If you are an experienced online slots player, then you will already be familiar with the concept of high and low volatility games. What difference does this single statistic make to the way an online slot plays? We’re about to go for a deep dive into this extremely important element of every online slot game, but we have also created an extremely simplified explanation below. Note that volatility is often called Variance as well. Both of these terms mean exactly the same thing, so do not be confused if we occasionally use the word variance instead!
The Quick Explanation
The simplest way to think of high and low volatility concerning online slot game is that a high volatility game will usually pay out far less often than a low volatility online slot. The wins might be rare in a high volatility game, but they will usually be much bigger than the constant flow of low-value wins that lower volatility games will usually offer.
Not quite satisfied with our quick explanation? Don’t worry, it’s time for that deep dive!
Digging Deeper – All of the Best Games Ranked by Players are High Volatility
Let’s say you are looking for an online casino to play at, and you end up finding an amazing offer at Unibet which includes $25 of free, playable funds, which is an awesome way to play high and low volatility nj slots on someone else’s dime.
To complete our explanation of high volatility vs low volatility online slots, we are going to take two of the most popular games in each category and compare them in terms of player experience.
Low Volatility Smash Hit: Starburst
Starburst was released in 2012 and was one of NetEnt’s first big hits in the online slots market. The game uses a standard 5×3 playfield and all of the symbols are represented by gemstones. I’m not sure how those gems relate to the “Starburst” theme but that is what NetEnt decided to go with.
Starburst is an extremely low volatility game; the maximum win is just 500x your stake, and there are no videos on youtube of any player actually managing to win this game’s jackpot. There is no bonus round, and very little in the way of modifies to keep things interesting as you spin with no possibility of a bonus round.
Whilst playing Starburst, you will often receive tiny wins – a lot of the time, these wins will equal less than your stake! The games only saving grace Is the stacked wild re-spin feature which can land on reels two, three, and four. It is possible to trigger this feature several times in a row if you are lucky – personally, I have never managed more than two full stacks on the screen whilst playing this slot.
High Volatility Smash Hit: Dead or Alive 2
Now let’s talk about one of the most popular highly volatile slots that are available on the market. NetEnt played it safe with Dead or Alive 2, introducing a few new features whilst also keeping in the older ones which made the game so popular in the first place.
The base game in Dead or Alive is a little bit boring – there is no denying that. As a highly volatile slot, you won’t be seeing too many big wins whilst playing the regular game. Like so many online slots, this one is all about the bonus round.
Three bonus rounds are available to select from when you hit three or more scatters. We should also add that A five scatter trigger immediately pays out 2500x your stake… that’s a serious wedge of cash before the bonus even begins!
Interesting, NetEnt has added a low volatility bonus round to Dead or Alive 2, for those who are fed up with finishing bonus rounds with nothing but a few pennies. The original Dead or Alive bonus round is included, and there is a new “Extreme” feature where sticky wilds can become multipliers. This is the way to catch the maximum win of 111,11x your stake. Ok, it is certainly disappointing to see your bonus round ended your remaining spins are confiscated, but then again… if you bet €1 on that spin you now have over a hundred grand. Let’s ve honest – you probably won’t complain!
Assessment
Having read about two slots that represent extremely low volatility and extremely high volatility. Which game would you rather play? Remember, you will get much more playtime out of Starburst than you would play Dead or Alive. Is this extra playtime worth it? You can win 500x your stake, after all… and then you can watch the countless videos on YouTube of people winning 111,111x on Dead o Alive 2. With the current state of the online casino market right now, we may be about to see a revolution that will end with no more low volatility games being produed.
