operator with a drop of business sense.
So how about those casinos that claim their slots pay back 100 percent? Well, frankly, they are just downright lying to you. On the bright side, you should welcome such opportunity to easily separate the wheat from the chaff – you would know right away to avoid those online casinos and save yourself a ton of headache down the road.
But I Have Heard the Stories…
A few readers, I’m sure, would immediately try to bring out some news story or rumor of how a video slot in Vegas was tested once by some gamblers and it ended up paying back more than 100%. And while such stories have circulated for as long as video slots have existed, some even spread by the casinos themselves in order to drum up some extra excitement and business, let’s not kid ourselves here. Of course, you can twist any statistics to fit your narrative. For example, if you were to log in to your favorite online casino and decide to play $100 at a slot, play for an hour and cash out $200, does it mean that the slot payout is 200%? Certainly not, and this is the biggest point that must be maid when we talk about slot payouts:
The Payouts Are Over Long Term
The calculations which take place in determining a payout percentage of a slot are based on a long term overview of that particular game. It is not only possible, but even a rule, that over a short term, slot machines could pay back more than 100%, and respectively, may pay back way less than the advertised payout percentage. Thus, it is entirely possible that a slot machine may give the impression that it paying back more than 100 percent, if we are talking about a limited view. Most casinos, however, plot their video slots’ payouts over periods of a tear or longer, and so do their auditors.
Mistakes Happen
All that being said, it is not entirely impossible or beyond belief, that sometimes a slot will pay back 100% or higher, if there is a mistake being made when creating the game. It’s very rare, but slots are developed by humans, which pretty much ensures that mistakes will be made. As noted, the casinos, whether brick and mortar or online casinos, monitor their slots rigorously, so it won’t take long for them to discover and correct the mistake. If you happen to be lucky enough to play a “defective“ slot like that, enjoy while it lasts.
Reasonable Expectations
In the end, it all boils down to reasonable expectations. Now that we know that over the long run, it is impossible for slots to pay back 100 percent of the wagers, what are those reasonable payout percentages? As a rule of thumb. Anything over 95% is considered a great payback, while anything under 91% should be avoided. We have to underline once again, that those numbers refer to a long-term spread of the payback structure. Therefore, this doesn’t meant that if you play at a slot machine with 91% payout you won’t have the chance to win big, and vice versa: just because you are playing at a high payout slot, it is not guaranteed that you will win. With the slot machines it will always boil down to luck and how much of it you are having at the time of play. So our advice would be to forget about the chase of the mythical slots that pay back 100%, instead enjoy your time at the casino and look for games with the highest fun factor.